S25.E10: Combat Fatigue

[txhorns79]

Airing April 18, 2024.

Quote

The squad is on edge as Carisi waits for a verdict in Maddie's kidnapping case. Benson tries to help the Flynn family pick up the pieces of their broken life.

 

[dttruman]

8 hours ago, txhorns79 said:

Airing April 18, 2024.

 

Another reason to ask, is Benson a detective, an advocate, or a crisis counselor?

[Spartan Girl]

Oh goody, another jury person that’s a scumbag groupie.

Hey, Maddy’s mom: maybe the reason why your husband is on edge is because you treated him like shit and nearly drove him to suicide because you blamed him for Maddy’s kidnapping? But sure, you’re still the victim.

[Litnit]

1 hour ago, dttruman said:

Another reason to ask, is Benson a detective, an advocate, or a crisis counselor?

Even my 12 year old can see how terrible her boundaries are. 🤣

[Xeliou66]

Good lord this show is horrible now, it’s nothing but a melodramatic soap opera - once again we have St Olivia being shoved down our throats as an all knowing beacon of light and morality and the case taking a backseat to Benson drama. At least Carisi got a good moment with his closing, and seeing him in court made this episode more tolerable than the last one, but that’s not saying much at all. I didn’t care one iota about Maddie or her unlikable parents, and I didn’t give a fuck what happened to them or about the case. I just hope we never have to hear from them again. 
Why waste Bruno and Fin appearances on basically glorified cameos? Hell the whole squad aside from St O and Sykes were just cameos. At least Bruno/Fin added life to their scenes, but it was yet another case of the plot taking a backseat to Benson worship. I was completely bored by this, and I’ve hated this storyline since it’s beginning.

I don’t really have much else to say about this - I’m so sick of melodramatic St Olivia garbage that I don’t know why I still watch. The worship of Benson has reached an all time high now and there’s nothing to the show beyond making Benson look holy. I hope this awful storyline is done with for good and I hope the season finishes strong after these terrible last 2 episodes, the promo for next episode looks interesting but it seems like the writers have just given up trying to write interesting cases now.

[wknt3]

The Good:
Carisi. He had some good moments this week and was about the only one who wasn't completely sucked into the Benson vortex.

It wasn't a two-parter.

The promo for next week at least has some potential.

The Bad:
Benson, Benson, Benson. Another episode where she is the expert in everything and everyone else is just there to handle the details. And she alone has the power to find both justice and understanding. And she has the gall to talk about the perp having a messiah complex?

The heavy handed editing and musical cues. It's not like the writing didn't already make everything else abundantly clear so we don't need to be beaten over the head. All it did was undercut the great job the actors did making the material almost tolerable.

Yet another Maddie episode that adds nothing new unless you consider elevating the rehashed material to a new level of unbelievablity new.

After episodes with characters absent who would have added something to the story we have everyone here this week, with most of them not getting anything significant to do. We could have easily given Curry, Velasco, Bruno and/or Fin the week off since they contributed nothing of significance either plotwise or thematically.

in an episode of overused, overdone cliches we have another hostage situation where Benson saves the day by completely disregarding procedure. And they make it worse by not actually taking a chance to go for either surprise or nuance - they could have either had mom kill the creep with  Benson complicit, or actually ended the scene with Benson arresting the mom instead of merely mentioning it in dialogue and brought to the forefront that she was in the wrong.

The ending. Benson whispers and makes it all better and the victim cries tears of gratitude while Mariska shows that she cannot do nonverbal acting well at all any more.

Overall this was a steaming turd of an episode. Bad pretty much from start to finish. A bad idea executed poorly. And while I like being right, the writers really didn't need to prove that last week's episode was merely mediocre and that they were capable of producing a special and unique kind of bad and that the Benson worship dial went to 11.

[Ohiopirate02]

I might could handle the OTT Benson worship if the writers did not throw logic out the window in service of it.  That damn lock of hair in that damn leather pouch.  As soon as Maddie mentioned it, why did Carisi not get a warrant to procure it as evidence?  I know the answer to that, because it needed to be in that pouch on George's (it was George, right.  This episode is not worth looking that up) neck for that hotel room hostage situation so Benson could save the day yet again.  

[cfinboston]

DAE have flashbacks to OG "Hubris" with this one? The juror thinking she had a magic connection with the pro se defendant? On every episode where there's a pro se defendant, the judge appoints an attorney as co-council except one where the defender isn't even American?

How did Maddie's mom get George's number and how did they get to the point of fucking SEXTING?

I wanted to punch something when Liv told Fin to leave the motel room. Why not just say, "Fin. Everything has to be about me. Leave." 

Curry's neck pillow. I can't with her. Captain and never been on a stakeout?

I hate Liv's fucking nodding more than whispering. I hate the ending/fade to black where she looks at Carisi and nods. She did the same at Maddie's press conference.

They get a guilty verdict and Liv's first move isn't to do anything as pedantic as let them be together as a family. She has to drag the poor kid away to her special doctor because once again, only Liv can fix anything.

 

 

[preeya]

13 hours ago, dttruman said:

Another reason to ask, is Benson a detective, an advocate, or a crisis counselor?

None of the above! She is a thorn in the side of every viewer.

[farmgal4]

I think they should just go ahead and change the name of the show to “Law & Order: Benson” or just “Benson.”

[wknt3]

55 minutes ago, farmgal4 said:

I think they should just go ahead and change the name of the show to “Law & Order: Benson” or just “Benson.”

[Ohiopirate02]

7 minutes ago, wknt3 said:

Yes, but titles normally do not fall under copyright laws.  

[jmonique]

I get that cult figures are inexplicable, but I'm supposed to believe some skinny, blank-eyed, dirty, middle-aged, balding kidnapping tweaker can just stare at young women and transfix them into wanting to run away with him? 

Really?

Messianic complex, my ass. This show used to try. Remember when there were psychiatrists who'd take some time to actually talk to the perp and diagnose them?

[Amazee-Dayzee]

For a comment that is NOT about St. Olivia the patron saint of special victims I have a quick question if anybody knows the answer. The woman that Bruno was in bed with at the beginning: was that his ex-wife? I remember last season that it was implied he still had feelings for her and they divorced because they never saw each other due to their jobs (I think she was a firefighter?)

[dttruman]

2 hours ago, wknt3 said:

I can see Hargitay with a Law & Order spin off, "Special Victim Files, where Benson and Benson work together to fight crime. It's her way to force out Ice-T. Since Robert Guillaume past away, she gets all the screen time.

Edited April 19 by dttruman

[illdoc]

9 hours ago, wknt3 said:

The promo for next week at least has some potential.

Not next week...May 2. 

[dttruman]

9 minutes ago, Amazee-Dayzee said:

For a comment that is NOT about St. Olivia the patron saint of special victims I have a quick question if anybody knows the answer. The woman that Bruno was in bed with at the beginning: was that his ex-wife? I remember last season that it was implied he still had feelings for her and they divorced because they never saw each other due to their jobs (I think she was a firefighter?)

Well, he has recently become a multi-millionaire, so maybe a lot of girls think they can find a deep spiritual connection that leads to an idyllic contentment

[Xeliou66]

27 minutes ago, Amazee-Dayzee said:

For a comment that is NOT about St. Olivia the patron saint of special victims I have a quick question if anybody knows the answer. The woman that Bruno was in bed with at the beginning: was that his ex-wife? I remember last season that it was implied he still had feelings for her and they divorced because they never saw each other due to their jobs (I think she was a firefighter?)

I don’t know if it was his ex or not - it kind of looked like her but I don’t know for sure. 

[januaryman]

This show is completely ridiculous - it makes FBI look like high art. Perp was a poor man's William Lewis. At least that guy gave a brilliant performance compared to whatever this guy was doing. Flynns were terribly acted as well - they don't even spring for decent guest actors anymore, which used to be the draw.

Retire, Olivia - you should be eligible for a pension by now.

[Ohiopirate02]

1 hour ago, dttruman said:

Well, he has recently become a multi-millionaire, so maybe a lot of girls think they can find a deep spiritual connection that leads to an idyllic contentment

A down to earth millionaire who's easy on the eyes and has a busy job meaning my introverted ass would get many an evening to stay at home reading books, I'd hit that.  My student loans would get paid off, we'd have enough to afford a maid if we continued to live modestly.  I'm not really seeing a downside.  Unless he wants kids.

[dttruman]

4 minutes ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

A down to earth millionaire who's easy on the eyes and has a busy job meaning my introverted ass would get many an evening to stay at home reading books, I'd hit that.  My student loans would get paid off, we'd have enough to afford a maid if we continued to live modestly.  I'm not really seeing a downside.  Unless he wants kids.

There will have to be some controversy being a subordinate to Benson.

[Ohiopirate02]

15 minutes ago, dttruman said:

There will have to be some controversy being a subordinate to Benson.

Implement a rule that there's no talking about work at home.  Then arrange to never meet Benson.  

[wknt3]

22 hours ago, dttruman said:

Another reason to ask, is Benson a detective, an advocate, or a crisis counselor?

Yes she is all of that and more. Investigator, advocate, counselor, legal theorist, scientist, psychologist, sharpshooter, teacher, ethicist, psychic, wine connoisseur, mother of the year, and more.

She is the Alpha and  Omega, the beginning and end. She is 32 flavors and then some. She's a sinner, she's a saint, she does not feel ashamed. She's your Hell, she's your dream, she's nothing in between. You know you wouldn't want it any other way..
 

7 hours ago, farmgal4 said:

I think they should just go ahead and change the name of the show to “Law & Order: Benson” or just “Benson.”

 

6 hours ago, wknt3 said:

 

6 hours ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

Yes, but titles normally do not fall under copyright laws.  

It wasn't about copyright it was about the OG Benson's look of disapproval. Because Google Image Search came up empty for "Robert Guillame flipping the bird"...

Edited April 19 by wknt3
fix formatting

[Andyourlittledog2]

This show has become unwatchable.

[Sake614]

So I have a question…Carisi made an off-hand comment to Finn and Bruno about them both being divorced. Did I blink and miss something? When did Fin and Phoebe break up? They just got married a couple years ago!

[MarylandGirl]

1 hour ago, Sake614 said:

So I have a question…Carisi made an off-hand comment to Finn and Bruno about them both being divorced. Did I blink and miss something? When did Fin and Phoebe break up? They just got married a couple years ago!

I assumed that was about Fin's first marriage, rather than Phoebe? The ex with whom he had his son (they were married, right?) At least, I hope it's not about Phoebe.

[Ohiopirate02]

I thought Fin and Pheobe decided not to get married but did not break up.  

[Xeliou66]

31 minutes ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

I thought Fin and Pheobe decided not to get married but did not break up.  

Yes that’s exactly what happened, and last we heard they were still together. I assume Carisi was referring to Fin’s ex wife Teresa Randall, the mother of Ken.

[MarylandGirl]

4 hours ago, Xeliou66 said:

Yes that’s exactly what happened, and last we heard they were still together. I assume Carisi was referring to Fin’s ex wife Teresa Randall, the mother of Ken.

Right, I'd forgotten how the wedding had turned out. And Ken, yes, I couldn't pull his name (but could picture him and recall the plotlines he'd been in--the joys of being in my 40s!)

[Wizardpatch]

This guy wasn't a Ted Bundy! So ridiculous that they gave him "powers" over stupid lonely women.

Edited April 22 by Wizardpatch

[Zaffy]

I stopped watching the previous episode at around 15mins. I stopped watching this the moment I heard the name "Maddie". Which was when? 5 mins in?
Omg... my hopes for this show is that Mariska is quitting and all this TERRIBLE season is just the build up for this. 
The other explanation is that during the writers strike, production asked AI to write the scripts adding keywords like "Mariska" "Godlike" "Benson, Benson, Benson" "Olivia" "Saint" "Savior" "Ultimate Hero" "Ego" "lots of whispering" and apparently "Maddie". The later was probably added by mistake when the producer received a call from a friend called Maddie. Or was sharing piccies of his fav kitty. We will never learn....

Edited April 23 by Zaffy

[GiandujaPie]

Lots of problems with this episode. First of all, I don't understand why if the verdict hadn't been officially recorded, why they did not just replace the rogue juror with one of the alternates. The rogue juror was not deliberating in good faith or in following the law so she should have been replaced with an alternate. Second of all, I don't even know what there was to defend. How can it be legal to take a minor away from her parents without their consent, even if you and her claim it was consensual? She is not old enough to consent to something like that. This wasn't a case of custodial interference or even 2 teenagers running away together. This was a disgusting older man who took a child away from her parents. Even if there were aspects of their time together that she may have enjoyed, there is no legal justification for what he did. There was no reason for the jury to reach any other verdict other than guilty unless they were going for jury nullification. 

And I just don't understand what was the point of the mother exchanging gross pictures with the perp. What was she hoping to accomplish? 

[Ohiopirate02]

1 hour ago, GiandujaPie said:

Lots of problems with this episode. First of all, I don't understand why if the verdict hadn't been officially recorded, why they did not just replace the rogue juror with one of the alternates. The rogue juror was not deliberating in good faith or in following the law so she should have been replaced with an alternate. Second of all, I don't even know what there was to defend. How can it be legal to take a minor away from her parents without their consent, even if you and her claim it was consensual? She is not old enough to consent to something like that. This wasn't a case of custodial interference or even 2 teenagers running away together. This was a disgusting older man who took a child away from her parents. Even if there were aspects of their time together that she may have enjoyed, there is no legal justification for what he did. There was no reason for the jury to reach any other verdict other than guilty unless they were going for jury nullification. 

And I just don't understand what was the point of the mother exchanging gross pictures with the perp. What was she hoping to accomplish? 

Nothing about this episode or the whole Maddie arc makes sense because the story only exists to service St. Olivia.  The writers wanted certain beats to happen and forced the story to fit those beats. Whole plot points were discarded and logic went out the window.  I still cringe at the idea that "the only witness" was the drug dealer from Pittsburgh who conveniently dies off screen in jail when you have the guy from Episode One who paid George to kidnap Maddie for him, and the guy George sold Maddie to in a later episode.  What happened to those guys and the forensic accounting linking George to them?  How did St. Olivia's detectives not notice the lock of Maddie's hair in that necklace he was wearing around his neck?  Why when that was pointed out to them by Maddie did Carisi not secure that as evidence?  I could go on about how badly this whole arc was written just to prop up St. Olivia.

[tennisgurl]

For fucks sake, I cannot believe we are still on this Maddie shit. We already found her, we should be done now, but of course we need more of St. Olivia, the only person in the world who can save every victim and stop every bad guy who is basically a one woman justice system who also has time to be the perfect mom and still have TV perfect makeup (unless the makeup artist decides to mess with Mariska and give her the overly aggressive eyeliner) who everyone worships. BLEH! 

Maddie's mom and Olivia are two peas in a pod, no wonder they've latched onto each other. Yes, this is all clearly about you, not your husband who you guilted into an attempted suicide or your traumatized daughter, your the real victim here.

I'm sorry, I know that the appeal of cult leaders is mystifying to most people, but I just cannot buy that this scraggly crazy eyed middle aged man without an once of charisma can instantly get girls to run off with him or get jurors to fall in love with him. The actor is just not interesting enough, or the writing is god awful, or its both.

Edited April 24 by tennisgurl

[Spartan Girl]

1 minute ago, tennisgurl said:

The actor is just not interesting enough, or the writing is god awful, or its both.

[Zaffy]

3 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

For fucks sake, I cannot believe we are still on this Maddie shit.

There are all this people in Law and Order official Facebook page, who praise it....
Are they real?????
You know,  I think I would had no problem with a Saint Olivia series.  As long as it was written well. Which is not. It makes me feel embarrassed for Mariska. Which is silly, since apparently Mariska is just fine with adoring herself in every way possible. 

[MinorL]

15 hours ago, Zaffy said:

There are all this people in Law and Order official Facebook page, who praise it....
Are they real?????
You know,  I think I would had no problem with a Saint Olivia series.  As long as it was written well. Which is not. It makes me feel embarrassed for Mariska. Which is silly, since apparently Mariska is just fine with adoring herself in every way possible. 

People on Twitter (or I guess it’s called X) are obsessed with Mariska/Benson, praising her all over. It’s so weird. 

[Xeliou66]

27 minutes ago, MinorL said:

People on Twitter (or I guess it’s called X) are obsessed with Mariska/Benson, praising her all over. It’s so weird. 

Mariska seems to have die hard followers who basically worship her/Benson, it’s very weird I agree, not trying to bash anyone but I just don’t get that level of devotion to an actor/tv character. It is weird to me. And it feels like these are the people SVU panders to, probably because MH enjoys making herself the center of the show and playing the hero.

[Zaffy]

5 hours ago, Xeliou66 said:

Mariska seems to have die hard followers who basically worship her/Benson, it’s very weird I agree, not trying to bash anyone but I just don’t get that level of devotion to an actor/tv character. It is weird to me. And it feels like these are the people SVU panders to, probably because MH enjoys making herself the center of the show and playing the hero.

It is not bad to have a role model with the qualities of Benson, especially in the times we live where people are cynical and unethical and violent.
But they have turned her character to a ridiculous caricature.

[Iguessnot]

This episode was so tedious, I can't watch again, but was the guy's whole defense that he should be absolved from kidnapping and all other charges because the girl liked his baths and watching stars? 

I had almost forgotten that there was a sex doll element to this story. Was that mentioned lately?

Given how bad the episode was, I'm going to assume there was no solid reason as to why the mom was sexting the perp and why the dad was rather blasé about the issue. 

The mom was treating that lock of hair like a relic of a dead child or an appendage he cut off. So many strange acting choices.

[Ohiopirate02]

5 hours ago, Iguessnot said:

I had almost forgotten that there was a sex doll element to this story. Was that mentioned lately?

The sex doll element was dropped rather quickly.  Which is a shame because that whole plotline is something the writers on this show would have explored back in the day.  The doll was modeled after a picture of Maddie that was privately shared online.  How the manufacturer got that picture of Maddie was never explored.  Was it a friend or family member who sold it to them?  Was it found on the web because privately shared online is actually meaningless?  Did this rise up to the level of a crime that can be prosecuted?  I know this is SVU and not the Mothership, but Jack McCoy would have found a way to prosecute the doll manufacturer.  And back when this show still cared about the Order side of the title, one of ADAs would have agreed with Jack.  

[Wizardpatch]

I think the mom was sexting the guy so he would invite her to his motel for sex and she could kill him (she thought the trial was going badly at this point).

Edited April 28 by Wizardpatch

[Feline Goddess]

Great casting for Eileen & Maddie. Leslie Fray and Allison Elaine look like they really could be mother & daughter. 

[wknt3]

On 4/26/2024 at 2:57 AM, Iguessnot said:

This episode was so tedious, I can't watch again, but was the guy's whole defense that he should be absolved from kidnapping and all other charges because the girl liked his baths and watching stars? 

I had almost forgotten that there was a sex doll element to this story. Was that mentioned lately?

Given how bad the episode was, I'm going to assume there was no solid reason as to why the mom was sexting the perp and why the dad was rather blasé about the issue. 

The mom was treating that lock of hair like a relic of a dead child or an appendage he cut off. So many strange acting choices.

 

On 4/26/2024 at 8:59 AM, Ohiopirate02 said:

The sex doll element was dropped rather quickly.  Which is a shame because that whole plotline is something the writers on this show would have explored back in the day.  The doll was modeled after a picture of Maddie that was privately shared online.  How the manufacturer got that picture of Maddie was never explored.  Was it a friend or family member who sold it to them?  Was it found on the web because privately shared online is actually meaningless?  Did this rise up to the level of a crime that can be prosecuted?  I know this is SVU and not the Mothership, but Jack McCoy would have found a way to prosecute the doll manufacturer.  And back when this show still cared about the Order side of the title, one of ADAs would have agreed with Jack.  

Yes that is the sort of angle that could make devoting the bulk of a season to a single case worthwhile. They could have done a Carisi-centric episode devoted to this facet of the case. In my perfect world where they actually had the cojones to let this case go unsolved, or at least wait until the end of the season they would have found the connection and it turns out to be a dead end, but they still prosecute the perv who found/shared the picture and the manufacturer. Just one of many wasted opportunities this season. There about a million ways they could have gone and all of them are more interesting. I mean do a simple two-parter or go all out and have the squad hit one dead end after another and go for an entire season before they solve it and/or Maddie turns up dead in the finale. Anything would be better than superhero Benson Taking!It!Personally! before ultimately saving the day as usual, but dragged out over several episodes.

Edited April 29 by wknt3

[Sake614]

On 4/25/2024 at 11:38 AM, MinorL said:

People on Twitter (or I guess it’s called X) are obsessed with Mariska/Benson, praising her all over. It’s so weird.

They’re also going apeshit because they don’t think we’ll get Olivia/Elliot. 😳

[Xeliou66]

11 minutes ago, Sake614 said:

They’re also going apeshit because they don’t think we’ll get Olivia/Elliot. 😳

Yeah I’ve noticed that, unfortunately the obnoxious shippers seem to be the loudest on social media - not all people who are “shippers” are obnoxious of course, but the die hards who attack anyone who don’t support their ship seem to be the loudest voices on various social media sites. Unfortunately I feel the writers pander to these shippers, the “will they/won’t they” E/O relationship has been going on for years and years. The fans who don’t care about the characters romances and just want interesting stories seem to get ignored, likely because they don’t throw fits on social media. 

[Sake614]

I seem to recall many years ago, both Mariska and Chris said that they would leave the show if the writers ever decided to pair their characters. That they were partners and best friends and that’s the way it should stay.  I’ve always agreed with that premise, even though there were clearly undertones. Why do they have to become a couple?

[Xeliou66]

57 minutes ago, Sake614 said:

I seem to recall many years ago, both Mariska and Chris said that they would leave the show if the writers ever decided to pair their characters. That they were partners and best friends and that’s the way it should stay.  I’ve always agreed with that premise, even though there were clearly undertones. Why do they have to become a couple?

I agree 100% - why do every man and woman that work closely together on tv have to sleep together? I get so sick of that. Too many shows shove romance plot lines down our throats even when the shows should have nothing to do with romance, such as SVU. But SVU has gone so far from what it was originally about I’m certain that it will end with Benson/Stabler together, the show has become a melodramatic soap opera and given how the shippers are the loudest on social media I am certain they will pander to them.