ChristiKRN

"And I get to change my cast and work with the best actors. I’m so happy I can’t see straight." - Mariska Hargitay at the Paley Center event yesterday This quote disturbed me so much... no wonder everyone professes their love of working with Mariska- they're afraid of losing their job!

I want to see Barba back only if he has grown back the balls he had before Benson neutered him. I also don't want him back if he is back to profess his unrequited love for Benson; I just could not handle that.

Benson is out of control; she has jumped the shark. She has forgotten that her main job is to enforce the law. She obviously thinks it is OK for someone to commit murder and take hostages if they have been victimized in the past; maybe that fact can be taken into consideration during sentencing, but they should still be prosecuted. I almost choked when Stone had to treat her as a hostile witness; first, she couldn't speak to the fact that a man was on the floor bleeding but when the defense attorney questioned her about PTSD, she is an authority on that subject? Stone should have reported her; unbelievable that he had to lecture her on what her job is and she still doesn't see how wrong she is. I would bet the SWAT guy who told her to stand down not once but twice is fired because if he had just let Saint Benson speak to the cartel guy, Stone's sister would still be alive. I seriously wish that Lourdes had misidentified Miguel, just to prove Benson completely wrong. I used to like Benson, but she has just become insufferable. The only 2 main characters that are sensible (most of the time) and watchable are Fin and Carisi. I think Rollins may have mental health issues like her sister; one minute, she is sympathizing with Lourdes and the next she is combative with her. What an injustice to portray women as being unprofessional and loose cannons, especially from this show.

I thought it was a decent episode; the actors did a good job with the script but once again, the script had holes and didn't live up to the quality of a procedural drama. The actress who played Esther was so good; I found myself rooting for her to overcome her family. The actor who played the father was very effective at playing creepy. I'm not a fan of Rollins, but Kelli Giddish was better than normal, although I couldn't figure out why she had that weird smile on her face at the end of the show when she was in the church. The writers have no idea what they are doing with Rollins; in one episode, she's verbally abusive to a victim and in the next she is compassionate, although It would have been hard not to be sympathetic towards Esther. The only thing they are consistent on is that Rollins does not follow the law. It will be interesting to see how she gets through an IAB investigation when she stalked the family while off-duty then broke into their home, escalating the situation to what it became. She had good intentions, but what she should have legally done and what she chose to do were worlds apart. I can't figure how she is still a cop with all her transgressions. Wouldn't be surprised if Rollins slipped back into some of her bad habits. Benson again was fully aware of what Rollins was going to do on her personal time, but chose to look the other way. How is she still in command? How is she going to hold up under IAB scrutiny also with her decision-making skills, or lack thereof? Still can't help but think that Dodds Sr is keeping a running tab of her bad decisions, and it will come back to bite her at some point. SVU must have the quickest ballistics department EVER to have found out that Rollins killed Esther within hours. I also got a chuckle out of the SWAT team putting Benson in her place. Shame they made them out to be incompetent to prop Benson and Rollins.

I'm still ambiguous about this episode. I always liked Cabot, and Stephanie March always delivers when she makes an appearance. I didn't think it was out of character for Alex to assist women and children from escaping abusive situations, as evidenced by her leaving to fight for human rights in the Congo (?). However, it was out of character for her to allow someone to be arrested for murder when a murder was not committed. Even though the husband was a total scumbag and deserved jail time, there is a major difference in jail time for assault and murder. Also, I believe Alex we know would have pushed Jules to file a complaint against her husband, so there was a paper trail of problems. I'm not at all pleased with the direction that Stone is heading. I really thought that he was going to set SVU on the straight and narrow after his 1st episode as the ADA. Why in God's name did he jump the shark by arresting the husband so quickly for murder? Very impulsive move, not what I want to see from him. Good grief, it took a few years for Liv to break Barba down; Stone looks like he is already heading in that direction after a few months. I already feel that they are spending too much scene time with him dealing with his sister's psychiatric issues. The time given to those scenes this week could have been better spent on fleshing out the main storyline. Just a few random thoughts: Carisi should never be allowed to provide protective detail ever again; I think this is the 2nd time his charge has ben killed while under his care. I had a mental picture of the overbearing mama of the scumbag husband being behind the wheel of the SVU that killed Jules and injured Carisi. Rollins really needs to do something with her hair; it is just limp, lifeless and just plain awful (haha-I guess the hair matches the personality!). On a positive note, no Noah drama in a while; unfortunately, no Fin this episode.

I have a feeling this is not the end of the Rollins and her issues arc; I think I read that the next episode after the Alex Cabot guest -starring episode is a Rollins-centric episode. I believe it is called "The Book of Esther", with the base storyline being about a father kidnapping his daughter. Knowing that SVU is notorious for tying in the storyline to personal drama <shocked face> , it makes me wonder if there is going to be some sort of issue involving Jesse and her dad. There were pictures floating around online of the little girls who play Jesse on set while they were filming this episode. No Declan sightings that I'm aware of but they might be keeping that under wraps like they did with his last couple of appearances. What make me think of this was I just saw that Julie Martin posted a TBT pic of her and Donal Logue on Twitter; probably just a coincidence but it made me wonder. Yes...I have a vivid imagination :). I still don't understand why the youngest Army guy would have preferred to take the rap for rape over telling the truth about his superior. I understand that there is a brotherhood amongst people who serve together, but this is taking it to a whole new extreme. I hope Stone threw the book at him for perjury. Wouldn't his Army career be over If he got convicted for this? Still can't get over how despicable Rollins was in this episode. She sunk to a new low this week.

Cameron Monaghan is absolutely brilliant in these roles; he even looks like he is having the best time of his life. RIP Jerome. I cannot get into the Demon's head storyline at all. I totally agree that crazy Babs is the best version of Barbara; Erin Richards played that so well. I don't really know what purpose Tabby serves either; I would much rather see Harvey get the screen time devoted to this storyline. I love Alfred's scenes with Bruce. Glad to see that they are back on track. And I agree there's never enough Harvey. Gotham needs a Harvey-centric episode; Season 1 was the last time we saw this.

Well, SVU made an unlikeable character even more unlikeable, if at all possible. Rollins was so over-the-line once again; I can't find enough deplorable adjectives to describe her behavior in last night's episode. Unprofessional, crude, insensitive, inhumane just don't cut it. All because her boyfriend cheated on her with prostitutes? How is she still even on this squad with all her transgressions over the years? It's also a prime example of Benson's lack of leadership; she should have tossed her after the 1st interview with Sandy/Sky and then suspended her or worse after Rollins threw money at her. I was able to tolerate Benson coming in to save the day with Sandy; it was almost necessary after Rollins' treatment of her. I'm not sure why it was necessary for the African-American sergeant to be transgender as the reason he didn't rape Sandy. Just seemed to be a plot device or an afterthought to appease the LGBTQ+ fans, who have been vocal about SVU's lack of diversity. If they wanted to focus on this issue, they could have done a whole storyline about people who are transgender in the military. There's never enough Fin, but glad to see he had more to do in last night's episode.

I liked this episode for the most part. I haven't been intrigued by the Tetch and Scarecrow storylines in the past, so I could have done without those parts. The only saving part of the Tetch scenes was that it led to more repair of the Jim-Harvey relationship. Cameron Monaghan is so good in his scenes; he just has a presence in every scene that he is in. No matter what material he is given, he knows how to deliver a line. I always enjoy the relationships on the show. Bruce and Selina have chemistry; I don't know if it is necessarily romantic in nature, but they work well off each other. Of course, I love Harvey and Jim scenes. Good to see Harvey having more to do now than he did earlier in the season.

I would have to say this was the best episode SVU has had in the past (almost) 2 seasons. There was no sermonizing; actual investigative work was happening; plot twists occurred! It was nice to see Ken and Fin's grandson - finally! The amount of screen time they gave them during this episode was just the right amount of focus that there should be on personal lives in any given episode . I'm a little alarmed by the influence that Benson is having on Stone. She's doing it more subtly than how she handled Barba, but it seems that he is relying on her a little too much for advice, etc. I preferred the firm Stone we saw in his 1st post-Barba episode. When the witness stated that she recognized the defendant by his eyes only , I waited for the attorney to drive a 18-wheeler through the holes in that statement, but did nothing. If he got convicted, he would easily have gotten a retrial for having an incompetent defense. How messed up was that girl to be more relieved that the man she thought was her father wasn't than sickened to learn she was having sex with her biological father. Hope they threw the book at her for all the trauma she caused.

I just can't get into this Poison Ivy storyline; I liked the 1st 2 Ivys more than the current version. The 1st was quirky but you rooted for her; also, that version led to one of Alfred's funniest lines when he told Bruce to stand back because she looked like she had "the mange". I liked Ivy #2's relationship with Oswald; they made a good team and were quite humorous together. I just want to see this storyline end ASAP. I was hoping that the title of the episode meant we were going to see Bruce and Alfred and Harvey and Jim reunite, and they did. They just aren't complete without each other. Not to mention we got the Penguin and the Riddler together again. One of Gotham's strengths is playing up the chemistry of these duos. I think Sofia is going to meet a grisly end after taking a sledge hammer to Lee's hand; she crossed a line with that scene. Jim is no longer the idealistic, by-the-book cop we met in Season 1; I think he would eliminate her not only for the greater good but for pure revenge. Grundy could easily rip her apart. It's Gotham; they will find a creative way for retribution.

The rest of the unit has finally wore off on Carisi; I think a little piece of me died when he told his niece to continue to perpetuate the lie about the first rape. He did redeem himself a little by telling the truth on the stand. He should have been disciplined for not revealing that his niece was not raped in the first place. I know people are going to say that the niece got her punishment when the guy did actually end up raping her, but she lied to the school tribunal and under oath. It seems like she left the school on her own volition rather than being suspended for lying to the tribunal in the first place and there didn't seem to be any consequences for lying under oath. Benson once again showed bad judgement by allowing Carisi to participate in the case. What was she thinking? I was disappointed in Stone this week. First of all, he should have chewed out Carisi for not disclosing that the original claim of rape did not occur. Then, instead of chewing out Benson for allowing Carisi to participate in the case, he was starting to show signs of worshipping at the altar of Benson. I can't handle it; I just can't. How does Hudson U. have any students enrolled? Going to Hudson is like walking into an inner city gang territory.

I would love to see Dr. Huang/BD Wong, Cragen/Dann Florek, Judge Donnelly/Judith Light, and Murphy/Donal Logue. Cragen is the most likely of the 4; I can see him being brought back in to guide Benson and straighten the bunch of them out. I only want to see undercover-type scenes with Murphy; I have a deep-seeded wish that we find out he isn't the baby daddy after all (God know, Rollins has banged quite a few people) and that is why we haven't seen him in over 2 yrs.

I very well think that is part of the issue as well as different writers. There has been some consistency issues over the years; for example, the difference between Warren Leight's vision of Barba was very different from the last 2 EPs. I ultimately think he has not forgiven her for his son's death based on some comments that he had made to her, and he will use whatever means or tactics necessary, including buddying up to her, to get his revenge.

I thought the episode was one of the better episodes of the past 2 season; there was actually some investigating going on! It was good to see Fin pick up on the lead that led to catching the true killer but couldn't someone other than Benson have put the final piece of the puzzle together with the fidget spinner? By the way, who brings a fidget spinner to a murder? I was not inclined to like Stone because I loved Barba (well, before Benson neutered him), but was pleasantly surprised by how he handled Benson and company. I really enjoyed his scenes; sensitive with victims and families but hard on SVU's rogue methods. Hope he can maintain his objectivity and personal distance; it was refreshing to see. Haha-how long do you think it will be before fans of the show "ship" him with someone? Cassidy losing it on the stand was beyond ridiculous; he's not a newbie, so it should not have shocked him to be baited by a defense attorney. Heck, the lawyer barely had to expend any energy to get Cassidy to lose it. And, for God's sake, why would he think it was a good idea to go visit the pediatrician at night? I LOVED when he called out Benson and Rollins, esp Rollins. I guess Rollins thinks that she's beyond reproach now that she is Benson's BFF. I couldn't help but think that Dodds Sr is somewhere in the background, keeping a running tally of all of Benson's bad judgement calls, poor leadership skills, refusal to listen to her superiors and refusal to abide by the law. He's going to lower the boom at some point; it's just a mater of when, not if.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually liked Stone so far. I hope that he can maintain his professionalism, ie not turn into Barba of the last 1 1/2 seasons. I think that his eyes were opened as to how SVU can roll when it suits them. If Cassidy was just some unknown male suspect, there would be no benefit of the doubt from Benson. Personal highlights for me in the episode were when Cassidy called out Benson in the bar for her almightiness and Rollins for her hypocrisy.

I quite possibly could be reading into this, but in the exit interview, Raul spoke of his friendship with Mariska only. Compiled with no final scenes with and no social media comments that I saw from the other core cast members, was there some bad blood? I don't think there was much interaction between Barba and Fin and only slightly more with Rollins but Carisi had built somewhat of a relationship with Barba when he was pursuing his law degree. I was a little surprised that he didn't have a moment with him or that Carisi did not support him at the trial. I'm still shaking my head over the destruction of Barba in the past year or so. I'm not going to miss this Barba; I will sorely miss the Leight-years Barba, though.

Just some random thoughts about the episode: The best part of the episode was obviously seeing Jack McCoy again; I enjoyed the interactions with Barba and Peter Stone. I didn't watch Chicago Justice, but saw Stone once or twice on Chicago PD. Hopefully, he will be able to hold his own against Benson's whims. He is already going to be public enemy #1 with her because he prosecuted Barba despite her telling him not to; how dare he not obey her command? It was very unrealistic to have a teenager be a babysitter for a baby that ill. Most people would have a private duty LPN or RN to handle his complex medical needs and impending complications. Withdrawing bipap or vent support without IV sedation and/or pain medication is inhumane. Just a technicality but an important one if you are making a case about letting someone die peacefully. The continued deference to Benson just blows my mind. Both Carisi and Rollins deferred to her during the initial contact with the baby's mother and then during the hostage situation, respectively. It was as if to say that everything is going to be OK- Lt. Benson is here. They have to rein in Rollins' character. First, she's yelling at the baby's mother about wanting to kill her child; "Sanctimommy" strikes again. Then, her next comment is literally about the right to die. I thought the actress who played the mom was excellent in conveying her anguish. I kept expecting to hear Bette Midler's Wind Beneath My Wings to start playing in the background during the final scene. On a high note: at least Barba and Benson didn't hook up.

I am honestly glad that Raul Esparza chose to leave the show. Barba has almost become unrecognizable in the last 2 seasons. I understand characters evolve , just like people do in real life, but he went from being the intelligent, impartial and sarcastic lawyer we loved to a wimpy and easily-influenced shadow of his former awesomeness. Even if he felt the baby should have been allowed to die, the old Barba would never have turned the bipap off himself. And he did it because he had regrets about not terminally extubating his dad 7 years prior? Ridiculous. I usually enjoy an emotional send-off of a character, but that final scene between Benson and Barba was just too much. They could have gone back to the BX9 threatening Barba storyline from a couple of years ago and it would have been more impactful than this episode. Barba and Raul Esparza deserved so much better.

I don't know if I'm just so weary of how this show has been over the past couple of seasons that I tend to be overly critical of everything, but I hated this episode. Let me count the ways: -It used to be good to see Barba heavily featured, but not like this. Benson did not tell him to convene the grand jury but it had her influence all over it. My beloved Barba is drinking way too much of the Benson KoolAid. Grand larceny? Of what? Do I think the airline is complicit in covering up a crime? Yes, but larceny? I don't get it. -The airline did not want to promote women to pilot status due to being too emotional/unfit to make critical decisions. For a show that promotes women's rights and overcoming being a victim, they did a huge disservice by proving the airline was right when the female co-pilot took control of the plane and almost crashed it when she learned she was going to be working with her rapist. I can't imagine how difficult that must have been for her, but she could have handled it in any number of different ways that would have painted a different picture. -Being a victim of a crime does not give you a free pass to commit a crime. Unless you are a victim of rape and Benson is on your side. -I hope Dodds Sr takes Benson down at this rate. I don't think he got over blaming her for his son's death. I'm probably overreaching here, but I can see the end of the show coming with Benson being demoted/fired. I think Dodds is very aware of what happened with Sheila and I would bet he is keeping track of every mistake she has been making for some time. Lying in wait...

I thought this was one of the better episodes of the season, but that is not saying a whole lot. When SVU has done "ripped-from-the-headlines" stories in the past, they have put their own twist on the story but they really didn't change up the story too much this time. To me, it seemed they were doing this story more to prop up Benson and Rollins as paragons of motherhood. It was good to see Warner and Olivet again; I wish they were more heavily featured, especially Tamara Tunie. SVU is so desperately lacking a supporting cast, and this type of episode makes me nostalgic for the others, such as Dr. Huang, TARU guy and O'Hallorhan (the forensics guy). I hate what they are doing to Barba; they are making him indecisive with the need for guidance from Benson. Like Xeliou66 said, he should have thrown this to family court from the beginning but after talking to Benson, he throws the case. There is no way that Barba did not recognize the jurors in the elevator. What has happened to the Barba we met a few years ago? Finally, in what workplace does an employee on leave come in to handle an interrogation or have regular calls/visits from their staff to discuss work-related issues? Once again, it seems like it is a prop for Benson that SVU can't function without her input and guidance. It would have been nice to see Fin play a larger part in the episode since he was in charge.; Carisi and Rollins did a good job also. Anything with Benson was unnecessary in this episode.

It is so surprising to see so many fans on social media gushing over this episode from the acting to the writing, etc; I'm guessing they are caught up on the emotion of the episode. One thing that comes across quite clearly (if it didn't already) is that Benson is not equipped to handle her leadership role at SVU; she allows her personal feelings to rule over any objectivity that the job entails. Turning down the assistance of the FBI (when it should have been their case once state lines were crossed) is absolutely foolish in a missing child case. The more boots on the ground, the better. How pretentious to think that only she and her 3-man unit could solve the case? It could have been a fatal mistake for Noah (darn it!). Then telling Rollins and Carisi to use any means necessary to get info from the gardener and his daughter b/c they have no jurisdiction; what good leader says that? Any halfway decent defense attorney will be able to get the gardener off after what Rollins did. I hope Dodds Sr takes a look at the police reports and comes down hard on them.

I didn't see the whole episode because of getting home late from work; I tuned in when Benson was on the phone saying they did not have any jurisdiction and to use any means necessary to get info. Then Rollins and Carisi are interrogating Sheila's lawn guy/? lover and his daughter and Rollins is roughing them up with their badges on full display. Then there was the scene towards the end with Fin telling Dodds Sr that Benson was not involved with the case at all. All Dodds Sr has to do is read the official police report to know she disobeyed his order to stay away; I still wonder if he may holding a bit of grudge towards Benson in relation to Dodds Jr's death and is looking for something to hang her with. Couldn't help but think that their actions are going to come back and bite them in the derriere in the future. All I can say is No, No, and No to a Benson-Barba romantic relationship. I can't handle these ships.

I loved Donal Logue as Murphy and what he brought when he was in the leadership position of SVU, also. The differences in how he and Benson handled the same position are light years apart. I would love to see him come back, but they really limited his role by making him the baby daddy.

I don't think SVU has ever had a good grip on the Rollins' character. I sort of liked her when she first came on, but then the drama with her sister and the bad decision-making with the gambling, etc took over and she became unlikeable for me. Then, she seemed to be getting her act together, even becoming a bit judgmental of others. Now, we are seeing some promiscuity and she said something about dabbling in MMA; is she about to go back to her old ways if she hasn't already? Lol...I hope Lt. Murphy requested a paternity test. Hmmm...maybe that is why we haven't seen him!