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S16.E15: Undercover Mother

WendyCR72

By WendyCR72
in Law & Order: SVU

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WendyCR72

WendyCR72

Working undercover to bust a sex trafficking ring, Det. Carisi stumbles upon Martha Thornhill, a mother who has embedded herself as a Madame in the organization for three years in hopes of finding and saving her daughter, Ariel. Martha joins forces with the SVU and they work together to bust the pimp and his cohorts, but Ariel is still missing. Meanwhile, Sgt. Benson is confronted with a harsh revelation that will change her life forever.
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Hero

Hero

It's Lili Taylor who hasn't been on any L&O's but has been in a gazillion other things and will always have my heart for the song "Joe Lies," from Say Anything.

That's her name. I remember her from "The Conjuring" and "Six Feet Under"

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RafaelBarbas

RafaelBarbas

This episode was great till the last minute, but extremely overhyped.

 

I could not care less about any storyline relating to Noah's parentage if I were PAID to.

 

I wish the writers WOULD take away that damn baby so they can stop using him as a cash cow.

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gryphon

gryphon

Fin in his "party wear:"  HOT!  Well, he's always hot but rawr all the same.  Barba still rocks my world.  I really enjoyed this episode and actually said, "Holy Shit!" when Deklan showed up at the party.  

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Bill C.

Bill C.

Was Donal Logue actually credited in this episode?  If not...well played indeed, SVU.

 

The episode itself was surprisingly good, if largely due to Logue and Lili Taylor (come to think of it, I'm actually surprised she hasn't done any L&O at all before now).  The reveal about Noah's bio-dad, though...it, or at least something in that vein, was probably inevitable.  That said I actually don't want Olivia to lose him over it--although I suspect that's exactly what's coming; after all the crap she's gone through in the past season and a half or so, Noah is a small victory of sorts (if a random one) for her. Let Johnny D. be another hurdle, sure, but let it be the last big one.

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wknt3

wknt3

(edited)

The Good:
Barba!
Donal Logue!
Lili Taylor's performance
Super Fly Fin!
Carisi undercover as the goofy john. And his scene in the holding cell.
I like how they handled Rollins. It's good to see a character's past issues being used with a light touch to provide depth rather than beating us over the head.
A generally straightforward plot well executed.

The Bad:
Donal Logue's scene with Rollins reminded me just how much I miss having a real authority figure in the squad separate from the main protagonist.
The conflict between Barba and Benson was a bit underwritten. It harkened back to the classic formula of Big Picture ADAs vs. The Squad that truly understands how special our victims are but Barba came off as personally hostile rather than against vigilantism and concerned with the precedent of letting her go. And there seem to be many practical arguments about how no jury would convict or how throwing the book at her would hurt using her big book of scum to make cases against worse scumbags.
Noah and the continuing martyrdom of St. Olivia. We've had consecutive episodes that have nothing to do with the squad's personal lives can we just have one without multiple Noah scenes? Or at least without having to make the clumsy thematic links explicit? And now we have a whole new Noah parentage sub plot to beat Liv over the head with the Sledgehammer of Angst?

Overall a good episode, even better than last week's. But once again it seems like it didn't quite live up to the potential or the performances of the cast and guest stars. I'm not sure if the budget cuts means less time to polish scripts or something compared to the old days (which isn't noticeable when you are doing insane off the rails camp or boring dreck but is with the improved quality of the writing) or if the focus on the Saga Of Liv and Noah and all the screen time devoted to it means that the rest gets short shrift, but I just get the sense that there is a great episode in there somewhere that just can't quite break out.

And one request. If you're going to bring back characters for a sweeps episode why not have Barba bring in a DA's investigator? Munch and Carisi? Please?

Edited by wknt3
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MorbidPet

MorbidPet

Awesome review!!!

The writers can't be reading this board that's for sure. More Benoah drama!? *sigh* And apparently that ltl reveal will spill in to the season finale. And here I was looking forward to a grand finale with like a hostile courtroom take over with Barba in the midst of it, not looking forward to the finale now but back to this episode...

 

Loved seeing Donal Logue's name in the opening credits, still hate his Irish accent but the character is just so awesome I'll disregard it. Loved his one-on-one with Amanda. Would it be so hard to give us a scene with Nick or Fin just checking in on her after the fact she's been raped(!)? And I loved Murphy rubbing Liv's face in the fact she doesn't appreciate her squad enough. Oh I miss Murphy so so much, damn Gotham (I do watch it though & somewhat like it) :(

 

Carisi is a hoot isn't he?! Loved Rollins' under her breath complaint about him not moving for 20 minutes & Liv's text was funny :)

Barba is always great but that was a god-awful jacket and here I was thinking he only owned top notch clothes :/

 

As a whole though I felt the episode was a little too hyped up & it ended up leaving me feeling underwhelmed. Felt like Twitter was a big disservice this week. They were hyping the two big surprises and everyone being undercover - Amanda really wasn't though which to me was a big letdown. I think trafficking is a very important subject though and even though I wasn't over the moon impressed as I usually am over Lili Taylor she still did good and it brought to light some serious topics and hardships that actually can happen to anyone at anytime if just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

 

Not looking forward to seeing Johnny D again but unfortunately it looks like we'll have to & even more Benoah drama which was so uninteresting from the beginning but really have grown tedious!

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CleoCaesar

CleoCaesar

I love it when the team goes undercover, so this was a great episode to me. Hate that the Donal Logue surprise was blown by his name in the credits, but I guess nothing to be done about that (well, except putting guest stars in the end credits, I guess).

 

"...Do I want to know why you're dressed like that?" Oh Barba. I love you.

 

I love Noah and Olivia, and want the two of them to be just left alone in peace. No more dramaz for Noah, please. I'm half-expecting his charred corpse of a mother to still be alive somewhere.

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marceline

marceline

I hate the Noah stuff but it brought Warner back to the screen for a few minutes so I'm forced to forgive it.

 

Whatever sort of voodoo magic Tamara Tunie uses to keep from aging must be some powerful juju because I don't think she's gotten so much as a wrinkle in the 16 years this show has been on the air.

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GarnetGirl

GarnetGirl

I thought it was a pretty good episode, although I hate the twist of Noah's paternity. I do have to wonder where the writers are going with Carisi being the squad punching bag. Is it just going to be a running gag or is it because he's going to have to awesomely save the day singlehandedly in the season finale (which is Johnny D escaping from prison and kidnapping Noah the night before the adoption goes through- you heard it here first) and everyone is going to have to give him some respect.

I agree that the Barba/Benson conflict was a tad underwritten. I wish that one of these days Barba gets proven right that Benson has gone too far (Wishful thinking, I know), but I like when they are at odds with each other. I also agree that Donal Logue is great and wish he could stick around.

I guess with all the hype, I expected more.

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GraceAnne

GraceAnne

(edited)

Dear lord… Just once I wish someone would tell Olivia to STFU…. She is a CIVILIAN running a BROTHEL!  What part of that is confusing to Olivia?   I mean did she stop understanding the law?
“I’m undercover!!”  Yeah hunny I’m an undercover supermodel… In my head…

 

Thank god Barba is on this show… I feel like he actually is in my head when he speaks.
 

Liked Amaro and Rollins being platonic.

 

Poor Carisi...he can’t catch a break with these people…

 

Oh and I agree.. LOVE Rollin's ponytail!

Edited by GraceAnne
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Everleigh

Everleigh

(edited)

I liked the episode. The fact that Donal Logue name was in the opening credits kind of blew the big surprise though. As soon as I saw it I knew Murphy would pop up as an undercover pimp. What’s up with him though? Calling the sex slaves all liars and apparently actually trafficking them. It seems like Amanda doubts that he’s playing his UC role as clean as he claims. Seems like he got himself in too deep and its clouding his judgment. 

 

So Nick and Amanda are done romantically? Hopefully? There wasn’t a trace of romantic tension when they were in the car together so I’m hoping they have officially dropped the relationship drama between them.

 

Barba was kind of a dick though, he didn’t seem to care about the victim and didn’t do much but try to get in the way. I do enjoy his back and forth with Olivia though. And her complete lack of contrition when she said “sorry” made me laugh, as did his reaction to it.

 

Still love Carisi. Everybody’s always giving him so much shit, but he still has a pretty positive disposition. I guess he hasn’t been in the game long enough to be beaten down by it yet.

 

Ugh the Noah paternity revelation… I actually like Olivia a lot and don’t necessarily mind a little focus on her personal life, but she really doesn’t need any more drama. She’s had a pretty shitty life, just give her the damn baby and let her be happy for once. This show has a sick obsession with tormenting her for sport.

 

Oh almost forgot, my favorite line from the episode is when the lady pimp (Tracy? I think) gets busted and is all incredulous and says something like, “you’re gonna bust me on SUPER BOWL SUNDAY?!” Like it’s some sacred holy day and the detectives crossed a line or something.

Edited by Everleigh
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RafaelBarbas

RafaelBarbas

Barba was kind of a dick though, he didn’t seem to care about the victim and didn’t do much but try to get in the way. I do enjoy his back and forth with Olivia though. And her complete lack of contrition when she said “sorry” made me laugh, as did his reaction to it.

He did care, very much. He also wasn't going to allow a civilian in an NYPD mission (that would contaminate any evidence SO badly, plus, liability ahoy!) And the team's work WAS sloppy. Barba was the sanest one in this episode.

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RedheadZombie

RedheadZombie

The Noah stuff doesn't bother me much, but I continue to be surprised how awkward mother of three MH is with the baby.  There's no connection between the two.

 

Also, I don't buy that Olivia is so worried about Noah turning out bad because of his father.  Olivia's father was a rapist, and she knows she's nothing like him.

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ESS

ESS

(edited)

The Noah stuff doesn't bother me much, but I continue to be surprised how awkward mother of three MH is with the baby.  There's no connection between the two.

 

Finally someone else whose noticed this about Mariska! I thought I was alone..thank goodness I'm not in that.

As for this episode, the only thing I loved was the fact that Melinda was back if only for a few mins I'll take it. I've missed her so much!

Edited by LegaspiWeaver
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marceline

marceline

I was actually kind of bothered by the fact that Declan is actively trafficking in girls. I know shady stuff goes down undercover but I wonder if they are teeing up a story where it's discovered that he's gone a little too native with the criminal element. IMO, that would make a much more compelling, not to mention realistic story than Noah's parentage which is the epitome of DGAF.

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Everleigh

Everleigh

(edited)

The Noah stuff doesn't bother me much, but I continue to be surprised how awkward mother of three MH is with the baby.  There's no connection between the two.

 

Also, I don't buy that Olivia is so worried about Noah turning out bad because of his father.  Olivia's father was a rapist, and she knows she's nothing like him.

 

I've noticed the same thing. Sometimes it seems like Olivia has never even seen a baby before with how awkwardly she handles Noah. I doubt it's Mariska because she has a bunch of babies and must be pretty comfortable with them, maybe it's an acting or directing choice to show how new motherhood is for Olivia? 

 

I do think Olivia is going to worry about Noah turning out like his biological father. She already voiced concern about him being destructive last episode, and while she did turn out fine and nothing like her rapist dad, she has been shown to worry about having violent genes and there's been a few times where she's brought up the nature vs. nurture thing. 

 

I was actually kind of bothered by the fact that Declan is actively trafficking in girls. I know shady stuff goes down undercover but I wonder if they are teeing up a story where it's discovered that he's gone a little too native with the criminal element. IMO, that would make a much more compelling, not to mention realistic story than Noah's parentage which is the epitome of DGAF.

 

Me too. There seemed to be something off with him and even Amanda, who seems to have a lot of respect for him, looked suspicious of him. I wouldn't be surprised if he shows up in another episode down the line where SVU has to investigate whether or not he crossed a line.  

Edited by Everleigh
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LeGrandElephant

LeGrandElephant

Declan seemed really off. He definitely pistol whipped someone in front of them, and he was apparently actively trafficking girls. I don't know what's officially allowed when undercover but that doesn't seem like it should be. He could have given Carisi brain damage, and who knows what he's doing the rest of the time. I will be really disappointed if they don't do a follow up episode where he's gone too far. He didnt seem all that different than an actual criminal.

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Muffyn

Muffyn

I really expected us to learn that Declan was one of the pimps who had been raping the girls being held in the dungeon.  Something is way off there, especially with him supposedly being the scariest guy around.  What has he done to these girls to maintain his image?

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Kel Varnsen

Kel Varnsen

He did care, very much. He also wasn't going to allow a civilian in an NYPD mission (that would contaminate any evidence SO badly, plus, liability ahoy!) And the team's work WAS sloppy. Barba was the sanest one in this episode.

I still don't understand why it was such a big deal.  Cops, especially on TV use confidential informants, and send people undercover wearing wires and that kind of thing all the time. Not sure why this would be any different.

 

Also, I don't buy that Olivia is so worried about Noah turning out bad because of his father.  Olivia's father was a rapist, and she knows she's nothing like him.

Yea I am not sure why Olivia thought it would be a big deal. I mean considering who Noah's mom was she would have to have considered that is father was a really bad person.

 

I was actually kind of bothered by the fact that Declan is actively trafficking in girls. I know shady stuff goes down undercover but I wonder if they are teeing up a story where it's discovered that he's gone a little too native with the criminal element. IMO, that would make a much more compelling, not to mention realistic story than Noah's parentage which is the epitome of DGAF.

Yea that kind of disturbed me too. I would have liked some information on how deep Declan is allowed to go. I mean I get that he is going after bigger fish and probably rationalizes it as an ends justify the means thing, but if he is allowed to pimp out underaged girls, what else is allowed? Is he allowed to order, or at least look the other way on a murder? I kind of hope we get some follow up on this aspect, maybe with some comment from internal affairs.

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Chit Chat

Chit Chat

Not looking forward to seeing Johnny D again but unfortunately it looks like we'll have to & even more Benoah drama which was so uninteresting from the beginning but really have grown tedious!

 

I agree. I don't look forward to the "very special episode" in which Johnny D finds out he has a kid (1 out of how many?),  and how he'll demand his rights to see Noah. Ugh!

 

Why does Amari seem to dislike Carisi so much?  Did I miss something from an earlier episode? 

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FormerMod-a1

FormerMod-a1

I was a little bothered that they were all so focused on Ariel and didn't seem to care about any of the other girls.

 

This bothered me too.  I kept wondering why they didn't at least mention rescuing other girls and finding their families or something.  It was all Ariel, Ariel, Ariel.  Ariel can't be the only one with a family looking for her.

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Hero

Hero

I agree. I don't look forward to the "very special episode" in which Johnny D finds out he has a kid (1 out of how many?), and how he'll demand his rights to see Noah. Ugh!

Why does Amari seem to dislike Carisi so much? Did I miss something from an earlier episode?

They made Amaro into an obnoxious character. I'm guessing he doesn't like Carisi because he feels threatened? Whatever his characters problem is, the writers need to fix it. I'm so sick of sulky Amaro who has a problem with everyone and everything.

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WendyCR72

WendyCR72

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I'm so sick of sulky Amaro who has a problem with everyone and everything.

 

Yeah...but this description describes/described Stabler/Benson and a good chunk of the squad at one point or another. Looks like Amaro is just carrying on the hallowed SVU tradition.

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RafaelBarbas

RafaelBarbas

In hindsight, Barba's grumpiness in this ep now makes perfect sense.

 

Given the timeline of the next episode, December Solstice, 

Barba's grandma was released from the hospital around February 7. It's therefore reasonable to assume she was in the hospital on Super Bowl Sunday.

And given Barba's clothes in the scene where he gets grumpy with Benson, it appears he just came in from somewhere definitely not-work-related. Like, say, 

visiting his hurt, sick abuelita in the hospital

? No wonder the guy was so grumpy.

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millennium

millennium

Loved seeing Donal Logue's name in the opening credits, still hate his Irish accent but the character is just so awesome I'll disregard it.

 

Logue was born to Irish parents.   According to Wikipedia:

 

Logue travels back and forth to Killarney, County Kerry, Ireland, where his mother lives, and holds both Irish and Canadian citizenship.
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