S22.E03: Remember Me In Quarantine

[WendyCR72]

And the original first episode of the season becomes the third! Off this week; this will air on December 3, 2020:

SVU questions a group of college roommates when one of them goes missing during COVID-19 lockdown.

[dttruman]

On 11/24/2020 at 6:36 PM, WendyCR72 said:

And the original first episode of the season becomes the third! Off this week; this will air on December 3, 2020:

 

Quote

SVU questions a group of college roommates when one of them goes missing during COVID-19 lockdown.

Will the SVU members respect and follow the rigid protocol for the COVID-19 lockdown, when questioning the roommates?

[Xeliou66]

ME Warner is back for this episode, I’m excited for that!! This season is off to a decent start, better than I expected, so I hope that continues.

[dttruman]

7 hours ago, Xeliou66 said:

ME Warner is back for this episode, I’m excited for that!! This season is off to a decent start, better than I expected, so I hope that continues.

After watching the Youtube Promo for this episode and going by what Leight said "how close people get to their breaking points". I am guessing some of the college student(s) may or may not have killed the victim because she was flagrantly violating the COVID-19 protocol. They may have been under so much pressure, this is where the "breaking point" reference may be applied to explain the killing. Or they may expand it into a larger "who done it" and some of the victim's guests may come under suspicion. At least it will be nice to see Chief ME Warner again.

[Gigi43]

Finn won't take paper from Liv's hand but they were just very close maskless when she put her hand out. 

I'd really prefer if they'd just do what Soaps are doing and not address it. It's reminding me how stupid people are probably being.

[dttruman]

Whooa, are Leight and Martin taking a shot at CNN's Chris Cuomo and his little breaking of quarantine and taking a trip out to the Hamptons without telling anyone and getting busted for it?

[Gigi43]

52 minutes ago, dttruman said:

Whooa, are Leight and Martin taking a shot at CNN's Chris Cuomo and his little breaking of quarantine and taking a trip out to the Hamptons without telling anyone and getting busted for it?

 

That's the impression I got. And he should be dragged. But these people need to clean their own house first. Rollins was up in Lexi's face (camera shots had both of their faces shown not just the from behind) then Rollins would be around Finn etc. But they'd tell so-and-so to back up. Coming in a room and taking your mask off to talk defeats the mask, but I don't know how you film a show with everyone masked, so I maintain they shouldn't do it. 

 

I missed the middle of the episode. I'll have more thoughts tomorrow. Right now I'm on "Barba 2021." Yes, the exist was awful. Yeah, mothership brought Robinette back (and defending different types of cases each time.) But I miss RE. Seeing him clean shaven in a courtroom did my heart good.

Edited December 4, 2020 by Gigi43

[wanderingstar]

Nice to see Warner again. And I appreciated that they showed her being weary from all the death of the past few months.

Of course Maria, Lexi and Sean were listening to "W.A.P." during their threesome. These writers are such tryhards-lol

The inconsistencies with masks and distancing is making my head hurt.

 

[dttruman]

Another good investigative case with a couple of subplots that had to be unearthed to actually get at the truth. Everyone played an important part, but I wondered why Warner was more frustrated than objective like she usually is? Nothing super blockbuster happened in this episode, just a solid "follow the path of the evidence" until discrepancies occur and see if they can be explained. It was nice to see every detective had their own initial views of the situation, but they did the leg work for a proper conclusion.

The one thing I thought was completely stupid was when they were watching a news report about their case and were angry because of leaks of confidential information and they blamed it on the "old boys network at 1 pp". I thought that was Leight's and Martin's SJW  attempt at condemning the NYPD's upper management and their systemic problems.

 

Edited December 4, 2020 by dttruman

[Xeliou66]

This was a really good episode - one of the better episodes SVU has done in the last several years, and I don’t say that lightly. 

The episode did something most SVU’s don’t do - it kept me guessing as to what happened and to who the guilty party was until the end. This episode did a good job of making you think each suspect could be guilty.

The investigation was really good, it gave everyone a role and it was nice to see a case that wasn’t a he said/she said rape case but a murder case, and a good, lengthy investigation competently executed. Fin especially was really good. 

I wish we had heard what Perry would be charged with in the end, her death was accidental but he did put her in the freezer where she died and covered it up - I assume he would be charged with manslaughter and take a plea, it would’ve been nice to hear Carisi say so though. 

Kat, Rollins and Benson each had moments of annoying me - Kat when she started whining about Lexi getting slut shamed (I loved Carisi’s “not now Kat”), Rollins when she acted all judgmental at the start, fortunately that didn’t continue throughout the episode, but Rollins has no business judging anyone given what a trainwreck she is, and Benson was good in this episode until the end when she told Carisi to drop the charges against Sean, Benson isn’t Carisi’s boss and fortunately Carisi reminded her of that, I’m still waiting though for Carisi to snap at Benson and tell her “I don’t work for you anymore Liv”!!

I could’ve used more of Carisi tonight, he was good when he was on screen but I guess I like episode where there is more legal stuff and more Carisi since he’s my favorite character, but this episode had a really good investigation which made up for the lack of courtroom scenes.

It was awesome to see Warner again, it’s always great to see a prominent recurring character, all too often they haven’t shown us ME’s and forensic people the last few years, so it was great to see them visit Warner in the morgue to get the autopsy results, and I bought that she was somewhat stressed out and overworked due to the virus.  

Where was Garland? This was a high profile case, and since he’s now a main cast member, he should’ve appeared. There were references to leaks from NYPD higher ups, Garland should’ve been on to deal with that. I have no idea why they added Garland to the main cast if he’s going to miss more episodes than he’s in. No excuse for his absence tonight. 

Overall this was a really good episode, and it was the most suspenseful SVU episode in a long time. 

And I’m excited for the next episode - Carisi vs Barba in court!! Finally an episode that should be a juicy, meaty legal/courtroom story. I’m a little bit worried that they won’t get the characterization right for Barba but I’m not sure if they can destroy him more than they’ve already done - and I hope Carisi holds his own against Barba, Barba still has his cocky charisma as shown by the preview, I hope Carisi doesn’t get steamrolled by him. 

Edited December 4, 2020 by Xeliou66

[WendyCR72]

4 hours ago, Xeliou66 said:

And I’m excited for the next episode - Carisi vs Barba in court!! Finally an episode that should be a juicy, meaty legal/courtroom story. I’m a little bit worried that they won’t get the characterization right for Barba but I’m not sure if they can destroy him more than they’ve already done - and I hope Carisi holds his own against Barba, Barba still has his cocky charisma as shown by the preview, I hope Carisi doesn’t get steamrolled by him. 

Hope Barba doesn't contract "Paul Robinette Syndrome", whereas a former DA that used to understand the complexities of law doesn't suddenly becomes a strident apologist for whatever issue said client is involved with.

[Xeliou66]

12 minutes ago, WendyCR72 said:

Hope Barba doesn't contract "Paul Robinette Syndrome", whereas a former DA that used to understand the complexities of law doesn't suddenly become a strident apologist for whatever issue said client is involved with.

Amen to this!! I hated how the Mothership did Robinette, he did a total 180 from when he was an ADA, it wasn’t even like the same character, and he wasn’t even consistent, he seemed to change his opinion and beliefs based on whoever he was defending. It was a shame what they did to Robinette, who was very good as an ADA. 

But what they’ve already done to Barba is worse than what they did to Robinette, let’s hope they give us the Barba before he became a Benson Bot and a baby killer. 

[WendyCR72]

Just now, Xeliou66 said:

Amen to this!! I hated how the Mothership did Robinette, he did a total 180 from when he was an ADA, it wasn’t even like the same character, and he wasn’t even consistent, he seemed to change his opinion and beliefs based on whoever he was defending. It was a shame what they did to Robinette, who was very good as an ADA. 

But what they’ve already done to Barba is worse than what they did to Robinette, let’s hope they give us the Barba before he became a Benson Bot and a baby killer. 

Kind of makes me appreciate that Ron Carver on CI managed to remain basically unscathed. No small feat in this franchise.

[Xeliou66]

1 minute ago, WendyCR72 said:

Kind of makes me appreciate that Ron Carver on CI managed to remain basically unscathed. No small feat in this franchise.

Agreed, although really it’s just SVU that has trashed their ADA’s terribly, they’ve done it with their first 4 main ADA’s - Cabot, Novak, Barba and Stone - Cabot became a borderline vigilante who lost respect for the law, Novak got her license suspended after withholding information, Barba became a Benson Bot then killed a baby, and Stone threw his ethics out the window all for Benson. It’s really disgusting what they’ve done to their ADA’s, and let’s hope they don’t make it 5 for 5 with Carisi. 

The Mothership never trashed their DA’s aside from Robinette doing a 180.

[pezgirl7]

What was with the horrible camera work in this episode? Extreme close ups and super shakey shots, so much so that I got a bit motion sick during one of the scenes. Also, count me in as one of the people who thinks the mask inconsistencies were annoying. Take your mask off to talk to someone or scream in their face? Mmkay 

[dttruman]

22 hours ago, Xeliou66 said:

Agreed, although really it’s just SVU that has trashed their ADA’s terribly, they’ve done it with their first 4 main ADA’s - Cabot, Novak, Barba and Stone - Cabot became a borderline vigilante who lost respect for the law, Novak got her license suspended after withholding information, Barba became a Benson Bot then killed a baby, and Stone threw his ethics out the window all for Benson. It’s really disgusting what they’ve done to their ADA’s, and let’s hope they don’t make it 5 for 5 with Carisi. 

That leads to a good question. Since there will be a trial, who will get trashed, Barba or Carisi?

21 hours ago, pezgirl7 said:

What was with the horrible camera work in this episode? Extreme close ups and super shakey shots, so much so that I got a bit motion sick during one of the scenes.

Hey this was a good episode.  Just because the producers decided to skimp on the camera work doesn't give you the right to be overly critical of the 10 year old recording with his (or her) Iphone.

[wknt3]

The Good:
The COTW. Nothing special, but it did have that old school feel and flowed naturally and logically and was solved through good old fashioned investigative work. Plus they made an effort to explain why SVU was involved in a murder! And there was some actual suspense as to whoduniit. Also the actual detectives are doing the field work while Benson leads and handles interrogations. This really feels like a consistent direction now of back to basics, with a variety of sexually based offenses tied to current events and issues. Both Chernuchin and Leight have appeared to want to do this for the last few years, but it seems like with Mariska's contract in place and the show renewed until they can get the new spinoffs firmly in place that there is not going to be backsliding into advocacy and one superhero doing everything with her trusty sidekicks on a regular basis.
Warner! We could have used more of her, but it is nice to see her and the squad relying on outside expertise.
Fin and Carisi. We could have used more of both of them this week, but they were the voice of reason and professionalism as always, keeping things on track and serving as the voice of the viewer (at least those who aren't mindless Benson stans).
The promo for the next episode! It actually looks good! And seems to be focused on actual legal conflict. Of course this is the NBC promo monkeys so who knows. If could be an hour of Benson and Barba making eyes at each other and the squad acting like spoiled kids angry at Barba for actually representing his client.

The Bad:
This is the first week where the masking/COVID thing bothered me. I've been more than willing to suspend my disbelief and let them try to keep a foot in both the real world and television. But it was just so poorly executed this week when given the plot they should have been more thoughtful and consistent. Which ties in to the next item.
Poor direction/editing/camera work. A lot of odd choices as to camera angles, flow, etc. And again if you are doing a show about COVID and the bad guys are young, selfish and irresponsible types who put their desires over the common good you have to be really consistent about having your protagonists follow the rules or having a good reason not to. Plus there were times when it would have worked better both thematically AND dramatically. For instance the nuns reaction when she realizes the sweater she kept belonged to the victim was all in the eyes. It was excellent work and would have been even more effective if she kept the mask on so we were focused on her eyes the whole time.
The young actors in the guest cast. Most of them never clicked with me. I'm thinking it was poor direction. At least I hope it was. With Broadway shut down they are even more spoiled for choice when it comes to young bohemian NYC types.
Where was Garland? This was an international case all over TV and it seemed odd we didn't see him at all. Or at least get a reference.

Overall this was another solid episode. A good idea with below average execution in a few critical areas marring strong performance I others. I don't think I liked it as much as most of those who have commented so far, but it was a definite B/B- and given all the external difficulties and what has gone before that's pretty good. Still hoping for everything to click and the show to deliver a truly outstanding episode, but I am surprised, even shocked that they've made it this far into the season with no steaming turds!

Edited December 4, 2020 by wknt3
fix typos

[tennisgurl]

I am glad they did an episode that specifically involved COVID and its affects in people, its really interesting. I thought this was a mostly good episode, the case itself was good and I thought most of the detective work was solid. Plus, we had an actual reason for why SVU was involved in a murder case! I know that they probably have only done it so Mariska can speak Italian, but between that episode with the creep who raped his Italian exchange student and this, Italian college girls just have no luck in New York. I guessed pretty quickly it was the quiet guy in the park, but I didn't know the details right away and they kept me guessing. 

The like the idea of them doing an episode about the stresses of being on lockdown getting to people and how COVID was affecting people and leading to problems even beyond COVID itself, people feeling isolated in quarantine and acting out and breaking rules and getting really stressed, although I wish they hadn't had it be another "why doesn't she like me?!" murder story instead of the guy just snapping from being around his annoying roommates all of the time, although you could say that was a big part of it as well. The underground non mask bars and stuff were all interesting, and we did a bit more on the struggles of how to deal with investigations with COVID going on. It was a good idea, although I ended up wishing they had done more with it and the tension between the roommates being stuck together and tensions boiling over and less with the sex drugs and lies stuff. I also thought it was weird that Garland wasn't around considering how high profile the case got, with city officials wanting answers fast. 

Most of the investigation was good, although I felt like the detectives ping ponged a lot between the people involved interrogating one after the other while all of them had reasons to die. It was awesome seeing Warner again, who is clearly really feeling the stress from everything, even if it was just for one scene. Kat was pretty irritating going on about slut shaming and how awful it is that Lexi is getting crap from the media, but maybe that was on purpose considering Carisi just told her to shut up and that this wasn't the time for her impromptu think piece on sexism. There was no reason to slip into something about sexism and slut shaming, we have enough going on with the COVID things. Not even Olivia bugged me much, she even resisted the urge to try and turn Lexi into some poor abused victim of Evil Men when Lexi tried to play the victim card! She does still have a tendency to assume she can make the legal system just kind of work for her though, like when she told Carisi to drop the charges against Sean, although that's not really something he can do so easily. They do seem to have finally figured out how Carisi as lawyer is going to work this season, he isn't just a cop who moonlights as a lawyer. 

The on and off of masks has been something I could handwave the last few episodes, but considering so much of this episode is about how irresponsible these people are for not taking the pandemic and masks seriously, it really stands out. You cant spend a whole episode lecturing us on proper mask procedures, and then have your main characters violate them. I also thought the guest actors were just alright, they didn't do much to really stand out to me. 

[kicotan]

I’ll stipulate to being incredibly petty before I feel compelled to say:

WTF Rollins...and then Benson~ One can still manage to put together a somewhat smooth ponytail without benefit of a salon visit-see Kat.  Also, might as well not even put up a ponytail if you are going to go with shaggy sloppy side pieces.  Ya’ll have managed to shape your eyebrows~why let your toddlers put your hair together?

[nittany cougar]

4 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

I am glad they did an episode that specifically involved COVID and its affects in people, its really interesting. I thought this was a mostly good episode, the case itself was good and I thought most of the detective work was solid. Plus, we had an actual reason for why SVU was involved in a murder case! I know that they probably have only done it so Mariska can speak Italian

The scenes with the Italian seemed to me like a Mariska ego trip.  The thing that didn't make sense was that they switched back and forth between Italian and English for no reason.  Why wouldn't the  conversations be in Italian if that's how they started?  Obviously the reason is that it was easier to film with some English, but the result was weird.

[wanderingstar]

Also, the term "quarantine speakeasy" made me laugh.

[wknt3]

On 12/4/2020 at 4:54 PM, kicotan said:

WTF Rollins...and then Benson~ One can still manage to put together a somewhat smooth ponytail without benefit of a salon visit-see Kat.  Also, might as well not even put up a ponytail if you are going to go with shaggy sloppy side pieces.  Ya’ll have managed to shape your eyebrows~why let your toddlers put your hair together?

To be fair "sloppy side piece" is pretty on brand for Rollins...
 

On 12/4/2020 at 5:19 PM, nittany cougar said:

The scenes with the Italian seemed to me like a Mariska ego trip.  The thing that didn't make sense was that they switched back and forth between Italian and English for no reason.  Why wouldn't the  conversations be in Italian if that's how they started?  Obviously the reason is that it was easier to film with some English, but the result was weird.

Yeah I got that vibe too, but I can live with it. Let them play to her ego and show Benson being super special in ways that don't hurt the story and are within the bounds of reason. I will also note that switching back and forth between languages is not unrealistic, especially when you are dealing with bilingual speakers with separate native languages. Of course you are almost certainly right that it was for the viewers, but I don't think it's that much of a stretch.
 

On 12/4/2020 at 6:39 PM, Gillian Rosh said:

Also, the term "quarantine speakeasy" made me laugh.

I wonder if it was in the space where the Meow Mix Lounge used to be?

Edited December 6, 2020 by wknt3
ducking autocorrect

[Xeliou66]

I agree that the Italian speaking was just so Mariska could show off, but it didn’t bother me much, it didn’t hurt the storyline and I would rather have had that than have Noah on. 

[amarante]

LIke others I am finding the inconsistencies with mask usage to be completely distracting because I can't figure out the rationale for when they are used or not used except that they aren't used whenever a lead actor is speaking. 

In what planet are people without masks screaming at each other six inches away. This was especially odd for an episode which was theoretically dealing with people who were careless about following best public health advice.

Why not just make an announcement that for the purposes of this season pandemic doesn't exist. The Good Doctor did this and it made it much more coherent.

[kicotan]

 

14 hours ago, nittany cougar said:

The scenes with the Italian seemed to me like a Mariska ego trip.  The thing that didn't make sense was that they switched back and forth between Italian and English for no reason.  Why wouldn't the  conversations be in Italian if that's how they started?  Obviously the reason is that it was easier to film with some English, but the result was weird.

With reference to my earlier stipulation of incredible pettiness:

Mariska’s Italian is physically painful to listen to...(I caught Mr. kicotan wincing).  It sounds as if she’s reading it straight from one of those handy guides to translation that tourists use.  I thought she gave up trying to speak Italian because the hard words in real conversation (beyond “bene” and “ciao”) were too difficult for her so she reverted to English out of frustration.  If the show was doing it for her ego trip, she must be really into humiliation.

ETA a little tidbit I found on the interwebs:

The official Wolf Entertainment account tweeted, "A little Italian to start tonight's #SVU. You'd never know that @Mariska isn't fluent in the language. But our @nbcsvu show runner @warrenleightTV is!"

Edited December 5, 2020 by kicotan
Had to add more...

[marceline]

So this case was basically a reverse Amanda Knox, right?

The mask protocols on this show are really pissing me off. They are taking off their masks at the very moments they should be putting them on. Of the shows I watch that have tried to deal with masks this is one of the worst. But it's a tie with The Conners.  

It was so good to see Warner again and I really appreciate the show made her look. The circles under her eyes which I assume is from nonstop wearing of goggles along with all the other PPE. Tamera Tunie did a lot of great acting with that one short scene. We could feel how close Warner was to the breaking point. Imagine what it's like to work in a coroner's office while COVID rages and bodies stack up in refrigerated truck.

Rollins works my nerves but I was right there with her when she expressed her frustration with the fact that she's been trapped with her kids while these assholes are going to bars.

14 hours ago, amarante said:

In what planet are people without masks screaming at each other six inches away.

The planets of North Dakota, Florida, and Texas.

[amarante]

This was an interesting read on how screwy and inconsistent masks and social distancing have been treated on various shows.

As I posted, it is such a distraction because I am trying I am left to wonder whether it is part of the plot or character or reflecting that there is theoretically a pod or just completely at the whim of whoever is directing. 
 

https://www.vulture.com/article/network-tv-masks-covid-stories.html#_ga=2.199094063.1262402636.1607115178-400200019.1599621172

 

The article discussed various shows but this part relating to SVU specifically. 
 

Law & Order: SVU is fairly typical, as network procedurals in 2020 go. COVID appears quickly in the season’s premiere episode — the cold open is a play on the Central Park birdwatcher incident, and everyone in the scene is either wearing a mask or has one around their necks. Masked officers show up to deal with the confrontation, but when Olivia Benson and other SVU regulars appear, they remove their masks before questioning the people involved. It’s an outdoor scene so it doesn’t feel all that remarkable, except that when the regulars then appear together inside the squad room, no masks appear. Two scenes later, two SVU detectives question an emergency room physician while masked, but the doctor they’re speaking to takes off his mask and face shield.

There’s an impressive amount of hygiene theater. Temperatures are taken and hand sanitizer gets squirted. But then, Benson and Carisi walk into an interrogation room and have a long conversation with a suspect while taking zero precautions. Next, Kat and Rollins question a bartender inside his bar, with nary a mask to be seen. In general, the assumption seems to be that COVID is worth worrying about, but it’s not transmissible between characters with speaking roles or anywhere inside the precinct

Edited December 5, 2020 by amarante

[meatball77]

If they're not going to be masked all the time they need to just pretend it's the future.  It's worse when they're taking their masks off to talk or yell at people.  All Rise is the only show doing a passable job at appearing to be set during COVID (and they're still not great).

[Sake614]

2 hours ago, meatball77 said:

All Rise is the only show doing a passable job at appearing to be set during COVID (and they're still not great).

NCIS: New Orleans is doing the best of them all IMO. Back on topic, I agree with everyone else about SVU driving me crazy. Just pretend COVID is over and get on with things. But if you’re going to deal with it in the present, at least TRY to be realistic. 

[dttruman]

1 hour ago, Sake614 said:

I agree with everyone else about SVU driving me crazy. Just pretend COVID is over and get on with things. But if you’re going to deal with it in the present, at least TRY to be realistic. 

Well said and succinct!

[The Wild Sow]

5 hours ago, meatball77 said:

All Rise is the only show doing a passable job at appearing to be set during COVID (and they're still not great).

They're using a lot of clear face-shields.  Judge Lola had a great one that mounts at the bottom - like a plastic headband that she slides on above her collar.  I wouldn't mind having one like that!  

The Good Doctor managed two COVID19 episodes and then time-jumped to a post-virus future.  Good thing, too, as their inconsistent mask-wearing was a horrible example! I'm fan-wanking that it's over by July, because new medical residents typically come onboard on July 1.

As for the COTW?  Seriously, people liked it?  OK...each to their own taste I guess.

A mashup of Amanda Knox, Quarantine, and the schlubby friend-zoned guy from one of the numerous "Hudson University Rape Stories" - I forget which one exactly* - and they managed to make it boring as heck.  None of the people involved were remotely interesting or likeable (well, the victim may have been but we didn't really get to know her), and the only twist was that friend-zone guy thought she was dead when he dumped her (alive!) body.  I forget, has SVU ever done a "dumped-victim-wasn't-really-dead-and-could-have-survived-if-gotten-help" situation? I'm sure they must have, but who can remember!

I watched a Crossing Jordan rerun this afternoon with that situation - why yes, we are watching a lot of TV during lockdown; why do you ask?

ETA:  *Wally, from Season 2's Consent.  Schlubby friend-zone guy.

Edited December 6, 2020 by The Wild Sow

[wanderingstar]

Wanted to add: that dude Brad, who was sleeping with Maria (the murder victim), his other roommate Lexi AND his fiancee's sister - maybe he should not be getting married. 

[EtheltoTillie]

3 hours ago, The Wild Sow said:

They're using a lot of clear face-shields.  Judge Lola had a great one that mounts at the bottom - like a plastic headband that she slides on above her collar.  I wouldn't mind having one like that!  

The Good Doctor managed two COVID19 episodes and then time-jumped to a post-virus future.  Good thing, too, as their inconsistent mask-wearing was a horrible example! I'm fan-wanking that it's over by July, because new medical residents typically come onboard on July 1.

As for the COTW?  Seriously, people liked it?  OK...each to their own taste I guess.

A mashup of Amanda Knox, Quarantine, and the schlubby friend-zoned guy from one of the numerous "Hudson University Rape Stories" - I forget which one exactly* - and they managed to make it boring as heck.  None of the people involved were remotely interesting or likeable (well, the victim may have been but we didn't really get to know her), and the only twist was that friend-zone guy thought she was dead when he dumped her (alive!) body.  I forget, has SVU ever done a "dumped-victim-wasn't-really-dead-and-could-have-survived-if-gotten-help" situation? I'm sure they must have, but who can remember!

I watched a Crossing Jordan rerun this afternoon with that situation - why yes, we are watching a lot of TV during lockdown; why do you ask?

ETA:  *Wally, from Season 2's Consent.  Schlubby friend-zone guy.

ITA. I was completely confused by the reverse Amanda Knox plot and the eventual killer reveal. I kept tuning out. 

[weaver]

20 hours ago, kicotan said:

 

With reference to my earlier stipulation of incredible pettiness:

Mariska’s Italian is physically painful to listen to...(I caught Mr. kicotan wincing).  It sounds as if she’s reading it straight from one of those handy guides to translation that tourists use.  I thought she gave up trying to speak Italian because the hard words in real conversation (beyond “bene” and “ciao”) were too difficult for her so she reverted to English out of frustration.  If the show was doing it for her ego trip, she must be really into humiliation.

ETA a little tidbit I found on the interwebs:

The official Wolf Entertainment account tweeted, "A little Italian to start tonight's #SVU. You'd never know that @Mariska isn't fluent in the language. But our @nbcsvu show runner @warrenleightTV is!"

Wouldn't Carisi be the one to plausibly speak at least pigeon Italian?   

[CrystalBlue]

16 hours ago, weaver said:

Wouldn't Carisi be the one to plausibly speak at least pigeon Italian?   

Not necessarily.  It depends when his Italian forebears came to this country and assimilated.  I don't recall his family history or if it has been given on his parents, grandparents, great grands, etc.; all I remember is Sonny has a sister.  Not everyone with an Italian surname speaks even a little bit of Italian.

Benson has apparently taken language lessons.  I don't mind her speaking with her Italian friend about the case in Italiano, but her delivery is pure cringe.  I liked the Italian guys though, and feel so sorry and bad for the outcome of what happened to Maria.

Add me to the table of viewers who immediately got Reverse Amanda Knox vibes.  I enjoyed the story though and was riveted watching this epi.  Lots of Carisi and Fin is always a good thing.  Carisi telling Kat to shut up ("Not know, Kat.") was worth the price of admission.  Why are they even projecting their PC views on colleagues anyway?  Just investigate the damn case and leave the presentation of the case to the prosecutors.

Lexi was the most interesting college kid in the mix.  A true definition of "What is a slut or whore?"  I didn't get the one guy saying he didn't want to reveal to the cops that Lexi's hookup was a black man.  Like that would ruin her reputation?  It's 2020 NYC, not 1950 Alabama.  Or Georgia, speaking of which our Georgia Peach was all up in the saint section cuz she's A Mother who doesn't have the luxury of sleeping around and frequenting bars.  ROFLMHO.

 

[kicotan]

12 hours ago, weaver said:

Wouldn't Carisi be the one to plausibly speak at least pigeon Italian?   

Maybe?  As CrystalBlue posted above, it depends on when Carisi’s family got here and how they assimilated.  For all we know his mother is an O’Shane and he’s fluent in Gaelic.

Mr. kicotan’s parents argued with each other for their entire 68 year marriage that the other one didn’t know how to speak Italian.  One spoke Siciliano, the other spoke Napolitan, so technically they were both right~neither spoke Italian.

Carisi’s family might also have been one of those families that refused to teach their children their native language so that they would assimilate better or so that the adults could talk in front of the kids without them knowing what was being said.

It really is hard to say...like Benson’s version of Italian.

[dttruman]

On 12/5/2020 at 8:37 PM, The Wild Sow said:

A mashup of Amanda Knox, Quarantine, and the schlubby friend-zoned guy from one of the numerous "Hudson University Rape Stories" - I forget which one exactly* - and they managed to make it boring as heck.  None of the people involved were remotely interesting or likeable (well, the victim may have been but we didn't really get to know her), and the only twist was that friend-zone guy thought she was dead when he dumped her (alive!) body.  I forget, has SVU ever done a "dumped-victim-wasn't-really-dead-and-could-have-survived-if-gotten-help" situation? I'm sure they must have, but who can remember!

Yes, this was an eclectic group and it kind of makes you wondered how they actually got along with each other. They seem to be in their own little worlds, but they found time to sleep with each other or reaction or talk about very private things for whatever reasons. The character development was kind of superficial, but that was because nothing really stood out. There was no real spark. It was nice to see a good investigation, but after all, how exciting can an episode be during a quarantine.

On 12/6/2020 at 3:24 PM, CrystalBlue said:

Lexi was the most interesting college kid in the mix.  A true definition of "What is a slut or whore?"  I didn't get the one guy saying he didn't want to reveal to the cops that Lexi's hookup was a black man.  Like that would ruin her reputation?  It's 2020 NYC, not 1950 Alabama.  Or Georgia, speaking of which our Georgia Peach was all up in the saint section cuz she's A Mother who doesn't have the luxury of sleeping around and frequenting bars.  ROFLMHO

Just think if they would have turned this into a rape case and Lexi was the victim. I can't picture Benson going into one of her sermons claiming that Lexi isn't culpable at all.

On 12/5/2020 at 8:37 PM, The Wild Sow said:

As for the COTW?  Seriously, people liked it?  OK...each to their own taste I guess.

I think most of us liked it because it wasn't an "All About Benson" episode. Which means more main characters get involved, the plot is a little better and so is the dialogue.

[SarahPrtr]

To be honest, I feel like they're withholding Carisi's onscreen time on purpose to make us frustrated and desperate enough to watch the following week in hopes of seeing just a little more of him.  He's pretty much everyone's favourite, the only one who doesn't piss off the audience as much as the other characters (except his horrible taste in women) and is constantly evolving.  So now I believe that the writers are doing what they're doing deliberately... bitchy little sadists!

On 12/4/2020 at 3:54 PM, kicotan said:

I’ll stipulate to being incredibly petty before I feel compelled to say:

WTF Rollins...and then Benson~ One can still manage to put together a somewhat smooth ponytail without benefit of a salon visit-see Kat.  Also, might as well not even put up a ponytail if you are going to go with shaggy sloppy side pieces.  Ya’ll have managed to shape your eyebrows~why let your toddlers put your hair together?

The subject of hair and makeup on women in real life and especially on a tv show/movie is something I get unnaturally worked up about.  As in, someone has to tell me to calm TF down, because I sound insane for getting so worked up about it.  I absolutely HATE seeing women working out with their hair out and whilst wearing makeup (exception would be if you've come straight from the office and you haven't taken off your makeup yet).  Anyone seen Miss Congeniality?  Fair enough that she's a super-busy FBI agent who has no time for beauty maintenance, but why tf would you keep your hair long like that?!  Cut it off and put your damn hair back! 

This is coming from someone who has been working as a registrar for the past 9 years.  We're lucky if we get ONE meal break for 10 minutes for lunch in a 27+ hour shift.  Most days I don't even bother making anything, because as soon as I take one bite of my food, I'll get paged.  I haven't done anything with my hair for years.  That does NOT mean that i look untidy and slovenly at work.  I tie my hair back into a ponytail or a bun and if it's not behaving like I want it to (read: frizzy and unruly), I wear a headband.  Most of my surgical registrar friends just wear their cap, so they don't even have to bother with hair at all (I sometimes do that, but my scalp tends to get too sweaty).  Remember Andie from The Devil Wears Prada?  She showed up at that job interview looking like she just woke up, having slept in those clothes.  What's your excuse???  You don't need to work in a fashion magazine to look tidy and presentable!

My point is, being busy is no excuse for looking messy at work, especially if you've obviously taken the actual time to look a certain way.  Hair back in a bun and a headband.  Done.  And the best part is, you don't think about it all day.

I told you I get unnaturally insane over this!

On 12/4/2020 at 5:39 PM, Gillian Rosh said:

Also, the term "quarantine speakeasy" made me laugh.

Comes complete with bootlegged gigglewater cocktail mixed with Corona beer! See what I did there??  Aren't I like, soooo edgy?  Maybe I should apply to be a writer for the show!  I would give Carisi tonnes of screen time AND hook him up with a lovely woman!

Edited December 9, 2020 by SarahPrtr
.

[dttruman]

3 hours ago, SarahPrtr said:

So now I believe that the writers are doing what they're doing deliberately... bitchy little sadists!

Just remember! It's the producers who call the shots, the writers do their bidding. It wouldn't surprise me if the producers think that a script is one of the best for the season, they will make a couple of minor changes and then one or more of their names are added to the credits for writing that episode.

[SarahPrtr]

14 minutes ago, dttruman said:

Just remember! It's the producers who call the shots, the writers do their bidding. It wouldn't surprise me if the producers think that a script is one of the best for the season, they will make a couple of minor changes and then one or more of their names are added to the credits for writing that episode.

Oops, that's who I meant - the producers.  Or more precisely - MH.  She's one of the 'producers'.  And 'director'.

[dttruman]

On 12/9/2020 at 3:37 AM, SarahPrtr said:

The subject of hair and makeup on women in real life and especially on a tv show/movie is something I get unnaturally worked up about.  As in, someone has to tell me to calm TF down, because I sound insane for getting so worked up about it.  I absolutely HATE seeing women working out with their hair out and whilst wearing makeup (exception would be if you've come straight from the office and you haven't taken off your makeup yet).  Anyone seen Miss Congeniality?  Fair enough that she's a super-busy FBI agent who has no time for beauty maintenance, but why tf would you keep your hair long like that?!  Cut it off and put your damn hair back! 

TV shows are allowed to stretch it to make their stars look presentable almost stylish and decent, it's all part of their dramatic license. But You have every reason to complain here, because they have on numerous occasions gone way over the top with some of the stuff they have tried to pull. So you definitely get a pass from me.

On 12/9/2020 at 3:37 AM, SarahPrtr said:

This is coming from someone who has been working as a registrar for the past 9 years.  We're lucky if we get ONE meal break for 10 minutes for lunch in a 27+ hour shift.  Most days I don't even bother making anything, because as soon as I take one bite of my food, I'll get paged.  I haven't done anything with my hair for years.  That does NOT mean that i look untidy and slovenly at work.  I tie my hair back into a ponytail or a bun and if it's not behaving like I want it to (read: frizzy and unruly), I wear a headband.  Most of my surgical registrar friends just wear their cap, so they don't even have to bother with hair at all (I sometimes do that, but my scalp tends to get too sweaty).  Remember Andie from The Devil Wears Prada?  She showed up at that job interview looking like she just woke up, having slept in those clothes.  What's your excuse???  You don't need to work in a fashion magazine to look tidy and presentable!

First of all, thank you for your medical service! The problem I have with looking presentable or not presentable is you and all others that have real jobs have very good excuses because what you do is real and I think most people understand that. Where as for SVU, it's the whim of the producers or stars who think the character should look presentable or not so presentable in different situations. And like I mentioned before, they don't have a good track record.

Edited December 14, 2020 by dttruman

[MaggieG]

Fin: "We have a warrant Sean, we can move in with you." 😂

[Cotypubby]

On 12/6/2020 at 4:24 PM, CrystalBlue said:

I didn't get the one guy saying he didn't want to reveal to the cops that Lexi's hookup was a black man.  Like that would ruin her reputation?  It's 2020 NYC, not 1950 Alabama. 

He didn’t care about her reputation, he thought the cops would think he was a racist if he said, “She brought home some random Black guy.” 

I stopped watching the show last season (or maybe two seasons ago?) because of Benson’s holier-than-thou attitude and how all the stories were the same (pretty white girl gets raped by powerful white man) so I do at least like that this one was a bit closer to the older classic episodes, but still we have the killer being the white guy who was angry the victim wouldn’t sleep with him. They almost had a woman be the killer but then changed their minds at the end. 🙄

I have never liked Cat in any episode. Can she please fuck off with her “slut shaming” nonsense? Lexi’s behavior should rightfully be shamed. 

[CrystalBlue]

24 minutes ago, Cotypubby said:

He didn’t care about her reputation, he thought the cops would think he was a racist if he said, “She brought home some random Black guy.” 

I stopped watching the show last season (or maybe two seasons ago?) because of Benson’s holier-than-thou attitude and how all the stories were the same (pretty white girl gets raped by powerful white man) so I do at least like that this one was a bit closer to the older classic episodes, but still we have the killer being the white guy who was angry the victim wouldn’t sleep with him. They almost had a woman be the killer but then changed their minds at the end. 🙄

I have never liked Cat in any episode. Can she please fuck off with her “slut shaming” nonsense? Lexi’s behavior should rightfully be shamed. 

I actually rewatched this episode out of an abundance of boredom, and did catch the guy's reasoning about not describing Sexy Lexi's Hunky Hookup as being a Black man because describing a person to the police would sound racist.  Which is even worse because how do you describe someone without mentioning race in the description?

[DaynaPhile]

Warner looked like death warmed over...I wonder if they are gearing up for her contracting Covid? And Fin...when the suspect offered for them to go through his phone: “We did!” 

[ForeverAlone]

I enjoyed this episode. It was like a good old fashioned SVU case, with some Amanda Knox style hijinks thrown in to boot. I guessed the actual killer, just because I figured there was some sort of twist involved. I too like the return of Melinda and some actual investigative work.

 

And be still my heart at the return of Barba. Hopefully the writers will simply ignore the abomination that was his exit story, and pretend it never existed. 

[dttruman]

21 hours ago, DaynaPhile said:

Warner looked like death warmed over...I wonder if they are gearing up for her contracting Covid? And Fin...when the suspect offered for them to go through his phone: “We did!” 

I wonder if this is the producers way of suggesting how they will be writing out another well admired character so unceremoniously?

20 hours ago, ForeverAlone said:

I enjoyed this episode. It was like a good old fashioned SVU case, with some Amanda Knox style hijinks thrown in to boot. I guessed the actual killer, just because I figured there was some sort of twist involved. I too like the return of Melinda and some actual investigative work.

They should have learned this a long time ago, just a touch of Benson makes the show go. Too much Benson, makes it very undesirable, even to the most dedicated SVU fans

[853fisher]

This seems to be very much a minority opinion, but I didn’t enjoy Warner’s guest spot.  I thought it was too cursory, and while I understand the intent was to show the strain COVID has placed on medical workers, to me it continued a pattern of bringing back longtime recurring characters only to receive unfavorable portrayals.  Judge Barth as a sleazy defense attorney, Dana Lewis as a secret villain, Ed Tucker to die, etc.  I’d like to see her again under other circumstances.

Interesting conjecture about whether Carisi might know Italian.  Not to go too far off-topic, but my father’s grandfather came to the USA from Greece.  His grandfather lived in Chicago’s Greektown back when it was still Greek, but the family refused to pass along the language, recipes, etc to my father when he asked.  That was in the late 50s and 60s and they felt it was their duty to participate in the “melting pot” and be Americanized.  To this day my father wishes they had felt differently and, although he is a “lifelong learner” type, has never really revisited that area of interest.  I certainly don’t claim that perspective is universal among immigrants, and Carisi is a generation younger than my father, but that’s another possibility.

Regardless of whether he can speak it or not, I did laugh at the tweet from Dick Wolf or someone that said something like “who could guess that our Mariska is not a native Italian speaker?”  I sure could!  I thought the characterization was purposefully halting.  If she or anyone around her really thinks that sounded effortlessly fluent, mamma mia.

Finally, when I watch older shows, I always keep my phone in hand to look up cultural and other references with which I'm unfamiliar.  I don't know what kind of staying power SVU will have, but I am tickled a little by the thought of some Television Studies major in 2070 sitting down for this episode and having to ask the consciousness what "WAP" means.

[Xeliou66]

38 minutes ago, 853fisher said:

This seems to be very much a minority opinion, but I didn’t enjoy Warner’s guest spot.  I thought it was too cursory, and while I understand the intent was to show the strain COVID has placed on medical workers, to me it continued a pattern of bringing back longtime recurring characters only to receive unfavorable portrayals.  Judge Barth as a sleazy defense attorney, Dana Lewis as a secret villain, Ed Tucker to die, etc.  I’d like to see her again under other circumstances.

I didn’t think this episode portrayed Warner unfavorably, she was just overworked due to the virus, which I found realistic. It was nothing like how they’ve trashed other characters in the past. I thought it was nice to see her again and I liked seeing the detectives go to the morgue and talk to her, instead of just reading off an autopsy report in the squad room, all too often in recent seasons we’ve had no scenes with ME’s or CSU people, so it was very nice to see Warner there. I think Warner might return again soon, I don’t think they are setting it up to write her off or trash her.

[853fisher]

4 hours ago, Xeliou66 said:

I didn’t think this episode portrayed Warner unfavorably, she was just overworked due to the virus, which I found realistic. It was nothing like how they’ve trashed other characters in the past. I thought it was nice to see her again and I liked seeing the detectives go to the morgue and talk to her, instead of just reading off an autopsy report in the squad room, all too often in recent seasons we’ve had no scenes with ME’s or CSU people, so it was very nice to see Warner there. I think Warner might return again soon, I don’t think they are setting it up to write her off or trash her.

I get it.  I read all the comments before mine and really do know that mine is the minority opinion.  That said, I feel that the Warner we knew was always snarky but very much in control.  I too am an essential worker, albeit not in an office as fraught as the ME's, and none of my colleagues or anyone else I've had to interact with have been quite so peevish.  I also get that many feel her frustrated air added realism to this show where they all wait to tear off their masks until their indoors and within a few feet of each other.  But if they wanted to just have a prop to demonstrate that, they could've just had Deputy ME Central Casting and saved Tamara Tunie for another occasion.  Perhaps I would feel differently if the show hadn't been, as in so many things, so very heavy-handed.  Ah well, I'd be bored if we all agreed!  I'll eat at least half of my words if they bring her back for something else soon.  Fingers crossed!

Edited December 14, 2020 by 853fisher
oops, forgot last thought