S20.E09: Mea Culpa

[EtheltoTillie]

Call me stupid but since this woman was hiding the incident from her husband for years, why did she just suddenly accuse Stone in that restaurant thereby opening an investigation?  No really. Someone please explain. 

[dttruman]

3 minutes ago, GussieK said:

Call me stupid but since this woman was hiding the incident from her husband for years, why did she just suddenly accuse Stone in that restaurant thereby opening an investigation?  No really. Someone please explain. 

I personally can't come up with a convoluted enough excuse to justify it, but the writers (and or producers) expect us to buy into it.

[SarahPrtr]

7 hours ago, dttruman said:

This could have been a good episode ( I have been saying that a lot lately), but where did the writers come up with all these unreasonable explanation to set up these chain of events.

That's the thing that frustrates and pisses me off the most.  It always starts off with the potential of being a decent episode, then... fizzzzzzzle......  GRRR!!!  Did I mention that I am so effing FRUSTRATED?!!!

 

7 hours ago, WineCheeseChocolat said:

It drives me crazy that everyone on this show just drops by everyone else’s apartments unexpectedly. It’s NYC, apartment buildings either have a doorman or you have to be buzzed up. But hey, I’m not going complain about more Fin in any way shape or form.

That's like on Friends where they never locked their doors.  YOU LIVE IN NEW YORK!!!  Lock your effing doors!!!!!  Even if you live in a doorman building, You Need To Lock Your Doors.

 

7 hours ago, dttruman said:

At the beginning when the first rape victim testified. She said that if she could confront the man who raped her, she could get justice and get her life back. It sounds like something Benson has been preaching. I sympathize with rape victims, especially the ones that are not drunk and are brutally injured in the process.

Like the woman in the season 13 episode 'Official Story'.  She was so severely brutalised that she won't be able to have children.

 

What Olivia said was absolute wishful thinking which has become a complete cliché.  That's not to say that some people don't end up getting justice and moving on with their lives.  But why is she saying THAT bullshit to someone?  Seems like SHE has never gotten over any of the shit in her life. 

 

7 hours ago, ChristiKRN said:

Tonight was Peter Scanavino's 100th episode as Carisi.  Would have liked to have seen him more prominently featured.  It also appeared that we saw a hint of jealous Carisi again when he was talking to Rollins about Dr. Al. Let it go, Carisi!!

You're too good for her, Carisi, wtf are you doing???  It's just the proximity thing.  You see someone everyday and it's the kind of job that can consume your life at times and only the people you work with truly understand what it's like to do your job.  But so what??? Go for someone better, Sonny!!!  You deserve a lovely woman.

 

1 hour ago, HunterHunted said:

I don't know if anyone here ever watched Veronica Mars. Her rape is very much like this and it is a messy mess with poor recollections by many parties. Veronica goes to a party, is drugged, wakes up the next morning with no recollection of what happened and missing her underwear. At least 4 guys were suspected of raping her. Two of them did have sex with her that night. It takes her 2 seasons to figure out what happened. Even when she figured it out, she knew it wasn't really going anywhere legally.

Oh. My. Gaaawwwd!!!  No joke, the VM plot was exactly what I was thinking as well!

 

33 minutes ago, dttruman said:

They are bending over backwards to make him one and literally ignoring Carisi.

I wonder how Peter Scanavino really thinks about all of this.  Not Carisi the character, but the actual actor, PS.  But then again, being that he's a pretty low-key and private person, maybe he likes to be more of a side character.  It would still be nice to see more of his talent, though.

[wknt3]

After sleeping on it, I'm feeling like I wasn't harsh enough in my assessment of this episode. I let my relief that this wasn't the total clusterfuck I was expecting distract me from the fact that this episode not only failed to convey it's intended message, but was actively harmful to the cause. The only people who seem to equate "believe women" and "credible allegations merit serious investigations" with "disregard due process and convict on no evidence" are the Fox News crowd and SVU. It would have been pretty easy to do this right - don't jump to arrest, have Stone be the one to tell the squad that he's consulted with his bosses and they are convening an investigative grand jury and maybe find another out other than "it was his scummy friend and she just didn't remember"? You would make the intended point, show how those who actually believe themselves innocent actually want a full and fair investigation and maybe not suggest that the most high profile victim smearing in recent memory was right. In comparison to the way it unintentionally undermines the cause it wants to be advocating, the great acting, the ridiculous plot devices, etc. are pretty insignificant.

[dttruman]

1 hour ago, SarahPrtr said:

I wonder how Peter Scanavino really thinks about all of this.

IMO, he is thinking about a regular paycheck and he doesn't want to make waves to keep it coming. When this series finally ends, I hope someone in the show that was frustrated enough, comes out and writes a "Tell All" book about it.

[wonderwoman]

7 hours ago, auchic said:

Gotta say, the salt-and-pepper thing Austin from Days had going on was FOINE (but my god does it make me feel old...I had such a crush on him in high school!)

Austin Peck! I knew him as Brad Synder on As the World Turns." He looked so familiar, but I missed the credits and couldn't place him, Thanks.

[Gigi43]

4 hours ago, Fellaway said:

Or, as Michael Chernuchin calls him, "Caruso."  How bad is it (and disrespectful) when he doesn't know the ep is a milestone for one of the show's core characters/actors, nor even the character's name?  It doesn't bode well for any "Caruso"-centric stories this season.

 

This is so disrespectful a 100th episode mark is a big deal. You don't make sure auto-correct didn't change a name (I'm benefitting of the doubt here that's what happened) before posting?  What better way to drive home "I don't actually care though." 

 

Stone going to Fin makes sense, though I do too question how he got there and would he really know where Fin lives despite what I'm about to say, when Stone first came on everyone but Fin was a dick to him. Fin even defended saying Hey and small talk because "it's not his fault Barba pulled the plug on that baby."  I remember because I was enraged that "Barba pulled the plug on a baby " was now an accurate cannon sentence about Barba.

 

In today's climate, which SVU is suppose to reflect, I don't believe you can pull a gun in a bar on an no less ADA, even if you let everyone else leave. Anyone accused then in the #metoo movement are open to the accusers family going after them? Pulling guns in a crowd at a time where mass shootings are on everone's minds is okay if you just want one person there? No.

[walnutqueen]

So, a rape from 12 years ago where the victim refuses to press charges will be prosecuted, but a current kidnapping/hostage at gunpoint with witnesses and SWAT where the victim refuses to press charges will not?  Alrighty, then.

[preeya]

1 hour ago, Gigi43 said:

Stone going to Fin makes sense, though I do too question how he got there and would he really know where Fin lives despite what I'm about to say, when Stone first came on everyone but Fin was a dick to him. Fin even defended saying Hey and small talk because "it's not his fault Barba pulled the plug on that baby."  I remember because I was enraged that "Barba pulled the plug on a baby " was now an accurate cannon sentence about Barba.

1

I think he called Fin from the bar and Fin took him back to his apartment.

Edited November 16, 2018 by preeya

[dttruman]

2 hours ago, walnutqueen said:

So, a rape from 12 years ago where the victim refuses to press charges will be prosecuted, but a current kidnapping/hostage at gunpoint with witnesses and SWAT where the victim refuses to press charges will not?

The writers justified this to my complete satisfaction and it absolves Gary of any wrong doing. "The gun wasn't loaded". So it's OK for someone to go rob a bank or commit any other felony of their choice, so long as the gun is not loaded.

[dttruman]

2 hours ago, preeya said:

I think he called Fin from the bar and Fin took him back to his apartment.

All they had to do was fit this in the dialogue, but I guess they had more important things to think about, like that great excuse, "The gun wasn't loaded".

[SuzieQ]

8 minutes ago, dttruman said:

All they had to do was fit this in the dialogue, but I guess they had more important things to think about, like that great excuse, "The gun wasn't loaded".

Or the so so necessary scene with Amanda and baby daddy!

[dttruman]

7 minutes ago, SuzieQ said:

Or the so so necessary scene with Amanda and baby daddy!

I thought it was OK but it did kind of drag on. Are they giving Rollins more soap opera time now.

[SuzieQ]

3 minutes ago, dttruman said:

I thought it was OK but it did kind of drag on. Are they giving Rollins more soap opera time now.

Seems like it.  Little that I care about less than her personal drama.  It's all self induced.

[llongori]

5 hours ago, wonderwoman said:

Austin Peck! I knew him as Brad Synder on As the World Turns." He looked so familiar, but I missed the credits and couldn't place him, Thanks.

It's nice that he's lost the perpetual "deer-in-the-headlights" look he always had when he was on DAYS.  LOL

[walnutqueen]

1 hour ago, dttruman said:

The writers justified this to my complete satisfaction and it absolves Gary of any wrong doing. "The gun wasn't loaded". So it's OK for someone to go rob a bank or commit any other felony of their choice, so long as the gun is not loaded.

I'll have to remember that next time I commit an armed felony.

[dttruman]

2 hours ago, walnutqueen said:

I'll have to remember that next time I commit an armed felony.

If by any chance that happens and you're arrested, you can call Mariska Hargitay as a character witness. You are a victim of circumstance and Hargitay stands up for victims

Edited November 16, 2018 by dttruman

[wknt3]

11 hours ago, GussieK said:

Call me stupid but since this woman was hiding the incident from her husband for years, why did she just suddenly accuse Stone in that restaurant thereby opening an investigation?  No really. Someone please explain. 

Actually this is one of the more believable parts of the story. She reacted emotionally and impulsively when suddenly face to face with the man she thought assaulted her. She wasn't trying to open an investigation and she didn't want one she just felt compelled to tell him he was a son of a bitch and she hadn't forgotten what (she thought) he had done. If she had called the police or confronted him in court this would be a problem, but I don't think there was any reason to believe she was trying to get him investigated or arrested (she was pretty consistent throughout that she didn't want anything done until she heard the Word of Benson (blessings and peace be upon her.)

[EtheltoTillie]

3 minutes ago, wknt3 said:

Actually this is one of the more believable parts of the story. She reacted emotionally and impulsively when suddenly face to face with the man she thought assaulted her. She wasn't trying to open an investigation and she didn't want one she just felt compelled to tell him he was a son of a bitch and she hadn't forgotten what (she thought) he had done. If she had called the police or confronted him in court this would be a problem, but I don't think there was any reason to believe she was trying to get him investigated or arrested (she was pretty consistent throughout that she didn't want anything done until she heard the Word of Benson (blessings and peace be upon her.)

Okay, I guess I can buy that explanation.  It sort of crossed my mind that way, TBH.  It's the only thing that makes sense. 

[dttruman]

21 minutes ago, wknt3 said:

If she had called the police or confronted him in court this would be a problem, but I don't think there was any reason to believe she was trying to get him investigated or arrested (she was pretty consistent throughout that she didn't want anything done until she heard the Word of Benson (blessings and peace be upon her.)

I guess Hargitay didn't want her character to be indirectly responsible for another death here. If this was like "Imposter", Stone would have been shot dead or Gary would have been taken out by a sniper. All because Benson convinces some women to press charges of rape against some guy whether it was rape at all or if he committed it or not

[ChristiKRN]

6 hours ago, dttruman said:

The writers justified this to my complete satisfaction and it absolves Gary of any wrong doing. "The gun wasn't loaded". So it's OK for someone to go rob a bank or commit any other felony of their choice, so long as the gun is not loaded.

That was just ridiculous that the husband did not have to face any charges.  

Why was Stone even arrested in the first place?  The woman didn't want to press charges; there was no evidence, rape kit or witness.  

Only in SVU land can you brandish a gun in a public place and hold someone hostage and not be arrested, but if a woman says you raped her several years ago and doesn't want to file charges, you will have Benson leading the charge in arresting you at your workplace. 

I'm also disappointed as to how Fin and Carisi just keep getting dropped in the back half of the episodes.  I think fans like myself genuinely enjoy what they contribute to the show, so I don't get it.  Disclaimer: **as long as it is not scenes of Carisi being jealous of Rollins' latest bf or wanting to hook up with Rollins**.  

11 hours ago, wonderwoman said:

Austin Peck! I knew him as Brad Synder on As the World Turns." He looked so familiar, but I missed the credits and couldn't place him, Thanks.

I kept expecting Carrie Brady to show up as the wife he talked about!!  :)

[WendyCR72]

8 minutes ago, ChristiKRN said:

I kept expecting Carrie Brady to show up as the wife he talked about!!  :)

I preferred Patrick Muldoon's Austin waaaaay back when. But when he showed up recently-ish with Carrie some years back before AP took over again? Egads, I don't know what happened to him. AP's version always seemed like a dim bulb. Still, it was nice to see him here. And the gray hair reminds me that I am, too, getting older. (Cries into pillow...)

[ForeverAlone]

It was like the writers/producers wanted to have it both ways. They wanted to have some sort of episode where Peter is accused of rape, but they obviously didn't want to set up a credible case, because they aren't going to have their pet ADA turn out to be a rapist. So they half ass it with this episode.

I mean, it really did seem like Olivia was the one who pushed for this investigation by telling her husband that she may have been sexually assaulted. It's not like the victim was the one who initiated the report or even wanted to pursue an investigation. People absolutely have the right not to report anything to the police or press charges, but she was basically pressured into it by Olivia and her husband. Plus her husband displayed a creepy sense of entitlement against Peter, like HE was the injured party. And considering her utter lack of memory of anything, no forensic exam, no corroborating witnesses, plus the addition of another man in the bedroom, I don't even know if Peter would have been arrested if this was real life. I mean, SVU (who yes, would have absolutely, no shit had to recuse from investigating this entirely) didn't even complete an investigation by trying to determine who the other man was, or talk to her friend.

Then they had to resolve it in an incredibly unrealistic fashion by having the creepy husband pull a gun on Peter. Again, this became all about the husband and his eye rolling man pain. I presume because they wanted a quick resolution to the case, because they didn't want this mess to play out in a public trial and have one of their ADAs on trial for the second time inside of a year. That certainly wouldn't have looked good for the DA's office. 

I don't understand how or why Olivia discovered the information about the girl's real parentage that helped determine the real rapist. Was that ever fully explained, or are we just supposed to take it at face value? Again, it also shows the lack of courage of the convictions of the writers by having this information just materialize out thin air. They didn't want an actual trial, but they wanted all of this for whatever reason.

And I utterly do not give one single rat's ass about Amanda and her creepy prostitute-loving doctor friend. I don't buy this relationship for a second, and it bores me to tears. The only reason we are seeing this play out is because the producers made the misguided call to write in Kelli's real life pregnancy. 

Edited November 17, 2018 by ForeverAlone

[MrsRafaelBarba]

13 hours ago, dttruman said:

All they had to do was fit this in the dialogue, but I guess they had more important things to think about, like that great excuse, "The gun wasn't loaded".

Hope there's a deleted scene of Stone calling Fin from the bar.

That will pop up on YT.

I'd like to see this and picture it as being hilarious in my head.

Stone  probably rambles on incoherently while drunk.

[dttruman]

On 11/16/2018 at 8:49 PM, ChristiKRN said:

I'm also disappointed as to how Fin and Carisi just keep getting dropped in the back half of the episodes.  I think fans like myself genuinely enjoy what they contribute to the show, so I don't get it. 

I think it would have been more believable and enjoyable, if Fin and Carisi (because of his law school days) had challenged Benson concerning the arrest of Stone. The evidence (or lack there of) should be interpreted objectively, not emotionally like Benson seems to do each week. Hearing Fin's and Carisi's opinions could help explore this type of scenario better. Stone's "betrayed look" was justified, he knew that a rape charge could never hold up, because admittedly both were extremely drunk, events were sketchy at best, and it was 12 years ago. All he wanted, was to try and make amends some how.

But then the "Benson Effect" is introduced. Benson is made to look like she is standing up for the rights of the victim, and then they (the writers) try to justify her action (mostly unsuccessfully).

IMO, this is what is hurting the SVU series the most.

Edited November 18, 2018 by dttruman

[dttruman]

5 hours ago, ForeverAlone said:

I don't understand how or why Olivia discovered the information about the girl's real parentage that helped determine the real rapist. Was that ever fully explained, or are we just supposed to take it at face value? Again, it also shows the lack of courage of the convictions of the writers by having this information just materialize out thin air.

I want to say it has become a definite pattern now, where each episode starts out decently, but they take it in a different and sloppy direction when Benson goes into her St Benson ( I wish I coined that name) mode. IMO, the writers are put in the impossible position of trying to make Benson look good, at the behest of Hargitay. They are left with using the tactics mentioned above.

[Fellaway]

19 hours ago, Gigi43 said:

This is so disrespectful a 100th episode mark is a big deal. You don't make sure auto-correct didn't change a name (I'm benefitting of the doubt here that's what happened) before posting?  What better way to drive home "I don't actually care though." 

I agree.  It is a big deal and an EP, or whatever he is, even a relatively new one, should be aware of it.  And auto-correct doesn't cut it anymore as an excuse.  We've had years' worth of time to get used to auto-correct.  Has he never used the word "Carisi" in any of his tweets before?  Does he not proof his tweets before he hits send, or is he just that lazy and uncaring?  Does he not know how to spell "Scanavino" or is Peter Stone the only Peter S. he cares about?  Does he not realize he's being dragged in his comments?  I think it says a lot about how much he cares that he hasn't yet corrected it.  Mazel tov, MC.

I'd miss Carisi a lot if PS left the show, but part of me does wish PS was on a show that appreciated and used him more.  I hope Leight crosses him over to Hate Crimes a lot.

8 hours ago, ChristiKRN said:

I'm also disappointed as to how Fin and Carisi just keep getting dropped in the back half of the episodes.  I think fans like myself genuinely enjoy what they contribute to the show, so I don't get it. 

Makes me wonder if they pay any attention at all to forums and social media when it comes to fan reaction to their show.  All it takes is an intern, Show.

5 hours ago, ForeverAlone said:

It was like the writers/producers wanted to have it both ways. They wanted to have some sort of episode where Peter is accused of rape, but they obviously didn't want to set up a credible case, because they aren't going to have their pet ADA turn out to be a rapist. So they half ass it with this episode.

I don't think this investigation even amounted to half-assed.  It consisted of Sarah saying "He did it!" and Benson saying "'M'kay.  Let's throw the book at him."

5 hours ago, ForeverAlone said:

And I utterly do not give one single rat's ass about Amanda and her creepy prostitute-loving doctor friend. I don't buy this relationship for a second, and it bores me to tears. The only reason we are seeing this play out is because the producers made the misguided call to write in Kelli's real life pregnancy. 

My only hope that Rollins will see the light is that, when she was talking to Carisi, she made it seem as if she's really only interested in financial security from the guy. Her judgement has always sucked when it comes to men, but I hope she realizes hitching her wagon to a serial cheater is a losing proposition.

1 hour ago, MrsRafaelBarba said:

Hope there's a deleted scene of Stone calling Fin from the bar.

That will pop up on YT.

I'd like to see this and picture it as being hilarious in my head.

Stone  probably rambles on incoherently while drunk.

Hee!  I, for one, would love to see that.

The more I think about this ep the more I wonder what their aim was with regards to Stone.  Seriously, do they want us to like him?  He apparently has a long history of excessive drinking and womanizing that continues to this day.  I mean, not one minute after telling Carisi he wanted to cut back on drinking, he's trotting after a woman half his age right into a bar (and, no doubt, into bed if Sarah hadn't happened.)  It's all really skeevy.  What we've seen this season could be passed off as his guilt or grieving over his sister, though I personally find womanizing a... questionable choice as a way to grieve your sister.  But now we've been told he's been doing this for years, and... this guy is supposed to be our new hero?  Um, no.

Was that MH's cousin again, playing the uniform?

[kicotan]

Benson: (to Stone) “Im sorry if it seemed like I doubted you.”

sayyyyyy what?

The dialogue gets more cringeworthy with each episode.

[SarahPrtr]

5 hours ago, dttruman said:

I think it would have been more believable and enjoyable, if Fin and Carisi (because of his law school days) had challenged Benson concerning the arrest of Stone. The evidence (or lack there of) should be interpreted objectively, not emotionally like Benson seems to do each week.

The writers probably had something planned for Carisi's law degree, but then everything became St. Olivia, so they're not even acknowledging it.  I even thought for half a second that he might end up doing Barba's job this season.  Look, I get it.  If you've been a cop for over 20 years, you get to know certain parts of the law very well.  But she's still not the lawyer and she's never studied it.  It takes a shitload of studying and eye-watering amount of reading to get a law degree and Carisi was doing it while working as a cop, so extra kudos to him.  But as always, he's being cast aside because of what's-her-face.

 

One of the biggest mistakes they're making is trying to do the 'women can do and be anything, women can be cops, women can be the head of a precinct' thing, but the problem is, Olivia Is Bad At It.  She Can't Seem To Do Her Job.  So they're really failing at it.  Rollins can't seem to get her personal life together and is giving a bad name to other working single mothers, and mothers who work as cops.  Olivia is a lieutenant who is also incompetent, and is making people believe in the cliché that women can't be leaders because they're too emotional.  She is THAT woman. WTF are they doing with these female characters?  Did the actresses piss off the executives or something???

 

Donald Cragen, I miss you soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[preeya]

1 hour ago, SarahPrtr said:

One of the biggest mistakes they're making is trying to do the 'women can do and be anything, women can be cops, women can be the head of a precinct' thing, but the problem is, Olivia Is Bad At It.  She Can't Seem To Do Her Job.  So they're really failing at it.  Rollins can't seem to get her personal life together and is giving a bad name to other working single mothers, and mothers who work as cops.  Olivia is a lieutenant who is also incompetent, and is making people believe in the cliché that women can't be leaders because they're too emotional.  She is THAT woman. WTF are they doing with these female characters?  Did the actresses piss off the executives or something???

 

Donald Cragen, I miss you soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hitting the nail right on the head. ^^^

Perhaps someone in the writer's room will have an epiphany and will write an episode that results in St.Olivia's demotion.

[ShortyMac]

I knew Stone would never be guilty; as soon as Sarah said she didn't remember anything and that Stone was next to her when she woke up, I knew it wasn't him. I should have realized it would be Stone's friend. It was so obvious.

[Diana Berry]

Agree that it was Winchester's best performance of the season.   Plus no Noah!

[jcbrown]

On 11/16/2018 at 5:58 AM, wknt3 said:

After sleeping on it, I'm feeling like I wasn't harsh enough in my assessment of this episode. I let my relief that this wasn't the total clusterfuck I was expecting distract me from the fact that this episode not only failed to convey it's intended message, but was actively harmful to the cause. The only people who seem to equate "believe women" and "credible allegations merit serious investigations" with "disregard due process and convict on no evidence" are the Fox News crowd and SVU. It would have been pretty easy to do this right - don't jump to arrest, have Stone be the one to tell the squad that he's consulted with his bosses and they are convening an investigative grand jury and maybe find another out other than "it was his scummy friend and she just didn't remember"? You would make the intended point, show how those who actually believe themselves innocent actually want a full and fair investigation and maybe not suggest that the most high profile victim smearing in recent memory was right. In comparison to the way it unintentionally undermines the cause it wants to be advocating, the great acting, the ridiculous plot devices, etc. are pretty insignificant.

This times 1000. The show is actively undermining the very valid points it purports to be trying to make.

Edited to add that if I NEVER have to hear Mariska Hargitay whisper again, nor see her make that cat-smelling-something face with her mouth part-way open, it will be too soon.

Edited November 18, 2018 by jcbrown

[preeya]

56 minutes ago, jcbrown said:

Edited to add that if I NEVER have to hear Mariska Hargitay whisper again, nor see her make that cat-smelling-something face with her mouth part-way open, it will be too soon.

Or say "this wasn't your fault"

[dttruman]

7 hours ago, preeya said:

Perhaps someone in the writer's room will have an epiphany and will write an episode that results in St.Olivia's demotion

I am pretty sure there have been plenty of epiphanies, it's just that those episodes are read by St Hargitay. They either get some heavy editing or are tossed in the trash.

[SarahPrtr]

2 hours ago, Diana Berry said:

Agree that it was Winchester's best performance of the season.   Plus no Noah!

They've changed the format of the show to include waaaaayyyyyy too much of the personal lives of the detectives.  I mean, we want to have the background stories of them, but the show is about the victims, not the drama of the personal lives of the detectives.  I wouldn't mind if all they showed was 5 seconds of Olivia saying goodnight to her son or something, but they are showing too much of her life.

 

Btw, love your screen name.  I think we might be Kindred Spirits afterall!  Or Bosom Friends.

Edited November 18, 2018 by SarahPrtr
.

[Diana Berry]

5 hours ago, SarahPrtr said:

They've changed the format of the show to include waaaaayyyyyy too much of the personal lives of the detectives.  I mean, we want to have the background stories of them, but the show is about the victims, not the drama of the personal lives of the detectives.  I wouldn't mind if all they showed was 5 seconds of Olivia saying goodnight to her son or something, but they are showing too much of her life.

 

Btw, love your screen name.  I think we might be Kindred Spirits afterall!  Or Bosom Friends.

Thank you! It was either that or Elizabeth Bennett.

[CrystalBlue]

21 hours ago, jcbrown said:

This times 1000. The show is actively undermining the very valid points it purports to be trying to make.

Edited to add that if I NEVER have to hear Mariska Hargitay whisper again, nor see her make that cat-smelling-something face with her mouth part-way open, it will be too soon.

This!  If Benson does get demoted*, then she can quit SVU and become a SAHM doing phone sex calls for a living.  Call 1-900-MAR-ISKA.

The Flehmen response!  Meow!  LOL

* Wishful thinking.

[dttruman]

1 hour ago, CrystalBlue said:

This!  If Benson does get demoted*, then she can quit SVU and become a SAHM doing phone sex calls for a living.  Call 1-900-MAR-ISKA.

The Flehmen response!  Meow!  LOL

* Wishful thinking.

Considering how she likes to get involved in every part of the investigation. Do you think there will be a case, where someone needs to go undercover as a hooker (or your suggestion a phone sex operator) and she does it herself?

[dttruman]

There is no "absent of malice" in this real life incident. Is this where the premise of this episode came from, before they changed it a little.

 

https://www.foxnews.com/us/selfie-saves-texas-man-from-serving-99-years-in-prison

[West54]

On 11/12/2018 at 6:14 AM, dttruman said:

Description is from IMDb, "Stone asks Benson to investigate a sexual assault from his past that he feels guilt and uncertainty about; Rollins considers a proposal from Al."

Hi. New to this. Im assuming that they were setting up for a future episode where some sharp lawyer tries to get the conviction overturned by charging Benson with entrapment and suborning perjury. There it will be revealed that the husband divorced the victim as couldn’t cope with not being the “real” father. Unfortunately sometimes, no good deed goes unpunished.

[dttruman]

On 11/22/2018 at 4:28 AM, West54 said:

Hi. New to this. Im assuming that they were setting up for a future episode where some sharp lawyer tries to get the conviction overturned by charging Benson with entrapment and suborning perjury. There it will be revealed that the husband divorced the victim as couldn’t cope with not being the “real” father. Unfortunately sometimes, no good deed goes unpunished.

IMO, most start with a good plot line, but then there is a sudden change. Sometimes it side tracks to a skewed agenda that they like to promote. Other times they like to sensationalize a character by manipulating situations that are either unlikely or literally impossible.

[Ragingviolet]

On Thursday, November 15, 2018 at 10:30 PM, WineCheeseChocolat said:

You see, something like that I think would’ve been interesting. Not it being the COTW but the COTW being “what constitutes consent in this day and age” and the squad reflecting back on their own experiences and situations they are looking at with a new perspective. Little glimpses into their pasts and how they feel about it, but not making the whole episode about it. Like how Old School SVU was back when the writers knew the meaning of subtlety.

Even tho this episode was awful it did kind of make me indignant that two people could be black out drunk but only one is a rapist. What IS the law here I wonder? If neither can consent then how do the police decide if anything happened?

[dttruman]

15 hours ago, Ragingviolet said:

Even tho this episode was awful it did kind of make me indignant that two people could be black out drunk but only one is a rapist. What IS the law here I wonder? If neither can consent then how do the police decide if anything happened?

I thought this episode was also a followup reference to "Hell's Kitchen", where if you feel you have been raped. No matter under what conditions or how long ago it was, you can still get justice. I thought it was complete bias on Benson's part to take the girl's side and arrested Stone. Considering both can't remember, because they were blind drunk and they were consenting adults. I would have liked to have seen this explored more also, than watch Benson become more of a vigilante type and arrest people without creditable evidence.

Edited November 26, 2018 by dttruman

[MamaMax]

What kind of evil asshole shows his pregnant girlfriend a ring box WITH NO RING IN IT?

 

That is all.

[CrystalBlue]

4 hours ago, MamaMax said:

What kind of evil asshole shows his pregnant girlfriend a ring box WITH NO RING IN IT?

 

That is all.

I thought the same thing, but perhaps I'm behind the times.  I don't know, is the door key in a ring box proposal a thing now?

[dttruman]

1 hour ago, CrystalBlue said:

5 hours ago, MamaMax said:

What kind of evil asshole shows his pregnant girlfriend a ring box WITH NO RING IN IT?

 

That is all.

I thought the same thing, but perhaps I'm behind the times.  I don't know, is the door key in a ring box proposal a thing now?

I am still trying to figure out this whole chain of events for Rollins and why they did it this way. Are the writers and Hargitay trying to make a point that it's not out of the ordinary for today's woman to have a couple of kids and a full time job? If so, I can understand that because it was her prerogative. But if they show Rollins being overwhelmed by work problems and babysitting or kids issues and they hope we will be sympathetic to that situation, then they won't get any concern from me. Bottom line, I thought it was a bad idea to write her pregnancy in to the story line.

[Kel Varnsen]

I can't believe it took an "elite squad" of detectives that long to realize there was a 3rd person at Stone's hotel room that night, and maybe they should talk to him.

 

On 15/11/2018 at 11:16 PM, dttruman said:

I am still trying to figure out how Benson gets to take over the hostage situation, "since it is her case"? Wouldn't the hostage negotiator be the one more involved in this?

Benson showed up on the scene and literally started giving directions to a guy whose jacket said "Assistant chief".  Are we going to see Benson bossing around the mayor or the governor of New York soon. Since she doesn't seem to have a good understanding of chain of command and who she is actually the boss of.

[dttruman]

1 hour ago, Kel Varnsen said:

Benson showed up on the scene and literally started giving directions to a guy whose jacket said "Assistant chief".  Are we going to see Benson bossing around the mayor or the governor of New York soon

I believe in one episodes she also "bossed around" a federal officer and had him arrested (Zero Tolerance). In another one or two episodes she also took over for the FBI.

In order to make the Benson character more relevant, the writers (probably due to threats from Hargitay) have gone from the unreasonable to the fantastic.

Edited November 26, 2018 by dttruman

[Fellaway]

20 hours ago, dttruman said:

I am still trying to figure out this whole chain of events for Rollins and why they did it this way.

I, too, don't understand where they're going with Rollins.  We went from her knowing exactly the kind of man Al is and her awesome "I'm having this baby, and I don't need anything from you." just a few episodes ago to "I'm tired and want to be taken care of, even if he's a cheating lowlife.  But he bought me flowers and spoke nicely to Jesse!"  Maybe if we'd seen anything in the eps to warrant that transition it might make sense, but we didn't and it doesn't.  This is not the way to portray a human, yet empowered, woman, Show, and it doesn't ring true to Rollins.

Edited November 26, 2018 by Fellaway