S01.E03: Say Hello To My Little Friends

[WendyCR72]

Airing on April 15, 2021:

Stabler and Bell team up to investigate a major lead. Wheatley makes moves to elevate his business.

[GHScorpiosRule]

You have got to be fucking kidding me with that episode title. What does Wolf and company think this is? Low-Rent Scarface?

[mtlchick]

The title had to refer to Lucy, right?  Wheatley is that extra to torture someone using an octopus.

”Sloooot!” Heh. 
 

Enjoyed Stabler and Bell’s chat in the car down to Virginia, with the promotional consideration from a 7 Eleven Slurpee. 
 

Probably my favourite episode so far. Both sides got a “win” but know full well what the other side is capable of.  But either Richie or Gina dies by the end of it. Probably both.

[Xeliou66]

I liked the episode pretty good and I think this show has potential despite my dislike for continuing story arcs.

I enjoy the scenes with the detectives investigating the case, I liked Stabler and Bell’s road trip to Virginia, and I like all of the detectives and I liked how they zeroed in on the bodyguard/hitman and arrested him at the end, I wonder what will happen now with him.

My main issue with the show is Wheatley, he is an over the top supervillian with his super fancy home and offices that don’t loom real, his pet octopus, even the way he talks and looks, I wish they had made the villain more human instead of an over the top supervillian.

I also didn’t care for the drama with Stabler’s kids, it annoyed me when Stabler was on SVU and it annoys me now, I just don’t fucking care.

What is the deal with Wheatley’s ex wife? Is she good or bad? I can’t really figure out her purpose on the show.

[WendyCR72]

I don't know why, but I thought the ex-wife was toast this episode, especially since her phone had a close up shot just before Wheatley walked in. And the scene between her and Stabler at the store made me think that they were being spied upon and whatnot.

Bit too dominant kid wise this week, both with Stabler and Wheatley spawn. The adults are why I watch.

The almost-drowning by fish tank scene was a bit much, to me. I'm no prude and I know broadcast cop shows now have to compete with the less restrictive cable and streaming shows, but it was still a bit much.

Did like the cops surrounding and arresting the goon at the end. Also think he was the one whose eyes Stabler got a look at last week. I don't think Mr. Goon will live long.

I switched back and forth this week between this and a Criminal Intent repeat on MyNetwork, which tells me I was not as engaged as the prior weeks. Do think again it was because it was spawn heavy. Don't care.

[Gigi43]

I liked last weeks better, but I still like the show and think it's better than SVU at the moment. Kathleen Stabler should be in retirement on my screen. I've had it with her from SVU. The octopus thing was out there but didn't bother me.

 

Do we have to worry about Bell's wife and unborn son? I hope not! I liked we learned more about her, I just hope it wasn't for ominous reasons. The talk in the car to Virginia was good, I like Bell/Stabler as partners. I still haven't learned the names of the other team members. 

 

I'm trying to find out what Angela Wheatley's deal is too. I think she's okay with what Wheatley does, maybe wants power herself, but doesn't want her kids involved especially since her other son died. Does she think she'll step in if Richard goes to jail even though he had a wife? It was obvious a guy like Wheatley wouldn't hold an event that big with stolen vaccines.

[milkyaqua]

16 hours ago, mtlchick said:

Probably my favourite episode so far. Both sides got a “win” but know full well what the other side is capable of.  But either Richie or Gina dies by the end of it. Probably both.

I agree with this.  Just looking at the final scenes last night outside of the club and Gina being asked to plant a bug, I suspected that Gina will not make it to season's end or this story-arc's end.  Could care less about the kids.  If Wheatley's kids want to be criminals like dad, let the chips fall where they may. 

As for their mom, I do think she's trying in her own way to protect them from dad but that may not be possible and I'm sure Wheatley would take her out before he let her sway his kids or if he ever suspects she betrayed him to the cops.

[catrice2]

10 hours ago, Gigi43 said:

I liked last weeks better, but I still like the show and think it's better than SVU at the moment. Kathleen Stabler should be in retirement on my screen. I've had it with her from SVU. The octopus thing was out there but didn't bother me.

 

Do we have to worry about Bell's wife and unborn son? I hope not! I liked we learned more about her, I just hope it wasn't for ominous reasons. The talk in the car to Virginia was good, I like Bell/Stabler as partners. I still haven't learned the names of the other team members. 

 

I'm trying to find out what Angela Wheatley's deal is too. I think she's okay with what Wheatley does, maybe wants power herself, but doesn't want her kids involved especially since her other son died. Does she think she'll step in if Richard goes to jail even though he had a wife? It was obvious a guy like Wheatley wouldn't hold an event that big with stolen vaccines.

Nope, I think we need to worry more about Bell than her family.   I do think Angela wants her kids out of it, but I also think she wants the law to take Richard out of the way so that she can ascend. I may have missed it, but did they ever say why they got a divorce?  

I agree, I have no idea who the rest of the team members are, except hacker girl.  Bell keeping Gina close to the vest is smart if she thinks she has a mole on the team. 

Somehow I see one of the kids getting killed and Stabler putting Richard out of commission, but not dead. I can easily see him escaping so that he could be brought back at a later date. 

I was hoping it would be a case where at least one of the children did not think their father was a criminal...but alas, no.....

Was it evident to anybody but me that he would have a different vaccine? 

[rhys]

I'm puzzled. The vaccine is free. Why the big la-di-da party by Richard about free shots?

[TM101]

This show is so ridiculous but at the same time, I am actually entertained.

[preeya]

1 hour ago, rhys said:

I'm puzzled. The vaccine is free. Why the big la-di-da party by Richard about free shots?

Me too. What's the point if anyone can get the shot(s) free?

 

 

[edhopper]

Probably written a couple months ago when people were scrambling to get the vaccine. Real world has eclipsed this.

[jmcd44]

The most offensive part to me about this episode was referring to Loudon county, VA as the sticks. Now did I just “weekend away” at the vineyards there from Alexandria, VA? Sure. But it’s like 45 minutes from DC, filled with traffic & DC commuters. There is MONEY honey in Loudon county. 

I could live the rest of my life never seeing the Stabler children-I don’t love the personal stuff on any of the law & orders. Cut them & give their scenes to the ex-wife. 

[Crashcourse]

14 hours ago, jmcd44 said:

The most offensive part to me about this episode was referring to Loudon county, VA as the sticks. Now did I just “weekend away” at the vineyards there from Alexandria, VA? Sure. But it’s like 45 minutes from DC, filled with traffic & DC commuters. There is MONEY honey in Loudon county. 

I could live the rest of my life never seeing the Stabler children-I don’t love the personal stuff on any of the law & orders. Cut them & give their scenes to the ex-wife. 

I yelled at the tv!  Loudoun County is most definitely not the sticks!   I'm assuming they were in eastern Loudoun.   There are parts of western Loudoun are still rural but they're even developing there.    

Idiot writers.

[GHScorpiosRule]

18 hours ago, jmcd44 said:

The most offensive part to me about this episode was referring to Loudon county, VA as the sticks. Now did I just “weekend away” at the vineyards there from Alexandria, VA? Sure. But it’s like 45 minutes from DC, filled with traffic & DC commuters. There is MONEY honey in Loudon county. 

I could live the rest of my life never seeing the Stabler children-I don’t love the personal stuff on any of the law & orders. Cut them & give their scenes to the ex-wife. 

 

3 hours ago, Crashcourse said:

I yelled at the tv!  Loudoun County is most definitely not the sticks!   I'm assuming they were in eastern Loudoun.   There are parts of western Loudoun are still rural but they're even developing there.    

Idiot writers.

HOLLYWOOD ALWAYS gets the areas in MD and VA wrong! It drives me batshit crazy!

But I guess everywhere but NY and CA are bumfuck hillbilly country. Like Vern country.

it’s offensive and insulting, not to mention LAZY AS FUCK.🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬

Edited April 17, 2021 by GHScorpiosRule

[853fisher]

I also knew the vaccines at the big event would not be the stolen ones.  But I also don't know where he would have obtained them legitimately.  In the real world, I don't think the pharmaceutical companies or the governmental entities that receive them are making them available at any price to, like, anyone's vanity foundation, are they?  Such a foundation could probably influence local government to set up a clinic themselves, but not just do the whole thing themselves.  That seemed like an implausible plot point to me, but I guess that goes to his being a "supervillain."  Of course he could grease the wheels and get it done!  I must be engaged enough, since I'm still here for a third go-round, but I agree with the consensus that this element of the Wheatley character should've been dialed back just a little.

Edited April 17, 2021 by 853fisher

[melon]

On 4/15/2021 at 8:14 PM, Xeliou66 said:

I liked the episode pretty good and I think this show has potential despite my dislike for continuing story arcs.

I enjoy the scenes with the detectives investigating the case, I liked Stabler and Bell’s road trip to Virginia, and I like all of the detectives and I liked how they zeroed in on the bodyguard/hitman and arrested him at the end, I wonder what will happen now with him.

My main issue with the show is Wheatley, he is an over the top supervillian with his super fancy home and offices that don’t loom real, his pet octopus, even the way he talks and looks, I wish they had made the villain more human instead of an over the top supervillian.

I also didn’t care for the drama with Stabler’s kids, it annoyed me when Stabler was on SVU and it annoys me now, I just don’t fucking care.

What is the deal with Wheatley’s ex wife? Is she good or bad? I can’t really figure out her purpose on the show.

 

I, also, dislike the continuing story arc, which is not what I expected when I heard about Stabler returning to fight OC.  To me, the Stabler team will get the Israeli hitman to flip as he's looking at 2 murder charges.  Plus, the ex wife has already betrayed Wheatley and will continue to do so in a fleeting attempt to keep her children out of illegal activities.  But I think that ship has sailed.  However, the combination of the hit man flipping and the ex wife cooperating will spell doom for Wheatley.  I hope they don't drag it out, so they can move on to new story line, but I don't think that will happen.

On a side note, is Wheatley actually a made man in the mafia?  Was the dad a capo, or the head of one of the 5 families?  If Wheatley was a made man, did he get promoted when his dad got whacked?  If he's not made, then his son is playing with fire with his out of control libido.

[WendyCR72]

1 hour ago, melon said:

On a side note, is Wheatley actually a made man in the mafia?  Was the dad a capo, or the head of one of the 5 families?  If Wheatley was a made man, did he get promoted when his dad got whacked?  If he's not made, then his son is playing with fire with his out of control libido.

I don't think that has ever been clarified. But considering all I have watched, Wheatley seems high up the criminal food chain.

On another note, *hugs the return of the customized home page*!

[jabRI]

In terms of vaccines, agree it's pretty unrealistic that a corporation could obtain vaccines over governments, even for public distribution.  Unless they thought of some way to scoop up all vaccines that would have expired and distributed those?

Agree that Dylan McDermott (loved him on the Practice) is being written a little too much like a Bond villan.   Could have been a bit more nuanced.  Nowadays you see these kind of defrauders living in walkups, to avoid the scrutiny.  

[melon]

They didn't go into any detail in the episode, but what is a realistic way that Wheatley was able to swap out the illegally obtained vaccines for legal vaccines?  Any pharmacy with legitimate vaccines wouldn't want to participate.  And this was a public relations ploy, so I'm sure the cost to Wheatley was simply the street cost of the stolen vaccines.

[tennisgurl]

So I guess this episode is set a few months ago, as the vaccine is still new at this point and having access to it is a big enough deal that you can make a whole criminal plot out of it. Those rich people are going to feel awfully stupid when they realized they paid a crap ton of cash for something that will be made available for free at the local community center in a month or so, especially if they weren't in high risk groups. 

Did Wheatley seriously just torture a guy using a damn octopus? Complete with a big villain monologue about his pet octopus? Is this guy just a straight up Bond villain now, does he have sharks with frickin laser beams in his underground wine cellar? He and his ex still have amazing chemistry, and they still seem to be keeping her a bit ambiguous. She warned Stabler about Wheatley to protect her daughter (who is super down for the mob life) but I still think she seems pretty pulled towards her ex. 

I enjoyed the trip to Virginia with Stabler and Bell, and I like Bell so far and seeing more of her life. Hopefully her wife and unborn baby will be alright, and we wont have TWO dead wives in this show already. I like their dynamic, Bell is aware that Stabler plays by his own rules way too much and that it could become an issue, but she isn't a super stickler for the rules either so she can let some things slide, but is also setting boundaries. I do roll my eyes at how going to Virginia is totally "the sticks" because, as everyone else has already noted, that area is hardly some one horse town in the middle of nowhere. That's TV for you, if its not LA or New York, its a whole nation of hick towns with one sheriff who doesn't work weekends because he has to make sure his corn crop is ready for harvesting and a population of seven people and two horses. Its always annoying, writers really need to get out of their home city every once in awhile. 

Having the show being so serialized feels weird still, but I do like a lot of what they're doing. 

[milkyaqua]

double post.

Edited April 19, 2021 by milkyaqua
duplicate

[milkyaqua]

On 4/16/2021 at 7:08 PM, jmcd44 said:

I could live the rest of my life never seeing the Stabler children-I don’t love the personal stuff on any of the law & orders. Cut them & give their scenes to the ex-wife. 

A thousand times yes to this.  I'm one of those folks who cares about the cases and could care less about who's dating who or if this coworker is going to hook up with which coworker.  The only thing I want to know about their private life is the occasional comment about a girlfriend or wife or husband or kids but for goodness sakes I don't care about seeing it and that pretty much goes for any procedural.

The thing with the rich paying for the vaccines is that people are paying for vaccines on the black market.  Law enforcement agencies have set up stings to catch people doing this.  But the dumb part is, this is done online and so people think they're paying one price only for the folks to jack up the price and ask for more money.  Yes, it's stupid because the vaccines are free but some people want to be ahead of the line so stupid will always be stupid.

I have no problem with the arc since I liked shows like Wise Guy but yes, Wheatley could have been a bit more subdued.

Edited April 19, 2021 by milkyaqua

[torqy]

I missed the second episode, so spent this one trying to figure out who's who and what's what.

Anyone consider the possibility of faked labels on the "stolen" vaccine?

I call it that Wheatley will have his goon shanked in Rikers ASAP.

[KeithJ]

On 4/15/2021 at 10:14 PM, Xeliou66 said:

My main issue with the show is Wheatley, he is an over the top supervillian with his super fancy home and offices that don’t loom real, his pet octopus, even the way he talks and looks, I wish they had made the villain more human instead of an over the top supervillian.

I agree 100% with this.  He's way too over the top and is the main reason I'm thinking about giving up on the show.

[faithie]

Very much agreed that the Wheatley character is way over the top and is a complete departure from L&O franchise villains.  (Though the Titus Welliver character on SVU was trending in that territory).

But LOL at Wheatley's trophy wife; she is annoyed by the ex-wife's constant presence, whether in-person or via telephone.  Looks like Sugar Daddy never quite let go of Wife No. 1 and is still heavily attracted to her.

Come to think of it, why do Wheatley and Wife No. 1 spend so much time together?  Given that the children are well past "grown", there is certainly no need for co-parenting.

[CrystalBlue]

I was thinking the vaccines were the stolen ones, with new fake labels printed up and applied to each one.  That would be a lot of fake labels and man hours spent unpeeling the real labels and applying the new ones, but hey, it's TV.

Israeli Goon will most probably have an unwanted visitor courtesy of Mr. Wheatley.  I don't think Gina is gonna last that long either.

The Stabler kids scenes are unnecessary.  They only exist on the show to be collateral damage or targets because they're near and dear to Elliot.

[Cotypubby]

Ok this episode was actually pretty good. Probably because we didn’t really have much personal family drama. 

Except the scene in the grocery still pissed me off and I think this show is being really irresponsible. They even had background characters double masked! I thought when the checkout guy stopped her he was going to tell her she had to put a mask on, but apparently no one else cares enough to say something that they are walking around inside a grocery store with no mask on. In New York City, not freaking Arizona! 

Edited April 25, 2021 by Cotypubby

[Tachi Rocinante]

It is 2021. When is Hollywood going to come up with a more realistic "scenery going by while characters are in a car"?  Bell was pushing 85 and the scenery was barely moving.  Not to mention it was horrendously out of focus.  There are about 5 or 6 shows I watch that do this and all of them look like 60s movies.

[Girl in a Cardigan]

Thank you to the others who were also offended by the "sticks of Loudoun County" reference. I'm actually kinda impressed that they didn't give the detective or the ME a crazy Southern accent with all the stereotypes flying around. From Wikipedia, "In 2019, the population was estimated at 413,538, making it Virginia's third-most populous county." I'm originally from Fairfax County and it also bugs when they can't the DC suburbs right! Also, like no one calls it "Loudoun County" - you'd say Leesburg, Ashburn, Dulles, Sterling, etc, unless you were talking about the more rural parts, but given the subject matter, I doubt it! There's plenty of bumblefuck in Virginia, but Loudoun ain't it! On a positive note, I did enjoy them running into traffic in Delaware (I presume) as I ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS hit traffic in Delaware on 95 between Virginia and New Jersey.

Also, they have GOT to tone down Dylan McDermott's supervillian shtick because I feel like I'm watching Lex Luthor and it's not cute. But Stabler's not off the hook because his whole dramatic "unplugging of the server" on FaceTime or whatever made me laugh, which I don't think was the point of that scene.

I'm nervous for Gina, especially now that Wheatley's laid eyes on her. I love Charlotte Sullivan, so I don't want her character to die, but this show doesn't seem to do things by halves.

I'm also still trying to figure out Angela's angle. Sure she doesn't want her kids involved, but it feels like it's a little too late for that. I mean, Richard's been doing this for a long-ass time and the youngest kid is inviting Gina to his 30th (?!) birthday party. I couldn't tell if she was trying to have Stabler listen on her open phone line when she tried to call him before taking the wine or what was happening there.

I don't mind the Stabler kids if there's a point to it, but Kathleen continues to be just the fucking worst, so I can do without it. Also, Elliot could be an adult and just drive his kid to Maureen's house if that's what he actually wanted, so it'd be nice to see the kids actually care about Elliot instead of just screaming about how everything is all his fault. Of course, he sucks with that comment about taking medication, so really, just no more of Elliot's apartment would be nice.

I'm curious to see what happens with the fixer now that they've captured him; I don't think he lives long, especially since Wheatley seems to have hands in everything like a supervillain, but it would be nice to move things along.

It's more and more that this show really isn't for me, but I keep watching, just because I hope it'll change. That's my bad, but I know first seasons can be rough starts and I want more for Meloni.

[Kel Varnsen]

On 4/19/2021 at 1:30 AM, torqy said:

Anyone consider the possibility of faked labels on the "stolen" vaccine?

That is what I assumed. I mean Wheatley is the kind of evil TV villian who is supposed to have everything covered, even a permit from the mayor. So he probably did have the vials relabeled.

Although I did wonder, if his basement was a Faraday cage how did the ex even make a phone call. And how does the NYPD expect a bug to work in there. Unless it is an actual recording device they have to retrieve later.

Also thinking of the grocery store scene why do Stabler and Stabler Junior have to eat bad Chinese take out. It's New York City, so shouldn't good Chinese take out be just as easy to find?

[shapeshifter]

34 minutes ago, Kel Varnsen said:

why do Stabler and Stabler Junior have to eat bad Chinese take out. It's New York City, so shouldn't good Chinese take out be just as easy to find?

Pandemic 

[AnnA]

1 hour ago, Kel Varnsen said:

 

Also thinking of the grocery store scene why do Stabler and Stabler Junior have to eat bad Chinese take out. It's New York City, so shouldn't good Chinese take out be just as easy to find?

Yes.  That made no sense at all.   All the Chinese restaurants have been open for take out.  

[TV Anonymous]

I have different question regarding Loudon County. Do NYPD officers have jurisdiction in Loudon County, Virginia to actually shutdown the data center?

[Raja]

On 5/3/2021 at 7:18 AM, TV Anonymous said:

I have different question regarding Loudon County. Do NYPD officers have jurisdiction in Loudon County, Virginia to actually shutdown the data center?

More like the Virginia authorities would authorize the visiting detectives from New York to just throw the switch

On 4/18/2021 at 10:30 PM, torqy said:

Anyone consider the possibility of faked labels on the "stolen" vaccine?

I would think more like laundering money.  The stolen vaccines would go to the front pharmacy and they could give their allocated shots and sell off the excess on the black market in exchange for clean vaccines for the give away.

[Sir RaiderDuck OMS]

Just watching the season now. Two things bugged about this episode:

1) The chalk outline at the murder scene. REAL COPS DO NOT USE CHALK OUTLINES. Any foreign substance, including chalk, needlessly contaminates the crime scene.

2) On a video call which is likely being recorded, Stabler cuts off the power supply to Wheatley's legal server farm. Why couldn't Wheatley couldn't go straight to the DA and report Stabler for harassment?

I'm wanting to like the show, but this episode was easily as dumb as your average CSI: Miami ep.

Edited July 25, 2021 by Sir RaiderDuck OMS