S19.E08: Intent

[CelticBlackCat]

The Monster deserves idiot of the year award, along with his fighting accolades.  He doesn't confirm in person that the rape request is real, and then takes the plea "deal" and I do mean that in quotes, which destroys the rest of his life, credibility, puts him on the sex registry.  That whole legal maneuvering charade was bogus IMHO.  They could have prosecuted the catfisher for whatever they could do, fraud, intent to cause bodily harm/sexual assault, etc. and leave The Monster out of it.  It really does the victim no good to have her rapist destroyed like that.

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, CelticBlackCat said:

It really does the victim no good to have her rapist destroyed like that.

Especially since the rape victim said she didn't want Monster to get in trouble/be punished (I forget her exact words). Assuming she will continue to feel that way, having him punished seems like it would make her feel guilty, which means she is being punished too.
And why? Because Benson and Barba weren't going to be satisfied with the (as yet unknown) catfisher being convicted of anything less than a felony—because they believe "doing hard time" somehow fixes things, or at least prevents future rapes. But in the case of rape by catfish, I doubt prison walls are that much of an obstacle. </cynic>

[spunky]

Why must the writers continue the Benoah drama?! I like the show when they're not turning it into a soap opera. So now out of the clear blue sky, Carisi has romantic feelings for Rollins and acts like a petulant child because she slept with a stranger, insert eye roll.

I liked the case of the week, I do find it strange that the MMA star would just go along with a rape fantasy without any in person discussion. Heather gave me the creeps the minute she came on. Her reason behind the catfish was so dumb that I wanted them to give her life in prison. 

[CleoCaesar]

On 12/7/2017 at 2:03 AM, Xeliou66 said:

And I'm going to say again how sick I am of all the victims being young wealthy attractive white women.

Plus, you know, the perps always being white. There have been 8 episodes this season, and in all 8 the villains have been white. That is just PC agenda-pushing at this point. It bears absolutely no relation to actual NYC violent crime stats, particularly rape. I'm trying to imagine 8 consecutive episodes of SVU where in each and every episode the perp is black, or Latino, or Asian, or what have you. And I can't. The outcry would be deafening.

[dttruman]

2 hours ago, spunky said:

Why must the writers continue the Benoah drama?! I like the show when they're not turning it into a soap opera. So now out of the clear blue sky, Carisi has romantic feelings for Rollins and acts like a petulant child because she slept with a stranger, insert eye roll.

Do you think the writers (or executive producers) are trying to make Rollins happy, carefree and "fast and loose" now? Considering her rape down in Atlanta involving her superior and her family troubles, I thought they would at least make her a little cautious or hesitant.

[dttruman]

4 hours ago, CleoCaesar said:

Plus, you know, the perps always being white. There have been 8 episodes this season, and in all 8 the villains have been white. That is just PC agenda-pushing at this point. It bears absolutely no relation to actual NYC violent crime stats, particularly rape. I'm trying to imagine 8 consecutive episodes of SVU where in each and every episode the perp is black, or Latino, or Asian, or what have you. And I can't. The outcry would be deafening.

If I remember right, when it came to a black person as the perp, it was hate crimes they committed according to the writers. In one episode they accidentally pushed a transgender (I think) over the side of a bridge and the other was a rapper was secretly in love with a transgender (or gay) and killed to protect. All of these are just vague recollections, feel free to correct or clarify me on any of these,.

Edited December 11, 2017 by dttruman

[Kel Varnsen]

On 07/12/2017 at 7:18 PM, Xeliou66 said:

Agreed completely with this, it was completely unbelievable that the fighter would plead guilty when he could get off scot-free just so the catfisher could be prosecuted for rape. Doesn't matter how bad he felt, he would never plead guilty to something he could get off for, period. That part was just absurd, surely there could've been another way to prosecute the catfisher for more severe charges. 

 

What I didn't get was he agreed to take the deal before they even had the catfisher in custody. Did his lawyer not advise him of the possibility that he could plead guilty to help the NYPD and then they never find the catfisher.

Also why was his career over. I mean i get he would probably lose endorsements, but are there really no convicted felons in MMA.

And in regards about to Noah, has Olivia of all people not taught him to be careful around strangers and what to do? It just seemed weird that he could be picked up by someone in a busy store so easily without making a sound.

[illdoc]

More evidence that Sheila might be involved....your child goes missing (2 minutes after you last saw him) in a department store. You should immediately scream "my child is missing", which I assume would trigger an automatic lockdown of the store, so no one can get out with the child. Then the police would be called, there would be a search, etc. Heck, they've actually had cases like that on L&O (mothership at least, probably SVU too). But, no, apparently all Sheila does is call "Noah" a few times (not terribly loudly either) and dial St. Olivia. Now, of course, it is possible that there is a lockdown that we didn't see, but Sheila really didn't seem all that panicked that Noah was missing to me.

[QueenMab]

I suspect this is all to provide an over the top dramatic season of MH's "Emmy worthy" acting skills so that in the end, Benson will be proved the most fit, worthy, saintly, extraordinary, amazing mother on the face of the earth, earn her halo, and be worshipped by all as the new "Mary, Mother of Jesus". And Sheila goes to prison. This season is a giant suck.

[wknt3]

On 12/7/2017 at 1:57 PM, illdoc said:

Incidentally, whatever happened to Rollins' baby??? Who was watching her while Rollins was in WV?

Lucy. She has spare time that Noah is with Sheila so much. Of course that's assuming that she didn't die or Lt. Murphy got custody of her or something and the scene was cut for time so we could have more Benson and Sheila like fans are demanding...

[Iguessnot]

5 hours ago, QueenMab said:

I suspect this is all to provide an over the top dramatic season of MH's "Emmy worthy" acting skills so that in the end, Benson will be proved the most fit, worthy, saintly, extraordinary, amazing mother on the face of the earth, earn her halo, and be worshipped by all as the new "Mary, Mother of Jesus". And Sheila goes to prison. This season is a giant suck.

Harumph. What acting skills? I hate the scenes with Sheila and Benson. Benson behaving like some electrocuted robot with her jerky mannerisms and Sheila just groveling.

[Fiero425]

16 hours ago, Iguessnot said:

Harumph. What acting skills? I hate the scenes with Sheila and Benson. Benson behaving like some electrocuted robot with her jerky mannerisms and Sheila just groveling.

Groveling turned to resentment IMO and I truly believe Sheila's behind this kidnapping! This sort of thing goes on all the time; esp. if one parent gets custody over the kids and the other can't let it go! Grandparents have gotten into the act feeling they're entitled to see the kids anytime they please or take over guardianship! ;-)

[Iguessnot]

10 hours ago, Fiero425 said:

Groveling turned to resentment IMO and I truly believe Sheila's behind this kidnapping! This sort of thing goes on all the time; esp. if one parent gets custody over the kids and the other can't let it go! Grandparents have gotten into the act feeling they're entitled to see the kids anytime they please or take over guardianship! ;-)

Possibly. I just wish the whole Noah storyline would disappear. It makes me itch as soon as I get a whiff of it.

[Snookums]

Quote

Another thing that really bugged me and hurt the episode was that the MMA fighter would never have pled guilty to a crime when he could've gotten off completely. It doesn't matter how much money he has or that he was not going to jail, no one would take a plea and have a criminal record when they could get off scot-free. That was ludicrous and unbelievable, it doesn't matter how much he's upset about what happened, he's not pleading guilty when he could likely walk. That was bullshit, they should've found another way to get more serious charges on the catfisher. 

COMPLETELY STUPID. To agree to that was ridiculous; it would have made much more sense to present the two victims as a united front! He, although he was stupid in not verbally confirming things beforehand AND not stopping (always stop. Always.) he clearly did not want what happened, felt horrible, and was completely willing to help. There were tons of other, serious, hardcore charges that could have been brought against Heather: extortion, impersonating an attorney, instigating sexual assault, you name it. All this setup did was ruin the guy's life and probably made the victim feel worse, not "empowered." 

I will say that the actress playing Heather was very good. She nailed that "always on the bench" seeming resignation while brewing a truly toxic sense of rage against a total stranger well. That's what the show should have explored: how entitlement can be felt by anyone, not just rich white guys, and how the internet and social media can create a fugue state where people can conjure the most heinous acts and scenarios without grasping what they are doing is hurting people, and criminal. A truly fascinating study of the "it's not fair" mentality is still waiting to be done.

And the kidnapping commences! I'm firmly in the "Sheila set it up" camp; she put that big, face hiding hood on Noah deliberately. And while I wait, bone weary, for this entire swamp of Benoah drama to slog to a conclusion, I wish the writers would trust the actual situation more. There is PLENTY of drama to be had in this situation without the endless pile on of ridiculous plot twists! Benson wasn't wrong when she asked what Sheila's plan was, and there could have been some good acting moments and genuine interest there. But no, we all know what's coming and just sigh and roll our eyes.

[spunky]

On 12/10/2017 at 7:34 PM, dttruman said:

Do you think the writers (or executive producers) are trying to make Rollins happy, carefree and "fast and loose" now? Considering her rape down in Atlanta involving her superior and her family troubles, I thought they would at least make her a little cautious or hesitant.

It's either they're going for the Bipolar disorder angle like they did with her sister, or they're writing her as some one who is using sex to feel empowered like some rape victims do. Either way they're not doing the character any justice with the way they're writing her.

[CelticBlackCat]

6 hours ago, spunky said:

It's either they're going for the Bipolar disorder angle like they did with her sister, or they're writing her as some one who is using sex to feel empowered like some rape victims do. Either way they're not doing the character any justice with the way they're writing her.

I was disappointed that Amanda bragged to Sonny (Carisi) about how she banged some guy who was hot for her and then picked up Buck at the Bar for a one-nighter, right under Carisi's nose.  Not only is that tacky to begin with, but she being a mother of a little girl shouldn't be acting like that, IMHO.  I thought Amanda was straightening up her act.  It seems her purpose in the precinct lately is to check up on Saint Olivia to see how she's feeling, handling whatever there is to be handled, as if she's going to take care of Benson somehow.

[Xeliou66]

49 minutes ago, CelticBlackCat said:

I was disappointed that Amanda bragged to Sonny (Carisi) about how she banged some guy who was hot for her and then picked up Buck at the Bar for a one-nighter, right under Carisi's nose.  Not only is that tacky to begin with, but she being a mother of a little girl shouldn't be acting like that, IMHO.  I thought Amanda was straightening up her act.  It seems her purpose in the precinct lately is to check up on Saint Olivia to see how she's feeling, handling whatever there is to be handled, as if she's going to take care of Benson somehow.

So women who are mothers should be celibate? That’s ridiculous. I don’t have a problem with Rollins’ behavior, she’s no longer screwing up on the job, screwing her co workers or addicted to gambling, she’s become a professional detective and I like her now and I’m also glad that they aren’t having Olivia treat her like shit anymore. I have no problems with Rollins having a sex life. The character I had problems with in this episode is Carisi, he behaved like a possessive, jealous douchebag, very immature of him to be so pissed off that Rollins had a one night stand, he was unprofessional and behaved like horny teenager whose crush hooked up with another guy. Very OOC behavior and if it continues I will dislike Carisi, please don’t force a Rollins/Carisi romance down our throat, that would be forced, make the show more of a soap opera and the characters have no chemistry. 

[dttruman]

19 minutes ago, Xeliou66 said:

So women who are mothers should be celibate? That’s ridiculous. I don’t have a problem with Rollins’ behavior, she’s no longer screwing up on the job, screwing her co workers or addicted to gambling, she’s become a professional detective and I like her now and I’m also glad that they aren’t having Olivia treat her like shit anymore. I have no problems with Rollins having a sex life. The character I had problems with in this episode is Carisi, he behaved like a possessive, jealous douchebag, very immature of him to be so pissed off that Rollins had a one night stand, he was unprofessional and behaved like horny teenager whose crush hooked up with another guy. Very OOC behavior and if it continues I will dislike Carisi, please don’t force a Rollins/Carisi romance down our throat, that would be forced, make the show more of a soap opera and the characters have no chemistry. 

I don't think that is what we are criticizing about Rollins here (or me at least). I think it is just the abrupt change in character or the fact they are presenting a scenario where Rollins is out of character. With what we know about her background, I thought she would be more cautious than reckless. With her telling Carisi about her overnight exploits, I thought that this would be something that she would be telling another (girl) friend like Benson and not Carisi. After all wasn't Benson sleeping  around with Cassidy and that former I.A. cop. Unfortunately I think they will force some situation with Carisi and Rollins just to create some cheap drama to keep up the soap opera atmosphere.

[katisha]

On 14/12/2017 at 3:54 PM, Snookums said:

I will say that the actress playing Heather was very good. She nailed that "always on the bench" seeming resignation while brewing a truly toxic sense of rage against a total stranger well. That's what the show should have explored: how entitlement can be felt by anyone, not just rich white guys, and how the internet and social media can create a fugue state where people can conjure the most heinous acts and scenarios without grasping what they are doing is hurting people, and criminal. A truly fascinating study of the "it's not fair" mentality is still waiting to be done.

Totally agree.  It's amazing when an actor on the show makes more subtle, believable acting choices, how much worse it makes MH look.  And the sad thing is, in the earlier seasons she was mostly at least a competent actress.

What I liked about the episode:

• Fin getting not one but two good lines.  I also liked the one where, after they put all the Insta shots of the rape victim on the screen at the precinct, he deadpanned, "Don't people know porn is free these days?" And after St Olivia gave him a stern look he just looked right back like, "What?"
• That the case was something different than we've been seeing the last couple of sucky seasons, even if it stretched believability to beyond breaking point that the MMA guy would just start up with the rape fantasy without mentioning it to his date (as many of you have pointed out).
• Barba in the courtroom without consulting St Olivia re every move.

What I didn't like:

• Toooooo much bloody Benoahiela.  What are we thinking for the resolution of the kidnapping drama when the show comes back?  I'm betting a three-parter, and the whole squad will dedicate their entire lives to solving the case at the expense of all rape/sex crimes victims who will need assistance in the meantime.
• Rollisi.  It's a no from me.  PLEASE don't have these two hook up or have a relationship.  I so much prefer them as friends and colleagues and since I thought that's all they were, Carisi's behaviour after seeing that Amanda got lucky with that bartender guy (who reminded me quite a lot of Logan from Veronica Mars - was it just me?) was all the more weird and inexplicable.

Still hanging in there and tuning in. God knows why, though.

Edited December 17, 2017 by katisha

[Xeliou66]

51 minutes ago, dttruman said:

I don't think that is what we are criticizing about Rollins here (or me at least). I think it is just the abrupt change in character or the fact they are presenting a scenario where Rollins is out of character. With what we know about her background, I thought she would be more cautious than reckless. With her telling Carisi about her overnight exploits, I thought that this would be something that she would be telling another (girl) friend like Benson and not Carisi. After all wasn't Benson sleeping  around with Cassidy and that former I.A. cop. Unfortunately I think they will force some situation with Carisi and Rollins just to create some cheap drama to keep up the soap opera atmosphere.

I don’t think Rollins was OOC, she’s always been someone who is rather reckless and likes to sleep with a bunch of different people, even if she has become a more professional cop. Besides, Benson is such a judgmental bitch now, I would sooner tell Carisi about my sex life than Benson, St Olivia’s the last person I would discuss anything personal with, she’s a judgmental shrew and a hypocrite to boot who will lecture people that they are doing something wrong when she’s done the exact same thing herself. She’s a massive bitch now. 

The one who was being OOC was Carisi, he’s never been a jealous, possessive douchebag before and his behavior was totally unprofessional. Ridiculous, stupid writing just for the sake of having tension. Besides, Rollins/Carisi have no chemistry and have never shown any signs of being romantically attracted so throwing them in a relationship would be forced and stupid. 

I don’t even know why I watch anymore, the show has become a joke. With few exceptions, this season has been a complete disaster, I haven’t really liked an episode except for the first 2, and I’m incredibly disappointed in Churnuchin because unlike Leight and Eid, Churnuchin can write consistently good stuff, he’s written some top tier L&O episodes and the episodes he wrote for Chicago Justice this year were the best episodes of that show even though it was a failed show he still wrote a couple of strong episodes. On SVU though this season has been pathetic and I think it shows the true showrunner is MH, she’s gotten more and more powerful each year and I think she has more control than anyone, so she demands more Benson drama, more Noah and more preachy stuff where she can act like a saint. I only watch cause this show is still part of the L&O brand I guess but this season’s quality has been garbage. 

[dttruman]

7 hours ago, Xeliou66 said:

The one who was being OOC was Carisi, he’s never been a jealous, possessive douchebag before and his behavior was totally unprofessional. Ridiculous, stupid writing just for the sake of having tension. Besides, Rollins/Carisi have no chemistry and have never shown any signs of being romantically attracted so throwing them in a relationship would be forced and stupid.

Agreed, He has always been that "supportive friend" and now he is on the verge of becoming that obsessive jealous friend and co-worker in one episode. Churnuchin had a good record for putting together a good script especially on Law&Order, but if he has to write stuff that fits the scenarios that Haritay wants, he is having trouble doing it. Which raises the question, "Who controls the overall plot line here?". Does Churnuchin or Hargitay have the final say?

[wknt3]

10 minutes ago, dttruman said:

Agreed, He has always been that "supportive friend" and now he is on the verge of becoming that obsessive jealous friend and co-worker in one episode. Churnuchin had a good record for putting together a good script especially on Law&Order, but if he has to write stuff that fits the scenarios that Haritay wants, he is having trouble doing it. Which raises the question, "Who controls the overall plot line here?". Does Churnuchin or Hargitay have the final say?

Dick Wolf and NBC have the final say. The showrunner and Mariska derive what power and influence they have from those who own the show and their belief that they are necessary to keep it on the air. Mariska has clout because there is plenty of evidence that a significant portion of the audience is watching because of her and without her NBC cancels the show and Dick Wolf doesn't make any money. The showrunner also derives their power from the network and EP despite nominally being in charge of creative decisions by virtue of their job title. It is obvious that Leight and Chernuchin both have more of a say relative to Mariska than Eid did. I would guess this is because they were brought in when cancellation was a serious consideration and have a closer relationship with Wolf than Eid did so they had a mandate from the top. So while last season it was obvious that Mariska was calling the shots, in Leight's later seasons and this season with Chernuchin what you have is a more complex situation where sometimes Mariska gets her way and sometimes not - while she gets a lot of screen time and Benson is still doing too much fieldwork we know from last season that without a strong showrunner she would get even more air time and the plots would focus more narrowly on a specific set of issues important to her.

[CelticBlackCat]

20 hours ago, Xeliou66 said:

So women who are mothers should be celibate? That’s ridiculous.

Is that what I said?  No.  I said I was disappointed in Rollins' actions and choices.  If she is responsible for a daughter, she shouldn't be engaging in high-risk behavior, i.e., picking up a guy she doesn't know after she gets drunk at a bar and having one-night sex with him, unless she plans on a long-distance relationship with him, which means it would be a one-nighter.  Someone who works in the NYC PD SVU should know better than to engage in that kind of behavior.  I don't have a problem with her having a healthy adult relationship.

[Xeliou66]

Yeah you are pretty much saying mothers should not be allowed to have sex unless they are in a committed relationship. You are being a judgmental prude to be honest. Rollins can have sex with whoever she wants to and as long as it doesn’t affect her judgment or performance as a detective it’s none of Carisi’s or anyone else’s business.

Carisi was the one who looked bad in the last episode, not Rollins, Rollins was being too nice to Carisi, she should’ve told him off for being a passive aggressive douchebag. 

[WendyCR72]

Rollins can have a relationship with whom she pleases. But I agree, she has a child now. Engaging in risky behaviors of one-night stands and knowing zip about her potential sex partner(s) COULD (doesn't mean it would happen but could) endanger her child. We've seen Rollins' crappy life choices over time. She doesn't have a great track record in choosing the right paths in her day to day life.

And as she is the only parent for this kid - more or less - IMO, she needs to start thinking about the welfare of her child before she engages in such behavior.

[ChristiKRN]

I don't think SVU has ever had a good grip on the Rollins' character.  I sort of liked her when she first came on, but then the drama with her sister  and the bad decision-making with the gambling, etc took over and she became unlikeable for me.  Then, she seemed to be getting her act together, even becoming a bit judgmental of others.  Now, we are seeing some promiscuity and she said something about dabbling in MMA; is she about to go back to her old ways if she hasn't already?  Lol...I hope Lt. Murphy requested a paternity test.  Hmmm...maybe that is why we haven't seen him!

[CelticBlackCat]

12 hours ago, ChristiKRN said:

I don't think SVU has ever had a good grip on the Rollins' character.  I sort of liked her when she first came on, but then the drama with her sister  and the bad decision-making with the gambling, etc took over and she became unlikeable for me.  Then, she seemed to be getting her act together, even becoming a bit judgmental of others.  Now, we are seeing some promiscuity and she said something about dabbling in MMA; is she about to go back to her old ways if she hasn't already?  Lol...I hope Lt. Murphy requested a paternity test.  Hmmm...maybe that is why we haven't seen him!

I agree with you except that I never stopped liking Rollins.  When they trainwrecked her personal life and got into professional doo doo time, that was dicey, but I was still rooting for Amanda to make it out the other end OK.  My Unpopular Opinion was that Lt. Murphy and Amanda would be a couple.  They did that off screen and surprise! Amanda's having a baby!  I wish Donal Logue could have stayed on SVU.  He would have been a great permanent addition to the cast.

[ChristiKRN]

I loved Donal Logue as Murphy and what he brought when he was in the leadership position of SVU, also.  The differences in how he and Benson handled the same position are light years apart.   I would love to see him come back, but they really limited his role by making him the baby daddy.    

[Xeliou66]

I liked Murphy as well and I think he would’ve been a good leader for SVU, but the writers threw that out the window when they made him Rollins’ baby daddy. That was a stupid decision, just made Rollins look worse and ruined any chance of Murphy coming back to SVU in any capacity other than for Rollins drama. Just another ridiculous writers move that has made SVU into a total soap now. 

[HunterHunted]

On 12/16/2017 at 10:52 PM, Xeliou66 said:

The one who was being OOC was Carisi, he’s never been a jealous, possessive douchebag before and his behavior was totally unprofessional. Ridiculous, stupid writing just for the sake of having tension. Besides, Rollins/Carisi have no chemistry and have never shown any signs of being romantically attracted so throwing them in a relationship would be forced and stupid. 

On 12/17/2017 at 7:43 AM, dttruman said:

Agreed, He has always been that "supportive friend" and now he is on the verge of becoming that obsessive jealous friend and co-worker in one episode.

 

Peter Scanavino has said in the past that he'd have no issue with Carisi being gay or bi. Why they didn't go in that direction is beyond me. 

http://www.eonline.com/news/696074/it-s-absolutely-time-law-and-order-svu-introduced-a-new-gay-character-so-where-are-they

Heck, Rollins and Carisi have managed to work together for quite awhile with none of this random romantic entanglement. I'd much rather this leads to a pure Carisi story than more Rollins bullshit, like he's put feelers out about practicing law again and most places feel he's been away from law school too long and they're not interested. And as shitty as it is, he went for Amanda because hooking up with her would be a temporary ego salve.

[mamadrama]

The only thing that excited me about this episode is that I've been following the "real life" case that it was ripped from. They made the catfish kind of sympathetic and pitiful (while still being devious and sociopathic) but she has nothing on the real woman, Shelly Chartier. I am not surprised that they chose to use West Virginia, considering that the actual story took place in a desolate part of Manitoba. (When they need a far-removed, desolate, depressing landscape Hollywood usually goes for where I live...) 

If you're not familiar with the "ripped from the headlines" aspect of this one...He was an NBA star, not MMA, but Paris is actually an Instagram model. They really were both catfished and extortion was involved. 

 

"How this Canadian woman catfished an NBA star and an aspiring model, almost ruining their lives"

http://abcnews.go.com/US/canadian-woman-catfished-nba-star-aspiring-model-ruining/story?id=46778331

Edited January 3, 2018 by mamadrama

[spunky]

On 12/16/2017 at 9:05 PM, CelticBlackCat said:

I was disappointed that Amanda bragged to Sonny (Carisi) about how she banged some guy who was hot for her and then picked up Buck at the Bar for a one-nighter, right under Carisi's nose.  Not only is that tacky to begin with, but she being a mother of a little girl shouldn't be acting like that, IMHO.  I thought Amanda was straightening up her act.  It seems her purpose in the precinct lately is to check up on Saint Olivia to see how she's feeling, handling whatever there is to be handled, as if she's going to take care of Benson somehow.

It's as if she is a brand new character. What I dislike most is that they are writing her as though she and Benson have been best friends forever, when Benson has been treating her like crap since day one.

[Xeliou66]

48 minutes ago, spunky said:

It's as if she is a brand new character. What I dislike most is that they are writing her as though she and Benson have been best friends forever, when Benson has been treating her like crap since day one.

It’s very strange how a new showrunner comes in and all the sudden St Olivia and Rollins are best friends after Olivia treated her like shit for years. While I’m glad they are not having Benson treated Rollins like dirt she scraped off her shoe anymore, it’s absurd how they are suddenly BFF’s. Rollins is just having to act as Benson’s babysitter now because Benson is too much of an emotional drama queen to do her job.

I’m very relieved that the Rollins-Carisi bullshit from this episode didn’t carryover, that was pure OOC soap and I hated it, hopefully that was just one time bad writing forced drama. Carisi was an epic dick in this episode, he’s never behaved like a possessive douchebag before. 

Edited January 7, 2018 by Xeliou66

[spunky]

1 hour ago, Xeliou66 said:

It’s very strange how a new showrunner comes in and all the sudden St Olivia and Rollins are best friends after Olivia treated her like shit for years. While I’m glad they are not having Benson treated Rollins like dirt she scraped off her shoe anymore, it’s absurd how they are suddenly BFF’s. Rollins is just having to act as Benson’s babysitter now because Benson is too much of an emotional drama queen to do her job.

I’m very relieved that the Rollins-Carisi bullshit from this episode didn’t carryover, that was pure OOC soap and I hated it, hopefully that was just one time bad writing forced drama. Carisi was an epic dick in this episode, he’s never behaved like a possessive douchebag before. 

I swear they are trying to turn this show into Days of our lives SVU edition. There are thousands of single women in NYC I'm sure Carisi can find one. I will never buy that Amanda is suddenly Olivia's BFF.

[Xeliou66]

4 minutes ago, spunky said:

I swear they are trying to turn this show into Days of our lives SVU edition. There are thousands of single women in NYC I'm sure Carisi can find one. I will never buy that Amanda is suddenly Olivia's BFF.

It’s especially ridiculous how no one had anything better to do other than sit in Benson’s living room at the end of the last episode, just so we could get a Hallmark cliched sentimental ending. Carisi, Rollins, Fin and Barba would all have a lot better things to do than sit around and comfort the queen bee. And the writing is just all over the place, Fin behaved like an idiot when he is usually very reasonable and thorough, Rollins is now an angry cop who likes to rough up suspects, Carisi suddenly becomes a possessive douchebag who thinks Rollins should have to sleep with him for some reason, and Barba’s sole purpose is to kiss Benson’s fat ass and do everything she tells him to.

This show has become such a joke it makes me sick.  Churnuchin is a very good writer and he can do so much better than this, but unfortunately we still have other crappy writers from the Leight and Eid era, namely Julie Martin, and we all know Mariska has more control than anyone over the show and is demanding Benson get all the focus and a ton of personal stories.

[spunky]

18 minutes ago, Xeliou66 said:

It’s especially ridiculous how no one had anything better to do other than sit in Benson’s living room at the end of the last episode, just so we could get a Hallmark cliched sentimental ending. Carisi, Rollins, Fin and Barba would all have a lot better things to do than sit around and comfort the queen bee. And the writing is just all over the place, Fin behaved like an idiot when he is usually very reasonable and thorough, Rollins is now an angry cop who likes to rough up suspects, Carisi suddenly becomes a possessive douchebag who thinks Rollins should have to sleep with him for some reason, and Barba’s sole purpose is to kiss Benson’s fat ass and do everything she tells him to.

This show has become such a joke it makes me sick.  Churnuchin is a very good writer and he can do so much better than this, but unfortunately we still have other crappy writers from the Leight and Eid era, namely Julie Martin, and we all know Mariska has more control than anyone over the show and is demanding Benson get all the focus and a ton of personal stories.

NBC needs to put their foot down with this nonsense. I liked SVU because of what the show stood for. Now I can't tell the difference between Mariska and Benson, seeing that they're both horrible advocates.

[WendyCR72]

Doubt NBC will put a stop to anything at this late date. And, for good or bad, its ratings for an ancient show are still "decent", and that is all NBC cares about. Still sucks that this will likely tie the Mothership, or maybe even break it if NBC really wants to milk blood from a stone. But it is what it is now.

I think this will fold only when Hargitay is ready to hang it up.

[Xeliou66]

15 minutes ago, spunky said:

NBC needs to put their foot down with this nonsense. I liked SVU because of what the show stood for. Now I can't tell the difference between Mariska and Benson, seeing that they're both horrible advocates.

Mariska can’t even tell the difference between Mariska and Benson, she even said so in an interview! They are basically the same person, they are both arrogant divas and they are horrible advocates for victims of sexual violence. Mariska loves to talk about how this show sheds light on those issues, and it does to an extent, but it also exploits these situations and perpetuates myths because all of the rape victims are attractive rich young white women impliying that rape only happens to those who are wealthy and attractive. In real life, anyone can be raped. And also having only attractive victims allows SVU to show attractive women’s bodies and provide sex appeal, which is exploitative.

Also absurd and harmful is how the episodes end in dream scenarios frequently. Sure a woman is raped, but thanks to St Olivia she will get justice and also the rapist will plead guilty and even apologize and then the victim with the help of St Olivia is able to speak out and change society. It’s absolutely ridiculous, and it is just ego stroking from Mariska and she’s truly delusional if she believes that is how things work, it’s just so her and her rich friends can jerk off to it without knowing squat about actual issues of rape and sexual violence.

[LeGrandElephant]

I didn’t buy the idea that they had to have the guy plea guilty to rape in order to go after the catfisher. Here’s an analogy: a waitress is delivering wine to a customer. While the waitress isn’t looking, some dude, let’s say Bob, poisons the glass of wine. The waitress gives it to a customer, not intending to hurt him, but he dies from the poison. So instead of charging Bob with murder using the waitress as an instrument, they have to charge the waitress with murder and Bob as an accomplice? Doesn’t make sense. Or what about war crimes where a man is forced at gunpoint to rape someone - you can’t charge the soldiers without charging him? Again, doesn’t seem right. 

Edited July 3, 2018 by LeGrandElephant

[observer]

On 1/7/2018 at 3:19 PM, Xeliou66 said:

It’s especially ridiculous how no one had anything better to do other than sit in Benson’s living room at the end of the last episode, just so we could get a Hallmark cliched sentimental ending. Carisi, Rollins, Fin and Barba would all have a lot better things to do than sit around and comfort the queen bee.

Honestly, do none of these people have friends?