Xeliou66 April 17 Share April 17 2 hour crossover with the Mothership tonight Episode description Part 1 A mysterious phone call to Captain Benson of the SVU leads detectives to the scene of a brutal murder. Part 2 When the SVU and the 2-7 uncover a pattern of rape and murder targeting marginalized women, Carisi and ADA Price team up to charge the suspect with multiple crimes. 1 1 Link to comment https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/153035-s26e19-play-with-fire/
wknt3 April 18 Share April 18 The Good: Silva got as much to do as she has all season. If there is any cast turnover for any reason on the mothership I wouldn't mind her moving over. The continuing crossover tradition of making sure to have someone call out Benson when she pulls her usual bullcrap. Carisi. He really fit in well and had good chemistry with Price. The COTW. The investigation flowed well and there was good reason for both squads to be involved without any need for plot gymnastics to justify having the casts working together. The Stabler cameo. It was a nice surprise and it felt natural. The Bad: I'm all for going back to basics and the old formulas, but I'm not liking the return of Benson charging into a situation without backup and/or tactical awareness and ending up with shots fired. Not nearly enough Ice-T. Why do an event and not feature one of the icons of the franchise? The transitions from one suspect, or lead to another in the second half were a bit lacking. We would be more impressed with Benson's investigative process if you showed, instead of told, and we could follow along with the squad/ Did they honestly have Benson saying under oath that her emotions have NEVER interfered with her police work? Seriously? The rest of the trial should have just been rebuttal witnesses. If it wasn't written by Mariska's biggest suck ups I would have assumed it was intentional comedy to follow that up with a scene where her emotions were interfering with the case and she needed to be slapped down by Baxter. Overall this was solid. A little too much of the Lts. in the field, but overall this was a worthy effort, especially in creating a story that felt bigger than usual without going overboard or relying on coincidence to bring everyone together. Not sure it brought in any additional viewers or will get anyone who watches one of the series and not the other to stick around, but they could do a lot worse for an event. And have, many times. 6 Link to comment https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/153035-s26e19-play-with-fire/#findComment-8638672
Xeliou66 April 18 Author Share April 18 I’ll post my thoughts on the entire 2 hours here Overall very strong - it had Benson’s usual over dramatic antics and saving the day, but it was a very compelling story with good twists from start to finish, good detective and legal work and was strong from start to finish, one of the best episodes of the Mothership and SVU this season. It was more SVU heavy than L&O heavy, Shaw was MIA which wasn’t explained and Maroun had only 1 scene at the start, and Riley vanished at the halfway point which was weird, but all of SVU was involved and got solid roles - Bruno undercover was nice, and Fin had a good scene at the hospital although I would’ve liked a bit more of him. Silva was good and I liked her teaming up with Riley in hour 1. There was a lot of Benson/Brady in the field but they did it in a natural way that made sense for both to take the lead instead of it being forced like it sometimes is. The courtroom stuff was really good - Price and Carisi worked really well together and I liked seeing them take turns questioning witnesses and working as equals to prosecute the case. Baxter was great as well - I loved the scene at the start where Benson was overdramatic as usual and wanted him to threaten WhatsApp and Baxter calmly suggested the undercover sting instead - of course Benson should’ve thought of that but I liked Baxter being the one to suggest it, and then I liked that Baxter told them to convince Cassie to testify, and I was glad things ended well for Cassie instead of a “shocking twist ending” with a tragedy like they sometimes do - the ending scene of Benson/Brady at the memorial was a good ending though it would’ve been nice if other main characters attended. Noah got shoehorned in unnecessarily for the first time this season, but it did give them a reason for Stabler’s cameo. I did laugh when Benson said her emotions never interfered with her police work, I thought Calhoun was going to bring up past instances of that exact thing happening but I guess people aren’t allowed to show St O as flawed now. I did like that Brady wasn’t steamrolled by Benson, and neither were the DAs, I liked the scene where Price told her he wanted justice as well. Overall this was a big success, I wasn’t sure how good it would be but it was a compelling story that flowed naturally from start to finish and had good twists (I did predict the perp when the witness vanished from the 2-7) and while I would’ve liked a bit more of the Mothership characters, I liked what each character got and how they didn’t throw anyone under the bus, each character did really good with what they had. One of the best written episodes for both shows this season and a strong crossover! 8 Link to comment https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/153035-s26e19-play-with-fire/#findComment-8638734
Raja April 18 Share April 18 1 hour ago, Xeliou66 said: It was more SVU heavy than L&O heavy, Shaw was MIA which wasn’t explained and Maroun had only 1 scene at the start, and Riley vanished at the halfway point which was weird, but all of SVU was involved and got solid roles - Bruno undercover was nice, and Fin had a good scene at the hospital although I would’ve liked a bit more of him. Silva was good and I liked her teaming up with Riley in hour 1. There was a lot of Benson/Brady in the field but they did it in a natural way that made sense for both to take the lead instead of it being forced like it sometimes is. Room had to be made for Lieutenant Brady, she seems to be following the Captain Benson portrayal of everything runs through the field boss. Maybe A.I. now does their paperwork. The plot focused on the cop being the suspect just like the end of the first hour suggested Link to comment https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/153035-s26e19-play-with-fire/#findComment-8638785
Spartan Girl April 18 Share April 18 They really brought back Maria just to fridge her for more Olivia drama. Fuck this show. 4 Link to comment https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/153035-s26e19-play-with-fire/#findComment-8638846
cfinboston April 18 Share April 18 Why is Liv allowed to barge into any precinct in the NYPD and demand to join the investigation? First OC and now Homicide? How could Maria have made detective in one year? Who else immediately knew it was Gomez? 6 2 Link to comment https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/153035-s26e19-play-with-fire/#findComment-8639230
Raja April 18 Share April 18 9 minutes ago, cfinboston said: Why is Liv allowed to barge into any precinct in the NYPD and demand to join the investigation? First OC and now Homicide? How could Maria have made detective in one year? Who else immediately knew it was Gomez? I'm a Captain with the Chief of Detectives in my pocket, you really don't have the juice to push back Lieutenant Brady. Spoiler alert it doesn't work with not your ordinary Sergeant Bell. I will assume that falling in the line of duty comes with a customery honorable promotion. Undercover rookie Jump Street types could fall under that. I was thinking LT Gomez already and beyond reasonable doubt when our witness disappeared from the interview 1 Link to comment https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/153035-s26e19-play-with-fire/#findComment-8639241
The Wild Sow April 18 Share April 18 17 hours ago, Xeliou66 said: Noah got shoehorned in unnecessarily for the first time this season, but it did give them a reason for Stabler’s cameo. That cameo was pretty nice! Another "Stabler intimidates bad guy in men's room" scene -- is that getting to be his thing now? I remember him doing that with Wheatley in OC Season 1, and I'm pretty sure there have been others over the years! Could be a trademark (like Tom Hanks peeing in every movie 😆) Yeah, it was pretty obvious that it would be the other cop early on. I'm glad they got him (and that Cassie came forward, plus apparently coming clean w/ her fiance!) Because trying to hide that kind of past from a loved one, especially if you hope to stay in recovery, is a really BAD idea. 3 Link to comment https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/153035-s26e19-play-with-fire/#findComment-8639296
Zaffy April 18 Share April 18 (edited) Despite the fact that I (actually it seems most us) figured out the guilty dude quite early, this is probably the best L&O crossover I can remember. Mostly because there was lack of hysteria and less cliches than usual :D The Good: -Nice chemistry between everyone from both shows. I liked the DAs, I liked the detectives and I liked the captains. I really liked the captains and how Brady seemed to bring balance to the universe against Benson's saintly force. -Stabler. I literally laughed out loud when he appeared. I have stopped watching his show, so I quite enjoyed his cameo. -Is this the first Law and Order this season without a debate/moral dilemma? The bad -Was there any reason they kept showing us that charred body, again and again and again? -Although the case was interesting, the guilty dude's actions did not make much sense. Oh well, at the end he got what he deserved. -Killing Maria. I really disliked this. Her character deserved better and it wasn't necessary to trigger Benson's rath. The should had killed the M***** girl instead :P ( I do not even dare to write her name) Overall, a pleasant surprise. Edited April 19 by Zaffy 5 Link to comment https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/153035-s26e19-play-with-fire/#findComment-8639383
pezgirl7 April 18 Share April 18 I just started watching the mother show last year, so it was nice to see the characters from both shows in scenes together. I wish some of the characters could pop up more often, especially on the DA side, since it's odd that they work in the same office but we hardly ever see them together. I also figured out the perp early on. I really wish they would stop making it so obvious, it would be more enjoyable to try to figure out the mystery. Benson was her regular annoying self, but I liked seeing Brady stand up to her despite Benson outranking her. Although Benson seemed to win all the arguments in the end. 6 Link to comment https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/153035-s26e19-play-with-fire/#findComment-8639409
marny April 19 Share April 19 This was… fine? I mean, we’ve had plenty of episodes over the years of bad cops (or judges) taking advantage of marginalized women so the fact that it took Benson and co. so long to suspect the undercover guy is surprising, but I did enjoy how much Brady was irritated at Benson’s sanctimonious attitude. I didn’t need the random Stabler moment— I’ve never enjoyed his character. My nickname for him has always been Unstabler because he’s clearly too unstable and hot-tempered to be a police officer. 3 1 Link to comment https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/153035-s26e19-play-with-fire/#findComment-8640031
ML89 April 20 Share April 20 On 4/18/2025 at 7:21 PM, Zaffy said: The bad -Was there any reason they kept showing us that charred body, again and again and again? They paid a lot of money for the prop? 1 1 5 Link to comment https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/153035-s26e19-play-with-fire/#findComment-8640440
txhorns79 April 20 Share April 20 On 4/17/2025 at 11:27 PM, Xeliou66 said: I did like that Brady wasn’t steamrolled by Benson, and neither were the DAs, I liked the scene where Price told her he wanted justice as well. I really liked the Brady/Benson scenes. It was interesting to see how differently they approached police work, and the friction between them during the interrogations. I would have thought Brady would have been more deferential given Benson was a captain, but she really was not. 5 Link to comment https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/153035-s26e19-play-with-fire/#findComment-8640454
Sake614 April 20 Share April 20 On 4/17/2025 at 8:14 PM, wknt3 said: Did they honestly have Benson saying under oath that her emotions have NEVER interfered with her police work? Seriously? Oh man, I wanted Calhoun to rip her apart after that! But of course no one dares question Olivia’s objectivity. After 25 years as a cop, she KNOWS right from wrong and would NEVER make a mistake. 🙄 3 Link to comment https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/153035-s26e19-play-with-fire/#findComment-8640781
coaster85 April 20 Share April 20 I finally realized who MH reminder me of: a certain sitting president. Often, said president has "cabinet meetings" where the media are invited. All are seated around a table and the cabinet members take turns complimenting and praising the president. MH - who likely has script approval - seems to be very similar. How often does a character in an episode (a subordinate, superior, victim, even an accused) compliment OB? This could be a good drinking game: take a drink every time someone compliments OB in an episode 2 Link to comment https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/153035-s26e19-play-with-fire/#findComment-8640862
Sake614 April 20 Share April 20 1 hour ago, coaster85 said: I finally realized who MH reminder me of: a certain sitting president. Often, said president has "cabinet meetings" where the media are invited. All are seated around a table and the cabinet members take turns complimenting and praising the president. MH - who likely has script approval - seems to be very similar. How often does a character in an episode (a subordinate, superior, victim, even an accused) compliment OB? This could be a good drinking game: take a drink every time someone compliments OB in an episode I don’t have enough booze to last even one episode! 🤣 3 Link to comment https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/153035-s26e19-play-with-fire/#findComment-8640898
wknt3 April 20 Share April 20 19 hours ago, txhorns79 said: I really liked the Brady/Benson scenes. It was interesting to see how differently they approached police work, and the friction between them during the interrogations. I would have thought Brady would have been more deferential given Benson was a captain, but she really was not. I think the friction was understandable as this case was personal to them for different reasons. Plus Brady is on a show where they still care theoretically about legal standards. What we really could have used was Fin mediating and getting them to cooperate - it would have also been good for those viewers who maybe don't know as much about SVU history as most of the folks here. Something like Fin asking Brady about how many cases she's worked with kids and how many have had a happy ending, with both of them agreeing that there are too few and him pointing out this was one of those few that make the job bearable and having it end up with a body 2 decades later would make anyone a little intense. And then pointing out to Benson that this is an unsolved case that has been going on for a long time, and maybe she should be a little more gracious since she just spent a year freaking out to the point of wearing a victim's jewelry when she couldn't close a big case. Once again they are using the series' past for plot lines and somehow not taking advantage of having a big part of that history still here, one with a lot of good will among both Benson stans and the viewers who are tired of her antics alike, for reasons that completely elude me. 1 hour ago, coaster85 said: This could be a good drinking game: take a drink every time someone compliments OB in an episode 2 Link to comment https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/153035-s26e19-play-with-fire/#findComment-8640902
DaynaPhile Saturday at 04:31 AM Share Saturday at 04:31 AM My emotions have never interfered with my police work. the SVU comedy hour has now begun! 1 3 Link to comment https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/153035-s26e19-play-with-fire/#findComment-8646078
MediaZone4K Sunday at 02:32 AM Share Sunday at 02:32 AM (edited) On 4/19/2025 at 10:51 PM, ML89 said: They paid a lot of money for the prop? Yeah I averted my eyes every time it came on scene. On 4/26/2025 at 12:31 AM, DaynaPhile said: My emotions have never interfered with my police work. the SVU comedy hour has now begun! I immediately called BS when I heard her say that. Loved seeing astabler, didn't like that he had no interaction with Benson. Loved the mothership Lieutenant challenging Benson. instead of the girl power trope (which can also be nice) that a lot of shows do, they had two ego driven women trying to outrank each other. Great episodes. I'm surprised they branded it as both shows simultaneously instead of labeling one hour Law & Order in the next hour SVU --like whats done for Chicago crossover events. I suppose this is so the whole 2 hour block can be in the syndication libraries of both shows? Edited 19 hours ago by MediaZone4K Link to comment https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/153035-s26e19-play-with-fire/#findComment-8646590
jmonique Sunday at 07:36 PM Share Sunday at 07:36 PM (edited) So nobody noticed Hayes coming in, staring down a witness like a big ol' thug, then wandering back out except for Olivia, she who never lets emotions interfere with her work? Yeah, Liv, you and Elliott are real masters of emotional stability. P.S. This storyline was not worth literally setting Maria on fire. Jesus. Edited Sunday at 07:41 PM by jmonique 2 1 Link to comment https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/153035-s26e19-play-with-fire/#findComment-8646872
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