Season 20 Spoilers & Speculation

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, dttruman said:

6 hours ago, CelticBlackCat said:

Maybe they are pushing the idea that women should just have babies with no marriage and whoever gets them pregnant is of no concern since being a mother is the empowerment that comes with having a full-time career and not being a stay-at-home mom.

With all do respect to women everywhere, IMO this show has taken an obvious feminist approach overall.

Yes, I agree, @dttruman, with the show trying to show feminism in a positive light, but, as @CelticBlackCat pointed out (tongue-in-cheek/sarcastically), being a single working mom takes a huge toll on the mom, especially with no child support (speaking from experience). Before my boss had kids, she believed being pregnant and having kids shouldn't have any effect on a woman's career. Even though she has never been a single mom, and she and her husband have 2 good incomes, now that she has 2 kids, she would never suggest such a thing. I guess since Mariska didn't have kids until she was very wealthy, her perspective is as distorted as was my then-childless boss's used to be.

[Xeliou66]

7 hours ago, CelticBlackCat said:

Maybe they are pushing the idea that women should just have babies with no marriage and whoever gets them pregnant is of no concern since being a mother is the empowerment that comes with having a full-time career and not being a stay-at-home mom.

I kind of agree with this, SVU wants to push a pro motherhood agenda and a “women can do everything” agenda, and I also feel like they will make a point to say that it’s not a bad thing that Rollins has had 2 kids with 2 baby daddies and that she can be a perfect mommy and a great detective. A lot of the time this show feels more like a vehicle for Mariska to preach her personal views and push an agenda than it does a TV show, I get so tired of the heavy handed agendas on this show, and I’m especially tired of the baby drama of Benson and Rollins, I want a crime procedural, not a soap about Super mommies and their brats and boyfriends.

[The Mighty Peanut]

Remember when Mariska was pregnant and they sent her to computer crimes and temporarily replaced her with Dani? Why can’t they just do that with Rollins? It’s not like she hasn’t committed enough felonies on the job to justify a brief demotion. There’s nothing I want to watch less than another pregnancy/babydaddy storyline. Like everyone else I watch crime shows for crime, not romance, and in Rollins’ case tinder dates who share her inability to use birth control.

Edited September 27, 2018 by The Mighty Peanut

[Jaded]

???

Why Mariska Hargitay Wanted Law and Order: SVU to Tackle Benson's Physical Limitations

[WendyCR72]

Echoing why can't Rollins not be pregnant? As pointed out, they had Benson transferred for a bit with MH's pregnancy, CI also gave Goren a temp partner while Eames was a surrogate for her sister (I thought that was an unusual way at the time to have Eames pregnant but not have it be her kid, pretty ingenious, IMO!).

Why Rollins needs to be saddled with TWO kids is ridiculous.

[wknt3]

1 hour ago, The Mighty Peanut said:

Remember when Mariska was pregnant and they sent her to computer crimes and temporarily replaced her with Dani? Why can’t they just do that with Rollins? It’s not like she hasn’t committed enough felonies on the job to justify a brief demotion. There’s nothing I want to watch less than another pregnancy/babydaddy storyline. Like everyone else I watch crime shows for crime, not romance, and in Rollins’ case tinder dates who share her inability to recall the invention of condoms.

I remember that, but that was back before there was more than 4 1/2 people in the cast including lots of great recurring characters so it was a little easier to replace somebody for awhile. I wonder if the spinoff had gotten the green light before this season was plotted and the first episodes were scripted if Rollins would have been sent to Atlanta or something Skyping in to brief Benson and the squad while detectives from the new show filled in for her in NYC? And back then they were also trying to maintain a tenuous grasp on realism and avoid going full blown soap. I totally agree that Rollins messy personal life is the least appealing running subplot I can imagine, including yet another round of Benoah. And more to the point it's a rehash of something that was so obviously a misfire that they had to essentially put the character on the back burner for a bit and reboot her? I would think that they would learn from their mistakes. But maybe not and next season will feature the squad investigating exotic animal smuggling, a CSU serial killer, and the return of Chester Lake?

[Xeliou66]

1 hour ago, The Mighty Peanut said:

Remember when Mariska was pregnant and they sent her to computer crimes and temporarily replaced her with Dani? Why can’t they just do that with Rollins? It’s not like she hasn’t committed enough felonies on the job to justify a brief demotion. There’s nothing I want to watch less than another pregnancy/babydaddy storyline. Like everyone else I watch crime shows for crime, not romance, and in Rollins’ case tinder dates who share her inability to recall the invention of condoms.

This show wants to be a preachy feminist soap with a theme of super mommies doing it all, Mariska and some of the writers want Benson and Rollins and their brats and boyfriends to be the main focus of the show. I’m so goddamn sick of the baby drama and Rollins revolving door of boyfriends, she’s sleazy trailer trash and it’s absurd that she would now have 2 accidental babies, it’s just insane, has she never heard of using protection. There was absolutely no reason for them to write Rollins pregnancy in other than that they like soapy drama involving kids so they can make the show all about super mommies. 

I have a feeling we are in for a very long season, with Benson and Rollins getting all the focus, Fin being window dressing, Carisi’s main purpose being tending to Rollins every need, and Stone getting watered down. I hope I’m wrong, but I’m afraid season 20 isn’t going to be pretty.

[ChristiKRN]

There is only 1 way I can tolerate this baby storyline:  Rollins' baby daddy is accused of assaulting/raping one of his prostitutes; he asks her to help him out b/c of their baby; she interferes with the investigation and it leads to a very lengthy  suspension for her ( aka Giddish's extended maternity leave) .  I wouldn't put it past Rollins and she is way overdue for being held accountable for her actions.  But probably Benson, Fin and/or Carisi would  feel sorry for her and cover up her actions., so there goes that idea.  

I hope I'm wrong, but I have a feeling this season is going to be on par with Days of our Lives.  This is not knocking Days; Days is the expert on soap-opera drama, not SVU.  

3 minutes ago, Xeliou66 said:

This show wants to be a preachy feminist soap with a theme of super mommies doing it all, Mariska and some of the writers want Benson and Rollins and their brats and boyfriends to be the main focus of the show. I’m so goddamn sick of the baby drama and Rollins revolving door of boyfriends, she’s sleazy trailer trash and it’s absurd that she would now have 2 accidental babies, it’s just insane, has she never heard of using protection. There was absolutely no reason for them to write Rollins pregnancy in other than that they like soapy drama involving kids so they can make the show all about super mommies. 

I have a feeling we are in for a very long season, with Benson and Rollins getting all the focus, Fin being window dressing, Carisi’s main purpose being tending to Rollins every need, and Stone getting watered down. I hope I’m wrong, but I’m afraid season 20 isn’t going to be pretty.

Xeliou66, I swear I didn't read your reply until after I hit the submit button on mine; our thoughts on this whole pregnancy thing are pretty similar. Haha...you know what they say about great minds? :)

[ChristiKRN]

I am very fearful that Stone is going to turn into Barba 2.0 also. I loved the Stone that we saw in his 1st episode as the SVU ADA; he pulled no punches and put everyone in their place.  But I see him turning into Benson's means of pushing her own agenda.  It is a shame.

I've said it before,  they need more regular cast members to create more balance and to flesh out storylines.  They need at least another detective, a CSU, TARU, a ME.  It sounds like they may have a recurring psychologist but they are wishy-washy about how much screen time she will have. It also sounds like she is going to end up being Stone's personal psychologist more than a forensic psychologist.  A girl can hope... 

[QueenMab]

I read that Benson and Stone are finally "going to get to know and trust each other more" this season. Poor Barba, out of sight out of mind. The minute he leaves, Benson has already replaced him with a new bitch on a leash. Yes, Stone will turn into Barba 2.0...just accept it. Benson isn't suddenly going to get moral and ethical with her male colleagues. And the accident babies, pregnancies and annoying brats...ENOUGH!

And the guest stars returning? Sounds like it was just hype to get people to watch. As of yet, there are no episodes with any of them planned so far. Meloni ain't even slightly interested, Wong is on a couple of hit shows, Tunie is too, Novak is busy running for Congress, and Esparza said he had gone as far as he could go with Barba, and with any luck he'll be busy on Broadway. And MH is being forced to acknowledge Benson is an old broad now and can't kick down doors and lead S.W.A.T. teams any more. This season is going to be Same Old Shit with even more Benson and too much Rollins. Oy!

.

[The Mighty Peanut]

13 hours ago, Xeliou66 said:

This show wants to be a preachy feminist soap with a theme of super mommies doing it all, Mariska and some of the writers want Benson and Rollins and their brats and boyfriends to be the main focus of the show. I’m so goddamn sick of the baby drama and Rollins revolving door of boyfriends, she’s sleazy trailer trash and it’s absurd that she would now have 2 accidental babies, it’s just insane, has she never heard of using protection. There was absolutely no reason for them to write Rollins pregnancy in other than that they like soapy drama involving kids so they can make the show all about super mommies. 

I have a feeling we are in for a very long season, with Benson and Rollins getting all the focus, Fin being window dressing, Carisi’s main purpose being tending to Rollins every need, and Stone getting watered down. I hope I’m wrong, but I’m afraid season 20 isn’t going to be pretty.

 

I agree with you and I think it’s backfiring spectacularly. They are IMO pushing the stereotype that all women want to be mothers and can do it all, but also attract handsome, wealthy men who could potentially “save” them from the very super mommy existence they’re promoting. In Rollins’ case, I don’t care if she has sex with guys and I don’t think people who have consensual sex are trashy. It’s the not using birth control. Especially after she had her first kid, especially because she’s a sex crimes expert who sees the impact of unprotected sex in her day to day life. 

[Passepartout]

But also it seems that they want to push the episode of women having it all. By having a full time job and being a mother, or a single mother like Olivia. 

[Passepartout]

BTW next week's episode seems intense....

As it shows Olivia in handcuffs for disrupting a court hearing.

[Xeliou66]

I’m already dreading next weeks preachy political crap fest with Benson acting like an emotional unhinged loon screaming political talking points. I’m so sick of MH using this show to push her own agenda, it’s so absurd that a LT like Benson would behave this way but Mariska doesn’t care because she is just playing herself and using the show to preach her political views.

[MerBearHou]

3 hours ago, Xeliou66 said:

I’m already dreading next weeks preachy political crap fest with Benson acting like an emotional unhinged loon screaming political talking points. I’m so sick of MH using this show to push her own agenda, it’s so absurd that a LT like Benson would behave this way but Mariska doesn’t care because she is just playing herself and using the show to preach her political views.

Yep, already decided to skip watching next week.  Cannot handle Saint Benson to the max which is what it appears to be from the preview.

[Xeliou66]

44 minutes ago, MerBearHou said:

Yep, already decided to skip watching next week.  Cannot handle Saint Benson to the max which is what it appears to be from the preview.

Next week looks like it’s going to be one of the preachiest, most heavy handed political episodes ever with MH on her soapbox the whole way through, I mean the preview literally said “Benson vs the US Government”!! It is going to be Benson at her most unprofessional and unbearable, behaving like a hysterical loon instead of a competent professional while spouting her political views the whole hour, and everyone will wind up bowing to her and agreeing with her and telling her what a heaven sent angel she is. Next week is going to be brutal for sure.

[Passepartout]

Yeah as really not another one of St Benson episode. Wonder why Peter did not tell her to put up or shut up.

[QueenMab]

The onscreen guide for next week says Benson and Stone, apparently a team by then, go on a crusade bending the law, for some kid and Benson is taken out of a courtroom in handcuffs. Might keep the sound off and practice my salsa moves until that glorious moment happens. 

[Fellaway]

1 minute ago, QueenMab said:

The onscreen guide for next week says Benson and Stone, apparently a team by then, go on a crusade bending the law, for some kid and Benson is taken out of a courtroom in handcuffs. Might keep the sound off and practice my salsa moves until that glorious moment happens. 

Ugh.  Just when I thought they made a few steps in the right direction with this week's ep.  Still!  I'll give it a chance...

[MrsRafaelBarba]

59 minutes ago, Fellaway said:

Ugh.  Just when I thought they made a few steps in the right direction with this week's ep.  Still!  I'll give it a chance...

It might be hilariously entertaining.

[QueenMab]

That's what I thought. How many times has Benson deserved this. Finally.

[Fellaway]

Episode 5 Spoilers: Is NXIVM Inspiration for Story?

Quote

10/18/2018 (10:00PM – 11:00PM) (Thursday) : A member of a women’s empowerment group is found murdered, leading the cops to the group’s charismatic male leader. Meanwhile, Rollins (Kelli Giddish) keeps her pregnancy under wraps to avoid going on desk duty. Also starring Mariska Hargitay, Ice T and Peter Scanavino. Guest starring Sara Carter (Lilah Finch), America Olivo (Claudia Bell), Lexi Lapp (Vicky Parson), Lili Simmons (Gina Goodrich) and Sebastian Roche (Arlo Beck). TV-14 D, L, V

The personal story for Rollins is absolutely a big one, and we’re very much happy to see that SVU is taking on this true-to-life story. Amanda’s not the sort of character who wants to be treated differently depending on what is happening with her personal life. She wants to be out on the street as long as possible.

So "Meanwhile, Rollins (Kelli Giddish) keeps her pregnancy under wraps to avoid going on desk duty." - Deja vu all over again.  

And "The personal story for Rollins is absolutely a big one, and we’re very much happy to see that SVU is taking on this true-to-life story. Amanda’s not the sort of character who wants to be treated differently depending on what is happening with her personal life. She wants to be out on the street as long as possible."  - Except... we've seen it all before.

Jeez, this show would rather retread a Rollins story from Season 17 then give us story - any story - for Carisi.

Edited October 11, 2018 by Fellaway
Taking out weird symbols in link.

[Xeliou66]

I’m so sick of Rollins getting all the focus along with Benson. Peter Stone won’t even be in this episode apparently, but we get subjected to Rollins personal shit again. I dislike Rollins, she’s unethical and unprofessional, and I’m sick of her being shoved down our throats while Fin and Carisi are shoved to the background and Stone isn’t even in every episode. They should just rename the show “Super Single Mommies Fighting Crime” because that’s what it’s become. 

[Fellaway]

I don't think I'd have an issue with Rollins having a baby, etc., though babies and kids are never one of my preferred storylines for anyone.  But Rollins deserves story, too, and having kids is part of life, yadda yadda.  But!  We did this, exactly this, with Rollins in Season 17!  I mean, did they not watch it, did they forget, do they not know what else to do with Rollins, what?

And they'll never do it as well as in 17.

Ah, well, I'll just be sitting over here, twiddling my thumbs (I know better than to hold my breath.), waiting for spoilers for story for Carisi, beyond "sprucing up his love life."  Hey, Show, you can't "spruce up" what you don't have.

[Bexx88]

On 11/10/2018 at 1:17 AM, Fellaway said:

Episode 5 Spoilers: Is NXIVM Inspiration for Story?

So "Meanwhile, Rollins (Kelli Giddish) keeps her pregnancy under wraps to avoid going on desk duty." - Deja vu all over again.  

And "The personal story for Rollins is absolutely a big one, and we’re very much happy to see that SVU is taking on this true-to-life story. Amanda’s not the sort of character who wants to be treated differently depending on what is happening with her personal life. She wants to be out on the street as long as possible."  - Except... we've seen it all before.

Jeez, this show would rather retread a Rollins story from Season 17 then give us story - any story - for Carisi.

It’s such a tiresome storyline too, usually written by people who seem to think it makes a woman “badass” and “strong” for not wanting to be treated differently while carrying round a whole other person who makes you pee a lot. It’d be more true to life to watch a second time mom calmly be of the opinion that sitting down is awesome and not a soul destroying destruction of her strength as a woman.

[WendyCR72]

Wrong thread. Movin' along!

[last minute]

I'm guessing there's going to be a custody issue with the new baby and Dr. Al.  Rollins has issues, which Al and his attorney will use as cannon fodder.  She's a gambling addict (financially unstable and possible dangerous people around the baby), her family is a mess (felon sister, addict father, so she has no support and her relatives could be dangerous around the baby), she now has 2 kids with 2 different men (irresponsible slut), and she's a cop who works long and irregular hours (won't be there for the baby, also probably doesn't make a ton as a cop).  Whereas Al, the cardiologist, could provide a stable and privileged life for his child.  (St. Olivia will, of course, save the day in the end.)

 

What I'd really love to see, although I know it will never happen, is Olivia getting hard and consistent smackdowns from Jack McCoy and to get some leadership lessons from Lt. Anita VanBuren and/or Cragen.  God, I miss Cragen...

[Fellaway]

1 hour ago, last minute said:

I'm guessing there's going to be a custody issue with the new baby and Dr. Al.  Rollins has issues, which Al and his attorney will use as cannon fodder.  She's a gambling addict (financially unstable and possible dangerous people around the baby), her family is a mess (felon sister, addict father, so she has no support and her relatives could be dangerous around the baby), she now has 2 kids with 2 different men (irresponsible slut), and she's a cop who works long and irregular hours (won't be there for the baby, also probably doesn't make a ton as a cop).  Whereas Al, the cardiologist, could provide a stable and privileged life for his child.  (St. Olivia will, of course, save the day in the end.)

I hope it doesn't go this route.  Talk about soap opera!  I didn't get the impression that the guy was interested in being a father, hence his immediately throwing out the abortion option, but he could turn on a dime.  Stranger things have happened on this show.  (On the money front, Manhattan SVU detectives make decent money, more than ADAs actually, according to some research I did once upon a time, though certainly not as much as a doctor.)  But daddy dearest has some issues in his life, too.  Hooking up with escorts, for instance.

Ye gads, since we already (boringly) did the custody battle thing, and recently, with Benson and Sheila, please not again, Show!

[mamadrama]

Some of the true crimes that I expect SVU to rip off this season:

- The Hart family in Oregon: a Caucasian lesbian couple adopt half a dozen African American children and after years of dodging abuse allegations reported to CPS by various people, they load all the kids up into the family minivan and drive off a cliff, killing everyone inside (one body hasn't been found yet)

- Chris/Shanann Watts in Colorado: a good-looking, upper middle class couple live in a $400,000 cookie cutter home in a nice neighborhood. He works for an oil company, she sells Thrive (an MLM thing). When she (5 months pregnant) goes missing with the the couples 2 little girls, their bodies are later discovered at one of his former worksites-she's in a shallow grave, the 3 and 4 year olds have been dumped into oil tanks. He's arrested for all 4 murders (including the fetus's death in a roundabout way), but he claims that he killed her ONLY after he caught her killing their girls via a baby monitor. He's currently in jail.

- Mollie Hibbets in Iowa: pretty college co-ed goes for an evening job in small-town Iowa. When she goes missing, everyone in her life is suspected. Later, an illegal immigrant is arrested for her murder. He claims that he saw her, followed her, tried talking to her but when she turned him down and said that she'd call the police, he "blacked out" and awoke later to find that her dead body was in his trunk. He dumped her body in a cornfield and claims that he remembers nothing about the crime. 

- The Delphi, Indiana murders: 13 and 14 year old Abby and Libby go for a hike in a popular park in their small town. When they don't meet their ride, a search ensues. They're dead bodies are found the next day. Although a brief video of the perp was caught by Libby and uploaded to her phone, there are no POIs. We don't have a cause of death and leaks about the case have been abnormally quiet. (My cousin is LE in Delphi and he was assigned to the case in the beginning.) 

 

So these are some of the ones that I expect to see in some form or another, especially since they are high-profile at the moment. The Mollie Tibbets one, especially, seems likely. 

[Aethera]

Let's try and keep the politics out of this discussion. I know it's hard when the show continually wants to go there, but there's a line, and we want to stay on the right side of it, please!

 

To Clarify: The line is - it's fine to discuss the political situations actually happening on the show. It's not fine to use the fact that the show touches on political issues to insert your own political beliefs, no matter what side of the issue you fall on, or to speculate on potential plot lines that aren't even in the episodes, that are political, and then discuss the politics of those situations. If the show goes there, we'll go there, but let's not borrow trouble, as my grandmother used to say. Thanks.

[Fellaway]

Episode 6: Carisi's Struggle in "Exile"

Quote

10/25/2018 (10:00PM – 11:00PM) (Thursday) : A young woman wakes up in the hospital with no memory of her assault, and Carisi’s (Peter Scanavino) investigation stalls when she disappears. Also starring Mariska Hargitay, Ice T, Kelli Giddish and Philip Winchester. Guest starring Sandrine Holt (Lisa Abernathy), Aimee Spring Fortier (Grace Walker), Jake Robinson (Silas Perry) and Mat Vairo (Drew Brogan).

Episode 7: Sasha Alexander to Appear

Quote

11/01/2018 (10:00PM – 11:00PM) (Thursday) : The cops wrestle with an unthinkable crime when a family is murdered in their sleep. Starring Mariska Hargitay, Ice T, Kelli Giddish, Peter Scanavino and Philip Winchester. Guest starring Sasha Alexander (Anne Mill), Sandrine Holt (Lisa Abernathy), Soleidy Mendez (Delores Alverez), Gary Basaraba (Billy O’Boyle), Johanna Tolentino (Ximena) and Scott Bryce (Bill Schwartz). TV-14 L, V

Not a lot of details, but 6 makes me nervous.  Glad it looks like a Carisi-centric ep, nervous they'll mess up who he is.  And, ugh, the return of SH.  Hopefully it won't be therapy sessions with Stone.  I've had enough of that with Benson and her shrink, and it's boring. But I'm really not up for her being the new Huang either.  That bored me, too.

Edited October 14, 2018 by Fellaway

[Xeliou66]

So apparently in episode 9 Stone will be under investigation for sexual assault! I’m not looking forward to this storyline, I’m sick of personal drama and I don’t like how they are screwing up Stone with personal baggage, so far it hasn’t really affected his job but I’m tired of it, and I feel like this is just an attempt to have Benson save the day once again and have Stone become grateful to her. Also, it’s obvious Stone will be innocent as they would never make him a perp and he isn’t leaving the show, so we already know how the story will end. I hate how they are watering down Stone just so St Olivia can save the day once again. 

[ForeverAlone]

I like Peter, but they are definitely trending toward neutering him like they did to Rafael. I mean, Rafael came into the show as an aggressive, take charge, balls out ADA who had no problem calling SVU on their crap. Granted, the full effect didn't take place until season 18, but under new management, Peter's neutering will proceed quicker. It's also funny that Peter has been on the show for less than one full season in terms of episodes, and he already has more personal stuff than six seasons of Rafael. Now they want to put him in legal jeopardy with a sexual assault investigation. This coming less than a year after saddling Rafael with a baby killing storyline that got him put on trial. Seriously, what the hell is this show about turning their ADAs into criminals, or at least investigated as criminals? It's utterly ridiculous. But if I had to guess, this sexual assault investigation will bring his whoring to the forefront and probably cause him to rethink how he has been burying his grief with mindless sex. 

Edited November 7, 2018 by ForeverAlone

[Fellaway]

2 hours ago, Xeliou66 said:

So apparently in episode 9 Stone will be under investigation for sexual assault! I’m not looking forward to this storyline, I’m sick of personal drama and I don’t like how they are screwing up Stone with personal baggage, so far it hasn’t really affected his job but I’m tired of it, and I feel like this is just an attempt to have Benson save the day once again and have Stone become grateful to her. Also, it’s obvious Stone will be innocent as they would never make him a perp and he isn’t leaving the show, so we already know how the story will end. I hate how they are watering down Stone just so St Olivia can save the day once again. 

Oh, good grief.  I predicted that, jokingly, a couple weeks ago, and now they're actually going there?  As you say, what's the suspense, because we know he won't be guilty.  But, maybe, it will be a wake-up call for him.  What with the guilt and the wallowing and the drinking and the indiscriminate sex, he's on the fast track for burnout as SVU's ADA.

[ChristiKRN]

4 hours ago, ForeverAlone said:

I like Peter, but they are definitely trending toward neutering him like they did to Rafael. I mean, Rafael came into the show as an aggressive, take charge, balls out ADA who had no problem calling SVU on their crap. Granted, the full effect didn't take place until season 18, but under new management, Peter's neutering will proceed quicker. It's also funny that Peter has been on the show for less than one full season in terms of episodes, and he already has more personal stuff than six seasons of Rafael. Now they want to put him in legal jeopardy with a sexual assault investigation. This coming less than a year after saddling Rafael with a baby killing storyline that got him put on trial. Seriously, what the hell is this show about turning their ADAs into criminals, or at least investigated as criminals? It's utterly ridiculous. But if I had to guess, this sexual assault investigation will bring his whoring to the forefront and probably cause him to rethink how he has been burying his grief with mindless sex. 

The writers are really pushing Stone down our throats.  I think there were only 3-4 Barba-centric episodes during his entire run; I'm thinking it was probably around the same number for Alex and Casey.  I was really hopeful when he initially came in and called them all out on their crap, but it already seems that he has fallen under Benson's spell.  He's attempting to prosecute un-prosecutable cases at her whim, such as the federal agent for "kidnapping" the little girl a few episodes ago.  He has lost his professionalism a few times.  Obviously, there is going to be no suspense in terms of the outcome. Hopefully, this will be a reality check for Stone and he will get back to the no-nonsense ADA to whom we were initially introduced . If it doesn't, he may indeed set a record for the SVU ADA imploding.  I think Xeliou66 is right; I think Benson is going to come in to save the day and that will draw Stone more into her web of righteousness and politicism. 

Also disturbing about this episode is that Dr. Al is also going to be featured as George Newbern  is first-listed in guest cast list. We all know that means more Rollins' drama; dear God almighty. 

[Bexx88]

Seriously, again, can't Stone just be a lawyer? Can't we grow to like him as a lawyer rather than have thinly sketched women be used as vessels to create sympathy for him? No one cared about his sister, no one is going to care about this storyline that will inevitably never be mentioned again after this episode. What desperate measures are they going to slump to next in their quest to make people love him? He drops a cigarette and burns down a women's shelter so we can experience his heart rending journey in learning smoking is bad? Good lord, it shouldn't be this hard for experienced procedural writers. Convey that he's smart by how he wins cases, show that he's charming in the way he deals with colleagues and witnesses, make him crack a joke every so often. That's all they need to do, and people would warm up to him far quicker from that rather than having to trudge through all this mind numbing personal crap that would be unbearable even if it featured a character who'd been around longer than five minutes. 

Edited November 7, 2018 by Bexx88

[ChristiKRN]

2 hours ago, Bexx88 said:

Seriously, again, can't Stone just be a lawyer? Can't we grow to like him as a lawyer rather than have thinly sketched women be used as vessels to create sympathy for him? No one cared about his sister, no one is going to care about this storyline that will inevitably never be mentioned again after this episode. What desperate measures are they going to slump to next in their quest to make people love him? He drops a cigarette and burns down a women's shelter so we can experience his heart rending journey in learning smoking is bad? Good lord, it shouldn't be this hard for experienced procedural writers. Convey that he's smart by how he wins cases, show that he's charming in the way he deals with colleagues and witnesses, make him crack a joke every so often. That's all they need to do, and people would warm up to him far quicker from that rather than having to trudge through all this mind numbing personal crap that would be unbearable even if it featured a character who'd been around longer than five minutes. 

Exactly!! I need to see Badass Stone in the courtroom; fair, decisive, competent, intelligent.  Empathy and kindness when dealing with victims and their families also goes a long way.  I need to see him telling Benson what he needs from the squad to help make his case, not Benson telling him how to do his job and then him rolling over.  It seems the writers are pandering to the fans who "ship" every new male character with either Benson or Rollins. I think that is why we are seeing so many Benson-Rollins bonding scenes; some fans want them to be BFFs, not the boss-employee relationship that they should have. 

What also bothers me about this grieving Stone storyline is that it was established that he did not have much of a relationship with his sister until after his dad died and he took over guardianship, which only lasted a few months until she died.  Why would he be grieving in this way if he really wasn't that close to her to begin with? It doesn't ring true. 

[CrystalBlue]

12 hours ago, ForeverAlone said:

I like Peter, but they are definitely trending toward neutering him like they did to Rafael. I mean, Rafael came into the show as an aggressive, take charge, balls out ADA who had no problem calling SVU on their crap. Granted, the full effect didn't take place until season 18, but under new management, Peter's neutering will proceed quicker. It's also funny that Peter has been on the show for less than one full season in terms of episodes, and he already has more personal stuff than six seasons of Rafael. Now they want to put him in legal jeopardy with a sexual assault investigation. This coming less than a year after saddling Rafael with a baby killing storyline that got him put on trial. Seriously, what the hell is this show about turning their ADAs into criminals, or at least investigated as criminals? It's utterly ridiculous. But if I had to guess, this sexual assault investigation will bring his whoring to the forefront and probably cause him to rethink how he has been burying his grief with mindless sex. 

Yep, it's gonna be one of his menage a trois sessions goes wrong.  Maybe Peter will have stepped up his game and went for a full-on orgy, and things go south.  I can't wait to see who the complaining "witness" SVU Victim is going to be.  Hope she's really cute, unless Stone had a Roman Orgy Partay and one of the male participants objected to the goings on.  This oughta be a hoot, just for the trainwreck entertainment value.  Not that this storyline is going to add anything integrity- or quality-wise to L&O:SVU.  Let's hope Ice-T gets to make another comedy gold snark.  It might be worth the price of admission.  ;)

[CrystalBlue]

The show should just rename itself:

Saint Olivia Benson Presents...Lovers & Others: So Very Unreal.

An elite squad of crime fighters meet legal geniuses of the NYC bar in a parallel universe where the District Attorney's Office takes orders from Super Mommy Lieutenant Benson and the Squad's Commanding Officer gives up her desk duties to fight crime on the street.

[wknt3]

10 minutes ago, ChristiKRN said:

Exactly!! I need to see Badass Stone in the courtroom; fair, decisive, competent, intelligent.  Empathy and kindness when dealing with victims and their families also goes a long way.  I need to see him telling Benson what he needs from the squad to help make his case, not Benson telling him how to do his job and then him rolling over.  It seems the writers are pandering to the fans who "ship" every new male character with either Benson or Rollins.

Definitely pandering to the Benson fans with this one - she needs to have UST with every attractive lawyer that comes her way because she is such a powerful intelligent women that they all fall for her no matter what. I don't think they pander to the shippers with Rollins. Indeed they seemed to have the new Benson/Stabler developing with Rollisi and have actively avoided running with it except for making Carisi look like a jealous 8th grader when Rollins decided to hook up on the road.

Quote

I think that is why we are seeing so many Benson-Rollins bonding scenes; some fans want them to be BFFs, not the boss-employee relationship that they should have.

Or maybe the SVU staff took a good idea from their new showrunner - that there was more than one single mother in the squad and they should relate to each other more than was depicted and have handled it clumsily because of a belief that having the two females butting heads would be anti-feminist? Or that they can't do them bonding and maintaining some professional distance because the squad is a family after all?

Quote

What also bothers me about this grieving Stone storyline is that it was established that he did not have much of a relationship with his sister until after his dad died and he took over guardianship, which only lasted a few months until she died.  Why would he be grieving in this way if he really wasn't that close to her to begin with? It doesn't ring true. 

I think that the grief is believable even i they weren't close. He lost his entire family in a short time and his sister's death was exceptionally traumatic and he experienced it personally. So I can totally buy it.

[murdock]

I think any relationship between Stone and Benson is less to do with her and more to do with propping up him. Benson is the character the audience is supposed to identify with, she's a working mom with problems just like you, target demographic! So when she tells us Stone is great, that we should give Stone a chance, when she eyeballs him with his shirt off, we're supposed to think that he's a great guy with a good heart and a fine set of pecs. I can almost guarantee this episode will end with Stone and Benson sharing a drink in a bar while she tells him, and by extension the audience, that he's a good man who did the right thing, as the camera slowly pushes in on his watery eyes because he doesn't truly believe it. It's all about him and trying to create a connection with him.

They've been trying to set Stone up as the male lead of the show since he joined but the problem is it's incredibly difficult to introduce a new lead 19 years in to a show. They don't really have time to do it organically. Instead we get the other characters telling us what a wonderful guy he is, and an unearned and overwhelming focus on his personal life to match the equally overwhelming but 20 years more earned focus on Olivia's personal life. I like Stone. On paper he's a good character and he's played by a capable actor. But in trying to set him up as the lead character they are inflicting all the mistakes they've made with Olivia's character on him but over a shorter period of time. Olivia's kidnappings and Noah and hostage situations happened across seven years. Stone's barely been here one and he's a one man series of unfortunate events. It's suffocating.

[Xeliou66]

I hate how they are watering down Stone, he is getting destroyed at a record pace, SVU loves to have their ADA’s go off the deep end but Stone is doing so at record pace! I want more of Stone in the courtroom as the strong prosecutor and the by the book ADA who will sometimes clash with SVU and doesn’t take orders from Benson. Instead he’s getting reduced to not doing much more than drinking and womanizing in a lot of episodes and he’s already acting unprofessionally, defending Benson’s arrest of the agent in Zero Tolerance and screaming at the father in Exile. I think this storyline is just setting up another St Olivia saves the day case and Stone will get back on the right track thanks to her and unfortunately will start acting like Barba did with Benson and doing whatever she wants him to.

I have no idea why they are doing this, no one is happy about this storyline, the fans who like Stone aren’t happy to see him weakened, while those who dislike Stone are not happy about having his personal crap shoved down our throats. This will be a comically bad episode IMO and it will just be another Benson worship hour complete with overdramatic, shocking expressions from Mariska. And to make it worse Al is back!! I am so sick of the Benson/Rollins super mommies hour, and I’m sick of Stone’s personal problems as well, I want more of Fin and Carisi, I don’t want their lives to become soap operas as well though.

[MrsRafaelBarba]

Oh Stone, you should've took your ass home that night .

I was hoping they wouldn't go this route.

At least he didn't wake up hungover, next to a dead woman 

Hi Scott Foley!!  

 

Why show WHY, can't y'all let Stone be great?

[FireGhost]

Chernuchin is determined to make his characters suffer. He even admitted to it in an interview this year.

I get that some drama and personal conflict is necessary these days. But … Olivia's personal life has been non-existent since she broke up with Tucker. Carisi's still inexplicably single. Rollins' love life is in shambles, and she's expecting her second baby by a sketchy and/or unavailable father.

And on top of that the ADA's is sleeping around willy-nilly?

Seriously? How hard is it to have one, just one, character with a healthy, stable personal life?? I guess that would be Fin, but we never hear about it *at all*.

In real life, NYPD cops and state attorneys are all about family values etc. I just don't buy SVU's version. It's getting frustrating.

Edited November 8, 2018 by FireGhost

[Xeliou66]

Fin and Carisi both have stable personal lives, we just rarely see or hear about it.

I just wish they would let Stone be the strong, stable prosecutor that he was last season and not a trainwreck or a Benson bot. I hate how they are destroying Stone, I just hope he gets back on track soon, he was so refreshing last season but this season he hasn’t been given as much to do and has acted unprofessionally a few times.

[Fellaway]

Might we be having Stone as surrogate dad coming up in a future episode?

[Xeliou66]

Can they please stop shoving the Stone/Benson relationship down our throats?! They are trying to turn Stone into a Benson Bot the way Barba became, he isn’t there yet (except in Zero Tolerance) but they want to make him that because no one can stand up to or disagree with St Olivia, Benson can do whatever she wants to and no one can dare question her now, it’s why Dodds is never talked about anymore, and everyone has to constantly sing the praises of the holy St Olivia. The thought of Stone starting to spend time with Benson/Noah makes me sick, I’m so tired of the personal focus on the show and the last thing I want to see is putting Stone into Benson’s personal life.

[MrsRafaelBarba]

I saw that pic on Twitter.

Please don't show, Mariska and Phillip have no romantic chemistry whatsoever.

[ChristiKRN]

I saw those photos, too.  My reaction: Sweet Jesus- they are trying to make me quit watching the show.  Two things I don't want to see at all: Noah and Stone hanging with Benson and Noah like they are a little family.  The only thing that could be worse is Rollins bringing Dr. Al and Jesse along to join  them.  Fans are getting tired of Stone being shoved down their throats, so what do we get? Even more Stone. I think I know more about Stone in essentially half of a season than I do about Cabot, Novak and Barba combined. 

[Xeliou66]

So I saw where Brian Cassidy will return in an episode this February, that should be interesting, you can always count on him bringing “mayhem” with him wherever he goes. I look forward to seeing what he’s up to, and whether Stone fired him or not after the events of Chasing Demons.

I want to find out about the memo that Fin showed to Dodds, I want to see Dodds again, he hasn’t even been referenced this season.