dttruman

Will St Olivia bring her back from the dark side like Benson did for her step brother, or will she be just as duplicitous as Cabot and claim they are doing it for the greater good?

Maybe 20 years ago, but it seems like every adult even most kids have at least a cellphone. Yet the writers/producers will come up with lame excuses to create the situation for Benson. the most obvious and over used, "Oh, the battery was ran out of power!".

Agreed! Or I thought he would be more involved in the story line. Usually the more notable stars get that. Since both shows appeared on NBC, I wonder if NBC called in a favor or if Wayne Knight lives in New York, maybe he was just doing them a favor by filling in at the last minute.

If Hargitay wanted it, they would come up with some kind of excuse. It wouldn't matter if it was a weak one or an absurd excuse.

I think this one is right up SVU writers' alley. It gives Benson an opportunity to eviscerate the guy during questioning. I think the guy's excuse is "very weak", because all you have to do is call 911 and wait for the police to arrive when you find a lost child. But that is exactly the type of excuse the writers have been using lately. More thought would be put into the tongue-lashing Benson would be giving the guy instead of the creativity that was put into justifying the preceding event.

I just saw a rerun of the "Funny Valentine" episode on the USA channel. I wish they would do a follow up episode to this one, by bringing that Caleb Bryant to justice. I always wonder why they left this one so unresolved. This is one person that Benson would have love to slap the handcuff on, or even shoot for that matter.

For what it is worth. I found this on IMdB, concerning this SVU episode under the catergory of "Goofs". I don't know how accurate this is, but it seems to make a lot of sense. I questioned the wearing of military fatigues in a previous comment concerning the ending of this episode, but this person made some keener observations. "The scene at the end of the trial when the assembled soldiers in the gallery salute Sgt. Preston contains multiple violations of military rules for decorum. First, the soldiers are wearing their field caps in a courtroom. This is extremely disrespectful. Any soldier would know to remove his field cap in any building, especially in a formal setting like a court of law. Second, although the soldiers' collective salute is supposed to appear respectful, it is actually disrespectful, as Sgt. Preston is not a commissioned officer, so he should not be saluted in the first place. Privates saluting an NCO is considered rude, for it can be interpreted as a cynical reminder that the sergeant is not, in fact, a commissioned officer. Finally, even if the salute were appropriate (e.g., if Preston were a commissioned officer), he would not be saluted indoors. Again, this is an obvious violation of military protocol."

This is one of those moments where the writers (and or producers) like to fudge things a little to fit their somewhat improbable story line. I think a military investigation would have revealed the truth if the youngest Army guy was questioned by higher ranking investigators. The SVU series has more or less portrayed the military as the bad guy or as incompetent over the years.

Totally agree! It's like they have a template they follow. 1. What social issue or injustice should we spotlight? A. Main subject of the episode or B. Use as a surprise twist 2. Reserve so many minutes of dialogue and face time (visual presence) of Benson character A. Professional Life B. Personal Life 3. Insert other characters w/o going over budget. 4. So on...

I think I saw one, maybe two women. I am sorry, I should have clarified it better. I was emphasizing the court room, considering it's not actually a casual meeting place.

I thought the investigation part of this episode was better, but the rapist character had no depth. I think the only reason why they picked this actor was when they put out the casting call, they were looking for a man with a great menacing sneer. I thought they went totally overboard at the end with the transgender conflict when they had a lot of army people in the court room and they saluted the guy. I will be honest here, I don't know too much about the military. But when they go off base, would they wear their fatigues in a courtroom during proceedings?

You nailed it!

Holy cow, when did Rollins become so cynical and callous concerning prostitutes? Last season when they investigated a rape against an "athlete / prostitute", she was all sympathetic. Now she takes major 180.

I totally understand why certain law enforcement (civilian or military) get jurisdiction, it depends on the title of the TV series. Remember the female jet pilot accused of murder on L & O. That one was well made with the classic line (or something like it) "Has the DA's Office decided to declare war on the Navy" at the bail hearing.

I know I am being nit picky again, but in this promo, would the soldier (in the hospital) need permission from a superior to give Carisi and Fin the information they require? After all, it is the military. Wouldn't they go to the base commander, he makes the call to the base hospital and gives the soldier an order to release the information when the detectives arrive there. IMO, this whole confrontational scene is a little too contrived to make Carisi look tough. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xix12wBdEeY

I wonder if Stone will sit this one out, because the case will probably fall under the jurisdiction of the military. This may only be about the investigation of the crime.

Advanced photos from this episode from a website https://allthingslawandorder.blogspot.com/2018/03/law-order-svu-service-photos.html

The SVU must break through military red tape when a soldier is suspected of sexual assault. (Taken from IMdB episode description)

I wish we had access to the undercurrents here. Like Benson, Fin has a following too. If Fin was let go, I wonder how much of a backlash SVU would suffer from it. Considering that the series may (or may not) end soon, does Ice T have some kind of mutual agreement with the producers. I wonder if he is getting paid not for acting on the show, but for not complaining and making "nice" with the producers on social media? Do you think they will do an episode this season that will more less concentrate on Fin? Honestly and just off the top of my head, the last time they did that was when some lady executive was being threatened for her involvement with some violent gaming.

It looks like Fin will probably be the next regular character axed from the SVU show. I saw where he will be an executive producer and will be hosting a new show on the Oxygen channel. The title of the show is called "In Ice Cold Blood". I think it is going to be something like those shows on the I.D. (Investigation Discovery) channel. (Really) Low budget re-enactment of true crimes

I thought it was going to be a routine kidnapping rape murder episode, but when they caught them in bed together, I thought there it is "ripped from the headlines". That teacher and that student running off together. But when they framed Drago, I thought that was a good unexpected twist and when they added that incest factor they twisted it a second time. Kudos to the guy (or girl) who came up with this story line.

This is usually a major problem I have with it also, but since it wasn't a major dramatic license "faux pas" . I let it slip. It's the outrageous ones that tick me off.

Would you say they have been using that gimmick too much where the perp is put on trial and they're pretty sure he (or she) is guilty, but during the trial there is a major twist in the case and someone is the guilty party?

It looked like they set Vinnie up pretty good, but I do agree they took it to trial too soon. It should have been one of those Perry Mason type, where the DA presents enough to bind the defendant over for trial and Vinnie's lawyer presents a defense. With all that went on for the trial, does Vinnie have enough to sue the city for prosecutorial misconduct?

If this would have been something like one of their old episodes, the father would have become so enraged, grabbed the gun of some not-so-bright cop, shoot James and then probably would have been shot by Benson. Who would then be talking about how guilty she felt for shooting him.