Xeliou66

About the spy - I don’t think she had diplomatic immunity, I don’t recall anything being said about that, I think the State Department just didn’t want to arrest her because of the reasons they gave about not wanting to compromise their asset. I thought it was absolutely absurd for them to act like the mastermind of a deadly bombing she get away scot-free and if they had given Isobel more grief about it I think she should’ve gone to the press - the public would demand justice in a case like this and would crucify anyone who opposed arresting the mastermind. As for Maggie, I think she won’t be the permanent guardian of the kid and I think this episode showed why she isn’t fit to have a kid - her work is too unpredictable and demanding and she has no one to watch the kid while she’s away.

Yeah that investigation was great - I loved how Lennie and Mike got to the bottom of it all and realized the boyfriend did it and the shrink was manipulating them, and the bar canvas in the nasty weather was great. The interrogation scene is amusing just because the roles they were playing were the exact opposite of what they were actually like, Lennie was the laid back cop who didn’t get wound up easily while Mike was fiery and more hot tempered, but they did just the opposite in that scene trying to rattle the suspect. I always liked Skoda more than Olivet, but I liked Olivet also, but they pretty much trashed Olivet’s character with that stupid reveal, it ruined her credibility and made her look like a huge hypocrite - not only in the season 18 episode where it was revealed but also this episode. Olivet honestly looks like the biggest hypocrite imaginable in this episode knowing what we now know, it’s why I really disliked that revelation.

I love the episode Promises to Keep, which is on right now. Really compelling plot about the guy obsessed with his shrink and killing his girlfriend. I love the detective work in this episode, with Lennie and Mike realizing the killer wanted something from the victim’s home (which turned out to be the diary detailing his affair with the shrink) and zeroing in on realizing the shrink was manipulating them, and then canvassing the bars in the nasty weather and realizing the doctor knew the details of the murder, it’s one of my favorite investigations. It’s funny when Lennie played the aggressive “bad cop” in the interrogation room while Mike played the nice guy “good cop” which was an opposite of their actual personalities, with Mike being the actual more hot headed one while Lennie was laid back. Profaci’s “Donny gets the toaster oven” line was great as well. I felt that Judge Quinn made the right decision in sending the killer to prison instead of a mental hospital - I thought Ben was going a bit easy on him, he was disturbed and had been manipulated but he wasn’t insane IMO, he was just obsessed with and in love with the shrink, that’s not insanity, that’s killing for love. I didn’t feel one iota of sympathy for him, he strangled his girlfriend when she threatened to break things off and expose the affair, he seemed just in love, not insane. I have to say though Olivet looks like a huge hypocrite in hindsight here, given that she testified that sex between a patient and therapist was “abuse and exploitation” here when she slept with a patient (probably Logan) at around the same time. It’s why I strongly disliked the reveal about Olivet sleeping with a patient, because it basically destroys her credibility, especially from this episode. But it’s a fantastic episode overall with one of my favorite investigations.

Another pretty good episode last night, but it was extremely complex with all of the gang members involvement - I had a hard time keeping track of who was who. So did the gang leader order the abduction of the kid - I take it he did, since the dirty cop was on his payroll and I guess he got the info about where the prisoner transfer was taking place from him and sent his goons there to snatch the kid/shoot the cops, and then the kid’s hitman dad showed up and freed him from the kidnappers. It was very complex but an entertaining hour nonetheless.

Good episode last night - interesting case about the mafia kidnapping. I wonder if the Italian mob boss will be a recurring villain since they weren’t able to bring him down at the end. It was an interesting case and I liked the scenery of the Tuscany setting. Jubal appears in a cameo in almost every episode now, I like his appearances. Interesting seeing Forrester deal with the local investigator and I liked how he was able to find a way to work with him.

Good episode, I liked the intensity of it and the investigation - interesting how they uncovered how the spy had manipulated multiple people into planting bombs, and there were some exciting sequences, particularly the ending and the search of the apartment. Nice work from the whole team - I liked seeing Isobel take center stage and get a large role, and I liked her and Jubal doing an interrogation, and all of the field agents and analysts had good roles. That state department guy got no sympathy from me - I couldn’t believe he wanted Isobel to just let the mastermind of a bombing plot walk away scot-free. The victims of the bombing deserved justice and this woman was a terrorist who had to be arrested, consequences be damned. He could fuck off with his judgmental attitude. I can’t believe that the heads of the state department would want to let this terrorist mastermind walk either. This episode was yet more proof that Maggie has no business having custody of a kid given the demands and dangers of her job, I hope that’s only temporary. And I’m not sure what the point of referencing OA’s girlfriend again was, are they setting up a return for her? Good case with nice suspense and good stuff for each character. They did a good job of not letting the personal subplots detract from the case, hope that continues. Another solid outing for the show.

Here’s the discussion thread for tonight’s episode.

It is the darkest, creepiest and weirdest - for sure. We have Magnificat with the kids being blown up, Want with cannibal Tagman, Death Roe with Tommy putting his son in law through the meat grinder so he can keep raping his daughter, In the Dark with the “stone baby”, No Exit with the suicide pact, Stress Position with the off the books prisoners and so on. It’s an incredibly dark season but that’s one reason why I like it, sometimes the dark and disturbing cases are some of the most compelling. Magnificat is certainly horrific and the scene where that sadistic scumbag husband makes his wife sleep in the dead kids room is chilling. I’ve said before how disappointed I was with Carver for refusing to prosecute the husband - he came off as soft and gun shy, the only time I would ever say that about Carver

Season 4 is on Charge this week Gone is an interesting episode, it’s complex but a good plot about the former chess grandmaster who had become paranoid and was trying to get money from his family - it was just coincidence that the woman had the travel brochure from the hotel he stayed at and that’s why he killed her, they had no connection and he had just descended into complete paranoia. Interesting plot and I liked how Goren/Eames got to the bottom of it and I liked their final confrontation with the killer. Collective was next and I love the scene where Goren plays with the toy weapon in the toy shop, that was absolutely hilarious, one of my favorite Goren moments. The rest of the episode is strange, about the vampire club, the story about the con artist woman who caused the original killing by the cops was interesting, but then it became about her murder and the weird vampire obsessed people and it just didn’t click for me. Tonight 4 good episodes will air on Charge - starts with Death Roe with monstrous chef Tommy - that’s a classic, and then Ex Stasis, Shibboleth and The Good Child - all strong episodes. Season 4 may be the best CI season.

Sonata For a Solo Organ is a great episode as well, it took a rather far fetched plot based on an urban legend and made it into a compelling, believable episode. I love the testimony of the guy who lost his kidney and how he compared it to being raped, he was very sympathetic and his testimony was powerful. I didn’t feel any sympathy for the rich guy who orchestrated it, yes it was sad his daughter was sick but nothing justifies stealing an organ from someone else’s body, it’s a grotesque assault and violation of bodily autonomy and I liked how the episode pointed that out and I was glad the DAs were able to nail the guy. Adam dealing with the high powered lawyer who was whining about his client having to go to Rikers was good also. That episode and The Troubles would be in my top 5 episodes for season 1, as would Mushrooms. I also like Life Choice, even though the plot holes are hard to ignore, the two parter The Torrents of Greed is a strong mob case, Indifference is chilling and disturbing, although not that suspenseful, the extreme creepiness and evil of Lowenstein made it compelling, Prisoner of Love is pretty good, and Prescription for Death is good also, really most season 1 episodes are strong - the show was still finding its footing early on but it had a lot of interesting plots.

That was back in the glory days of SVU - the episode you are referring to is Manhunt from season 2 - an all time favorite of mine - Munch/Fin going upstate and then to Canada to track the serial killer was awesome. Starting around season 9, the show became all about Stabler/Benson and the plots became more and more far fetched (the monkey in basketball episode from season 10 was probably the epitome of that). When Stabler left, the show actually got better again for about 2 seasons - the other characters starting getting more screen time, the cases became more compelling, and while not as good as golden age SVU still a pretty good show overall. Then Munch/Cragen left, Benson took over the squad, Noah was introduced, and the show starting descending into the St Olivia circle jerk that it is today. There have still been good moments from these seasons - season 17 in particular had quite a few good episodes, but the St Olivia worship has been built up more and more over the years and has reached its peak this year it seems. The only thing making this season interesting is having more investigators around, and Bruno in particular has been a fantastic addition to the show. The cases have been a mixed bag, which is the usual for modern day SVU, but it’s notable how the Benson worship has reached an all time high.

DAW is a great episode, the doctor was such a creepy villain, especially when he told the guy about one of his patients “you should’ve seen her when she was 25“ or something like that. And Goren eating his steak and the end was hilarious.

Yes it was infuriating - I couldn’t believe Phil was sympathizing with the parents, Mike was right, they were wackos. And yes it was a heartbreaking detail that the child had to ask for a doctor. I hope the judge sent them to prison at the end, but Ben was right that even if they didn’t go to jail it was worth prosecuting to get the case on the books and maybe a child wouldn’t die in the future. Ben was such a great character and strong prosecutor, and I really like Robinette as well. Season 2 has a great cast lineup and great episodes.

Season 2 is on today Asylum is a good episode, I really liked the investigation where Phil and Mike tracked down the perps in the homeless community and realized there were 2 guys involved which explained the discrepancies in the witness statements. It was an interesting debate about whether they needed a search warrant for the homeless perp’s shack in the bushes. I liked how Ben was able to get “Lemonhead’s” testimony admitted and was still able to send the perp to prison even with the appeals court ruling against him. Strong episode. God Bless the Child is on now, Phil pisses me off in this one with his apparent sympathy for the parents who let their kid die because of their religion - it’s about the only time Phil pissed me off and I couldn’t believe he would defend those people. Logan was right, they were extremist nuts, there’s no excuse for letting the kid die just because they didn’t like medicine, Ben had the best line of the episode when he said if they wanted to martyr themselves they could but they had no right to martyr their child. I also liked when Ben pointed out that the church allowed the use of eyeglasses but didn’t allow medical treatment. I was glad the jury convicted and I liked Ben’s lines at the end about how the case was worth prosecuting even if the parents didn’t go to jail.

I also had no sympathy for Manny, he was just as complicit as the coach was in their scheme to commit murder, and he had serious anger issues, he should’ve just said no to the coach’s scheme, but he was greedy and something of a psychopath I believe. It was a twisted plot and I liked how they figured it all out. This show has the best cases of the 3 FBI shows IMO.

Yeah it’s a huge plot hole that they didn’t know about the victim’s pregnancy until later on. There were a few plot holes in the episode, but it’s good overall, the legal scenes were particularly strong, loved Adam and Ben’s stuff. Greevey was an ass and I was glad Logan went off on him, Greevey saying they didn’t mean to hurt anyone was stupid, of course bombs hurt people. Yeah I liked how they connected the dots and realized the IRA guy had a motive to kill the first victim and then got the guard to kill the witness, and it was interesting seeing all of the different agencies deal with each other in trying to bring the guy down. Stone did great as usual - the defense lawyer was probably a bigot and an extremist like his client, given the way he referred to the victim as an “Arab dope peddler”. It’s one of season 1’s very best - I would definitely put The Troubles and Mushrooms in my top 5 from season 1.

I’ve been enjoying season 1 today - nice to see these episodes on Mushrooms is a stellar episode, such a saddening and senseless murder with a baby dead and a 12 year old wounded because the young hitman didn’t know how to read and went to the wrong place. I liked how Greevey/Logan hit the streets in search of witnesses and found out who had the gun and that led them to the shooter. Stone was strong as well, I liked how he got the intended victim to testify about how he robbed the drug dealer, and his closing argument was powerful. This is one of season 1’s best episodes. Another one of my favorite season 1 episodes is on now, The Troubles, with the IRA terrorist. Interesting investigation and trial in this one, Cragen’s rant about the feds was hilarious, and it was a strong case.

Nice to see someone else who likes Remy. I like him and think he’s a strong leader and I like the charisma and personality he brings to the show. I’ve liked each team member pretty good on this show, I liked Jess and his original team and I like Remy and the current team - both work well together. I can’t help but wonder if some of the Remy hate comes from the fact that the actor played irritating supervillain Wheatley on L&O:OC just before he played Remy, and some viewers who watch both shows were so fed up with Wheatley that they never gave Remy a chance. I was skeptical at first of how it would be because I hated the Wheatley crap but I like Remy and what he brings to the show and I have no trouble distinguishing Remy from Wheatley

Season 1 is back on today - although they started halfway through the season with Life Choice instead of at the start Life Choice is a pretty good episode, but it’s a huge plot hole that the detectives didn’t realize the deceased was at the clinic to have an abortion instead of to bomb the clinic - the autopsy would reveal she was pregnant and they would have to realize what happened then. And it was very coincidental that the victim was anti abortion and had been involved in the anti abortion movement. And wouldn’t forensics have shown no traces of the explosives being on the deceased? And did they not bother to trace the actual bomber’s movements that day and realize she was there. A lot of plot holes in this one, there were a few like this in season 1 as the show was just figuring out things. It is a decent episode - I like the trial scenes and I liked how Ben told Adam he could do his job without bias and I liked Adam’s line about how they were 3 men discussing what rights a woman has over her body and that was one sided - Adam was awesome. Greevey was a major ass in this one, and I liked that Logan finally yelled at him and said only an idiot thinks bombs don’t hurt people. It’s great to see these season 1 episodes again.

Munch always had some hilarious wisecracks as well - that’s another thing I miss, some of the humor, Munch was awesome at providing that, and sometimes Cragen and even Stabler added some as well, Barba too for that matter added some - now only Fin and maybe occasionally Bruno add it, but I miss some of the one liners and moments of humor now, that’s another thing that’s vanished since SVU became the St Olivia hour - the show takes itself way too seriously to the point that the scenes of Olivia saving the day every time have become sort of comical to many because of how it’s portrayed. I do miss the humor of classic SVU - Munch here and Lennie on the Mothership had hilarious one liners.

Another strong episode tonight - very compelling case with a lot of moving parts but it all made sense in the end - the shooter went to the bar planning to kill the player so him and the coach could split the money from his will but things went wrong at the bar and he shot the two guys. I had a feeling the coach was going to play a big role and was hiding something from the start - he was a piece of shit. I liked how Remy and the team figured it all out. I didn’t feel much sympathy for Manny either, sure the coach was manipulating him but he was complicit in the whole thing and was plotting with coach to murder an innocent kid. Twisted case, this show delivers those on a weekly basis. So they went back to Barnes’ relationship problems, not sure how that will work out, and I had a feeling Cory was just going to be a pain for Remy and it sounds like that’s what’s happening based on Remy’s frustrations at the end. Don’t really care about the personal stuff but I thought the end scene with Remy and Barnes was done well. I think this is my favorite of the 3 FBI shows - the cases are very strong, and the teams works well together.

A good episode tonight, I liked the investigation into the serial rapist and I liked how they were able to collar him and get him to incriminate himself. Intriguing case, I’m glad they’ve got Forrester back out in the field and I’m really enjoying having Vo as #2, and I like that they have more people assisting them at the office. And I’m so glad Powell is gone, the show is much better without him.

Good episode, intense and fast paced. Good work from the whole team and an intriguing case, I did suspect the professor from her first scene when she seemed reluctant to cooperate, so I had a feeling she was involved. I did think the attack on the company headquarters at the end was a rather complex scheme for one person to pull off - did the building not have any security? It seems like attaching the ricin to the sprinkler system would be a very hard job for one person to pull off, I know she had help making it, it just seems like it would take more than 3 people to pull off this type of scheme. Still a good, intense case with nice scenes for everyone. I had a feeling things wouldn’t end well for Maggie’s friend when she went to the hospital, I just hope they don’t saddle Maggie with her kid permanently, if anything this episode showed why Maggie shouldn’t have a kid - her work is too unpredictable and demanding and she has no one else to care for the kid while she’s working or if something happened to her. Hopefully this kid will go live with relatives, the last thing this show needs is kid drama, that got irritating on FBI:MW with Jess’ kid and we don’t need it here - I’m glad that they haven’t made a big deal out of Scola and Nina having a baby and have just mentioned it a few times but haven’t made it a big plot point. I laughed at how it was Hudson U that the ecoterrorists were from - that cesspool has an unlimited number of scummy people associated with it, as fans of the L&O franchise know!! Good episode with good intensity and a nice role for each character, I’m just nervous about the kid drama going forward.

Season 3 was on BBC America yesterday - Conscience is an interesting episode, about the guy who put his wife in a vegetative state and killed the doctor who he thought was communicating with her - it was fascinating how they staged the situation to make it look like the comatose wife was communicating with them, the perp’s lawyer should’ve told the perp to shut up but I guess he was paranoid because of his guilty conscience and he already killed the doctor because he believed his wife was communicating with her so it wasn’t that far fetched that he would fall for the interview trick. It’s a good episode with an interesting investigation. I saw Fico Di Capo later, and that episode has a big plot hole - namely who was the leak that revealed where the witness was? If it wasn’t the detective who was suspected, who the hell was it?! And how did the wife of the prosecutor’s undercover cop status get leaked? I really have no idea how that happened or how they knew where to find the witness, it seemed like they just forgot about that part of the plot, really weird.

Here is the thread for tonight’s episode