S19.E07: Something Happened

[dttruman]

6 hours ago, Gigglepuff said:

Yup. I've lost a lot of respect for the others who constantly bow down and worship her. Ice did it a bit on his appearance on Seth Meyers' show but he's usually not part of the kowtowing and praise so I'll give him a pass lol. 

Do you think there is something in their contracts, that specifically says they have to "go over the top" when praising Mariska Hargitay? Ice, like the other actors on the SVU won't criticize the show in public, because that is like cutting your own throat. I wonder if SVU has the same kind of controversy as CSI:Miami, where the character Horatio Caine was made to look "super" heroic. Do you think when they final cancel this show that a one or  two of the actors will come with "tell all" books?

Edited November 30, 2017 by dttruman
I should have proof read it, I am an idiot

[Picture It. Sicily]

I hope Ice-T got a nice bonus for that Seth Myers sit down.

[QueenMab]

Hey Everybody! I remembered "Vikings" premiers tonite on Hist. CH. at 9  and starts with "The Saga of Laegertha" at 8 pm. Now THAT is my fave kick ass woman! Much better than watching MH have an hour long spaz attack. Gonna watch Vikings and switch back to SVU....and switch back! Just thought I'd offer something good if this SVU turkey gets too much ( and it will).

[Gigglepuff]

Check out @RobertBCohen’s Tweet:

Just in case you haven't heard, MH's performance is Emmy worthy!! 

Are these writers just deluded or do they watch absolutely no other TV? 

[wonderwoman]

Random thoughts: 

I don't remember the woman being read her rights. Did I miss this? Given her mental state, wouldn't even a competent  defense attorney be able to get the confession tossed? 

Imagine this episode with George Huang instead of MH. 

"We gotta stop this:" As always,  Fin speaks truth to power. And Barba continues to kneel at the altar of Saint Olivia.

And, why, in the name of all that's holy, when Liv realized that the guy the perp killed was a surrogate for her father, did Liv keep rattling on about her father instead of pushing her to confess?

[Gigglepuff]

WTF did I just watch? 

Just now, wonderwoman said:

Imagine this episode with George Huang instead of MH. 

I kept thinking of that as well. So Liv is shrink now as well? And a forensic one at that? 

[CleoCaesar]

Funniest last scene of this show in ages. Benson’s Breakdown of the Week™ was tiresome as ever. But the dramatic DUN DUN DUN music really added a classy touch.

[WineCheeseChocolat]

The good - no angsty Benson disclosures we didn’t already know about

The bad - everything else

[bantering]

This was a very strange episode, imo.

Has a scenario like this ever happened in real life?. The ending to that woman's story caught me off-guard.  

[Gigi43]

My take aways: Kinda reminded me of a Benson version  of  that old episode Rage where a perp is basically  yelling at Stabler about, well, rage.

 

Programming  doesn't  always  need to gel completely but really, NBC,  the tree lighting and then talking about  running  around in your underwear  in front of your father.

 

I really  judge myself  for watching that in its entirety.  Yet I want  to know if that guy did rape her  (I don't  know she changed the story about  the  sister so did he just remind her of the father and she associated  rape?) 

[balmz]

episode was ok, laurel's actor is the one who deserves the emmy

 

laughed at the part when she told olivia she's not jesus

some parts with laurel seemed like she was sorta mocking olivia's habit of whispering

i think laurel was likely mentally ill, like bipolar or something

[stonehaven]

Thankfully the Bruno Mars special on CBS is helping to erase the gross from that episode....Damn, I hate this show sucks me in and then makes me wanna shower...

I haven't been watching but when did Olivia gain that weird tick of almost sucking her fingers? It was supposed to be a look of shock but it looked like she really liked the smell of her fingers....mmmkay....

[dttruman]

23 minutes ago, wonderwoman said:

Random thoughts: 

I don't remember the woman being read her rights. Did I miss this? Given her mental state, wouldn't even a competent  defense attorney be able to get the confession tossed? 

Imagine this episode with George Huang instead of MH. 

"We gotta stop this:" As always,  Fin speaks truth to power. And Barba continues to kneel at the altar of Saint Olivia.

And, why, in the name of all that's holy, when Liv realized that the guy the perp killed was a surrogate for her father, did Liv keep rattling on about her father instead of pushing her to confess?

Yeah, this episode does have a couple of holes in it, besides some procedural errors as well. They didn't let her sister immediately see (especially as her lawyer). Then the sister would have demanded immediate conference alone with her. You are so right that Dr Huang or some other doctor should be talking to her.

In the preview, didn't they say Benson was going address her supposed rape?

[wknt3]

The Good:
Everything without Liv. Not that there was much, but what there was was good and not just by comparison. In particular the scenes where they were chasing down the lead about the bar with calamari really felt like old school Law & Order with the remark about how many bars could there be and Ice-T's line about no calamari, but great wings. Of course in some ways it makes it worse. Last season they did a lot to service Mariska's ego, but the scripts had so many other problems that there was a question if they could do it right if they wanted to. This time it was obvious that they could have done an excellent episode if she could get over herself.
"You're not Jesus" It's about time somebody told Benson that!

The Bad:
Everything with Liv (that one line excepted). The over acting, the whispering, the staring at the camera, the Sledgehammer of Angst as Benson tells us again about her tortured past, the music cues cranked up to 11, and the Dark and Stormy Night rain and lightning, it was all as bad as advertised. Why couldn't this have been yet another time the NBC promo monkeys mislead us?
We wasted one of Barba's episodes on this nonsense? His presence added absolutely nothing.
The acting from the guest cast, which is usually consistently good to excellent. It makes me wonder if it was the direction or they felt compelled to overemote to follow Mariska's lead.

Overall this wasn't quite as bad as I feared, but it was still plenty bad. I'm still getting the sense that there is a Jekyll and Hyde thing going on here with Mariska's ego and Michael Chernuchin's better judgement clashing. Which I guess is better than last season's Hyde and Hyde dynamic, but doesn't change the fact that this episode was a waste of time and energy for the viewers and everyone involved besides Mariska.

Edited November 30, 2017 by wknt3

[Grundoon59]

I want an hour of my life back.  Can St. Olivia grant it to me?

[Xeliou66]

This is pretty much what I expected, an hour of Benson being over the top and melodramatic, complete with MH's extreme facial expression, whispering and overacting. Painful to watch, I don't give a damn about hearing about Benson's daddy issues for the millionth time, and it was all just pointless melodrama. 

I agree that the acting from the guests was awful, it was like they were imitating Mariska. I wanted to slap Laurel, her sister and Benson, they all made the episode painful to watch. 

The only thing that saved the episode were the twist that Laurel wasn't actually a victim, at least not of rape, just of being fucked up by a scumbag father, and the awesome line that Benson isn't Jesus, it's beyond time someone told Benson/Mariska that as she acts like a saint. No Noah and no Granny was nice as well. 

What an epic waste of Barba, even more so than usual. And of course he acted like Benson's bitch, he should've put a stop to Benson's unprofessional interrogation but instead he cowered off and let Benson steamroll him. I'm so sick of bitch Barba and I wouldn't blame Raul at all if he left the show, they are completely wasting him. His appearances are little more than brief cameos. 

Rollins had about 2 lines the whole episode, Fin didn't have much more although he seemed to be the only one to realize that the interrogation should be stopped but since Benson has chopped Barba's balls off he refused to stop it. Carisi at least got a little bit to do. 

More than anything, this episode made me realize how Huang is sorely missed. He was always great at talking with screwed up people and getting to the bottom of the situation and he would've been perfect to talk to Laurel tonight. His absence is very much felt, SVU needs him to deal with people like Laurel. 

Edited November 30, 2017 by Xeliou66

[QueenMab]

OMG what a massive, epic, ego trip episode. Her big pudgy face and stringy hair on screen the whole time...why was Barba even there....its happening on a night that is in truth cold, clear and all of Manhattan is in Rockefeller Center for the lighting of the Christmas tree...this show is in NYC where so much happens that we all know about and see but this show ignores like its on another planet. I had the sound off....slept....her square face....a flash if Barba ( why?) ...Finn tries to stop it but slinks away like a whipped puppy when she snarls at him....don't care what was said....she killed her father...yawwwwn..."do it"...WTF kind of self absorbed bullshit is coming our way? Next week has more Barba but it looks like another angst ridden, Benson's personal shit episode that he will get all up in and eat shit for doing so. This show, is officially, a Mariska Hargitay is the most beautiful woman on earth and all men worship and wish to possess her in all her wonderfulness... promo. Gonna let Bruno Mars wipe out the visual of this self absorbed train wreck. YEEESH!

[CelticBlackCat]

Well, at least someone finally told Benson that she isn't Jesus!  Even someone as screwed up as Laurel, who I agree is probably mentally ill, not just traumatized by the previous day/night's events, could tell she thinks she's saving the world.  Who couldn't tell where the story was going, with pickup Greg reminding Laurel of her father with the aftershave and watch thing.  The murder twist and jealousy about her sister Leah twist were good.

The overacting wasn't as bad as I thought it would be by Mariska.  Lots of procedural mistakes done though.  Laurel never really consented to having her sister lawyer represent her, it just happened because Leah showed up at the station.  With the screwed up family dynamic, it would have been better for Laurel to have an unbiased, uninvolved criminal defense attorney to speak with alone.  And a shrink.

No Noah and Granny!

[TDT]

Hadnt watched any episodes of this season in a while..now i suddenly regret that decision after seeing this one

 

5 hours ago, CleoCaesar said:

Funniest last scene of this show in ages. Benson’s Breakdown of the Week™ was tiresome as ever. But the dramatic DUN DUN DUN music really added a classy touch.

Was expecting her to do the old "flip the chair or table over",then the"slide down the wall to the floor while crying" move

4 hours ago, Gigi43 said:

My take aways: Kinda reminded me of a Benson version  of  that old episode Rage where a perp is basically  yelling at Stabler about, well, rage.

 

Programming  doesn't  always  need to gel completely but really, NBC,  the tree lighting and then talking about  running  around in your underwear  in front of your father.

 

 

RE: the tree lighting special..guess Matt Lauer was busy enough that he couldnt host..oh wait

Edited November 30, 2017 by TDT

[JyDanzig]

Well, I was expecting a total trainwreck, but I actually thought this episode was OK.  Not good, but OK.  It still easily outperformed nearly every ep last season.  Maybe I was just relieved to have a female perp in what was ultimately a murder case!  Anything to get a break from the rich white man raping the young white woman.

Honestly, my favorite thing was the rain out the squadroom windows.  Yes, yes, I know, but the dark-and-stormy-night thing is a cliche because it's effective.  Use that rain machine more, show!

And... I think that's all I got.  It's weird that the most heavily promoted ep in forever is the one about which I have the least to say.

Edited November 30, 2017 by JyDanzig

[QueenMab]

See, here's the issue I have....an episode like this only works if you have a show with an ensemble cast that is actually used every week. A show where the cast interacts through the whole episode, like the "team" they're supposed to be. Then, you can have an episode every so often that will "feature" one of the cast...a "Finn centric" or "Barba centric" or "Benson centric" episode that gives each actor a chance to shine, show what they can do. And those episodes can be welcomed as giving us some insight into each character. BUT....when a show has a lead that every damn episode for years is wrapped around to the point the other members of the "ensemble cast" are relegated to being backdrops, an episode that features, once again, a main character whose face is on screen the whole hour with the rest of the cast made irrelevant, to me, its just self aggrandizing, self promoting, self indulgent horsecrap. And I don't want to pay attention. I already know all this tragic crap about the character. I don't need to be hit over the head with a 2x4 that this is obviously a one character show and the other actors are just bodies to fill up the screen. So when I get dished an episode that just concentrates on crap about the character we already know, just to put that ego tripper's big face on screen for an hour, I have to call it what it is....self indulgent, self promoting horsecrap...that only deserves a "Razzie" not a freaking Emmy.

[Gigglepuff]

Oh Lord.......

[Xeliou66]

4 hours ago, QueenMab said:

See, here's the issue I have....an episode like this only works if you have a show with an ensemble cast that is actually used every week. A show where the cast interacts through the whole episode, like the "team" they're supposed to be. Then, you can have an episode every so often that will "feature" one of the cast...a "Finn centric" or "Barba centric" or "Benson centric" episode that gives each actor a chance to shine, show what they can do. And those episodes can be welcomed as giving us some insight into each character. BUT....when a show has a lead that every damn episode for years is wrapped around to the point the other members of the "ensemble cast" are relegated to being backdrops, an episode that features, once again, a main character whose face is on screen the whole hour with the rest of the cast made irrelevant, to me, its just self aggrandizing, self promoting, self indulgent horsecrap. And I don't want to pay attention. I already know all this tragic crap about the character. I don't need to be hit over the head with a 2x4 that this is obviously a one character show and the other actors are just bodies to fill up the screen. So when I get dished an episode that just concentrates on crap about the character we already know, just to put that ego tripper's big face on screen for an hour, I have to call it what it is....self indulgent, self promoting horsecrap...that only deserves a "Razzie" not a freaking Emmy.

Agreed with this, all we get is all Benson, all the time, every episode. The other characters are little more than window dressing in about 80 percent of the episodes, all we get is all Benson all the time. It is pure self aggrandizing ego stroking from Mariska, she is extremely delusional, the interview where she said she was the same as Benson showed that, and no one will tell her that's she ruining the show. It's a shame, because Churnuchin can be an excellent writer and the show could be great, but Mariska's gigantic ego is ruining it all, to the point where even people who normally like Benson are fed up. 

50 minutes ago, Gigglepuff said:

Oh Lord.......

Holy shit, that is the funniest thing I've seen in a long time. If you needed anymore proof Mariska is completely delusional and egotistical and eveyrone else has to worship her to keep their job. What a joke this is, absolutely no one talks about their colleagues the way almost eveyrone in SVU talks about Mariska. I'm very disappointed with Churnuchin, pull your head out of Mariska's ass and use your writing skills. 

[dttruman]

19 minutes ago, Xeliou66 said:

Holy shit, that is the funniest thing I've seen in a long time. If you needed anymore proof Mariska is completely delusional and egotistical and eveyrone else has to worship her to keep their job. What a joke this is, absolutely no one talks about their colleagues the way almost eveyrone in SVU talks about Mariska. I'm very disappointed with Churnuchin, pull your head out of Mariska's ass and use your writing skills. 

 I can't tell if he is complementing her or is "sticking it" to her. When Churnuchin says "You’re the sun we all revolve around", is he sarcastically saying "All Hail Mariska", because without her, our lives have no meaning?

[Xantar]

Was the final revelation really supposed to be a surprise? I called it as soon as they found the body. I feel sorry for Laurel's actress. She had some absolutely shit lines to work with. Meryl Streep herself couldn't have pulled off, "It explodes inside you and then it drips out down your legs into your toes and down your hands. JUST PURE HATE!" And those lines about how men are like cheetahs? Is this how writers think traumatized people talk? And the way she was directed to act infantile made me feel humiliated on her behalf.

By the way, this is why it's a bad idea to let relatives act as their loved one's lawyer. So the defendant's lawyer gets emotional, storms out of the room, and then the detectives continue the interrogation without calling another lawyer? The defense attorney at the trial is going to have a field day with that.

[LizDC]

Mariska Hargitay Was "Wrecked" For Days After Law & Order: SVU's Emotional Episode

[WineCheeseChocolat]

This #Bensonssecret crap is just that.

There was no secret. She’s a Child of Rape and has grappled with that her entire life. Lewis assuslted her and she beat him with a metal bar - while not on the books, come on, the whole squad basically knows how it went down. All this stuff has been dealt with 5856493 times. There’s no “reopening of old wounds.”

I have said before but if the show wants to go there, let’s explore how Benson’s past traumas have impaired her judgement as a cop and a leader, as Rollins has tried to point out before and Fin should’ve pointed out in the S17 finale.

[CelticBlackCat]

2 hours ago, Gigglepuff said:

Oh Lord.......

Speaking of Jesus...

Well, folks, it's official.  Mariska Hargitay is the sun they all revolve around.

Un. Be. <censored> Lievable!

[dttruman]

1 hour ago, WineCheeseChocolat said:

I have said before but if the show wants to go there, let’s explore how Benson’s past traumas have impaired her judgement as a cop and a leader, as Rollins has tried to point out before and Fin should’ve pointed out in the S17 finale.

Do you think they will use all of her past heavy baggage in some BIG over the top custody hearing concerning Noah in the spring or maybe as soon as the winter?

[dttruman]

1 hour ago, Xantar said:

By the way, this is why it's a bad idea to let relatives act as their loved one's lawyer. So the defendant's lawyer gets emotional, storms out of the room, and then the detectives continue the interrogation without calling another lawyer?

I concur. Her sister probably would have got her another lawyer (even though they were arguing at that point). Any other SVU episode, police drama, or lawyer show, the relative would stop the interrogation and made sure she had representation.

[Gigglepuff]

13 minutes ago, dttruman said:

Do you think they will use all of her past heavy baggage in some BIG over the top custody hearing concerning Noah in the spring or maybe as soon as the winter?

Sooner than that. Check the spoilers thread if you want to know. 

[MorbidPet]

It was worth watching just for that moment when vic-turned-perp screamed at Benson. She channeled all of us for those moments. Then cut to Benson's suffering face again and the moment was lost.

She was such a biatch walking back in to interrogation after all the rest told her not to. And she hissed at Rollins (for no good reason at all) so she's dead to me now.

I love Joanna Going (if you haven't watched Kingdom I really recommend it, I'm not a fan of MMA but that show had more than knuckles & blood) so I did enjoy her part and if they cut Benson's part out and put anyone else in there (Huang like some of you mentioned would've been brill) this could've been a good episode but victim-whisperer ruined it. I can't feel any pity for her any longer.

 

4 hours ago, Gigglepuff said:

Oh Lord.......

Barf. He truly is Leight 2.0 (or perhaps -0.5)

[halkatla]

8 hours ago, QueenMab said:

See, here's the issue I have....an episode like this only works if you have a show with an ensemble cast that is actually used every week. A show where the cast interacts through the whole episode, like the "team" they're supposed to be. Then, you can have an episode every so often that will "feature" one of the cast...a "Finn centric" or "Barba centric" or "Benson centric" episode that gives each actor a chance to shine, show what they can do. And those episodes can be welcomed as giving us some insight into each character. BUT....when a show has a lead that every damn episode for years is wrapped around to the point the other members of the "ensemble cast" are relegated to being backdrops, an episode that features, once again, a main character whose face is on screen the whole hour with the rest of the cast made irrelevant, to me, its just self aggrandizing, self promoting, self indulgent horsecrap. And I don't want to pay attention. I already know all this tragic crap about the character. I don't need to be hit over the head with a 2x4 that this is obviously a one character show and the other actors are just bodies to fill up the screen. So when I get dished an episode that just concentrates on crap about the character we already know, just to put that ego tripper's big face on screen for an hour, I have to call it what it is....self indulgent, self promoting horsecrap...that only deserves a "Razzie" not a freaking Emmy.

This is so true. I´ve never really liked Rollins but her-centric episodes with her evil mom and crazy, stupid sociopath sister were awesome. They made me so angry, but they were exciting. This episode was better than all of last seasons eps, and most of this seasons, but that´s not saying much. It still sucked and was completely boring, awful and strange. The creepy incest would be great on a better episode (how weird to be writing that? lol)

The saddest thing is that Benson used to be so cool... Don´t you remember? She had an interesting backstory, she was a very strong woman and a good cop. And the team was great (I love Barba and Carisi, but it´s not like I need to see them every weak, they don´t carry the show). BUt it´s been many years since it all turned to shite. I feel like we hear about Benson´s dad even more than NOah, seriously, it´s so far-fetched that someone in her position would be constantly talking about her "dad" the rapist. Let it go show! Not that I care honestly, I only continue to watch because SVU was good once, a long time ago, back in the day. Now I only tune in to see how awful and stupid the story is going to be.

Edited November 30, 2017 by halkatla

[HunterHunted]

There were parts of this that reminded me of the episode of the Sopranos when Lorraine Bracco's character, Dr. Melfi, was raped. It was such obvious Emmy bait. If you've listened to the DVD commentary for that episode it was unofficially titled "Lorraine Wants an Emmy." This was Emmy bait, but the only one who really shone was the guest star.

[PrincessPurrsALot]

20 hours ago, stonehaven said:

Thankfully the Bruno Mars special on CBS is helping to erase the gross from that episode....Damn, I hate this show sucks me in and then makes me wanna shower...

I haven't been watching but when did Olivia gain that weird tick of almost sucking her fingers? It was supposed to be a look of shock but it looked like she really liked the smell of her fingers....mmmkay....

 

[Kel Varnsen]

23 hours ago, wonderwoman said:

Random thoughts: 

I don't remember the woman being read her rights. Did I miss this? Given her mental state, wouldn't even a competent  defense attorney be able to get the confession tossed? 

That really bugged me, especially since Barba was right outside the room and they had already tried to give the woman access to a lawyer.

19 hours ago, CelticBlackCat said:

Well, at least someone finally told Benson that she isn't Jesus!  

But she also said something along the lines of how it must be hard for Benson to be such a beautiful woman since men must be staring at her all the time.

22 hours ago, balmz said:

episode was ok, laurel's actor is the one who deserves the emmy

 

laughed at the part when she told olivia she's not jesus

some parts with laurel seemed like she was sorta mocking olivia's habit of whispering

i think laurel was likely mentally ill, like bipolar or something

I didn't think the actress was that great. It kept sounding like she was doing a bad Krysten Ritter impression. And i agree that she seemed mentally ill, or at least a tv version of mentally ill. At first i thought they were going for some kind of multiple personality thing.

[shapeshifter]

Not so Emmy worthy IMO. Not any of it. 

Given the wealth of current news regarding situations and topics relevant to the show, there's a lot of potential for the future, but I hope it doesn't look like this episode.

[dttruman]

2 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Not so Emmy worthy IMO. Not any of it. 

Given the wealth of current news regarding situations and topics relevant to the show, there's a lot of potential for the future, but I hope it doesn't look like this episode.

IMO, I agree. I am starting to recognize that impending feeling that others have already commented about MH getting a Emmy as a Swan song for her career and not for any particular performance. It also seems like this is the final season of SVU.

[Xeliou66]

I think this will be the last season as well, Mariska's ego has ruined the show. It's a shame, because Churnuchin is a good writer and there is plenty of material that SVU could tackle, unfortunately eveyrone involved in the show is kissing Mariska's ass and literally worshipping her (Churnuchin's tweet about Mariska being the sun that everyone revolves around just shows how out of control this has gotten), Mariska gets all the screen time and we only get stories about Benson, it's killed the show. 

[Iguessnot]

Oh that was awful. It didn't take long before it became clear we weren't getting a case, but a showcase of Mariska's so called "excellent" rape counseling. Because we no longer have an ensemble cast where cops actually work a case, there was no one there to say that the so called victim who couldn't remember anything for unknown reasons, kept remembering parts of her story at varying times also for reasons unknown. Benson also feeds the narrative. I remember her stating "the apartment of the man that attacked you." Benson wasn't asking, just making a declaration when she should have been trying to determine if the one night stand assaulted the woman or someone else she encountered on her way to the museum. I found the episode abnormal. I didn't understand what warranted Olivia sharing all her personal information.  

Maybe I missed information to the contrary, but the show seemed to portray this freak of a woman who lusted after her father as living a normal life before she snapped The sister who suffered directly from the incest seemed to be pretty well adjusted even without Benson's saintly touch. But I guess the show can't realistically flesh out these characters because all interactions are for the canonization of Benson. Blah.

Edited December 1, 2017 by Iguessnot

[watcher1006]

Given that this episode scored a season high in the Nielsens (1.5/5 in the demo, possibly boosted somewhat by the Rockefeller Center tree lighting lead-in) how could the numbers convince any of the NBC execs that Mariska Hargitay's creative control and personal ego are driving this show into the ground? It can't look that way to NBC, they probably think it is only people posting on forums like this that are complaining. I think this show is headed for a Season 20, which makes me groan.

I don't know how Barba could have stood at the window and not have broken up the interview. A complicated criminal case developing that could easily been compromised by Benson's personal involvement. Law & Order is part of the show's name. Where is it? A narrative like this tarnishes the show's legacy, as well as that of the original L&O.

[Xeliou66]

14 minutes ago, watcher1006 said:

Given that this episode scored a season high in the Nielsens (1.5/5 in the demo, possibly boosted somewhat by the Rockefeller Center tree lighting lead-in) how could the numbers convince any of the NBC execs that Mariska Hargitay's creative control and personal ego are driving this show into the ground? It can't look that way to NBC, they probably think it is only people posting on forums like this that are complaining. I think this show is headed for a Season 20, which makes me groan.

I don't know how Barba could have stood at the window and not have broken up the interview. A complicated criminal case developing that could easily been compromised by Benson's personal involvement. Law & Order is part of the show's name. Where is it? A narrative like this tarnishes the show's legacy, as well as that of the original L&O.

Amen to the fact that the Mariska Hargitay Hour is trashing the legacy of the terrific original L&O and the whole franchise. I was watching reruns of the mothership after watching the Benson melodrama hour and the difference in quality is striking. I feel like that the show has sunk so low in quality now that it may need to be canceled. I'm disgusted with Churnuchin, he wrote some awesome episodes for the mothership but now he is just kissing Mariska's ass and bowing to her demands. 

And Barba has become nothing more than Benson's bitch who's there to serve whatever she wants him to do. It's pathetic how they've made Barba such a weak character with no spine most of the time, no one can stand up to Benson anymore, she will just steamroll all of them. 

[katisha]

God, that was horrid. SVU: Scenery Chewing Unit. I think Laurel won by a Botoxed lip but it wasn't for lack of trying by St Benson. And didn't you just love how, when Rollins and Carisi were offering to take over the interview she snotted back at them, "YOU couldn't get her to say one word!" Give me strength.

[ForeverAlone]

I was finally able to see this episode, and all I can say is that this wasn't as bad as I feared. We all knew going in that this episode was going to be a Very Special Mariska Hargitay Emmy Bait Hour, but it could have been worse. I thought that Laurel would turn out to be a rape victim, and after Olivia worked her Rape Victim Whisperer magic, then she would have some sort of memory breakthrough and then at the end she would thank Olivia for being her Savior. I am glad it wasn't that, and I am also glad that the show didn't retcon Olivia's history and have her be raped by William Lewis (another fear I had). In fact, if I was tuning into this episode hoping to learn some unknown, juicy #BensonsSecret, I would have been disappointed as all get out. I mean, we didn't hear anything about Olivia that we didn't already know, and I was over Olivia's daddy drama back in season seven when Simon was first introduced. 

In some ways, this episode reminded me of Neal Baer era SVU, and I think it would have been better then. First off, Olivia was patently unqualified to take this woman's statement after they realized just how mentally far gone she was. Olivia shouldn't have been trading daddy horror stories, and Dr. Huang would have been a better choice to get the story from this woman. Hell, we barely got much about the actual murder Laurel committed, because we spent too much time dealing with the fact that Laurel was jealous that her father didn't want to rape her. Also, if this was earlier era SVU, Cragen would have been around to forcibly drag Olivia out of the interrogation, after it took that super creepy turn. But now that she is LT, nobody on the team can just order her out of there, even though she should have been.

I can see this entire case running into so many problems once it actually enters the prosecution phase (assuming her attorney doesn't plea her out with some sort of extreme emotional distress plea). I hope that the team read Laurel her Miranda rights for starters. Secondly, the interrogation probably should have ceased once the sister ran out in horror. I can see any competent defense attorney getting her confession thrown out (though Barba could probably still make the case based on the forensic evidence alone). 

What little we saw of the actual investigation was good, but that was basically only too little Carisi and Fin. Amanda and especially Rafael were absolutely wasted in this. And considering NBC nickels and dimes this show to a ridiculous degree, you would think they wouldn't have wanted to pay Raul full price for less than a minute of actual screen time. 

Edited December 1, 2017 by ForeverAlone

[halkatla]

9 hours ago, HunterHunted said:

There were parts of this that reminded me of the episode of the Sopranos when Lorraine Bracco's character, Dr. Melfi, was raped. It was such obvious Emmy bait. If you've listened to the DVD commentary for that episode it was unofficially titled "Lorraine Wants an Emmy." This was Emmy bait, but the only one who really shone was the guest star.

I never watched the Sopranos for a whole episode, but once I decided to turn on the tv and watch something at random because me and my friend had nothing better to do, and lo and behold, that rape scene was happening and it´s the most awful thing I have ever seen on tv. Seriously, not because it was bad but because it was so shocking and brutal. I´ve always hated the Sopranos since then. But I guess it would be considered tame now. But back on topic, I didn´t think MH did anything emmy worthy with her acting either, and the guest star just did good, nothing that special really, but definitely better than MH.

Edited December 1, 2017 by halkatla

[shapeshifter]

3 hours ago, katisha said:

God, that was horrid. SVU: Scenery Chewing Unit

Heh. Or I guess: Scenery chewing-up-and-swallowing-then-Vommiting Unit. 
I thought the victim/perp won the Guiness Book of Records award for non-stop scenery chewing, and wondered if that was on purpose to make MH's one-note acting seem sublimely subtle by comparison.

I get why MH would want an Emmy, but it seems to me that a better and more attainable and timely award for her to go for would be something related to drawing attention to victims' issues.

[slowpoked]

On 11/30/2017 at 9:03 AM, Gigglepuff said:

Oh Lord.......

So riddle me this - what exactly was #BensonsSecret? That she beat Lewis to a pulp instead of calling it in? That she never knew her father? That she was a product of rape? Don't we already know all of this before???

And is the lieutenant supposed to be doing all this interrogation work? What use do you have for your detectives then? God, Benson was ever so bitch to Rollins when she snapped "You couldn't even get one word out of her."

And c'mon, has Barba really become this stupid? "Get in there!". A relatively good defense attorney would be able to throw that confession out of the window and easily can make for an insanity plea. Where's Calhoun or Buchanan when you need them?!

[MorbidPet]

29 minutes ago, slowpoked said:

So riddle me this - what exactly was #BensonsSecret? That she beat Lewis to a pulp instead of calling it in? That she never knew her father? That she was a product of rape? Don't we already know all of this before???

I dunno who stated this but this is going around Twitter as an answer to your question (you're not alone in asking it). It's as barf-worthy as the Noochone tweet imo. 

[ForeverAlone]

Yeah, what a load of horseshit. We have literally spent seasons dealing with Olivia's pain about her father and the pain she experienced with William Lewis. Everybody she works with already knows these, ad nauseum. There is no where else to go with these two issues, short of retconning, which thankfully they did not do. This whole #BensonsSecret crap was nothing more than a marketing ploy to get people to watch the show. And most people can see it for what it was and aren't happy about it (nor should they be). 

[red.]

WTF am I watching? Less than 1/2 way in and I'll probably turn it off  but I LOL'd when Laurel had to remind us that Benson is a 'pretty lady'.