S01.E08: Forget It, Jake; It's Chinatown

[WendyCR72]

Airing June 3, 2021:

Quote

As Wheatley goes to court to face the litany of charges against him, Richie makes moves to save himself and his family name. Morales and Washburn keep close tabs on their star witness. Bell and Stabler must cope with a sudden development in the case.

 

[Zoe]

This is the first time I've noticed that the titles are quotes.

Good thing too cause "Chinatown" episodes are never a good thing in this franchise.

[WendyCR72]

My local news just interviewed one of the recurring players. Turns out, he grew up in my neck of the woods!  😊

[WendyCR72]

And just like that, another good episode goes all record scratch. This is NOT an SVU case. Why the hell is Liv around? And more of Wheatley's innuendo upon seeing Benson/Stabler together.

Make it stop!

[mtlchick]

So…that’s an ending.

morales was the mole. Bell still has a job. Liv and Stabler didn’t have much googly eyes scenes together. The lawsuit was glossed over.

Ritchie surprisingly did not die. And Wheatley is still a weasel. I cannot believe they didn’t sweep the room just before he entered.

they gave me enough to come back but I can see why only Sloooot is a series regular (just out of drama school too!) and the other 2 guys were reoccurring. 
 

And wow Meloni has a big neck. I thought he was about to suffocate in his shirts.

[WendyCR72]

Elliot certainly paused long enough before screaming for help for Angela. I mean, I get why, since Angela killed Kathy, for all intents and purposes, but she is also needed to put Richard away. So I'd think he'd appreciate the urgency of the situation.

Richie should have died. He's such a screw up and weak. The biz would eat him alive. He's just a wannabe.

Morales being the mole didn't shock me. Not sure why. Goodbye!

It left enough unresolved to begin next season, but I pray we're not going to have tons more with Wheatley and Company. I'm more than ready for a new case.

[laugard]

I haven't watched it yet, but Morales being the mole doesn't shock me either. They seemed to try so hard to make the other detective seem shifty (at least to me), that I figured it was probably the "less expected, gave no reason to think so" Morales.

[The Bullpen]

I liked the episode - it was definitely exciting.  But the conversation between Bell and Morales at the beginning about his family being a bunch of criminals completely telegraphed that he'd end up causing problems. I liked him and Washburn, too.  They had been portrayed as refreshingly competent before tonight.  (Curbside pickup - really, dude??).  Bummer. 

My other gripe: can Wheatley just die already?  So annoying (as in, not very realistic) that he successfully had a cell phone smuggled into his new room.  He and his kids (either the storyline or the characters themselves) best be dealt with early on next season.  

ETA: was there discussion about the task force having a mole in prior eps??

Edited June 4, 2021 by The Bullpen

[Aileen]

5 minutes ago, The Bullpen said:

I liked the episode - it was definitely exciting.  But the conversation between Bell and Morales at the beginning about his family being a bunch of criminals completely telegraphed that he'd end up causing problems. I liked him and Washburn, too.  They had been portrayed as refreshingly competent before tonight.  (Curbside pickup - really, dude??).  Bummer. 

My other gripe: can Wheatley just die already?  So annoying (as in, not very realistic) that he successfully had a cell phone smuggled into his new room.  He and his kids (either the storyline or the characters themselves) best be dealt with early on next season.  

ETA: was there discussion about the task force having a mole in prior eps??

As far as I recall there was a discussion about a mole early on in the pilot and then...never again.

[Xeliou66]

I liked the episode overall, but I didn’t like that it ended on a cliffhanger, I’m ready for them to dispatch of Wheatley and his family, they should’ve wrapped up the storyline in this episode and started with new storylines for season 2. I really hope they get new cases in season 2 and the Wheatley stuff is quickly over.

I did thing the episode was intense, and I didn’t see it coming that Morales would be a villain, I didn’t think there would be a mole, since that seemed to be dropped.

There was a lot unclear about the episode to me - so I guess Wheatley’s son turned on him and tried to have him killed, but who exactly arranged it on the outside? And how was there no one else on the hospital floor when Morales was there killing Angela? And why did they bring Benson there, were they trying to kill her? 

I came to enjoy the show more over the course of the season, and I do like Stabler more than I expected to in this role, but I hope next season they get rid of Wheatley quickly and move on to a new case. 

[WendyCR72]

I did not put in in the post about the recurring actor from my part of town, as I did not want to spoil anything, but yeah. My local news spoiled this would end on a cliffhanger. Sigh. At least I was warned!

[ShellsandCheese]

Eh. Ritchie is such a punk. No way does  he suddenly have the balls to try and take out dear old dad. Dana is better then him and actually competent. 

Edited June 4, 2021 by ShellsandCheese

[linger]

The whole Liv thing seemed really shoehorned in. Did they have to cut scenes due to COVID? Otherwise 1) Why didn’t Elliot tell her about Wheatley’s interest? She (and/or her son) could have targets on their backs & he didn’t think she might want to know? And 2) What was the point of the secret text having her come to the hospital? Was Morales supposed to take her out as well as Angela? That would make sense - effectively killing the two women left in Elliot’s life, talk about revenge. If that wasn’t the point, what was?

Novichuk is terrifying, and if that had been what was used, the whole area, from the pharmacy to the hotel room would have been a haz mat scene. The Salisbury Poisonings (from the BBC & then AMC) was a great series, pretty accurately based on a true story, and scared the crap out of me. Those Russians know their nerve agents.

 

[TV Diva Queen]

I think they were trying to kill Liv

So Morales knew that his partner was picking up stuff at the store and he put the poison in it

Queen for a Day in last week's episode and Queen for a day in tonight's SVU.  Have they ever used this term in the L&O Universe before?

All in all - I loved it and I'm not sure I want to see a crime of the week, I like the Netflix style miniseries mode they're doing.  

 

[Gigi43]

I cannot overstate how much I hate Liv saving the day. I kinda find this insulting to Bell/DMT, too. She's the female lead of OC yet Benson/MH gets to swoop in and be the female star and hero. OC isn't Benson's show. Let Bell be the female lead and let her and Stabler use their team to get themselves out of trouble. I can't do this Benson shit on two shows for 24 weeks next year. But I like OC on it's own.

 

I'm disappointed Richard is still alive and Angela probably will be too. I want them gone. I'm not entirely sure how Richard is being charged with Kathy's murder? Wasn't it Angela? Won't that case fall apart based on him being able to implicate her? The writing for that has been all over the place. Richard killed Angela's first son according to Stabler, why wasn't that charge read if Stabler knew it? I would have preferred Richie having that motivation to turn on his father (he apparently is smart enough to get connections using his brothers name to get a hit on his father? ...okay...) rather than the grandfather. I'm surprised Dana was sidelined almost completely. Which is another reason why I would have liked the brothers murder to be brought up. She hates the grandfather but how did she feel about her half brother and how would she react to her father killing him/having him killed and using it to manipulate Angela? Dana turning and trying to pull of having her father killed based on him killing her brother I could believe more than Richie suddenly growing balls.

 

I figured Morales was going to be the mole. I wasn't crazy about the cliffhanger ending. Or that Bell now has a shooting to justify when the upper level wants her out.

 

Next season, show, please focus more on Bell/Stabler/Sloot/Washburn. I want that team and I want the Bell/Stabler partnership. I loved Stabler's "tell me she's not going into labor and the exchange of "he's going with 'you can't charge me because my kids are black?'" "Well, historically that hasn't worked." 

[tennisgurl]

I was really expecting Wheatley and/or Angela to die by the end of the episode, so I was surprised that they both lived and are still in the action. I hope that next season Wheatley is on the backburner in jail at least, I would prefer they dedicate every season to a different big bad and different case instead of drawing this one out. I was hoping that Wheatley would just die already so we can move on, but it looks like he will live to chew scenery another day. 

I thought this was a pretty good season finale, it was exciting and had a lot of good character moments while also closing out a lot of arcs from this season while setting up threads for the next season. I suspected a mole in the crew at first, then that was dropped and I forgot about it, but then I started suspecting again this episode when we started getting more screen time for Morales and Washburn. The bit about how Morales's family are on "the other side" made me feel like they were setting him up as the mole, and then they seemed to be leaning towards it being Washburn but it turns out he was just being an idiot and not corrupt, so then it had to be Morales. Its too bad, the members of the task force outside of Stabler and Bell have been very underdeveloped so far, this would have had more punch if we really knew Morales as more than a mostly background character. They have seemed like interesting and mostly competent characters when they get to actually do things, like in the sting last week, but when they finally get to do things they are shown to be either incompetent or corrupt. Even Bell, the secondary lead after Stabler, isn't used as much as I would like her to be used, her subplot about her nephew is pretty underdeveloped so far, as is her relationship with her wife. I like Bell and I like her interactions with Stabler, I would like to see her get more to do. 

The underused supporting cast is probably partially because of the shows need to bring Benson back every five seconds instead of focusing on the actual characters on this show, even when there is no reason for her to be here except to bait the shippers. I know I have complained about this before, but I want this show to stand on its own, I don't want it to be constantly tethered to another show. Then Wheatlet being all "Benson and Stabler sitting in a tree, KISSING" just made the whole thing even more embarrassing. 

Richie is going to get eaten alive in the crime world without his dads protection. He's such an idiot that he apparently doesn't realize that the only reason he's still around is because of his dad, so trying to have him killed just means he no longer has anyone looking out for his wimpy self.

I was unsure about this show going in, but I think its been a good season even with its flaws and its overattachment to Benson and SVU. I am really interested in what next season will be like. 

Edited June 4, 2021 by tennisgurl

[milkyaqua]

Well, everyone's pretty much covered all the things I thought were wonky with this finale.  I did like it overall but yeah, things need to be tightened up for next season.

Enough of Liv popping up.  I get TPTB thought the show could use some help from SVU to get people to look at and stay but next season the only time I want to hear about Liv is because Elliott spoke to her on the phone or something.  Let her stay on her own show.  I mean none of the other L&O shows have had this many crossovers and much less in one season...

Richie clumsily walking up to a gang and asking for a favor was reason enough for him to get shanked but I figure the guys were probably familiar at least with his wacky dad to leave him alone.  But then he orders a hit on his dad because he killed his racist grandpa (and yes, how did the authorities know about that)?  What was that even about?  And as many loose lips as there seem to be in the NYPD, I'll be stunned if Richard doesn't put two and two together and it leads back to Richie and then where will he be?  Don't care really.

Which brings me to Angela and her, my Richie wouldn't have killed that cop.  Sure Angela, he tried for another one and failed so there goes that theory.  Give it up.  Your kids aren't going to be saved by you.

Speaking of which, she was right about Richard not stopping until she was dead.  Unless they know what Morales put in her arm, I say her odds are 50/50.

One of the task force as a mole wasn't surprising not to mention some of the incompetence.  Ordering something for pickup on your personal phone was a bonehead move.  Luckily Stabler and Bell tailed the FBI truck because again, what is with these shows (The Rookie) transporting a notorious criminal in one vehicle with no escort and turning off of the main street into a place that can become a choke point?  Richard could've been taken out then but then you wouldn't have needed Josh Charles' weaselly character.  Also, the phone in the cell and yes, why wasn't it swept?  And yes, what sort of hospital has no one on the floor?  Were all the hospital staff paid off?

I do hope all the Wheatley stuff is resolved early next season preferably off camera.  Also hope they do expand and focus on the task force characters now that they've got the initial season out of the way.  I also am fine with the mini arcs story telling and don't need the show to do epis of the week but please no more cartoon villains.

Edited June 4, 2021 by milkyaqua

[catrice2]

1 hour ago, Gigi43 said:

I cannot overstate how much I hate Liv saving the day. I kinda find this insulting to Bell/DMT, too. She's the female lead of OC yet Benson/MH gets to swoop in and be the female star and hero. OC isn't Benson's show. Let Bell be the female lead and let her and Stabler use their team to get themselves out of trouble. I can't do this Benson shit on two shows for 24 weeks next year. But I like OC on it's own.

 

I'm disappointed Richard is still alive and Angela probably will be too. I want them gone. I'm not entirely sure how Richard is being charged with Kathy's murder? Wasn't it Angela? Won't that case fall apart based on him being able to implicate her? The writing for that has been all over the place. Richard killed Angela's first son according to Stabler, why wasn't that charge read if Stabler knew it? I would have preferred Richie having that motivation to turn on his father (he apparently is smart enough to get connections using his brothers name to get a hit on his father? ...okay...) rather than the grandfather. I'm surprised Dana was sidelined almost completely. Which is another reason why I would have liked the brothers murder to be brought up. She hates the grandfather but how did she feel about her half brother and how would she react to her father killing him/having him killed and using it to manipulate Angela? Dana turning and trying to pull of having her father killed based on him killing her brother I could believe more than Richie suddenly growing balls.

 

I figured Morales was going to be the mole. I wasn't crazy about the cliffhanger ending. Or that Bell now has a shooting to justify when the upper level wants her out.

 

Next season, show, please focus more on Bell/Stabler/Sloot/Washburn. I want that team and I want the Bell/Stabler partnership. I loved Stabler's "tell me she's not going into labor and the exchange of "he's going with 'you can't charge me because my kids are black?'" "Well, historically that hasn't worked." 

My guess is the original plan was for them to be done but they were still shooting when it premiered and the response to Wheatley was favorable enough they thought to keep them around. I heard they might move them to the new show.

I assumed they were changing him based upon info Bekhar gave them more than Angela. I am not clear on what they had other than hearsay to charge anyone but Bekhar for that. All Angela admitted to was having a conversation about wanting revenge.  If you can go to jail for that I am in trouble. If money changed hands as payment for the job....

I had more of an issue with something still being in the house especially the wine cage. Didn't the police search the house and they knew that is where he kept everything 🙄

 

 

[illdoc]

(a) Has Elliot ever called Benson "O"? It's always "Liv". But the text message began "O." This doesn't raise her suspicions? Nor does she call him back to see why she's needed. Crack detective.

14 hours ago, WendyCR72 said:

Elliot certainly paused long enough before screaming for help for Angela

(b) By coincidence, I watched "The Godfather" on Wednesday. In it, Vito is in a hospital that seems to have no patients/staff on his floor. Michael goes to his father, sees that he's alone, and starts yelling "I need help" in the empty corridor. Sound familiar? Angela also is alone on a hospital floor that seems to have no patients/staff on her floor. Elliot goes to see her, then goes out into the empty corridor yelling "I need help." Also, earlier, Angela's lawyer just holds her (after she's been poisoned), not doing much of anything, reminding me of Fredo, just sitting, crying, next to Vito after he had been shot (not even checking for a pulse to see if he's alive). Given that the first 8 weeks of Season 2 is supposed to be like "The Godfather", I am afraid of what this means. I hope there's a five minute "Richard was convicted. Angela died. Kids in jail." type of thing at the beginning of the season and we never have to deal with this again.

(c) What was the point of getting Liv to the hospital, anyway? Was Wheatley going to have her killed too? Or was it just to rub Angela's face in Liv's and Elliot's "relationship"? Or some other reason?

[BrownBear2012]

I get that the showrunner wanted the plot to include a mole who would be feeding Wheatley intel but come on...I think a task force like this would have very select members with outstanding security clearance. I don't think they would have someone like Morales who comes from a family that was "connected" on this kind of high profile investigation. The other guy who went out and got the toiletries for Angela also seemed weak and a security risk. Step it up writers, producers, showrunners...audiences have been spoiled by better written and produced shows on HBO, Showtime, Hulu, Netflix, etc.

[KittenPokerCheater]

18 hours ago, mtlchick said:

And wow Meloni has a big neck. I thought he was about to suffocate in his shirts.

🤣 Bwah-hahahahahahahahaha!

[Snazzy Daisy]

Dear St Olivia Benson, I don't wanna see you in OC season 2, enough is enough, you have your SVU!!! 

To the Wheatleys, your story should've been wrapped-up in this season, it's no longer interesting!

[catrice2]

3 hours ago, BrownBear2012 said:

I get that the showrunner wanted the plot to include a mole who would be feeding Wheatley intel but come on...I think a task force like this would have very select members with outstanding security clearance. I don't think they would have someone like Morales who comes from a family that was "connected" on this kind of high profile investigation. The other guy who went out and got the toiletries for Angela also seemed weak and a security risk. Step it up writers, producers, showrunners...audiences have been spoiled by better written and produced shows on HBO, Showtime, Hulu, Netflix, etc.

Line of Duty!   The Brits do it better! 

[Snazzy Daisy]

Is there an editing mistake in the hospital scene involving Morales?

Olivia sees Morales wheeling someone (is it Angela?) until the end of the hall. Then we see Morales enters the scene from another door towards the middle of the hall, on our right. So who is the orderly that Olivia sees earlier? 😲

If they’re trying to show that Olivia misidentifies the first orderly, they did a bad job, it’s confusing!

 

 

[BrownBear2012]

1 hour ago, SnazzyDaisy said:

Is there an editing mistake in the hospital scene involving Morales?

Olivia sees Morales wheeling someone (is it Angela?) until the end of the hall. Then we see Morales enters the scene from another door towards the middle of the hall, on our right. So who is the orderly that Olivia sees earlier? 😲

If they’re trying to show that Olivia misidentifies the first orderly, they did a bad job, it’s confusing!

 

 

Yes!!! I was wondering about that too!

[johnmiller]

(SPOILERS) This show has been SO well written throughout. And then...there's this "Finale." Is it the Season Finale? Is it the Series Finale? We are not told. But, regardless, it was bad. What. A. Mess! One plot hole after another. The FBI here was apparently the same one from "Die Hard" with Big Johnson and Little Johnson. They were cocky and got blow'd up real good in their chopper. Here, we get a cocky agent who is convinced nothing can possibly happen, which naturally means she and her fellow agents will be easily and almost immediately be mowed down in a hail of automatic weapons fire. Then, there's Angela. Not easy to care for her since she bears responsibility in the killing of Kathleen. But, heavens! What she's put through here. Poisoned with the Russian nerve agent. Survives and is in the hospital. Then, possibly dead for good this time at the hands of a mole. And, she's "guarded," if you want to call it that, by pretty much no one in a random hotel, except for a completely incompetent officer. Then, naturally, the same next-to-no protection in the hospital, unless you count the mole. Add to this, Richie immediately, and without any sense of want for revenge, randomly decides to have friends of prison thugs go out, massacre a group of Federal Agents, plus Richard, one of the most key criminal suspects in the U.S., if not the world. Okay, sure.

Interesting how, with one mind-bendingly BAD episode, LAO:OC goes from the best series on TV to WTF?! in an instant.

[johnmiller]

4 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

Wow.  This was awful.   Horribly written.  Horribly acted.  Horrible pacing.  Having Benson in this episode didn't help any, but that was the least of this episodes problems.  This was so bad, I would have rather watched a Manifest spinoff series than this giant pant load.

A. Men!

[johnmiller]

On 5/28/2021 at 9:58 AM, Zoe said:

This is the first time I've noticed that the titles are quotes.

Good thing too cause "Chinatown" episodes are never a good thing in this franchise.

Pro Tip: Do NOT quote one of the greatest movies of all time as your Episode Title and they absolutely FOUL the living heck out of the resulting episode.

[TM101]

Overall, solid season. A bit ridiculous at times, but entertaining. Looking forward to next season.

So with Morales, was he a mole all along or did Wheatley just get to him while in jail to kill Angela?

[WendyCR72]

3 hours ago, johnmiller said:

Is it the Season Finale? Is it the Series Finale? We are not told.

The media already answered that back in mid May. The show has been renewed for Season 2.

[johnmiller]

3 hours ago, WendyCR72 said:

The media already answered that back in mid May. The show has been renewed for Season 2.

So strange that NBC just labeled it as "Finale." So, it should have been the end of the Wheatley storyline, anyway.

[Morrigan2575]

On 6/3/2021 at 11:21 PM, laugard said:

I haven't watched it yet, but Morales being the mole doesn't shock me either. They seemed to try so hard to make the other detective seem shifty (at least to me), that I figured it was probably the "less expected, gave no reason to think so" Morales.

That's funny, I've been expecting the other guy to be the mole so I guess they did a good job on the misdirect.

I actually paid attention to the credits tonight and was shocked that on Sloot was the only series regular. Guess that explains why, Morales was the mole and the other guy was a screw up LOL.

I like this show, mostly for Stabler and Bell. They have a wonderful working relationship with none of that UST crap SVU pushed with Bensen and Stabler. 

I could love this show if they'd drop the Benson/Stalker shit. It's been 10 years of them not even talking...kill it..(as much as I hate the movie) Let the Past Die.

I didn't expect a cliffhanger. I thought/hoped the Wheatley saga was over with. I guess Angela wasn't the secret mastermind. 

So did Morales bug the other guys phone so they were able to track the order? That seems a bit iffy. I'm guessing that was just a bone headed move. Morales may have been the mole but, I think his only overt action was to try to kill Angela and Benson.  

Edited June 5, 2021 by Morrigan2575

[catrice2]

13 hours ago, BrownBear2012 said:

Yes!!! I was wondering about that too!

Me too!

[GiandujaPie]

14 hours ago, SnazzyDaisy said:

Is there an editing mistake in the hospital scene involving Morales?

Olivia sees Morales wheeling someone (is it Angela?) until the end of the hall. Then we see Morales enters the scene from another door towards the middle of the hall, on our right. So who is the orderly that Olivia sees earlier? 😲

If they’re trying to show that Olivia misidentifies the first orderly, they did a bad job, it’s confusing!

 

 

We were wondering that too. Did he have an accomplice? 

[snarts]

Maybe I'm heartless but I never understand why the police/marshalls/govt/etc. go to such great lengths to protect the people on trial for heinous crimes.  People like Wheatley. I get that they want the conviction, but the trial costs taxpayers money, housing them in prison costs taxpayers money, and often they get off on some technicality and there is no justice.

I get innocent until proven guilty and I'm in no way recommending that the poilice/marshalls/govt should endanger the lives of the accused. I just mean in situations where Wheatley's own son took out a hit on his father, why is Stabler risking his own life for a man who wants him dead and killed his wife?  

Similarly, people seemed so disappointed when accused criminals like Epstein/Dulos/Geddert commit suicide before they can be brought to trial. Why?  Best case scenario, in my opinion.  If I were a victim, I'd be relieved and happy that the person took their own life.

I found the finale to be the worst episode of the season. Like others, I hoped it would be the end of the Wheatlry storyline. All of the interesting characters, Gina, Behker, potentially Angela are dead. We're left with Richie, Ugh, the worse actor on the show.  And you just know they're going to drag in Olivia for more crossover episodes next season.

Edited June 6, 2021 by snarts
Wheatley not Weatherly

[WarmSkull]

4 hours ago, GiandujaPie said:

We were wondering that too. Did he have an accomplice? 

I think the second orderly was a misdirect.

I took the series of events as:

1. Off screen: Morales overtakes Real Orderly #1, takes his clothes and ties him up in a room. To further blend in and to get to Angela’s room, he wheels someone around on the gurney. 

2. On screen: Enter Benson who recognizes Morales. 

3a. On screen: Benson hears and discovers the Real Orderly #1, who is tied up.

3b. Off screen: in parallel, Morales puts the patient on the gurney somewhere (maybe gives the patient to Real Orderly #2?), gets into Angela’s room, and injects whatever is in the needle into her arm.

4. On screen: Bell, Stabler and Benson reunite. They see Real Orderly #2 at the end of the hallway, who is just doing his job. He then disappears around a corner. 

5: On screen: Morales steps out of Angela’s room and greets the trio.

Edited June 5, 2021 by WarmSkull
Clarification

[Sandman]

On 6/3/2021 at 11:38 PM, Aileen said:

As far as I recall there was a discussion about a mole early on in the pilot and then...never again.

That's what I was thinking, too.

But was I alone in thinking that Stabler's big "Annnd... scene!" wail was even more on the nose than this show usually is? I mean, he might have shouted (earlier) "We need help, here!" But no -- Elliot stands at the centre of the screen, in a long, white hallway, gleaming with emptiness, and howls "I NEED HELP!" Little late, dude. On so many levels.

I will say I wasn't expecting Richie to arrange so close to successfully to have his Dad whacked. He always seems so completely out of his depth, and not even really aware of it. But as soon as the charges were read at the arraignment, I knew Richie was going to take matters into his own little hands.

[melon]

This was by far the best episode of the season.  Meloni was especially good as he was forced to help protect the people that destroyed his family.  Good or bad, I continue to tune into this series.  However, I still don't see the connection to real world organized crime.

I can't tell if Wheatley is mob connected or a made man.  Because, in the mob, there's the rule of omerta, which has been rarely seen here.  Bekhar flips.  Angela flips.  Now, Richard tries to flip. Only a matter of time before crybaby Richie flips.  Usually, when you become a rat, you have to tell everything.  Does that mean Richard will have to throw his kids under the bus?

In the mob, there's also the rule of never going against your family, but....Wheatley whacks his dad.  Angela tips off the cops that Richard has stolen vaccines.  Richie tries to get his dad killed.  Wheatley has his step son whacked.  Zero family loyalty here, there's just a bunch of Fredo's.

MCC is notorious for corrupt guards.  Sneaking in a cell phone is small potatoes. 

I think there was a serious editing mistake with Morales being in two places at once.

I can't tell if the police are behind Bell, since they showed up to support her.  Or if they're against her because her partner is suing NYPD.

Looking forward to season 2, episode 1.

 

[Sandman]

5 hours ago, melon said:

I can't tell if Wheatley is mob connected or a made man.  Because, in the mob, there's the rule of omerta, which has been rarely seen here.  Bekhar flips. Angela flips. Now, Richard tries to flip. Only a matter of time before crybaby Richie flips.  Usually, when you become a rat, you have to tell everything.  Does that mean Richard will have to throw his kids under the bus?

I can sort of buy Angela's turning on Wheatley, since she's his ex-wife and maybe no longer family (although for most of the season she seemed pretty down with whatever he was doing) and she does learn that it was he and not Stabler who killed Rafiq. I wondered at first if Wheatley was supposed to be unhinged or somehow unbound from the usual (tv-) mobster codes, since he killed his father; that seems like a non-starter. In a way I still think Wheatley is bloodthirsty to an impractical degree (if mobsters are supposed to be businessmen). On the other hand, I think it makes a kind of sense for someone of Richard's demonstrated vast ego to relish being the guy who knows all, and being in a position to grass on absolutely everyone.

I think Richie would probably tell everything he knows if Stabler looked at him using his Mean Face. He might even make up some crap just to make him stop. (Also he might wet himself.)

I would laugh and laugh (thus: HAHAAAA) if Pilar turned out to know pretty much everything and turned on Richard because she got fed up with being treated like a trophy wife / blow-up doll.

[Aileen]

On 6/4/2021 at 8:11 AM, TV Diva Queen said:

Queen for a Day in last week's episode and Queen for a day in tonight's SVU.  Have they ever used this term in the L&O Universe before?

 

 

Yes, very often in older episodes of L&O and SVU. We never watched the first time around and often DVR episodes that are in syndication. Queen for a Day comes up a lot.

[DJRMOMMA36]

On 6/4/2021 at 11:49 AM, tennisgurl said:

I was really expecting Wheatley and/or Angela to die by the end of the episode, so I was surprised that they both lived and are still in the action. I hope that next season Wheatley is on the backburner in jail at least, I would prefer they dedicate every season to a different big bad and different case instead of drawing this one out. I was hoping that Wheatley would just die already so we can move on, but it looks like he will live to chew scenery another day. 

I thought this was a pretty good season finale, it was exciting and had a lot of good character moments while also closing out a lot of arcs from this season while setting up threads for the next season. I suspected a mole in the crew at first, then that was dropped and I forgot about it, but then I started suspecting again this episode when we started getting more screen time for Morales and Washburn. The bit about how Morales's family are on "the other side" made me feel like they were setting him up as the mole, and then they seemed to be leaning towards it being Washburn but it turns out he was just being an idiot and not corrupt, so then it had to be Morales. Its too bad, the members of the task force outside of Stabler and Bell have been very underdeveloped so far, this would have had more punch if we really knew Morales as more than a mostly background character. They have seemed like interesting and mostly competent characters when they get to actually do things, like in the sting last week, but when they finally get to do things they are shown to be either incompetent or corrupt. Even Bell, the secondary lead after Stabler, isn't used as much as I would like her to be used, her subplot about her nephew is pretty underdeveloped so far, as is her relationship with her wife. I like Bell and I like her interactions with Stabler, I would like to see her get more to do. 

The underused supporting cast is probably partially because of the shows need to bring Benson back every five seconds instead of focusing on the actual characters on this show, even when there is no reason for her to be here except to bait the shippers. I know I have complained about this before, but I want this show to stand on its own, I don't want it to be constantly tethered to another show. Then Wheatlet being all "Benson and Stabler sitting in a tree, KISSING" just made the whole thing even more embarrassing. 

Richie is going to get eaten alive in the crime world without his dads protection. He's such an idiot that he apparently doesn't realize that the only reason he's still around is because of his dad, so trying to have him killed just means he no longer has anyone looking out for his wimpy self.

I was unsure about this show going in, but I think its been a good season even with its flaws and its overattachment to Benson and SVU. I am really interested in what next season will be like. 

Am I the only one who listened to what bell was saying?  They were talking about returning Gina stuff to her brother.  Hwr family didn’t know she was a cop.  The capaletti’s “rolled on the other side.”

[amarante]

So at the end - was Morales doing a suicide by cop when he aimed his weapon because obviously with three cops aiming at him, he was going to die.

If it wasn't suicide by cop, why did he suddenly decide to take out Bell?

 

[Raja]

19 minutes ago, amarante said:

So at the end - was Morales doing a suicide by cop when he aimed his weapon because obviously with three cops aiming at him, he was going to die.

If it wasn't suicide by cop, why did he suddenly decide to take out Bell?

 

Suicide by cop was my take. He asked Sergeant Bell to do him right and then forced the act by turning his weapon on her.

[Sandman]

On 6/6/2021 at 10:48 PM, Raja said:

Suicide by cop was my take. He asked Sergeant Bell to do him right and then forced the act by turning his weapon on her.

Between that ending and the shot of Angela pleading weakly "... help me," as she (presumably) dies, I found this an uncharacteristically grim episode. Grim enough that I'm not sure I want to watch season 2.

[CrystalBlue]

My take on the Wheatley family is that despite Papa/Grandpa being named Sinatra, that's where the Wheatleys' resemblance to the actual La Cosa Nostra (the Sicilian Mafia) ends.  Sinatra was part of organized crime, for sure, but I don't believe a real Sicilian Mafioso would change their name to Wheatley like Richard did.

I'm glad it wasn't Washburn who was the mole, but he's probably going to be demoted or transferred out of Bell's unit for his rookie mistake of using a personal cell phone for work.

Edited June 9, 2021 by CrystalBlue

[Gigi43]

16 hours ago, CrystalBlue said:

My take on the Wheatley family is that despite Papa/Grandpa being named Sinatra, that's where the Wheatleys' resemblance to the actual La Cosa Nostra (the Sicilian Mafia) ends.  Sinatra was part of organized crime, for sure, but I don't believe a real Sicilian Mafioso would change their name to Wheatley like Richard did.

I'm glad it wasn't Washburn who was the mole, but he's probably going to be demoted or transferred out of Bell's unit for his rookie mistake of using a personal cell phone for work.

 

They had a mention of Richard meeting with families I think but nothing really came of the Sinatra/Wheatley standing in terms of La Cosa Nostra. Taking your wife's name to piss off your Dad is more of a rich kid 'that'll show you!' than tough mob boss move. They really need to brush up on how things work. Though, I could buy Richard putting thought into wanting essentially a generic stage name to sell his image of a legit pharmacy guy, more than I could buy it was a f-u to Daddy.  

 

Considering Rollins still has a job, I think it's possible Wolf and Co will let Washburn stay on.

[catrice2]

36 minutes ago, Gigi43 said:

 

They had a mention of Richard meeting with families I think but nothing really came of the Sinatra/Wheatley standing in terms of La Cosa Nostra. Taking your wife's name to piss off your Dad is more of a rich kid 'that'll show you!' than tough mob boss move. They really need to brush up on how things work. Though, I could buy Richard putting thought into wanting essentially a generic stage name to sell his image of a legit pharmacy guy, more than I could buy it was a f-u to Daddy.  

 

Considering Rollins still has a job, I think it's possible Wolf and Co will let Washburn stay on.

I hear you!   I think they said in addition to not liking his father, he wanted to sell himself as a respectable businessman.  I think Angela's lawyer even mentioned that as many times as he had socialized with them he never knew or had any suspicions about Richard's background. 

 Also, hear ye, hear ye!  I tried SVU after Stabler left, but Rollins and Olivia are the main reasons I stopped watching it. I mean, if she is still on the force I don't know why Green had to leave under a cloud....

[Witt]

No one mentioned the oloid. What was the significance of that? They seemed to have spent a long time on the golden oloid. Does anyone have a youtube clip of it? If so, I'd like a link.

[Sir RaiderDuck OMS]

On 6/4/2021 at 9:28 AM, milkyaqua said:

 ...what sort of hospital has no one on the floor?  Were all the hospital staff paid off?

Any American hospital has nurses and orderlies everywhere. They're constantly checking up on patients, delivering medication, etc. Given that Angela had already been the victim of a poisoning attempt, I'd expect multiple cops, both local and federal, on that floor as well.

 

On 6/4/2021 at 7:54 PM, johnmiller said:

Add to this, Richie immediately, and without any sense of want for revenge, randomly decides to have friends of prison thugs go out, massacre a group of Federal Agents, plus Richard, one of the most key criminal suspects in the U.S., if not the world. Okay, sure.

It made no sense. The mere act of lying to an FBI agent can get you years in prison. If you kill a bunch of them, Uncle Sam will make it his personal mission to put everyone in your organization behind bars forever. No gang, in prison or out, would volunteer for that level of heat.