S24.E15: King of The Moon

[WendyCR72]

Airing February 23, 2023:

Quote

A man with dementia confesses to murder, but Benson and Carisi believe there's more to the case. When rumors swirl around the squad room, Fin presses Velasco for the truth.

 

[Diana Berry]

What are those wet things in my eyes.  Maybe I’m just overly sentimental.

what happened to Bruno?  Now they want the gal that snitched . I think that I would like the dynamic of Velasco and the snitch vs him and Muncy.  But Finn needs Bruno.

Edited February 24, 2023 by Diana Berry

[shapeshifter]

I haven't watched this show in at least a year, but when I saw the description for this episode and who the guest star was, I decided to watch.
Well done.

 

Nice that they added a dedication to Richard Belzer at the end.

Edited February 24, 2023 by shapeshifter

[Diana Berry]

3 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

I haven't watched this show in at least a year, but when I saw the description for this episode and who the guest star was, I decided to watch.
Well done.

Mariska directed this one 

[ScorpioSoul]

And an ass like Jayne Mansfield, really show? As most of you know, that was Mariska's real life mom.

[Mountainair]

10 minutes ago, ScorpioSoul said:

And an ass like Jayne Mansfield, really show? As most of you know, that was Mariska's real life mom.

I think he said face like Jayne Mansfield which either way still made me roll my eyes. 
I almost thought this was a better Finn episode than the last one. Olivia heavy still but they know how to pull some of the wayward audience back in by featuring a Dementia storyline. I thought it was well done and made me think of my own dearly departed grandpa from dementia. 

[ScorpioSoul]

5 minutes ago, Mountainair said:

I think he said face like Jayne Mansfield which either way still made me roll my eyes. 
I almost thought this was a better Finn episode than the last one. Olivia heavy still but they know how to pull some of the wayward audience back in by featuring a Dementia storyline. I thought it was well done and made me think of my own dearly departed grandpa from dementia. 

Just rewatched it, you are right. That makes it not so bad. Just thought that was kind of bad given the tragic way she lost her mother and at such a young age.

[Xeliou66]

This was a bit better than I expected - I found the Benson/Carisi case compelling for the most part, and while I don’t like how they trashed Velasco, at least Fin got some good scenes in it.

I really liked Carisi even if he was acting a bit more like a cop than a lawyer, he was good in getting to the bottom of the case, and Benson did good detective work as well. It was nice that they dialed back the St Olivia worship for the most part again. I liked Carisi/Benson’s interactions, I’m enjoying Carisi even more now that Rollins is offscreen and he’s interacting with everyone else, I just never saw much romantic chemistry between Carisi/Rollins.

The storyline with the husband of the victim having dementia was pretty well done, dementia is a scary thing and it was portrayed well, but I hated the cheesy ending with the guy dreaming of his wife or whatever while St Olivia read the story, that was so cheesy and felt so unlike what makes SVU good. The flashbacks at the start were okay, but the ending was a step too far.

So overall I thought that case was pretty good, even if the perp did confess rather easily, that was my only gripe about it.

I really don’t like how they threw Velasco under the bus, even if he’s not a killer it didn’t make him look good, and I hate SVU’s tendency to trash good characters. I don’t care for Churlish either and I don’t really want her joining the squad, I missed Bruno a lot tonight, I hope he becomes a permanent addition and partners with Fin. No Muncy for the second week in a row was awesome, can’t stand her and I wish they would replace her, she makes me miss Rollins. At least Fin got some good scenes out of that mess though.

Overall this was something different that worked okay - I didn’t like the unnecessary trashing of Velasco, but the case Carisi/Benson were investigating was decent and the story of the victim and her husband was okay until the over the top ending. Not a great episode but not bad like I expected it to be.

 

[Ms Blue Jay]

Olivia is practically blonde now.  And sitting backwards on that chair at the weirdest, most inappropriate time was so funny.  It reminded me of AC Slater.

I had no idea what the fuck Benson was saying to Velasco at the end there.  Can somebody dumb it down?

Weird episode, weird perp, weird as fuck motive and behaviour.  I guess this is to give Bradley Whitford an Emmy nomination.  It just didn't all work for me, I'm sorry.

41 minutes ago, Xeliou66 said:

I really don’t like how they threw Velasco under the bus, even if he’s not a killer it didn’t make him look good, and I hate SVU’s tendency to trash good characters. I don’t care for Churlish either and I don’t really want her joining the squad, I missed Bruno a lot tonight, I hope he becomes a permanent addition and partners with Fin. No Muncy for the second week in a row was awesome, can’t stand her and I wish they would replace her, she makes me miss Rollins. At least Fin got some good scenes out of that mess though.

I agree a lot here, except I think I like Churlish.  

[kitkat343]

1 hour ago, Xeliou66 said:

 

The storyline with the husband of the victim having dementia was pretty well done, dementia is a scary thing and it was portrayed well, but I hated the cheesy ending with the guy dreaming of his wife or whatever while St Olivia read the story, that was so cheesy and felt so unlike what makes SVU good. The flashbacks at the start were okay, but the ending was a step too far.

 

 

I was starting to roll my eyes at St. Olivia reading the book, interrupting what was one of the best SVU episodes in a long time when I saw the dedication.  This episode seemed perfect to dedicate to Richard Belzer, a story about a curmudgeon who is deep down a really good person.  I was wondering if this episode was originally scheduled to air now, or if they switched the order to dedicate it to him.  It seems like it might be in order due to Valasco's continuing story, and maybe it was just fate.  It was also nice that one of the few well done episodes in recent years could be dedicated to Richard Belzer, who contributed so much to the good years of SVU.

Edited February 24, 2023 by kitkat343

[wknt3]

The Good:
Bradley Whitford. This was a good use of a special guest star for the most part and he gave a good performance and didn't give in to the temptation to overdo it. I'm hoping Mariska was studying it while she was watching the dailies.
The COTW. It was actually pretty well structured and gave us a good story reason for splitting up Benson and Carisi from the rest of the team. It's a small detail and pretty much just doing the job competently, but it's the kind of Screenwriting 101 element that has been mostly missing the past half decade, but has now been done twice in a row. Maybe we have reason to hope?
Carisi. They made good use of him and his story. He was acting like a lawyer, who was also a seasoned investigator and did a good job of having him reworking the case with Mariska without forgetting that he was an ADA now.
Fin and Velasco. The actors played a weak hand pretty well and managed to make this stupid plot mostly tolerable. And the writers managed to keep everyone in character.
The tribute to Richard Belzer. Hopefully they will do more and there was definitely room to trim some fat and do something more, but they ended up with what was actually a really appropriate episode to dedicate to his memory. He always did have good timing, even at the end.

The Bad:
No Muncy. Normally this would be addition by subtraction, but it is an odd decision to give her the assignment of investigatimg Velasco and then resolve it with one of the Bronx team instead of her.
Mariska was better than she has been as a director, but she still can't check her ego at the door. This would have been a better showcase for her and Benson if she could have gotten over her need to have every man that passes through tell Benson how special and attractive she is. Whitford should win a special Emmy for delivering those lines and only seeming mildly embar1rassed.
The Velasco plot. Yes they put it out of it's misery and did it about as well as they could given the buildup (except for not having Muncy and for having his accuser as part of the interview) but it is just such a bad idea. Even if they have a new direction they want to go in for Velasco there has to be a better way of setting it up.
The real perp's confession. The one area where the writing still seems to be missing the basics is the interrogation scenes. Again they could have trimmed some of the other scenes to have the confession seemed earned after real questioning. It would have made Benson look better too - show us instead of talking about her ass!

Overall this was another good episode and much better than I expected based on the previews. Either Mariska has actually listened to some feedback or someone at NBC has quietly insisted on some discreet adult supervision. It was a rare special guest star showcase that worked, while giving a poorly conceived subplot a merciful end. And it was a worthy hour to dedicate to the memory of Richard Belzer, which is probably the most important thing it could be this week.

[Diana Berry]

7 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Olivia is practically blonde now.  And sitting backwards on that chair at the weirdest, most inappropriate time was so funny.  It reminded me of AC Slater.

I had no idea what the fuck Benson was saying to Velasco at the end there.  Can somebody dumb it down?

Weird episode, weird perp, weird as fuck motive and behaviour.  I guess this is to give Bradley Whitford an Emmy nomination.  It just didn't all work for me, I'm sorry.

I agree a lot here, except I think I like Churlish.  

She wants velasco to bring his friend in so that the victims can have justice, that’s the only way he can get back in her good graces . Guess we will get a velasco showcase episode soon

[Route66]

Ugh. Please someone else tell me they thought this was one of the worst episodes ever.

I loathed the "Cold Case" style opening. The graphics of Pence dancing around on the moon while Saint Olivia read his bedtime story was horrible.

Churlish makes an illegal recording and got angry at Velasco for looking into her background? I don't like her at all.

And once again we see that everything Liv does is saintly and perfect and she passes judgement on anyone else not being "by the book". She can hide witnesses and cover up murders like in "Bonfires Vanity" but she bitchily tells Velasco she won't be his friend unless he turns in "Chili". I think I actually hated her by the end 

[The Wild Sow]

4 hours ago, Route66 said:

loathed the "Cold Case" style opening. The graphics of Pence dancing around on the moon while Saint Olivia read his bedtime story was horrible.

Oh well - to each their own taste! I loved the story of their long romance, and am very worried about what will happen to Pence in the future. Obviously he can’t live alone - and even though his nurse was rightly horrified by her nephew’s crime, her gossip set the whole thing in motion. So I don’t think he could possibly continue to employ her!  I guess Assisted Living/memory care for him, and he’s rich enough to afford a good facility. But I have a feeling Pence will be acting on that pact sooner rather than later, as soon as he can find the means.

Actually, the most horrifying thing for me about this story is that Winnie & Pence were supposed to be “old.” Damn, they were  60!  Bradley Whitford  is a year younger than I am, and Nancy Travis is a few years younger than him! That was some very early-onset dementia he had. So sad.

[EtheltoTillie]

I'm with you @Route66.  Pretty awful plots, both of them.  Nancy Travis had very little to do, and I didn't understand how the nephew got involved.  NGL, I was not paying close attention!  The Velasco plot is nuts.  What kind of name is Churlish?  Is that her personality or her name? 

I was glad they were able to squeeze in the Belzer memoriam on such short notice. 

Edited February 24, 2023 by EtheltoTillie

[Angeltoes]

3 hours ago, The Wild Sow said:

Actually, the most horrifying thing for me about this story is that Winnie & Pence were supposed to be “old.” Damn, they were  60!  Bradley Whitford  is a year younger than I am, and Nancy Travis is a few years younger than him!

Thank you!  I looked it up and Mr. Whitford is two months older than I am.  The old comment was offensive because I still have a few good years left!

[The Wild Sow]

43 minutes ago, Angeltoes said:

4 hours ago, The Wild Sow said:

Actually, the most horrifying thing for me about this story is that Winnie & Pence were supposed to be “old.” Damn, they were  60!  Bradley Whitford  is a year younger than I am, and Nancy Travis is a few years younger than him!

Thank you!  I looked it up and Mr. Whitford is two months older than I am.  The old comment was offensive because I still have a few good years left!

Ha, me too!  If they were 10 years old (or even 11 or 12) in 1973 - the year of the spelling bee - they're only between 60 and 62 now.  LOL, it's weird being the same age as old people (several years older, in my case.)

 

Of course, the person who actually called Winnie "old" was the 20-year-old murderer and rapist!  To a 20 year old (criminal or not) -- 60 is old!

[Xeliou66]

9 hours ago, Route66 said:

Ugh. Please someone else tell me they thought this was one of the worst episodes ever.

I loathed the "Cold Case" style opening. The graphics of Pence dancing around on the moon while Saint Olivia read his bedtime story was horrible.

Churlish makes an illegal recording and got angry at Velasco for looking into her background? I don't like her at all.

And once again we see that everything Liv does is saintly and perfect and she passes judgement on anyone else not being "by the book". She can hide witnesses and cover up murders like in "Bonfires Vanity" but she bitchily tells Velasco she won't be his friend unless he turns in "Chili". I think I actually hated her by the end 

Agreed about Benson being a huge hypocrite once again - she harshly judges Velasco for actions he did as a youth, but St Olivia has bent and broke the rules too many times to count and no one can call her out, she’s always right. I just can’t stand Benson now, she’s such a self righteous hypocrite amongst other things. Benson’s attitude towards Velasco at the end pissed me off as well.
Agreed about Churlish and I don’t get why Fin wants her on the squad apparently, how on earth could she work with Velasco after what happened between them? I really hope Bruno is added to the main cast though, him and Fin are great together. 
Agreed about ending the cheesy, sappy ending of St Olivia reading Pence the story and the onscreen graphics, just horrid.  
I really don’t like how they’ve thrown Velasco under the bus with this stupid storyline, and I hope they don’t drag it on and on. 

[MarylandGirl]

Agreed that the ending with walking on the moon was silly and took away from the ep a bit. Imagining being back with his wife in the classroom was fine, and I wish they'd just stayed with that. Was actually expecting him to pass away as she finished the story. Well, before they showed her there reading, I thought she'd go to his place and find him dead, either by his own hand or naturally. I feel sad thinking of his last days, being alone, though I guess he won't be that aware.

I was starting to tear up at the end (despite the cheesy moon thing), then the Richard Belzer tribute really got me.

I think it would have been a better ep had they not spent half of it on the Velasco storyline, even though I think that was fairly well done, such as it was. Not sure about Churlish joining the team, if that's where they're headed. Is the idea that Velasco will leave? Definitely want Bruno back! And don't care about Muncie.

[preeya]

On 2/23/2023 at 7:48 PM, ScorpioSoul said:

And an ass like Jayne Mansfield, really show? As most of you know, that was Mariska's real life mom.

He actually said:

"An ass like the devil and
a face like Jayne Mansfield."

[pezgirl7]

17 hours ago, wknt3 said:

This would have been a better showcase for her and Benson if she could have gotten over her need to have every man that passes through tell Benson how special and attractive she is.

I was actually starting to wonder if she has it in her contract that someone has to compliment her looks in every episode, even if it’s a perp doing it in a creepy way. Or maybe it’s just a running joke/game with the writers to figure out how to squeeze it into an episode.

[Zaffy]

A decent episode, even if the end was a bit cheesy. 
I like  Churlish, from the first moment I saw her I thought she should join the team.  
I do not like what they are doing with Velasco, it is a very boring story and I do not really care about it cause well they never really made us care about Velasco. 

[Route66]

7 hours ago, pezgirl7 said:

I was actually starting to wonder if she has it in her contract that someone has to compliment her looks in every episode, even if it’s a perp doing it in a creepy way. Or maybe it’s just a running joke/game with the writers to figure out how to squeeze it into an episode.

DAE think throwing in Jayne Mansfield was nonsense? She died in 1967, when Pence would have been maybe 5. A man with dementia would likely think of a model who was well known when he was in his teens or early twenties; possibly Farrah Fawcett or Heather Locklear. 

[MerBearHou]

23 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

What kind of name is Churlish?  Is that her personality or her name? 

I wondered the same thing -- is this her real last name?  It's an adjective of a terrible personality!!

[wknt3]

On 2/24/2023 at 8:35 AM, Route66 said:

Ugh. Please someone else tell me they thought this was one of the worst episodes ever.

I'm sure somebody else has missed the second half of the series' run! Was it great? No. But there are a LOT of worse episodes out there, especially in the "Benson showcase with big name guest star" category. The glaring flaws that are foundational to current day SVU  were there and there were some choices I would not have made, but it was mostly competent and Mariska was actually somewhat reined in compared to her previous directorial episodes (seriously she actually framed, lit and costumed a shot so Benson looked like an actual avenging angel come down from heaven. So I will stick with my appraisal of flawed, but solid and much better than we could have expected from the promos.

 

23 hours ago, MarylandGirl said:

Agreed that the ending with walking on the moon was silly and took away from the ep a bit. Imagining being back with his wife in the classroom was fine, and I wish they'd just stayed with that.

It was an interesting idea and an attempt to do something different. I don't think they quite pulled it off, but I appreciated the intent which I took to be showing both how lasting their love was and graphically show the slipping grasp on reality. It's the most unsolvable problem with the series - they have done just about every story out there and every episode is almost inevitably a rehash or will have something a bit silly or forced when it tries to be different without having the budget to really do so. And also when it comes to the idea of giving up the moon for your loved ones, Mariska Hargitay is no Jim Henson...

 

Edited February 25, 2023 by wknt3

[Fellaway]

Benson reading to Bradley Whitford's character at the end took me back to the episode where Munch went to the hospital at the end to read to the comatose little girl. That was a great Munch episode. Given the timing, I'm sure it was a coincidence, but it made this a really appropriate episode to honor Richard Belzer.

[Drogo]

On 2/24/2023 at 8:35 AM, Route66 said:

Ugh. Please someone else tell me they thought this was one of the worst episodes ever.

I loathed the "Cold Case" style opening. The graphics of Pence dancing around on the moon while Saint Olivia read his bedtime story was horrible.

Churlish makes an illegal recording and got angry at Velasco for looking into her background? I don't like her at all.

And once again we see that everything Liv does is saintly and perfect and she passes judgement on anyone else not being "by the book". She can hide witnesses and cover up murders like in "Bonfires Vanity" but she bitchily tells Velasco she won't be his friend unless he turns in "Chili". I think I actually hated her by the end 

With you.  My spouse watched this episode with me after abandoning the show a few years ago.  I couldn’t have picked a worse episode as a first-one-back.  
 

The six plus minutes of exposition at the beginning were six minutes we’ll never get back, but nowhere near as painful as the closing scene which was… I just… what.  

The episode could’ve benefited from Bruno, but I guess they wouldn’t have anywhere for him to say he’s rich whatwith the COTW subjects being wealthy.  

I also have no sympathy for spelling bee corruption.  Is nothing sacred? 

 

[Nintra16]

I hate the way Velasco talks to and about Churlish. Maybe because she's a beautiful Black woman (as am I lol) but I get racist vibes from it. He's so disrespectful. I actually thought he was going to be guilty. Nice interrogation scene from Fin though. 

[The Wild Sow]

On 2/24/2023 at 3:04 PM, EtheltoTillie said:

and I didn't understand how the nephew got involved....  What kind of name is Churlish?  Is that her personality or her name? 

The nephew got involved because his aunt gossiped to the family about her employers! And he picked her up from work/met the couple sometime when the husband wasn't able to.

 

RE: Churlish....BOTH! 

[Drogo]

12 hours ago, Nintra16 said:

hate the way Velasco talks to and about Churlish. Maybe because she's a beautiful Black woman (as am I lol) but I get racist vibes from it. He's so disrespectful.

 Pretty sure the writers are setting up a future relationship between the two of them. *Reformed unapologetic bad boy with skeletons in his closet from the wrong side of the streets* meets *Well educated goody two shoes born with a silver spoon who always does The Right Thing.*. If not romantic, professional.  

This show is really hurting for a great partner OTP dynamic. 

[Cotypubby]

I was confused by the nephew plot. So he raped and murdered his own aunt? Was he supposed to have some criminal past because that’s a hell of first crime to commit.

[Drogo]

7 minutes ago, Cotypubby said:

I was confused by the nephew plot. So he raped and murdered his own aunt? Was he supposed to have some criminal past because that’s a hell of first crime to commit.

He was the home health aides nephew.  He murdered one of his aunt’s employers.

[gesundheit]

On 2/24/2023 at 12:56 AM, kitkat343 said:

I was starting to roll my eyes at St. Olivia reading the book, interrupting what was one of the best SVU episodes in a long time when I saw the dedication.  This episode seemed perfect to dedicate to Richard Belzer, a story about a curmudgeon who is deep down a really good person.  I was wondering if this episode was originally scheduled to air now, or if they switched the order to dedicate it to him.  It seems like it might be in order due to Valasco's continuing story, and maybe it was just fate.  It was also nice that one of the few well done episodes in recent years could be dedicated to Richard Belzer, who contributed so much to the good years of SVU.

I think it was just fate -- considering both the lead guest star and the episode's director, this was definitely made to be a February sweeps episode. 

[Demian]

On 2/25/2023 at 7:05 AM, Route66 said:

DAE think throwing in Jayne Mansfield was nonsense? She died in 1967, when Pence would have been maybe 5. A man with dementia would likely think of a model who was well known when he was in his teens or early twenties; possibly Farrah Fawcett or Heather Locklear. 

On top of that, Benson's a brunette.  I'd suggest Jaclyn Smith or Lynda Carter.

 

On 2/24/2023 at 8:35 AM, Route66 said:

Ugh. Please someone else tell me they thought this was one of the worst episodes ever.

I'm torn, actually -- the verbal tongue baths given to Benson by the dementia patient and the overall St. Olivia Of The SVU vibe make me hate it, but aside from Bradley Whitford being the most well-groomed and put-together late-stage early-onset Alzheimer's patient I've ever seen in my life, this episode was surprisingly good about dementia issues, which don't often appear on broadcast TV.

And as far as Bradley Whitford getting an Emmy nomination out of all of this?  Forget it -- the ship has long sailed on broadcast TV getting Emmy nominations for Very Special Episodes airing during sweeps months.  SVU's never getting an Emmy nomination again.

Ugh:  Just remembered a better episode they did that involved dementia -- the Jane Powell episode from 2002.

Edited February 27, 2023 by Demian

[CrystalBlue]

My wishlist is that Bruno stays, Velasco stays and Benson forgets about him turning in Chili, Muncy and Churlish get reassigned somewhere else or go back to whence they came.

They used the "Cliches are cliches for a reason" line in both this and the L&O Mothership Reboot episodes this week (Frank Cosgrove said it on L&O)!

I watched on the NBC app on my Roku account and totally missed any tribute to Richard Belzer, so bah humbug!

[TV Diva Queen]

I saw a tiktok a couple weeks ago and it was Mariska on set walking away, and off camera someone said "looking good Mariska" and she shouted back "its JM' genes"  makes me think it was this episode they were filming.  (I'm somewhat paraphrasing on this too)

I enjoyed this episode and loved the Beltzer memorium at the end.  

 

[tennisgurl]

I'm really torn on this one, especially regarding the main case of the week. I love Bradley Whitford and thought that this was a great showcase for him, the whole premise of having your key witness be suffering from dementia is a good idea for a case, and I generally thought that everything with Bradley Whitford was really good. I am really glad that they gave the big guest star so much juicy material with Olivia as mostly a supporting character to his story. I also thought the intro was cute, I liked seeing the story of Pence and his wife and their whole life together, starting and ending with with the book he wrote. 

On the other hand, Mariska just couldn't resist the urge to build herself up to a ridiculous degree again. Not only do we get constant references to how smart, pretty, and ethical she is, she's the picture of empathy while dealing with Pence, she's one of about three competent people working in the whole NYPD, I would say that she's practically perfect in every way, but she would ask you to remove the word "practically". This show is always bad about its Olivia worship, but with her as the actual director, it turns into a full on tongue fest. Of course we have to have a whole sequence where we find out that Homicide is so incompetent and lazy that they don't even bother doing the most minor bit of investigating of a murder, because they "got a confession", which would be embarrassingly lazy no matter what, but he's a confession from a man with dementia! I'm sure there are cops out there who are that lame, but this so obviously just exists so that Olivia can tell them off and be the Best Detective Ever, its so contrived. 

The ending was painfully cheesy, those effects were so embarrassing, it would have been so much better if they just ended with Olivia reading his book to him, then maybe have him flashback to his wife and him as kids and then them as adults, that would have been a perfect nice bittersweet ending for the story. 

I really don't like plot with Velasco and that they've tried to throw him under the bus. I also think that everyone is taking weird stuff from his story, like he has to find and arrest his old friend for murder and that's the only way he can be redeemed after letting this murderer go, when it sounds like his friend was being forced into killing these people by this evil assassin group, why are they specifically focused on this one kid? It sounds like these assassins were the ones really responsible for the murders, this kid was just a finger on the gun. Even if his old friend is a criminal now, they're making it sound like the two of them found and killed these two people all on their own when it sounds like they were both victims of these crime syndicate, like the kid that Olivia was all about protecting from the gang a few weeks ago. This whole plot is just so weird and I do not get why they decided to go this way with his character, who's I have liked so far. 

The Richard Belzer memorial at the end was a nice touch. 

Edited February 27, 2023 by tennisgurl

[pezgirl7]

2 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

The ending was painfully cheesy, those effects were so embarrassing, it would have been so much better if they just ended with Olivia reading his book to him, then maybe have him flashback to his wife and him as kids and then them as adults, that would have been a perfect nice bittersweet ending for the story. 

I agree that would have been a much better ending, but I thought the effects were pretty good for what they were trying to show. Reminded me of a mashup between Le Petit Prince and the music video for Tonight, Tonight by The Smashing Pumpkins.

[tvfanatic13]

I loved this episode, but then again I am in the apparent minority that still likes this show. Glad for the Belzer memoriam.

[Nessa]

On 2/24/2023 at 2:31 PM, shapeshifter said:

Nice that they added a dedication to Richard Belzer at the end.

I had to d/l the episode as it's not airing in Australia.....there was no dedication at the end, went straight to the credits.

[debraran]

On 2/23/2023 at 10:31 PM, shapeshifter said:

I haven't watched this show in at least a year, but when I saw the description for this episode and who the guest star was, I decided to watch.
Well done.

 

Nice that they added a dedication to Richard Belzer at the end.

I did the same things, was tired of the rape/angst and wanted my head clear of it. I saw a talk show clip talking about this episode and the star and it was "different" so no typical violence. I loved it. I did not following the other segment with the cop well, FF through that a lot but loved the story with "Pence", I loved his book and reading it at the end.....priceless. Good job by all.  Cheesy, yes, but sometimes that's nice. A little over the top with Benson's eyes, okay, yes, but I love a good love story and I love dementia showed another way, not everyone is the same.

I wondered though, was he alone as she said with just an aide coming in?

 

Edited March 1, 2023 by debraran

[debraran]

On 2/26/2023 at 11:27 PM, Demian said:

On top of that, Benson's a brunette.  I'd suggest Jaclyn Smith or Lynda Carter.

 

 

I thought they were being too cute since that is her mom. But it wasn't the typical show. Maybe the director's way ( Mariska) of giving her mom kudos. I do know people who get to love older models or actresses. They will say my wife reminds me of Audrey Hepburn and watch old movies with her but not in her age group.

[Blondi]

On 2/23/2023 at 9:48 PM, ScorpioSoul said:

And an ass like Jayne Mansfield, really show? As most of you know, that was Mariska's real life mom.

 

[Blondi]

Actually, he said a face like Jayne Mansfield. 

[Blondi]

So, I hate Churlish and I hope she doesn’t become a regular on the show. She’s a snitch, she’s sneaky, and not to be trusted. I like Bruno though. He seems to fit in without any drama. I think Benson needs to back off Velasco with her holier than though attitude. It really gets old. Overall, it’s been a pretty decent season though. 

[PrincessPurrsALot]

On 2/25/2023 at 6:12 PM, Drogo said:

The six plus minutes of exposition at the beginning were six minutes we’ll never get back, but nowhere near as painful as the closing scene which was… I just… what.  

I also have no sympathy for spelling bee corruption.  Is nothing sacred? 

 

That went on so long.  And the maudlin music really made it feel dragged out.   Okay, they were in love from when they were children.  We get it.  

On 2/26/2023 at 8:27 PM, Demian said:

On top of that, Benson's a brunette.  I'd suggest Jaclyn Smith or Lynda Carter.

 

I'm torn, actually -- the verbal tongue baths given to Benson by the dementia patient and the overall St. Olivia Of The SVU vibe make me hate it, but aside from Bradley Whitford being the most well-groomed and put-together late-stage early-onset Alzheimer's patient I've ever seen in my life, this episode was surprisingly good about dementia issues, which don't often appear on broadcast TV.

And as far as Bradley Whitford getting an Emmy nomination out of all of this?  Forget it -- the ship has long sailed on broadcast TV getting Emmy nominations for Very Special Episodes airing during sweeps months.  SVU's never getting an Emmy nomination again.

Ugh:  Just remembered a better episode they did that involved dementia -- the Jane Powell episode from 2002.

I thought they did a good job with portraying dementia.  I agree with everyone who pointed out that this is early onset.  It would have been nice if that had been mentioned rather than making it feel inevitable for people in their 60s. Bradley Whitford did a good job showing the impact. The references to sundowning were well done.  

His complimenting Olivia's face and ass seemed incredibly out of character for the shy Pence.  Also Olivia seeing it as charming was ridiculous.  First, he's not in his 90s and therefore potentially not aware that his comments are inappropriate.  Benson and Pence are contemporaries.  Second, she should know not to encourage or laugh off such behavior.  She's an SVU Captain.  She knows how comments often are used to reduce women.  I guess I need to handwave that it is part of the character changes that occurred with dementia. 

Every time they say Churlish, I think:

[Tachi Rocinante]

On 2/25/2023 at 11:04 PM, Nintra16 said:

I hate the way Velasco talks to and about Churlish. Maybe because she's a beautiful Black woman (as am I lol) but I get racist vibes from it. He's so disrespectful. I actually thought he was going to be guilty.

But he wasn't guilty. She was just as disrespectful and jumped to conclusions, and both of her accusations (the shooting, the drugs) ended up being wrong.

[Xeliou66]

15 minutes ago, Tachi Rocinante said:

But he wasn't guilty. She was just as disrespectful and jumped to conclusions, and both of her accusations (the shooting, the drugs) ended up being wrong.

Agreed, Velasco had every right to be pissed that Churlish secretly recorded him. I honestly don’t see how Velasco and Churlish can work in the same squad going forward - I don’t want Churlish to join SVU, but if she does Velasco should transfer out, there’s no way they could work together after what happened. I hated this whole Velasco subplot and I hope it’s forgotten about soon, and I don’t want Churlish on the squad even though I’ve wanted more detectives for a long time. I want more Bruno and Fin, they are a great duo and Bruno is the most interesting detective they’ve added in in a while. I wish they knew how to write female characters better - Muncy is so awful she makes me miss Rollins, and Churlish is unlikable, and of course Benson is just unbearable due to the hero worship of the character and how they never acknowledge her flaws anymore. Give me more Bruno, Fin and Carisi, and more Velasco too if they don’t trash him. 

Edited March 18, 2023 by Xeliou66

[Tachi Rocinante]

I don't have an issue with the Churlish character - she has room to grow and could be a positive addition to the squad.

However, the character needs to own up to her overzealous behavior and apologize (onscreen or off).  If the writers continue to make her strictly an antagonist for antagonism sake, it won't accomplish anything.

Velasco is just a hot mess.