S20.E05: Accredo

[dttruman]

IMDb description of this episode, A member of a women's empowerment group is found murdered, leading the cops to the group's charismatic male leader. Meanwhile, Rollins keeps her pregnancy under wraps to avoid going on...

[Xeliou66]

Sounds like an interesting episode, definitely based on NXIVM. No Peter Stone sucks though, it isn’t Law and Order with no courtroom/legal stuff.

[dttruman]

On 10/16/2018 at 9:57 PM, Xeliou66 said:

Sounds like an interesting episode, definitely based on NXIVM. No Peter Stone sucks though, it isn’t Law and Order with no courtroom/legal stuff.

I agree! If this guy is as bad as the Youtube trailer shows it, I would have love to see Stone rip him a new one on the stand.

[MrsRafaelBarba]

Why is this man all up in a Women's space?

[dttruman]

I am still trying to figure out if Benson's trainer is her next love interest.

[Fellaway]

I don't know, but I think the first question I'd ask if I was thinking of joining a female empowerment program is why is it being run by a man?  Likewise, the detectives should ask.

Edited October 19, 2018 by Fellaway

[dttruman]

8 minutes ago, Fellaway said:

I don't know, but I think the first question I'd ask if I was thinking of joining a female empowerment program is why is it being run by a man?  Likewise, the detectives should ask.

 

Apparently he and his ex-wife started it then they got a divorce. Did anyone find it strange that Rollins interviewed him and Fin and Carisi interviewed his ex-wife and then the other girl?

Edited October 19, 2018 by dttruman

[Fellaway]

Yeah, I got that, but I was asking from the larger, philosophical perspective of how can women be empowered when, in the end, they're still being told what to do by a man?

Okay, and seriously, Rollins?!  How does she still have her job?  Olivia tells her it's unacceptable and...  That's it?  Way to be empowered, ladies, and take responsibility for your actions.

7 minutes ago, dttruman said:

did anyone find it strange that Rollins interviewed him and fin and Carisi interviewed his ex-wife?

I saw it as another opportunity for the show to have a man flirt with Rollins, tell her she's beautiful, yadda yadda, because they love that on this show.  But also, in this instance, so he can get under her skin about her insecurities.

Of course, it would be impossible for a woman, ever, to flirt with Carisi, he's so totally unappealing.  RME.

Edited October 19, 2018 by Fellaway

[dttruman]

3 minutes ago, Fellaway said:

I was asking from the larger, philosophical perspective of how can women be empowered when, in the end, they're still being told what to do by a man?

My bad, I thought his ex-wife started it and then he took over.

[Fellaway]

Well, that was kind of a blah episode.  The case was really just a backdrop to show the real female empowerment storyline of Rollins owning her ish (or some of it, anyway).  And I'd be okay with that... if we hadn't already had this story for Rollins in 17!

I was not comforted by Rollins' "We'll see." to Olivia's comment about the baby's father being a doctor.  Do not want him back, Show!

Bratty Noah was present and accounted for, unfortunately, though briefly.  Thank goodness.  Don't want him either, Show.  Can't we have that sweet toddler back?

On the plus side, they didn't really get anything much to do, but the dream team of Carisi and Fin was on hand.  We need an ep focusing on them solving a case.

[dttruman]

Well they had another good story line , but they turned it in to another Benson and Rollins soap opera and IMO they had a few procedure flaws again.

Should Stone of have been in the interrogation room when they were interviewing Arlo with his lawyer? I thought it would have been much more realistic if Stone gave that little speech to Arlo instead of Benson. In fact it would have been more dramatic in a court room.

Can Arlo's lawyer be disbarred for turning him in for trying to leave the country? The situation IMO, showed she didn't try to convince him not to flee.

6 hours ago, Fellaway said:

but the dream team of Carisi and Fin was on hand.  We need an ep focusing on them solving a case.

I think this will only happen if Hargitay is directing the episode and not starring in it.

Edited October 19, 2018 by dttruman

[balmz]

so so episode, fin and carsi were good as usual, also i wonder if they are hinting or suggesting a plot where noah was being abused or molested by someone and olivia ironically missed the signs of noah's abuse

[RedheadZombie]

Why hasn’t television learned to deal with an actor’s pregnancy?  Why must it be addressed at all?  I’d rather pretend not to notice the bump than use an actor’s pregnancy to slut shame her character.  There’s an actor on GH who’s had three children with her one and only husband, and they accommodated the pregnancies by having her character have these kids by three different men - only one of them by her multiple husbands.  Why?

[wknt3]

The Good:
An interesting idea that hasn't been done to death.
It was nice that they actually devoted most of the time that would have gone to the legal side to the investigation and that they used the soapy personal life plots that I hate with the fire of a thousand suns to move forward the case. It was nice to see basic competence in the writing - the thematic link between Rollins and the cult was OK and using Liv's midlife crisis to have her working with the trainer leading her to realize the fitbit could provide crucial clues was actually clever.
Fin and Carisi were solid as usual. When they have scenes together it often feels like the show I used to love.
It was nice that they actually allowed someone other than Liv to emotionally connect with the victim and get some of the spotlight in the big showdown. I mean she may be our lord and savior, but even the orginal let the apostles have their own stories, right?

The Bad:
The focus on one of the worst plots the show has ever done. Even though it was handled competently this week Rollins' pregnancy is still one of the worst ideas they've ever had, which is really saying something for this show. And what makes it worse is that in the beginning when they were talking about hiding it with clothes they made it pretty clear that they could have minimized it if they cared to and are deliberately emphasizing it.
The Benoah scene at the end seemed pointless. I kind of hope it is since this is one plot thread I'd prefer dangling.
The confrontation between Benson and Rollins over her behavior in interrogation. Why do it if you aren't really going to to do it? I mean you're pointing out what a lousy CO Benson is, how Rollins has been totally unprofessional in the past, making Liv look like a total hypocrite and it just sort of fizzles? Doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

Overall this was pretty much a meh. Decent idea for a case, married to some terrible personal sub plots, but executed competently. Probably the best we could have hoped for given that it was focused so heavily on the terrible Rollins arc.
 

[Xeliou66]

 Very boring and bland episode after last week’s strong outing. I found myself not really caring about what happened, it was obvious the cult leader was going to be behind it all from the start, that the ex boyfriend was a red herring, and that a woman was going to be the killer because the victim was raped with a foreign object/no semen. All extremely predictable and I just found myself bored. 

Extreme focus on Benson and Rollins and I don’t give a fuck about either, we had Noah throwing a tantrum, Benson’s physical issues, and a ton of dreck about the awful Rollins pregnancy storyline. I’m so sick of Rollins, she’s an unprofessional screw up who has no business being a cop, much less an SVU detective, I’m so sick of the super single mommies show, Benson and Rollins chewed up a ton of screen time, and I loathed the last 15 minutes of mindless, preachy “female empowerment” garbage, it was designed to put Benson and Rollins on a pedestal but all it did was nearly put me to sleep.

One thing that was glaring in this episode was how few characters there are now. The absence of Stone was inexplicable, he should’ve been there to consult on the case, especially towards the end, and also it was notable how we had no ME/CSU person, we really needed an ME to tell us the circumstances surrounding the victim’s death, but instead we just had the squad talking about the ME’s report, they really need recurring characters to pop up in these roles, it’s nice that we finally have a recurring psych expert but we need the ME and CSU people back. But because the show is so focused on giving Benson and Rollins and their personal drama a boatload of screen time, we have no room for other recurring characters. 

The only strong part of the episode was Fin and Carisi, I would like a whole episode of just them investigating a case, they are awesome and it was nice to have some scenes of them together but they disappeared at the end. The only good thing coming from the Rollins pregnancy storyline maybe that we get more of Fin and Carisi out in the field with Rollins sidelined. I would’ve much rather had a scene of Fin and Carisi at the Knicks game instead of the Benson and Rollins personal drama!!

Overall a boring filler episode that was a massive dropoff from last week’s strong episode.

Edited October 19, 2018 by Xeliou66

[The Wild Sow]

I can put up with St. Olivia.  I can put up with Rollins' Baby-Drama.  I can put up with Carisi's rare Hawaiian disease, "LackaNooky."  I can put up with a lot.

But I really can't put up with a BORING SHOW!  

Who killed who & what & why & for some reason the women's group was run by a man & .......ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

I fell asleep way before the end.  And I doubt if I'll rewind it.  Unless I have insomnia some night.

[Fellaway]

9 minutes ago, Xeliou66 said:

One thing that was glaring in this episode was how few characters there are now. The absence of Stone was inexplicable, he should’ve been there to consult on the case, especially towards the end, and also it was notable how we had no ME/CSU person, we really needed an ME to tell us the circumstances surrounding the victim’s death, but instead we just had the squad talking about the ME’s report, they really need recurring characters to pop up in these roles, it’s nice that we finally have a recurring psych expert but we need the ME and CSU people back. But because the show is so focused on giving Benson and Rollins and their personal drama a boatload of screen time, we have no room for other recurring characters. 

I think it has more to do with the budget than anything else.  Those technical characters did lend the proceedings some authenticity, but they didn't add anything to the story that couldn't just as easily be conveyed by our squad members.  Cutting the budget there and by not having as many bodies in the background of the squad room were smart moves, I think.  There are definitely worse places they could've cut the budget.

That said, I do think, when Carisi and Fin were searching that guy's apartment, they should've said CSU was coming instead of making it look like they were on their own for the search.

1 hour ago, dttruman said:

Can Arlo's lawyer be disbarred for turning him in for trying to leave the country?

Lawyers are beholden to follow the law, too.  It's why, sometimes in scenes, the lawyer will shut down their client if he or she starts to tell them about another crime they committed or are going to commit.  If he told her he was fleeing, or she otherwise found out, she's required to report it to the police.  

[SarahPrtr]

1 hour ago, Fellaway said:

I think it has more to do with the budget than anything else.  Those technical characters did lend the proceedings some authenticity, but they didn't add anything to the story that couldn't just as easily be conveyed by our squad members.  Cutting the budget there and by not having as many bodies in the background of the squad room were smart moves, I think.  There are definitely worse places they could've cut the budget.

They're wasting money by paying MH too much.  Bad budgeting.

 

There have been other shows where the actress was pregnant but it was never mentioned, even though it was really obvious.  It was used more as a comical storyline when Lauren Lane was pregnant in The Nanny, but in the pilot episode of Modern Family, Julie Bowen was 8 months pregnant but you couldn't tell unless you looked for her pregnant belly and Traylor Howard was also pregnant for most of season 5 of Monk, but they shot her from the waist up.

[Rabithed]

2 hours ago, Xeliou66 said:

 Very boring and bland episode after last week’s strong outing. I found myself not really caring about what happened, it was obvious the cult leader was going to be behind it all from the start, that the ex boyfriend was a red herring, and that a women was going to be the killer because the victim was raped with a foreign object/no semen. All extremely predictable and I just found myself bored. 

Extreme focus on Benson and Rollins and I don’t give a fuck about either, we had Noah throwing a tantrum, Benson’s physical issues, and a ton of dreck about the awful Rollins pregnancy storyline. I’m so sick of Rollins, she’s an unprofessional screw up who has no business being a cop, much less an SVU detective, I’m so sick of the super single mommies show, Benson and Rollins chewed up a ton of screen time, and I loathed the last 15 minutes of mindless, preachy “female empowerment” garbage, it was designed to put Benson and Rollins on a pedestal but all it did was nearly put me to sleep.

One thing that was glaring in this episode was how few characters there are now. The absence of Stone was inexplicable, he should’ve been there to consult on the case, especially towards the end, and also it was notable how we had no ME/CSU person, we really needed an ME to tell us the circumstances surrounding the victim’s death, but instead we just had the squad talking about the ME’s report, they really need recurring characters to pop up in these roles, it’s nice that we finally have a recurring psych expert but we need the ME and CSU people back. But because the show is so focused on giving Benson and Rollins and their personal drama a boatload of screen time, we have no room for other recurring characters. 

The only strong part of the episode was Fin and Carisi, I would like a whole episode of just them investigating a case, they are awesome and it was nice to have some scenes of them together but they disappeared at the end. The only good thing coming from the Rollins pregnancy storyline maybe that we get more of Fin and Carisi out in the field with Rollins sidelined. I would’ve much rather had a scene of Fin and Carisi at the Knicks game instead of the Benson and Rollins personal drama!!

Overall a boring filler episode that was a massive dropoff from last week’s strong episode.

Great post!! I was thinking the exact same thing. I’m not enjoying the Rollins character lately, Benson is...ugh Benson.  I wish they would introduce another female detective (someone we could root for). Love Carisi (?) and Fin. Show needs new blood though 

[MrsRafaelBarba]

Sebastian Roche is always playing an evil creeper.

Fun Fact: He was once married to Bates Motel actress Vera Farmiga. 

 

I missed Stone.

 

What was the point of the Handmaid's Tale cosplay scene?

[dttruman]

6 hours ago, balmz said:

suggesting a plot where noah was being abused or molested by someone and olivia ironically missed the signs of noah's abuse

Now this would be a good episode. Can you imagine Benson accusing herself of abusing or molesting Noah? Can you also see Benson lecturing herself about being a bad mother because she is neglecting Noah. The twos things that intrigues me the most though, would be to watch her arrest herself. Then pressure Stone into prosecuting herself and advising him on how to prosecute.

[Bexx88]

5 hours ago, Xeliou66 said:

One thing that was glaring in this episode was how few characters there are now. The absence of Stone was inexplicable, he should’ve been there to consult on the case, especially towards the end.

They can’t get the balance right with any character, but it can be particularly glaring with Stone. As pleased as I am when they ease up on his boring daddy issues and boring fridged sister, that shouldn’t mean barely seeing him at all. Only a few of the writers seem to realise he can function as the lawyer in an episode without having weird threesomes or crying at Liv.

[dttruman]

6 hours ago, wknt3 said:

I mean you're pointing out what a lousy CO Benson is, how Rollins has been totally unprofessional in the past, making Liv look like a total hypocrite and it just sort of fizzles? Doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

Yeah, they really compounded the problem here. Not more than two episodes past Benson's "over the top" unprofessional actions, does Benson decide to chastise Rollins for her bad behavior. Very badly written and poorly timed.

[dttruman]

I also would like to see more of Fin and Carisi, but with Ice-T hosting another show , will he have time to be more involved in other episodes?

Edited October 19, 2018 by dttruman

[dttruman]

6 hours ago, Fellaway said:

If he told her he was fleeing, or she otherwise found out, she's required to report it to the police.

I thought defense attorneys weren't suppose to get involved with the apprehension of their clients, just report to the courts that their clients can't be found, as in this episode.

2 hours ago, MrsRafaelBarba said:

Sebastian Roche is always playing an evil creeper.

Fun Fact: He was once married to Bates Motel actress Vera Farmiga. 

 

I missed Stone.

 

What was the point of the Handmaid's Tale cosplay scene?

I think he played a couple of characters on the regular L&O.

[Ohiopirate02]

I really missed Stone throughout this episode.   They really needed a scene where he gets the warrant for the womans Fitbit data.  I was shocked at how blase Benson was about her trainer getting her data. You would think that she would guard her data more carefully with her job.

[preeya]

Today's sermon will be delivered by St. Olivia with assistance from Mother Superior Amanda.

[walnutqueen]

1 hour ago, preeya said:

Today's sermon will be delivered by St. Olivia with assistance from Mother Superior Amanda.

They are both SO fucking annoying; and this episode was no exception.

[MrsRafaelBarba]

5 minutes ago, walnutqueen said:

They are both SO fucking annoying; and this episode was no exception.

I did cackle when Olivia went deadpan on Rollins tho.

 

"I don't want to move furniture Amanda, Do You?"

 

LOl!

10 hours ago, Rabithed said:

Great post!! I was thinking the exact same thing. I’m not enjoying the Rollins character lately, Benson is...ugh Benson.  I wish they would introduce another female detective (someone we could root for). Love Carisi (?) and Fin. Show needs new blood though 

Wouldn't mind seeing Kylie Bunbury return, she guest starred as a Detective last season.

The ABC Christie Love pilot wasn't picked up.

I'm still mad that Pitch was cancelled.

[dttruman]

15 hours ago, walnutqueen said:

They are both SO fucking annoying; and this episode was no exception.

 

15 hours ago, MrsRafaelBarba said:

I did cackle when Olivia went deadpan on Rollins tho.

 

"I don't want to move furniture Amanda, Do You?"

Will they have to rename this show Cagney & Lacey sooner or later?

Edited October 20, 2018 by dttruman

[MrsRafaelBarba]

My co-worker calls Olivia and Amanda The BItter Shrews.

[Jaded]

I quit watching this show a few years ago when it became clear that Barba was being turned into a Benson Bot. I had NBC on the TV while cooking last night and was watching in between waiting for time to pass for things to get done. This was one of the most predictable episodes of a L&O show I think I've ever seen. I was more then through having to hear about Amanda's pregnancy throughout the episode then they had to show that Noah tantrum on Olivia's phone. I liked the segments of the show with Carisi and Fin being together. That's about the only nice thing I can find to say about this episode. 

It  seemed like Kelli Giddish's stomach got bigger from when the episode started to when the viewers saw her last at the end. It was sad to see how bad her acting was throughout. I don't remember her being like that the first few seasons she was on. Last night she kept making faces like she was always smelling some foul stench while snarling at every other actor she came in contact with.

[HunterHunted]

14 hours ago, Xeliou66 said:

I found myself not really caring about what happened, it was obvious the cult leader was going to be behind it all from the start, that the ex boyfriend was a red herring, and that a woman was going to be the killer because the victim was raped with a foreign object/no semen. All extremely predictable

I think the actual details of NXIVM are so lurid and salacious that there's not much you need to do to fictionalize it.

With NXIVM, the blackmail, starvation diets, and coerced sex started with Keith Raniere, but Allison Mack was the one who introduced the physical violence and branding to the cult. Edgar Bronfman is actually the person who introduced his daughters to it through one of the cult's more innocuous executive success courses. His daughters have probably given Raniere more than $100 million. Raniere also made Mack and Nicki Clyne give up their acting careers; he forced Mack and Clyne to get married so that Clyne could stay in the US. Coincidentally, the actress in the faux Handmaid's Tale costume looked a lot like Clyne. I'm sure it was intentional.

About the lack of warrant for the Fitbit data, this has actually been a huge issue. There's a Supreme Court case (Jones v Maryland) that said that if you give info to a 3rd party corporation that provides you a service you can't expect any privacy for that info and police don't need a warrant for that info. It's an old case and someone is bound to challenge it. There have been a number of cases solved with Fitbit data and GPS from phones and apps. There was one where the murderer's flashlight app registered his GPS coordinates when he used the app while dumping the body. 

Edited October 19, 2018 by HunterHunted

[Shellie]

3 hours ago, Jaded said:

It  seemed like Kelli Giddish's stomach got bigger from when the episode started to when the viewers saw her last at the end. 

I thought this too, she was getting noticeably bigger hour by hour.  Weird.  

[Iguessnot]

13 minutes ago, Shellie said:

I thought this too, she was getting noticeably bigger hour by hour.  Weird.  

Oh that was a laugh out loud moment. She was camouflaging her pregnancy like she's been doing since the premiere. She says she will inform 1PP about the pregnancy and claim that Olivia didn't know.  That should make it clear to the audience that she's not supposed to be visibly pregnant, then BAM! Rollins shows up in a tight sweater displaying her beach ball.  What were they thinking?

[dttruman]

2 hours ago, HunterHunted said:

that said that if you give info to a 3rd party corporation that provides you a service you can't expect any privacy for that info and police don't need a warrant

So for those of us (especially me) who aren't very computer literate. Would any "app" as they say be considered a 3rd party whatever? The other two parties would be myself and the company that made the I-phone, right?

[mamadrama]

So, considering the source material, I found this episode super boring. This is one of those cases where the real life counterpart story of Allison Mack and  NXIVM was actually more interesting, and far more diabolical IMO, than what the show could throw together. 

[dttruman]

11 minutes ago, Iguessnot said:

She says she will inform 1PP about the pregnancy and claim that Olivia didn't know.  That should make it clear to the audience that she's not supposed to be visibly pregnant, then BAM! Rollins shows up in a tight sweater displaying her beach ball.

They are either very sloppy or just don't care. One of these days they will write about a female character that had a hysterectomy and then got pregnant and delivered a child.

[dttruman]

3 hours ago, Jaded said:

I quit watching this show a few years ago when it became clear that Barba was being turned into a Benson Bot

I sympathize with you and it frustrates me too, but I keep hoping the next episode will turn out to be like some of their early ones that were good.

3 hours ago, Jaded said:

This was one of the most predictable episodes of a L&O show I think I've ever seen.

They consistently have a good story line to start with, but then they some how ruin it.

[SarahPrtr]

7 minutes ago, dttruman said:

They consistently have a good story line to start with, but then they some how ruin it.

I can't tell you just how effing frustrating that is!!!  You have a build up and then pffffff!!!  I'm like, where tf did that go???

[illdoc]

1 hour ago, Iguessnot said:

She says she will inform 1PP about the pregnancy and claim that Olivia didn't know.  That should make it clear to the audience that she's not supposed to be visibly pregnant, then BAM! Rollins shows up in a tight sweater displaying her beach ball.  What were they thinking?

Theoretically, Rollins is 3-4 months pregnant (they made a point of saying she got pregnant 4th of July weekend, and I remember the dates on the title cards this episode being October (just can't remember if it was early or late Oct)). But, yeah, Rollins looks like she's going to pop any second but "Olivia didn't know". 

[HunterHunted]

15 minutes ago, dttruman said:

So for those of us (especially me) who aren't very computer literate. Would any "app" as they say be considered a 3rd party whatever? The other two parties would be myself and the company that made the I-phone, right?

The case law on this an absolute mess. Jones v Maryland is about landlines and it's the reason why, especially on the Mothership, you see the police just putting in calls to the phone company to get all of the numbers that you've called or received calls from. Also bank transactions because of US v Miller. The phone company/carrier is actually the 3rd party. The person you called or who called you are the primary parties. With bank transactions, it's you and the busines/person  you gave money to. The bank is a conduit/3rd party. Law enforcement does need a warrant to search your physical mobile device, but it's not super clear if law enforcement needs a warrant to get data that was transmitted by your phone carrier, wireless provider, or possibly even the app maker who might have stored your data on a server. If a court strictly follows Jones, then law enforcement probably doesn't need a warrant.

However and this is where the messy part is, the Court just ruled in Carpenter v US that law enforcement needs a warrant to access cellphone GPS data from a phone carrier. It doesn't address the situation when your apps collect location info because many of them do.

I think as a matter of course because the case law isn't super clear, law enforcement is probably obtaining warrants for all of the data transmissions from cellphone and mobile devices because it's better to be safe than sorry. However, someone has got to bring a case up to the Supreme Court soon because there is SO MUCH info shared with so many places and entities that we need new statutes and/or case law. And it's not just mobile devices, it's pacemakers, insulin pumps, hearing aids. This is heading to a place where it will be a honest to god mess.

[wknt3]

13 hours ago, dttruman said:

I also would like to see more of Fin and Carisi, but with Ice-T hosting another show , will he have time to be more involved in other episodes?

It's the other way around - Ice-T has all these outside projects because Dick Wolf does not want to shell out to have him on screen more. Instead of raises he gets more time off like they did with Florek and Belzer (although there were health issues involved with his absences before he left too.) The overall casting budget has shrunk, and Mariska gets an ever larger piece of that smaller pie, so other cast members get time off instead of money.
 

17 hours ago, Rabithed said:

Great post!! I was thinking the exact same thing. I’m not enjoying the Rollins character lately, Benson is...ugh Benson.  I wish they would introduce another female detective (someone we could root for). Love Carisi (?) and Fin. Show needs new blood though 

Yeah. Not sure anybody except Mariska and maybe Kelli like the way they are going with Rollins. Between making her and Benson BFF's when she is the one member of the squad who should be butting heads with the CO and playing up the personal life angle and making her a trainwreck after they devoted a lot of time and effort into repairing the damage they had done by going down this road before it's pretty painful to watch. And yes as we've been saying here for a few years they desperately need both more and new characters on the investigative side of things. Find some young talent and some old stage pros who want TV pay and give us some recurring support staff and another detective! The show was a lot less claustrophobic when Andy Karl was there to open up the possibilities of different pairings and dynamics. I'm hoping that they sprinkle in some of the new spinoff cast so we can get out of the same few faces every week.

 

2 hours ago, Shellie said:

I thought this too, she was getting noticeably bigger hour by hour.  Weird.  

I think a lot of it was wardrobe and lighting, camera angles, etc. In the opener they wanted us to believe that Rollins was hiding her pregnancy with the way she dressed and it wasn't completely obvious. In the later scenes they wanted us to focus on her being pregnant so they played it up. It makes it even more annoying as it's pretty clear that they could avoid bringing in the actor's pregnancy if they wanted to!

[Xeliou66]

Yeah we need another detective on the show, we should have 4 detectives and a squad leader, I didn’t like Mike Dodds much but I liked how he provided another detective character. And we desperately need to see an ME/CSU person on occasion, there was no excuse for not having an ME there to give the detectives the story of how the victim died and instead we just heard about it in odd dialogue from the detectives, it seemed very unnatural. But the show is all about the super single mommies, and we have to devote so much time to their personal issues and they have to pay Mariska a gigantic salary and feed her gigantic ego, so they don’t get supporting characters to come in although they would help the show tremendously. 

Overall this season has been incredibly mediocre so far, with Fin and Carisi as the highlight of the episodes, they are awesome and I’m loving having more scenes of them together, I could watch a whole episode of just them working together to solve a case. Revenge was a good episode, the other episodes have been extremely mediocre.

Edited October 20, 2018 by Xeliou66

[wknt3]

16 hours ago, MrsRafaelBarba said:

What was the point of the Handmaid's Tale cosplay scene?

I'm sure they would tell you that the point was dramatic irony and thematic link where the actress was playing at being a member of a society of women serving domineering and abusive men while her friend was actually living it. So that while it served a narrative function of moving the investigation forward by showing the squad identifying the victim and developing a lead it was also part of the larger theme. I would bet though that the actual point was to provide a striking visual image for the promos. And to try get us to subconsciously associate SVU with that series since it is what this show aspires to be but isn't - a well written drama about gender, power, and society that wins awards and captures the zeitgeist.

[Gigi43]

18 hours ago, MrsRafaelBarba said:

Sebastian Roche is always playing an evil creeper.

Fun Fact: He was once married to Bates Motel actress Vera Farmiga. 

 

 

 

I was excited to see Roche pop up but what a disappointment. He can really do bad guy well, yet, that whole character was a wasted existence to mostly feel like a mouth piece in Rollins' story that shouldn't be happening instead of a real baddie for the story. 

 

 

This one was just so boring. 

[wknt3]

16 hours ago, Xeliou66 said:

Revenge was a good episode, the other episodes have been extremely mediocre.

Have to politely but firmly disagree. "Zero Tolerance" would have to be about 1000% better to rise to the level of mediocrity!

[dttruman]

52 minutes ago, wknt3 said:

"Zero Tolerance" would have to be about 1000% better to rise to the level of mediocrity!

And I will have to agree 1000%. "Zero Tolerance" was pure political propaganda, and they should be ashamed for even showing their plight in that fashion. Most of it was pure fantasy or to use a stronger term, poppy cock.

[txhorns79]

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I think a lot of it was wardrobe and lighting, camera angles, etc. In the opener they wanted us to believe that Rollins was hiding her pregnancy with the way she dressed and it wasn't completely obvious. In the later scenes they wanted us to focus on her being pregnant so they played it up. It makes it even more annoying as it's pretty clear that they could avoid bringing in the actor's pregnancy if they wanted to!

The whole thing made me laugh.  By the end of the episode it was like: "On what planet does Rollins think she is hiding her pregnancy?"  Was she telling everyone at the station house that she's just gained a lot of weight for no apparent reason?     

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Only a few of the writers seem to realise he can function as the lawyer in an episode without having weird threesomes or crying at Liv.

This cracked me up.  It's so true, yet so ridiculous. 

[cfinboston]

As a child of the 80s, I immediately realised they had a pretty big flub with Rollins referencing having grown up on Family Ties. FT debuted in 1982. Assuming Rollins is the same age as Kelly Giddish, she'd have been 2 years old at the time and 7 when it went off the air.