S19.E11: Flight Risk

[auchic]

Watching this episode with pilots was fun. If we'd have had to drink every time there was something inaccurate portrayed or mentioned, we'd have been drunk before opening credits and dead before the grand jury.

 

On 1/18/2018 at 2:10 AM, shapeshifter said:

I think the show was trying to demonstrate that while a woman should head SVU, a man still had to womansplain the situation to a grand jury to make public a legally unwinable point. Or something like that. 

I'm sure if they could have found a legit way to get Benson into that grand jury room, that would have been her grandstanding and pontificating. Did anyone actually write this episode? Half the dialogue sounded like it was taken from the top Tweets from the #MeToo hashtag. 

 

On 1/18/2018 at 9:05 AM, QueenMab said:

Now, Benson doesn't tell him what to do, he already knows what would make her happy with cases and goes forward with them accordingly. The whole Grand Jury bs was to please Benson, because other than that, it was a stupid waste of the Court's time and money.

Only way it would have been more obvious is if he'd actually said "I did it for you" in that last scene (I so thought that was gonna happen). I love their friendship and I wouldn't be opposed to a relationship, but if that's what the show is trying to endgame, they need to have Olivia reciprocate in some way. I can see what some of you mean when you say Barba is worshiping her; he was practically begging her to throw him a bone. 

I missed Kressler, that snide sarcastic magnificent bastard. I also miss Carisi and Fin...can we please have them back? Soon?

Edited January 21, 2018 by auchic

[Sake614]

Are you kidding me? ‘You know Liv is the only one who can do that job right?’ Um, wrong! I get that he’s loyal to her but dial it down about 1000 would you Finn? Cragen did a damn fine job leading that unit and Liv is easily replaceable. 

ugh, I just can’t with this show anymore.

[QueenMab]

I notice they're showing two re-runs this week so we don't get a new one until the 31st, then Stone I guess comes on Feb.7, then the Olympics start the 8th. Don't know how long that goes on but I bet we'll get Stone coming in, maaaaybe dropping a couple of bombs on everybody....then we'll have another gap to wonder how SVU and Barba are digesting it all. I can't help but wonder if Stone actually is going to be "used" to dig the show out of the Barson hole by calling them on it and objecting to it, or, if he's going to take issue with everything else but, and just accept it like it's perfectly acceptable and ethical for Benson to exert "undo influence" on his ADA and collude with him on cases and call the shots on plea deals like she's the one representing the DA's Office. If this show actually puts those two on the intimate relationship track, they might as well turn this show sharp left at the North Star and sail it straight into NeverNeverLand. It will officially become a cheesy paperback romance novel with Fabio on the cover. And we will have no more court scenes with Barba, just him and Steven Seagal working out their relationship bs, and this show will have "jumped the shark" into pure fantasy that is as far from L &O as it can get. I'm afraid to ask how cheesy and far off the track they could go, but if MH wants it to be about Barben, then they will " make it so", and it won't even be worth tuning in to throw sofa pillows at the screen. I too have hopes that Stone is coming in to turn things around, but, he may be there just to succumb to the beauty and awe of Benson and be the new " love interest" they teased us with. Which will beg the question...Do they REALLY want to go out like that? 

[QueenMab]

And I'm having a big problem with Barba being so stupid he actually thinks he could have Benson and they could work together and be in a relationship with each other and it would be all good and OK. Are we buying that ambitious, career focused Barba isn't aware that he would lose it all because of her? And he doesn't care? That he would be happy ( and lucky) to get a part time consulting gig with the ACLU or Project Innocence because he would be fired and very possibly dissbarred, but he's happy because Benson is towering by his side?!? Does Barba suffer from Multiple Personality Disorder? Who IS this schizoid ass of a lawyer? Bring back Barba, or just kill him off.

[Norma Desmond]

On 20/01/2018 at 8:20 PM, Xeliou66 said:

 I’m so sick of the insane far left race baiting agenda of the show now

Yep.

Also, I agree with the poster  who said Barba is Benson's little bitch. He's become pathetic, when he used to be badass. Quit asking this hag out, man. Damn.

[Xeliou66]

Barba has become a pathetic little bitch now who is hard to respect. He’s lost his guts and and personality and now his sole mission seems to be pleasing Benson. He’s let Benson basically call the shots for him and participate in legal meetings that she has no business in for years now and his mission seems to be keeping St Olivia happy and acting as a disciple to her. And it was laughable he how was begging her to go out with him, so unprofessional and just pathetic, and Benson isn’t some beauty queen who every man in NYC wants to jump in bed with, Benson isn’t that attractive at all anymore, MH is more attractive in real life than Benson is, Benson has become wrinkled up and worn and her bitchy personality doesn’t help matters. Barba could be hanging out with people a lot wealthier, more attractive and more interesting but instead he’s spending all his time with a bloated bossy cop a decade older than him who’s too busy caring for a sex trafficker and hooker’s little brat to reciprocate the attention he gives her. What a joke Barba has become. 

And Fin and Carisi are used so little now. Carisi doesn’t have a personality anymore, he changes from week to week depending on how the writers want to use him and whatever views they want to have him spout just to set up stories for other characters, while Fin has been underused for years. 

And can we please get back to this show being more a crime show than a PSA? The heavy handed preaching has been awful for 3 or 4 years now. 

I’m disappointed in Churnuchin, he wrote so many great mothership episodes I thought he would greatly improve SVU and instead we still have the Benson show with a ton of her personal life and her dominating the screen time. This show needs a spark and I’m glad we are about to get Peter Stone coming in, he should provide it and hopefully rip into Barba for his unprofessional behavior and stand up to Benson.

[dttruman]

6 hours ago, Xeliou66 said:

And it was laughable he how was begging her to go out with him, so unprofessional and just pathetic, and Benson isn’t some beauty queen who every man in NYC wants to jump in bed with, Benson isn’t that attractive at all anymore, MH is more attractive in real life than Benson is, Benson has become wrinkled up and worn and her bitchy personality doesn’t help matters

I wonder if MH had the writers come up with this just because she thought Benson wasn't getting enough male attention.  IMO, the best thing they should do for the Benson character is to have her bow out gracefully and have her become one of those sex crime experts that explains the the criminals motives on those Investigation Discovery (I.D.) shows

[dttruman]

22 hours ago, QueenMab said:

I notice they're showing two re-runs this week so we don't get a new one until the 31st, then Stone I guess comes on Feb.7, then the Olympics start the 8th. Don't know how long that goes on but I bet we'll get Stone coming in, maaaaybe dropping a couple of bombs on everybody....then we'll have another gap to wonder how SVU and Barba are digesting it all. I can't help but wonder if Stone actually is going to be "used" to dig the show out of the Barson hole by calling them on it and objecting to it, or, if he's going to take issue with everything else but, and just accept it like it's perfectly acceptable and ethical for Benson to exert "undo influence" on his ADA and collude with him on cases and call the shots on plea deals like she's the one representing the DA's Office. If this show actually puts those two on the intimate relationship track, they might as well turn this show sharp left at the North Star and sail it straight into NeverNeverLand. It will officially become a cheesy paperback romance novel with Fabio on the cover. And we will have no more court scenes with Barba, just him and Steven Seagal working out their relationship bs, and this show will have "jumped the shark" into pure fantasy that is as far from L &O as it can get. I'm afraid to ask how cheesy and far off the track they could go, but if MH wants it to be about Barben, then they will " make it so", and it won't even be worth tuning in to throw sofa pillows at the screen. I too have hopes that Stone is coming in to turn things around, but, he may be there just to succumb to the beauty and awe of Benson and be the new " love interest" they teased us with. Which will beg the question...Do they REALLY want to go out like that? 

Totally agree, it has "jumped the Shark"

[Norma Desmond]

I used to like the idea of Barba and Benson, but she truly has become insufferable and Rafael does not deserve to be saddled with her. And I hate that sneer she constantly has. She is so smug.

[gryphon]

On 1/18/2018 at 0:11 AM, Gigi43 said:

Finn probably could too but he doesn't  want to. 

Indeed.  However, I did love his line to Liv, " You want me to cut him? You know I'd do it...."   I totally need a Fin in my life for such occasions. 

I like Barba and Olivia as friends but not romantically.  He can do better. 

[red.]

TBH this episode made me embarrassed that I've ever watched this show. Cringe all the way home. Wrap it up guys.

[katisha]

On 20/01/2018 at 1:20 AM, Joimiaroxeu said:

Benson looked freshly botoxed. Guess she used her time off well.

I spent half the episode thinking how weird she looked and the bangs were not helping. Honestly, Mariska was once a stunning woman but the surgery is starting to make her resemble her dad. And not in any kind of good way.

Meanwhile, after a relatively decent episode last week it seems we are back in the bilge again. Sigh.

[QueenMab]

We're not going to get any relatively decent episodes until the show gets all the characters back on track, knocks it off with the " we're lovers, family and soulmates" bs, and gets a lead Detective with some class and dignity, who knows how to lead a SVU squad without adopting them or banging them, or "prick teasing" them, and does her job and let's the ADA do his, showing us the experienced, professional leader they keep telling us she is. Lt. VanBuren never became soulmates or lovers with her detectives, she was their leader, that's all, and they adored her and we're loyal to the max. The show does that, we might actually get some good episodes. IMO.

[FireGhost]

I don't even blame Mariska for wanting to look younger. I wouldn't even comment on this. But at this point it's seriously affecting her ability as an actress. Her facial expressions are so ... limited. Stuck. 

10 hours ago, QueenMab said:

Lt. VanBuren never became soulmates or lovers with her detectives, she was their leader, that's all, and they adored her and we're loyal to the max.

This! I miss Van Buren so much. Tough, fair, compassionate, rational!

[Xeliou66]

13 hours ago, QueenMab said:

We're not going to get any relatively decent episodes until the show gets all the characters back on track, knocks it off with the " we're lovers, family and soulmates" bs, and gets a lead Detective with some class and dignity, who knows how to lead a SVU squad without adopting them or banging them, or "prick teasing" them, and does her job and let's the ADA do his, showing us the experienced, professional leader they keep telling us she is. Lt. VanBuren never became soulmates or lovers with her detectives, she was their leader, that's all, and they adored her and we're loyal to the max. The show does that, we might actually get some good episodes. IMO.

Agreed completely, the show is being ruined by this Hallmark-like “everyone is family” crap, it’s fucking nauseating. So unlike L&O where everything has always been realistic and professional, this is just more proof of how Mariska’s delusional ego is destroying the show, she wants the show to be some sort of fantasy-everything is wonderful world where she is the center of attention, eveyrone loves her, and all rape victims get justice (and sometimes even an apology from their attacker) and then are able to live happily ever after after a sermon from St Olivia. 

The only character who hasn’t looked bad this season is Fin, and he gets squat. Carisi is still good except for the one episode where he behaved like a possessive douchebag with Rollins, very OOC. Rollins is better than she used to be but still self righteous at times and her roughing up the kidnapper of Noah was inexcusable. Benson is still insufferable, unprofessional, bitchy and judgmental like she’s been for the past few years, and Barba is nothing more than a puppet following Benson’s command and his sole purpose is to please her, I’ve lost all respect for him.

The truth is, Munch and Cragen are sorely missed. Munch because he was never afraid to speak his mind, no matter how unpopular his opinion was or if others disagreed with him, he was going to stand by his beliefs, and he always added so much entertainment to the show, him and Fin were great. And Cragen because he was a much better leader than Benson, he didn’t have any biases, didn’t rush to conclusions and didn’t use his positive to push an agenda. The recurring characters are also sorely missed, I liked that we saw Warner, Olivet and Dworkin again this season, also love Chief Dodds, hope they don’t start vilifying him to again sanctify Benson. Please give us more recurring characters, that’s the best thing about Churnuchin coming on is he knows how to use them. 

This show badly needs a spark and I’m hoping Peter Stone will provide that and also hold Barba and SVU accountable for their unprofessional behavior. 

[Picture It. Sicily]

Everyone mentioning Van Buren's leadership style is making me wish for the show to bring her on to carry out the sort of ass kicking only S. Epatha Merkerson can provide.

[QueenMab]

Every detective in VanBuren's squad was a "tough guy" male, and yet she never raised her voice, never connected souls with them, respected their experience and instincts...and managed to be totally in charge of them to the point they toed the line so they wouldn't piss her off! VanBuren is the example of a woman in charge of men...and how to do it with class AND authority!

[Xeliou66]

48 minutes ago, QueenMab said:

Every detective in VanBuren's squad was a "tough guy" male, and yet she never raised her voice, never connected souls with them, respected their experience and instincts...and managed to be totally in charge of them to the point they toed the line so they wouldn't piss her off! VanBuren is the example of a woman in charge of men...and how to do it with class AND authority!

Yeah Anita Van Buren was awesome, she was a great boss, firm but compassionate and understanding and very fair and unbiased. She was an excellent squad leader, Benson is on the opposite end. She’s an awful leader, very bitchy to her detectives and forces them to investigate weak cases, sometimes encourages them to bend the rules, and uses her position to push a personal agenda. Fin would be a much better boss, but the show revolves around St Olivia.

[katisha]

13 hours ago, QueenMab said:

Every detective in VanBuren's squad was a "tough guy" male, and yet she never raised her voice, never connected souls with them, respected their experience and instincts...and managed to be totally in charge of them to the point they toed the line so they wouldn't piss her off! VanBuren is the example of a woman in charge of men...and how to do it with class AND authority!

I recently saw an episode from the period towards the end of the show when Van Buren was being treated for cancer (which was an open secret amongst her work colleagues) and Cutter brought up her cancer treatment when she was on the witness stand without any warning.  Even then, when she had the best possible reason to yell at someone, she didn't yell.  She just told him quietly how disgusting his behaviour was and then cut him dead with great style at the end of the episode.  I miss the Van Buren character so much.

12 hours ago, Xeliou66 said:

Fin would be a much better boss, but the show revolves around St Olivia.

I wish he was the boss because the tiny amount of times we've seen him doing it, he did a great job.

Edited January 28, 2018 by katisha

[QueenMab]

Fin would be good but, I'm still in favor of Lt. Alexandra Eames coming in and showing these boneheads, from interrogation to investigation to working with the DA, how a professional does it...without the need to adopt them or "date" them.

[Iguessnot]

On 1/20/2018 at 6:55 PM, augmentedfourth said:

Yes, this bugged the hell out of me, too. I get that the victim was traumatized by being forced to work so closely with her rapist. I get that we should absolutely be repulsed whenever anyone says, "Women are too emotional to do XYZ." (And I certainly am.) But putting those two things side by side didn't gel well and they kind of cancelled each other out.

 

Speaking of what the victim did on the plane - I will admit to having zero experience with anything related to flying a plane, but if she was the co-pilot and had trained for tons and tons of hours...even if her intention was to just turn around and land back at JFK, wouldn't she have been able to do it a little more gracefully than that? Like, she'd locked the door and should have had all the time in the world, couldn't she have just made a big loop and not go flinging the passengers all over the place? I don't know. I guess it's another thing that didn't fit together for me, "women can be competent pilots!" vs. "as soon as a woman touched the controls, everything went to hell".

 

Sigh. Do I have to turn in my liberal feminist card if I think this episode mostly sucked? I resent this show for making me think that. :P I suppose I agree with the overall message, but as always, the delivery was abysmal.

This episode was atrocious. It made the female species appear so stupid that I barely paid attention to what Tara said happen at the hotel room and I have no recollection what the other woman pilot said. I mentally checked out.

As someone mentioned on the first page, if she really couldn't deal with flying with him, there was plenty of time beforehand to jump ship. Obviously she must have weighed her situation and steeled herself.

Using the touch on her shoulder to set her off was problematic. Had she punched him, I could relate to that release of anger. Build the story from there, and maybe they'd have something interesting. However Tara knew damn well he wasn't going to assault her during the flight, so her antics were stupid. The flight crew called her and she was silent. The control towers called her and she didn't say one damn word. The woman flew the plane like Jesus take the wheel Underwood, and yet acted gobsmacked that the authorities thought terrorism was involved. I felt I was watching some black & white era movie or sitcom where the woman is just a bundle of emotions and unable to make rational decisions. 

Wouldn't being an advocate for change be more beneficial than bankrupting everything?

[Xeliou66]

It’s funny how this episode was supposed to be a strong pro feminist message (with some pro Islam stuff in there as well for some reason) but all it did was make women look bad. Especially odd was how they made the company look bad for their sexist stuff about women being too impulsive and emotional to be pilots, and then the episode seems to make it that women are indeed too emotional and impulsive to be pilots! Tara had a freak out just by sitting in the cockpit with the rapist and proceeded to go apeshit, lock him out of the cabin, and then endanger the lives of hundreds of passengers because she can’t fly a plane at all. Not exactly making women look strong.

”Jesus take the wheel Underwood” I laughed out loud at that.

This was a terrible, heavy handed episode, I expect this weeks to be the same. I really hope the appearance of Jack McCoy and Peter Stone can improve this shit show. 

[Joe Hellandback]

This started out really well but then went to pieces. Surely the mad co-pilot can't call the pilot because that's witness tampering? Why is there ALWAYS another rape victim? Do we never have a rapist who only has one victim? Did they have to arrest him in public in front of everyone? So we abuse our position and misuse the law due to a personal vendetta against a company because it uses sexy advertising? What exact evidence did both victims possess, any defence solicitor could just say they self harmed or were fans of rough sex. We need a devils advocate character on SVU, someone who defies the group think and speaks for the accused, maybe if you had a recurring defence solicitor.  

[Xeliou66]

Munch was the guy who was never afraid to speak out and give an opinion that was contrary to everyone else’s, he didn’t care what others thought about him, that was part of his character going back to his Homicide days, also Huang would disagree with the detectives and Carisi used to do that some, but lately Carisi has either gotten no screen time or has had his personality neutered. Fin gets nothing and seems to always agree with Benson now, and Rollins has become Benson’s new BFF after them not getting along well for a while and they are out doing all the investigating. 

I just hope Stone adds new life to the legal stuff and doesn’t get castrated by Benson.

[shapeshifter]

On 2/24/2018 at 2:31 PM, Joe Hellandback said:

Why is there ALWAYS another rape victim? Do we never have a rapist who only has one victim?

Well, speaking from experience (mostly second hand) of too many years, there typically are other victims. However, now that you mention it, it would be an SVU story that hasn't been told (IIRC) to have just one raped victim of a perp.

[Cara]

This episode was shown again tonight. So I saw it for the first time. IMO, it was probably the worst episode of the entire series. And that’s saying something for a show that’s been on the air as long as this one.

[QueenMab]

Showing a Barba episode as a lead in. To trick viewers into watching the new one? Ha!