S26.E16 Let Me Bring Pardon

[Xeliou66]

Episode description 

The doctor of a comatose woman calls SVU when he discovers his patient is pregnant; Benson must convince the family to reject magical thinking and look at the facts

[wknt3]

The Good:
Fin. We got a classic "that's messed up" as well as a recognition of his special place in the series and as Benson's ride or die confidante that has been ignored too often in recent years.

Bruno. He didn't get enough to do like everyone else who isn't Liv, but he makes the most of limited time with questionable material like nobody else on this show since Donal Logue.

The Bad:
All Benson all the time. It's like they used AI to create a script with all of the worst tropes of later seasons SVU. Benson as superhero with sidekicks, not a CO. Benson everywhere all the time. Benson whispering and making constipated faces to show how she is Taking!It!Personally!

Benson is supposed to be Super SVU Detective and master of empathy, so why is she questioning the mother with all the subtlety of a bull in a china shop? Does making goofy faces and whispering make you an elite investigator of sexually based offenses no matter how you go about it?

The script. It takes some doing to make an episode that both feels like there isn't enough story to fill the hour, but that also drags to the point it feels like 2 hours.

Overall this was a real dud after a run of mostly well executed, and even good episodes. A real slog for anyone who doesn't worship at the altar of St. Liv. A mediocre story poorly executed, with the only redeeming value coming from some good performances by a few of the actors getting the least time on screen. Hopefully the next episode is better and gets back on track.
 

Edited Sunday at 11:01 PM by wknt3

[Xeliou66]

What a boring slog of an episode, with way too much St O worship and melodrama, complete with Mariska’s overacting. Fin and Bruno saved it from the heap of complete garbage, Fin got some good scenes and Bruno was strong as always. The investigation parts were fine but it was bogged down by Benson melodrama and Benson the awesome victim whisperer who takes everything personally. 

[The Wild Sow]

1 hour ago, wknt3 said:

All Benson all the time. It's like they used AI to create a script with all of the worst tropes of later seasons SVU.

The worst tropes of all seasons.

A "youth pastor" -- yeesh!  It's always the damn "youth pastor"!  It's like being a pervert is the reason men become "youth pastors."  Oh wait, real life's had a goodly number of those too.

[EtheltoTillie]

What a distasteful idea and a waste of time.  I had this running in the background just to see how it turned out. 

[dttruman]

It seemed like this episode was like a slight change of another epissode where a comatose patient was impregnated by someone (and if I remember correctly),the brothers of the comatose victim were beating the guy up. But it was the parents of the comatose victim who paid a sleazy orderly to impregnate her so they would have grandchild.

Edited Friday at 02:44 PM by dttruman
Just remembered part of it

[Xeliou66]

46 minutes ago, dttruman said:

It seemed like this episode was like a slight change of another epissode where a comatose patient was impregnated by someone (and if I remember correctly),the brothers of the comatose victim were beating the guy up. But it was the parents of the comatose victim who paid a sleazy orderly to impregnate her so they would have grandchild.

That was an episode of the Mothership, from season 8, titled Grief. SVU did a pregnant comatose woman before in the season 4 episode Waste.

[The Wild Sow]

1 hour ago, dttruman said:

But it was the parents of the comatose victim who paid a sleazy orderly to impregnate her so they would have grandchild.

Before the youth pastor turned up, I was wondering if Ellie's mom had engineered this.  Even after he turned up, that would have been a possibility!

[tennisgurl]

I was so sure that the moms, or at least Ellie's mom, had impregnated her so that the boys mom could have a do over kid or so that Ellie's mom can have a "miracle" grandchild, but instead its some random youth pastor who was never mentioned before they needed a suspect. I should have known that it could never be Elli's mom, Olivia has designated her a Victim so she can now do no wrong. 

After a string of good to decent episodes, we get back to our regularly scheduled crap. There were almost lethal amounts of Olivia worship in this one, she was the Victim Worshipper for the entire episode, the only one who can make people make smart choices, the only person who can solve the crime, who could still very possibly wake this girl up from a coma with the power of whispers. And of course its personal, although the link between this case and her mom is tenuous, her drama with her mom is that she was the product of rape and her mom was an alcoholic, so other than a pregnancy and a mom I don't see much of a connection. 

I did at least like the scenes between Finn and Olivia, you can really see those years together as a team, it felt as real as Olivia could get in this one. Everyone else was just kind of there. 

Considering this case was very clearly based on a true story, I found this to be extra tasteless. Its not enough that a real life young woman was murdered and her family lost her, but now this show wants to add even more misery to this character who is clearly based on her and add all of this stuff to the parents of the killer and onto them to attach this religious stuff to the story which isn't really a part of the actual crime. 

[EtheltoTillie]

Was this based on a true story you actually heard about?  I don't want to look it up, as it seems inappropriate to pay more attention to it.

When I saw the episode begin, I couldn't believe we were being subjected to a part two of the original crap story. 

[Xeliou66]

27 minutes ago, EtheltoTillie said:

Was this based on a true story you actually heard about?  I don't want to look it up, as it seems inappropriate to pay more attention to it.

When I saw the episode begin, I couldn't believe we were being subjected to a part two of the original crap story. 

I think this combined two ripped from the headlines stories - the Gabby Petito case that the original story was based on, and a case of a comatose woman being raped/impregnated at a medical facility somewhere - I don’t know as much about that case but I do remember a real life pregnant coma patient case in the last couple of years and I believe the rapist was caught. So they mixed two real life stories for this one.   
I didn’t find it any more “tasteless” than other ripped from the headlines episodes, any case taken from the headlines is bound to possibly offend some people, it’s just the nature of the franchise, it’s what L&O has always done.

[EtheltoTillie]

4 minutes ago, Xeliou66 said:

I think this combined two ripped from the headlines stories - the Gabby Petito case that the original story was based on, and a case of a comatose woman being raped/impregnated at a medical facility somewhere - I don’t know as much about that case but I do remember a real life pregnant coma patient case in the last couple of years and I believe the rapist was caught. So they mixed two real life stories for this one.   
I didn’t find it any more “tasteless” than other ripped from the headlines episodes, any case taken from the headlines is bound to possibly offend some people, it’s just the nature of the franchise, it’s what L&O has always done.

I guess raping a comatose woman is about the worst thing I can imagine.  Somehow more "tasteless" to me.  Of course all the SVU stories are sickening.  I don't know why I even watch sometimes. 

[Xeliou66]

9 minutes ago, EtheltoTillie said:

I guess raping a comatose woman is about the worst thing I can imagine.  Somehow more "tasteless" to me.  Of course all the SVU stories are sickening.  I don't know why I even watch sometimes. 

Agreed it’s disgusting, but it has happened in real life and most SVU crimes are pretty disgusting. This is the 3rd time in franchise history they’ve had a “pregnant coma patient” storyline - the Mothership episode Grief and the SVU episode Waste being the first two. 
Like others I thought this story might go the way of the Mothership episode and have one or both of the moms paying someone to impregnate the victim. That Mothership episode was messed up, the mom in that one was nuts. 

[tennisgurl]

1 hour ago, Xeliou66 said:

I didn’t find it any more “tasteless” than other ripped from the headlines episodes, any case taken from the headlines is bound to possibly offend some people, it’s just the nature of the franchise, it’s what L&O has always done.

Fair enough, it just struck me because its one of the rare times when we do a based on a true story episode that is clearly based on one story, in this case the murder of Gabby Patito, and then come back to it later in another episode to add even more to it. I don't really know why this was even the same girl, it could have been any woman who's been in a coma for awhile, it was just weird. I guess so that Olivia can Olivia even harder at yet another mom she's unhealthily involved with?

Or it might just be because I just watched the Gabby Patito Netflix documentary about it and it was pretty emotional. The parents of the murderous boy friend were honestly way worse than the lady in this one, who also sucks pretty hard. Allegedly. 

[marny]

Olivia Benson taking a case personally? Who would have thunk? I love how Fin made it seem like that isn't a commonly occurring thing.

[cfinboston]

Ellie is the new Maddie.

 

[Andyourlittledog2]

I found the entire episode offensive.  Benson harassed and bullied the mom to get what she wanted with absolutely no concern for her feelings or her faith. In fact the episode pretty much just mocked the faith. And of course it was the youth pastor. Of course it was.

On 3/20/2025 at 9:38 AM, Xeliou66 said:

Benson must convince the family to reject magical thinking and look at the facts

That line is from the official synopsis put out to describe the episode. The episode was intended to mock the mother's faith.  That just bugs the hell outta me. There is no nuance whatsoever.

And then of course there is the usual St O worship in addition to the personal psychological problems of Benson dealing with her mother at the graveside. She and only she can make the right decisions because she and only she has lived it. She has to go to the boy's mom and lay it on thick about financial support. Is that a thing? Can the mother of a grown man be forced to pay child support to the mother of a grown woman who was legally incapacitated by that grown man? That seems pretty sketchy to me. If she would want to help raise her grandchild then fine. But I don't see how she can be compelled to take any responsibility at all legally. It's not her kid. I think Benson just lied to her to get her to do what Benson wanted.

I get wanting to find a rapist. Absolutely. But Benson was running around bullying everyone in sight to get what she wanted. These were people who were hurting, devastated by what had happened to both of their children and Benson just stepped all over both of them. And I can't help but wonder what that baby's life is going to be if grandma raises it because she said the rest of the family won't accept the child as Chris' so how much worse would they react to it if it was the result of a stranger rape?  And Benson is lucky that telling the mom who they think did it did not result in some family members going out and attacking youth pastor before they even knew the DNA results and were able to arrest him. Premature disclosure IMO.

This was all so disappointing after the last several good episodes.

[txhorns79]

On 3/21/2025 at 12:54 PM, tennisgurl said:

 

I did at least like the scenes between Finn and Olivia, you can really see those years together as a team, it felt as real as Olivia could get in this one. Everyone else was just kind of there. 

I like when the show nods to their very long history together, even I thought less of Finn when he then ran off his mouth to the newer cast members, not saying what Olivia's issue was, but making it clear she had a big secret.   

[MediaZone4K]

On 3/21/2025 at 1:34 PM, Xeliou66 said:

I think this combined two ripped from the headlines stories - the Gabby Petito case that the original story was based on, and a case of a comatose woman being raped/impregnated at a medical facility somewhere - I don’t know as much about that case but I do remember a real life pregnant coma patient case in the last couple of years and I believe the rapist was caught. So they mixed two real life stories for this one.   
I didn’t find it any more “tasteless” than other ripped from the headlines episodes, any case taken from the headlines is bound to possibly offend some people, it’s just the nature of the franchise, it’s what L&O has always done.

I agree, law and order always rips and combines cases from the headlines so there was nothing wrong with this story.

On 3/21/2025 at 8:16 PM, Andyourlittledog2 said:

I found the entire episode offensive.  Benson harassed and bullied the mom to get what she wanted with absolutely no concern for her feelings or her faith. In fact the episode pretty much just mocked the faith. And of course it was the youth pastor. Of course it was.

That line is from the official synopsis put out to describe the episode. The episode was intended to mock the mother's faith.  That just bugs the hell outta me. There is no nuance whatsoever.

And then of course there is the usual St O worship in addition to the personal psychological problems of Benson dealing with her mother at the graveside. She and only she can make the right decisions because she and only she has lived it. She has to go to the boy's mom and lay it on thick about financial support. Is that a thing? Can the mother of a grown man be forced to pay child support to the mother of a grown woman who was legally incapacitated by that grown man? That seems pretty sketchy to me. If she would want to help raise her grandchild then fine. But I don't see how she can be compelled to take any responsibility at all legally. It's not her kid. I think Benson just lied to her to get her to do what Benson wanted.

I get wanting to find a rapist. Absolutely. But Benson was running around bullying everyone in sight to get what she wanted. These were people who were hurting, devastated by what had happened to both of their children and Benson just stepped all over both of them. And I can't help but wonder what that baby's life is going to be if grandma raises it because she said the rest of the family won't accept the child as Chris' so how much worse would they react to it if it was the result of a stranger rape?  And Benson is lucky that telling the mom who they think did it did not result in some family members going out and attacking youth pastor before they even knew the DNA results and were able to arrest him. Premature disclosure IMO.

This was all so disappointing after the last several good episodes.

Mocking faith is constant across all L&O franchises. Dick Wolf clearly has a political leaning. I don't like it.

In this case the, I didn't see Olivia mocking faith, but calling out the pastor's twisted version of it. The mom was being irrational. She was going to let her daughter's possible rape go unsolved, and have another man's family unnecessarily paying child support so she could have a miracle grandchild.

I was sure the mother engineered her daughter's rape to get a miracle baby. That story would've been more compelling.

Also, did any of the doctors ever shut the blinds while treating Ellie? Yes hundreds of men went in her room, but could SVU not have run the footage first to see that unusual act before swabbing all of the male staff?

I'm in the minority here, but I liked the episode. It was a good follow up to a previously done case, and I'm glad to see they're doing the follow up to the Carrisi deli case next week.

I'm not nearly as bugged by the Olivia worship as others, but I do acknowledge that they make her overly emotional. But with Stabler and most of the original players gone she is the main draw factor to the show so they always make sure to highlight her.

In this case it worked to bring up that Olivia is a child of rape, but I am annoyed as to how much law and order weaves in the detective's personal lives into episodes as of later years.

Edited Sunday at 12:52 PM by MediaZone4K

[dttruman]

On 3/21/2025 at 8:16 PM, Andyourlittledog2 said:

I get wanting to find a rapist. Absolutely. But Benson was running around bullying everyone in sight to get what she wanted. These were people who were hurting, devastated by what had happened to both of their children and Benson just stepped all over both of them. And I can't help but wonder what that baby's life is going to be if grandma raises it because she said the rest of the family won't accept the child as Chris' so how much worse would they react to it if it was the result of a stranger rape?  And Benson is lucky that telling the mom who they think did it did not result in some family members going out and attacking youth pastor before they even knew the DNA results and were able to arrest him. Premature disclosure IMO.

This was all so disappointing after the last several good episodes.

I agree, but what bothers me the most is that they still portray Benson as a well decorated officer who is a captain that stops at nothing to arrest and punish the guilty by even bullying the prosecuting attorneys over the years. The producers pride themselves on realism, yet for the last few years Benson has treated her adopted son with love and compassion. But what we have seen on many episodes from the past, most detectives on these special squads and  suspects are accused of spousal and kids abuse. I wonder why they have conveniently left Benson's home life violence free?

Edited Monday at 09:05 PM by dttruman
added susspects to list