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S23.E17: Once Upon A Time In El Barrio

WendyCR72

By WendyCR72
in Law & Order: SVU

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illdoc

illdoc

Well, after last week's show(s) (all 3 L&O), they all showed previews and mentioned April 7, so I assume that's the next airdate (avoiding airing new episodes opposite "March Madness"---I was surprised that they showed new episodes this past week (the start of MM) and I don't think there's Thur MM games on Mar 31, but who knows their reasoning).

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Xeliou66

Xeliou66

This was better than most modern day SVU - it was nice to get a Velasco centric episode - I like him and it was nice to see him take center stage, and the case felt more like a classic SVU, a very disturbing murder to start things off instead of the usual he said/she said rape case, and it took place in the criminal underworld in a lower class neighborhood instead of with rich people.

It was pretty shocking when the detective was killed, but I called the shot that the captain would be dirty from the start. 

No St Olivia worship from anyone was nice, and while I missed Carisi, this would’ve been a good case for Carisi to sink his teeth into, I did like Baptiste exercising his authority over Benson, something which Carisi would be too timid to do I’m afraid.

Fin had some good moments, but I’m ready for a Fin centric episode where he takes center stage. He’s always awesome.

Didn’t miss Rollins at all, the show is better without her. I didn’t like how they shoehorned in a Stabler reference, it feels like they are constantly having to promote the OC show because OC can’t stand on its on.

No personal drama was nice.

Overall, this was good, better than most modern day SVU episodes, the show has improved in the second half of the season after a bad start, hopefully it ends on a strong note.

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dttruman

dttruman

(edited)
31 minutes ago, Pearson80 said:

I concur, my only complaint is Benson. I am so over her..

I wish we had more detectives in the squad though, It was very shortsighted to get rid of Kat and Benson's boss..

I blew a gasket when they uncovered that corrupt captain and Benson went on a little speech about how that captain was let off the hook for some of his corrupt actions and promoted by his superiors in the "Good Old Boys Club". It just struck me as being so hypocritical on her part for some of the stunts she has pulled over the years and got promoted. Granted, the stuff she did was not criminally corrupt, but she did violate protocol so many times.

I was also disappointed at the end when that one trafficker who set that girl on fire at the beginning wasn't shot an killed. I wouldn't even have minded if Benson pulled the trigger to take that guy down, but no he just threw down his gun and surrendered.

Edited by dttruman
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MBJ

MBJ

(edited)

I know we like to make fun of Olivia here, but I REALLY liked Mariska's acting in the last few scenes.

The only issue I have is, --- OLIVIA'S SHOCKED BY THIS?  AGAIN?  LOL.  How is she still shocked when she finds out a cop, even a captain, is a rapist or a predator?  LOL.  It's been 20 years lady!

Edited by Ms Blue Jay
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wknt3

wknt3

(edited)

The Good:
No Rollins. Addition by subtraction.
Lots of Fin and Velasco. Whenever they are on screen the show is a lot more like classic SVU than the slog that is all too typical of the last decade. They actually gave us a Velasco episode that wasn't just a Benson episode in disguise.
The guest cast. As usual the show does a great job finding actors to fill these guest spots and proves that the issues with main cast acting is not a matter of directing, but the stars themselves.
The ADA pinch hitting for Carisi. While I would have loved to have seen Carisi he was really good and could be written as bit more "separate yet equally important" than the regular SVU ADAs. It was nice that the writers remembered how to do that without making him some sort of villain or political hack.

The Bad:
Is Benson really talking smack about someone getting promoted to Captain despite not having the best track record? Really? Really?? What's next Rollins talking about someone being still on duty despite obviously being mentally and emotionally unstable? It could have worked if they had Fin say something privately, either defending him to Liv and pointing out that the entire squad had done it including her many times, or explaining to Velasco how it was a hazzard of the job that had gotten a lot of SVU detectives in trouble, but as written it was just glaring hypocrisy.
It was all a bit predictable. I really wish they would start to occasionally cast against type. Just like with Jim True-Frost it's hard for your shocking twist to be shocking when you cast someone who always turns out to be the perp.

Overall this was a solid episode, above average and engaging, It lacked the nuance and polish to be truly great but it was certainly very good. Even Mariska managed to keep the overacting dialed down to about an 8 instead of her usual 11.

Edited by wknt3
fix typos
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howiveaddict

howiveaddict

8 hours ago, dttruman said:

I blew a gasket when they uncovered that corrupt captain and Benson went on a little speech about how that captain was let off the hook for some of his corrupt actions and promoted by his superiors in the "Good Old Boys Club". It just struck me as being so hypocritical on her part for some of the stunts she has pulled over the years and got promoted. Granted, the stuff she did was not criminally corrupt, but she did violate protocol so many times.

I was also disappointed at the end when that one trafficker who set that girl on fire at the beginning wasn't shot an killed. I wouldn't even have minded if Benson pulled the trigger to take that guy down, but no he just threw down his gun and surrendered.

I’d prefer he’d be shot in the back and paralyzed from the neck down.   Make him suffer! 

1 hour ago, Route66 said:

Did anyone else think the Senorita lady was going to be part of the trafficking gang?

I did!

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dttruman

dttruman

1 hour ago, wknt3 said:

Lots of Fin and Velasco. Whenever they are on screen the show is a lot more like classic SVU than the slog that is all too typical of the last decade. They actually gave us a Velasco episode that wasn't just a Benson episode in disguise.
The guest cast. As usual the show does a great job finding actors to fill these guest spots and proves that the issues with main cast acting is not a matter of directing, but the stars themselves.

Yeah, I just wonder if the low quality of the writers or if it's the constraints the executive producers put on the writers. I wonder if some of the regulars complained about the plot line or the dialogue, saying that doing this would make me look very unprofessional even under those circumstances or my character would never say anything like this.

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tennisgurl

tennisgurl

(edited)

That was quite good, it felt like a more old school SVU episode, and I was thrilled not to have to sit through another boring he said/she said of the rich and powerful. I liked having a Velasco centered episode and learning more about him without it turning too much into another "its personal" episode involving relatives or some such drama, I like him a lot so far. It was definitely one of the more memorable episodes lately, the girl getting burned alive at the start was right up there with some of golden age SVU's most viscerally disturbing moments, and I really was invested in the case being solved. Not a lot of personal drama is a big plus, probably because Rollins wasn't around, even if that sadly meant no Carisi as well, and everyone got time to shine. It does really shine a spotlight on the lack of main characters at this point though, without Carisi and Rollins they have about three people trying to break up an international human trafficking ring. 

The supporting cast was all solid, no one was focused on a whole lot so they all had to make a big impression in one or two big scenes, which they did. I also liked seeing the ADA, who has a nice authoritative while also reasonable aura about him. I really appreciate that he didn't immediately do whatever Olivia said and told her to do her job so that he can do his, so please chill out. That guy playing the main thug was great at being truly despicable, I kept hoping he would trip over his own lighter fluid and catch on fire, but sadly no. 

I only really have two complaints about this one. It was pretty predictable, we all knew that the captain played by a recognizable actor was a bad guy, so I kept waiting for one more twist, like the lady at the store was in on it, but the only real surprise I got was the other cop getting run over, and even with that I guessed that was going to happen as soon as she said she was going to check on the girl at the motel alone. The other was Olivia's last "old boys club" speech. Olivia was mostly fine this episode, especially as we had minimum amounts of her looking all big eyed at victims while talking down to them, but it was like they just HAD to give her one more on the nose speech. I would normally roll my eyes at the obligatory reference to OC, but this one actually didn't bother me very much. Finn certainly would ask Olivia about Elliot if he heard about him supposedly getting kicked out of OC and was dodging his calls, it felt at least a bit more organic than usual. 

Edited by tennisgurl
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dttruman

dttruman

5 hours ago, TM101 said:

Good episode, but I feel like an NYPD Captain being involved in sex trafficking would have 1PP all over it aside from just Benson/ADA in an interrogation room.

Good call! When Benson was under suspicion a couple of times, Internal Affairs (IA) was all over her with accusations and a lot of pressure. There should have been a representative from IA at that interrogation to lay down that pressure on Kubiak, but I guess they only wanted Benson to break him down. Did it only seem like Baptiste was there for window dressing? It seems like they couldn't afford another character (and guest star).

Calvada

Calvada

That was bad tactics in the take down - Benson pointing her gun at the trafficker and there's another cop (from a different department I assume, given the different uniform) directly opposite her, also pointing a gun at him.  If shooting breaks out, what are the odds they shoot each other?  

This was a better episode than most recent ones.  Other than the mention of Stabler.  Benson with her little speech about the department covering up for bad cops made me laugh.  What about Elliott and his repeated use of excessive force?  

Is Olivia incapable of fully closing her mouth?  She always looks so stunned at the reveal, which is ridiculous because with her experience in SVU, she must have heard it all by now.  I wish a director would tell her that a firmly closed mouth visually will indicate determination to get the bad guys.  

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dttruman

dttruman

26 minutes ago, Calvada said:

That was bad tactics in the take down - Benson pointing her gun at the trafficker and there's another cop (from a different department I assume, given the different uniform) directly opposite her, also pointing a gun at him.  If shooting breaks out, what are the odds they shoot each other?  

Are you saying there was a chance that Benson could have gotten shot and she would have to convalesce for a few months? I would consider that good tactics and I would chance it.

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dttruman

dttruman

1 hour ago, Ms Blue Jay said:
11 hours ago, meatball77 said:

That episode was unnecessarily graphic.  I did not need to see the burned girl or the accident.  Less is more

100%.  WTF?  That was so shocking and brutal.

Even when Rosanny was deliberately ran over, they used CGI to make it look more vicious and blatant. That's why I thought for sure we would see that Padilla guy get his!

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