S20.E23: Assumptions

[Joe Hellandback]

On ‎5‎/‎10‎/‎2019 at 5:15 PM, gesundheit said:

Can someone remind me of the Rob Miller case? I know I saw it but I'm blanking on details.

This was okay. There was an actual mystery to be solved, complete with twists. I did think they went overboard by basically making the victim actually anti-semitic instead of just opposed to Israeli policy, they sure seemed to be taking a side on Ilhan Omar with that. Yikes.

Meow Mix 2.0. Ha. First of all, I wish! Meow Mix was great! But it cracked me up that they went into the bar and had the ominous closeup on the women's embrace and then had Carisi and Finn all "oooooo lesbians" like it was 1991 or something. (Same with the idea that a Muslim councilwoman could hang out in there and it'd be their little secret. Gay bars aren't private places behind unmarked doors anymore, SVU writers room! Anyone can go there! Good grief. That shit would be all over Twitter and Instagram.)

That poor defense attorney having to actually give a "he didn't rape her!" closing argument after his ridiculous outburst on the stand about how he should have killed her.

I figured this was a bar specifically for the closeted? I don't think she was actually anti-Semitic although she bordered on it. 

[Joe Hellandback]

On ‎5‎/‎10‎/‎2019 at 6:37 PM, dttruman said:

Rob Miller is that high powered attorney who gave another lawyer some (GHB or something) and raped her. The episode was "Blackout".

It's funny how the writers expect us to believe that a bar room full of Lesbians are so dedicated to Nahla Nasar, they would keep her secret.

Was Stone more ridiculous,  when he let Nahla admit she couldn't see who raped her, but she could tell by the way the person pulled her hair? Wow, that is rock solid eye-witness evidence? Or was letting her client testify, just after proving Nahla is untrustworthy because of that hoax? I believe these writers have some swampland they want to sell us also

Wasn't that ABSURD? All that means is the person is right handed?

[Joe Hellandback]

On ‎5‎/‎12‎/‎2019 at 2:58 PM, dttruman said:

Do you think they were trying to portray her as sort of  "renegade" or progressive type Muslim? I'll tell you one thing, those teen boys (or characters) didn't exactly help the Jewish cause either. The extremists from both sides were spotlighted, like they did in that one episode of a "Ann Coulter" type getting raped during a riot. Here, the moderate Jews and the moderate Muslims were conveniently left out.

Another thing that they left out was the consequences Nahla should have faced for the "set up" or  hoax confrontation with the teens.

I was also surprised Benson didn't have the teens arrested in the beginning, when they were talking about how much evidence they had against them. It was mentioned that they had opportunity and motive, and that is more than what Benson had on Stone when she arrested him for rape.

Yes, wasn't that atypical? Although possibly she may have considered them potential witnesses and not wanted to alienate them? If their dads were willing to bring them to the station, why not? I recently watched Sex on Trial and they highlighted the case of a girl who accused football players of gang rape but the police never arrested them as they didn't want to give them criminal records.  

On ‎5‎/‎13‎/‎2019 at 10:20 PM, tennisgurl said:

They were just throwing everything into this episode! Jussie Smollett, Covington Catholic and Ilhan Omar, all of which turned out to be basically a red hearing for the actual crime, that was a Sharia law style honor attack by her evil ex husband. I mean, all the rest of it was basically just window dressing for the actual crime, which is actually pretty classic SVU, so I cant complain too much. I felt uncomfortable by them actually making the IIhan Omar stand in a full on anti Semite and not just critical of Israel in the conflict with Palestine, as well as having most of the Jewish characters we met being full on Islamophobic. Yeah there are certainly factions in both groups that are both of those things, but also plenty that are not, and it all came off as "yeah all these minority groups are just as full on racist and hate filled as anyone else" and that isnt exactly something I really want to see on television, especially because, again, it was all pretty much a red herring. That all being said, I did still like the episode more than the last batch of episodes, and at least its different than the never ending deluge of "pretty rich white woman victim, evil rich white guy in a suit rapist" that we`ve been stuck with almost all season, and it did have some decent twists and turns that kept me guessing, which is certainly a step up than the last few episodes. 

Olivia still did her stupid victim voice again, but at least Fin and Carisi got some good screen time and got in some funny banter and some actual logic into the case, which is so often lacking in this show when St. Olivia is in charge. And I like having Dodds around to deal with the political ramifications of everything going on, and his increasing frustration over this clusterfuck of a case, and trying to get the NYPD out of it in one piece. "Why couldn't it just be some alt right thugs?!"

The whole thing about the councilwoman being in some secret double life lesbian bar was ridiculous, what is this, 1956? Are lesbian bars super secret underground bars where everyone in there is sworn to secrecy to keep everyone in the closet and hate having cops around scaring their clients off because...being gay is illegal in New York now? No way would this have not gotten out by now, that shit would have been all over Twitter in about three seconds, even if she was just in he background of a selfie someone took and posted onto their Instagram! She didnt even bother to put on Superman glasses or anything to hise her secret identity!

That poor defense attorney still having to try and say her client might be innocent and people are making assumptions after her client...after he was just frothing at the mouth screaming about how he should have killed her for being gay. She actually did all that with a straight face! It was nice when she found out her parents still accepted her though, even if some dick with some pebbles was conveniently there to start tossing stones at her.

Does this show really need another super villain? And this guy, really? Is he that different than any of the other evil rapist white guys in suites we`ve had this season?

She did take off her hijab which is her most distinctive feature?

[Joe Hellandback]

On ‎5‎/‎13‎/‎2019 at 10:30 PM, tvfanatic13 said:

My cousin played the tabloid owner eating the banana. I didn’t know he was going to be on it so I was pleasantly surprised to see him on my favorite show. 

That's cool, odd there was no comeback for his character. 

On ‎5‎/‎14‎/‎2019 at 12:00 AM, shapeshifter said:

As a member of one of those groups by birth rather than practice, the offensiveness was off the charts. I can't really explain it; it's just the way it felt.

This show could be much improved by more Finn, Carisi, and Dodds and if they gave Olivia a personality transplant.

Really? I thought they went out of their way to avoid demonising any particular group. 

[Joe Hellandback]

1.  Looks like as they came up to the end of the season they decided to cram in everything 'ripped from the headlines' whilst it was still fresh in everyone's minds. 

2.  I actually didn't mind the lesbian bar scene, I got the idea this was a bar for closeted lesbians hence why she was trusting they wouldn't out her. 

3.  I though Noah was okay, inoffensive enough and didn't take up much screentime.

4.  No idea who this villain is as I've missed every ep from Brothel to Diss. Nice to see Richard Kind though, I feel Gotham misses him as The Mayor.  

5.  I think this balanced out nicely, no one group was demonised and you could see everyone's point of view. It would have been nice to see them actually talk to the witness and see her decide 'k***' was actually 'mike'. 

6.  Would have liked a little more humour in the lesbian bar, would it really be such a big deal for them to have a couple of guys drinking at the bar? Positively misandrist. 

7.  Good court scenes, Stone actually had something to do. 

8.  Good defence lawyer, she ripped the witness apart. But come on, you can identify the suspect because he pulls your hair during sex as the rapist did?

9.  Was he really going for the scissors? It would have been interesting if Carisi had been forced to shoot him. 

10. Ah, the Perry Mason moment, get them to confess on the stand. Where would SVU be without that? Actually what evidence was there against him to even justify his arrest? 

11. Wouldn't the journalists at the newsfeed place be in trouble? Although I can see the councillor's point, if she was going to confront the protesters it would be best to have it filmed.  

12. Fin's bit about free speech was a bit much, there's free speech and there's hate crime. 

[Joe Hellandback]

47 minutes ago, Joe Hellandback said:

1.  Looks like as they came up to the end of the season they decided to cram in everything 'ripped from the headlines' whilst it was still fresh in everyone's minds. 

2.  I actually didn't mind the lesbian bar scene, I got the idea this was a bar for closeted lesbians hence why she was trusting they wouldn't out her. 

3.  I though Noah was okay, inoffensive enough and didn't take up much screentime.

4.  No idea who this villain is as I've missed every ep from Brothel to Diss. Nice to see Richard Kind though, I feel Gotham misses him as The Mayor.  

5.  I think this balanced out nicely, no one group was demonised and you could see everyone's point of view. It would have been nice to see them actually talk to the witness and see her decide 'k***' was actually 'mike'. 

6.  Would have liked a little more humour in the lesbian bar, would it really be such a big deal for them to have a couple of guys drinking at the bar? Positively misandrist. 

7.  Good court scenes, Stone actually had something to do. 

8.  Good defence lawyer, she ripped the witness apart. But come on, you can identify the suspect because he pulls your hair during sex as the rapist did?

9.  Was he really going for the scissors? It would have been interesting if Carisi had been forced to shoot him. 

10. Ah, the Perry Mason moment, get them to confess on the stand. Where would SVU be without that? Actually what evidence was there against him to even justify his arrest? 

11. Wouldn't the journalists at the newsfeed place be in trouble? Although I can see the councillor's point, if she was going to confront the protesters it would be best to have it filmed.  

12. Fin's bit about free speech was a bit much, there's free speech and there's hate crime. 

Another thing! Did you notice how the whole idea of the MAGA hat actually came from the officer at the scene? The witness didn't even say it was MAGA until he suggested it to her!

[dttruman]

4 hours ago, Joe Hellandback said:

In fairness such a high profile case would always have made it to court no matter how weak the witness. 

Yeah, I'll buy that. But I can't believe the defense attorney let her client testify, after she proved the victim isn't always trustworthy. But yes, they have to follow the story line (no matter how unbelievable ) to support the narrative.

[dttruman]

4 hours ago, Joe Hellandback said:

They missed a trick at the lesbian bar, they should have had Benson or Rollins there and some girls making eyes at them or Finn being distracted by 2 girls kissing and Carisi goes 'Hey!' to him.  

And Finn does a double take, after Carisi says "Hey"

[dttruman]

16 hours ago, Joe Hellandback said:

2.  I actually didn't mind the lesbian bar scene, I got the idea this was a bar for closeted lesbians hence why she was trusting they wouldn't out her. 

I can understand that, but once you have someone famous come in and on a regular basis, there is definitely going to be some talk and the word will get out.

Edited May 21, 2019 by dttruman

[illdoc]

Quote

They missed a trick at the lesbian bar, they should have had Benson or Rollins there and some girls making eyes at them

How about Benson goes in with Finn (or Rollins or Carisi) and one of the regulars says "Hi Olivia" and Finns just gives Benson a look like "something you want to tell me?" (turns out, of course, that it's just the mother of one of Noah's playmates).

[Joe Hellandback]

On ‎5‎/‎20‎/‎2019 at 7:01 PM, illdoc said:

How about Benson goes in with Finn (or Rollins or Carisi) and one of the regulars says "Hi Olivia" and Finns just gives Benson a look like "something you want to tell me?" (turns out, of course, that it's just the mother of one of Noah's playmates).

That would have been excellent. Or we could have the bartender go 'Oh, look, tourists' or Benson remark 'We should have guessed by the line for the bathroom'.