Line #19 Recap/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnitS11E22Ace


1	Written By Creator/JonathanGreene
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3	Directed by Creator/DavidPlatt
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5	A pregnant rape victim flees the hospital before she can be questioned, and further investigation reveals the woman is connected with an illegal adoption ring. Benson and Stabler go undercover to flush out the suspects.
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8	!!This episode provides examples of:
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10	* AndStarring: "SpecialGuest Star Creator/SharonStone" plus the regular guest-stars lineup ending "With Creator/KateNelligan, Creator/KevinCorrigan and Creator/PashaDLychnikoff".
11	* BatmanGambit: D.A. Marlowe shows the team footage of one of the cases' important witness and evidence being destroyed by a car bomb. So the team focuses on a crooked doctor who goes on to torpedo the entire case against a mafioso after claiming his attorney is in cahoots with the suspect. Turns out, the Feds found the bomb and orchestrated the ruse to appear the witness was killed while Marlowe has everyone else focus elsewhere on the case. The ruse also manages to deceive the mafioso as he is unable to intimidate the witness, as her parents were brought to the USA to prevent his associates from killing them in revenge.
12	* BigDamnHeroes: Captain Cragen, Fin, and some members of TheSquad track down Anton Petrov's den and save Sophia Zarov from being killed.
13	* BoomHeadshot: How Anton Petrov killed Lili Denkova. Sophia Zarov nearly met the same fate until Cragen shoots her executioner moments before pulling the trigger.
14	* ChekhovMIA: Sophia Zarov is the VictimOfTheWeek, but she spends most of the episode captured by Anton Petrov's men and later FakingTheDead with the FBI and Marlowe to catch him.
15	* CowboyCop: Jo left the police force years ago after an incident in which she cavalierly risked the lives of undercover officers by blowing their cover; in the present day she insists on an undercover meet between Stabler, Benson, and the BigBad which Cragen thinks is too risky. In the end, Stabler and Benson are offended because Jo was stringing them on throughout the episode. Jo remains unrepentant throughout and walks away at the end with a smug smile.
16	* ADayInTheLimelight: The episode mostly centers around Jo.
17	* DirtyCop: Anton Petrov was a member of the Bulgarian police force until he was caught with his trafficking business and went full-time criminal in the States.
18	* DiscOneFinalBoss: The SerialRapist who targets pregnant women including the VictimOfTheWeek gets caught a quarter into the episode.
19	* EarnYourHappyEnding: The episode concludes with Anton Petrov going to prison for the rest of his life, Sophia Zarov reclaiming her baby, and having her and her parents process their naturalization (her baby was born in the U.S. and thus a citizen).
20	* EventTitle: Jo makes a TitleDrop that Sophia Zarov (FakingTheDead with the FBI) is her "ace in the hole".
21	* FakingTheDead: When the {{FBI agent}}s who were guarding Sophia Zarov sees Anton Petrov's planted bomb on their transport vehicle, they decided to [[XanatosSpeedChess play into Petrov's plans]].
22	* FemalesAreMoreInnocent: Petrov seems to believe that, since he pats down Elliot but not Olivia when they meet to "buy" Sofia's baby from him.
23	* GuileHero: Jo Marlowe plays along with the FBI's XanatosSpeedChess against Anton Petrov and has Elliot and Olivia LockedOutOfTheLoop until TheReveal.
24	* HalfwayPlotSwitch: The episode begins with Sophia Zarov being the victim of a serial rapist, then switches to protecting her and her child from a child trafficking ring.
25	* TheIllegal: The child trafficking ring of Anton Petrov's M.O.--they bring pregnant women from Bulgaria to sell their babies once they give birth.
26	* {{Irony}}: Fin accuses the immigration office employee of racism for suggesting that Sophia shouldn't have been issued a visa while pregnant (as the child automatically gets citizenship if born in the U.S.). Ironically, Sophia and the immigration employee are both white (Sophia being Bulgarian).[[note]]Although what Fin was probably trying to get at is that the particular variety of anti-immigrant sentiment the employee was expressing ''does'' tie in with racist ideology, even if race isn't at issue in this particular situation. [[/note]]
27	* KarmaHoudini: Defense attorney Buchanan is not charged for his role in the murder conspiracy, nor is the issue handwaved away or even discussed. In fact, he remains a recurring SVU character in good standing.
28	* KilledOffscreen: Lili Denkova was executed by Anton Petrov [[WeHardlyKnewYe after her introduction]]. {{Subverted\|Trope}} by Sophia Zarov who is revealed to be FakingTheDead.
29	* LawOfInverseFertility: Customers of the child trafficking ring are mostly childless couples who are unable to legally adopt. Elliot and Olivia disguise themselves as the couple featured in the episode.
30	* LeeroyJenkins: Turns out the real reason Jo left the police force was she compromised two of her officers in an undercover mission back in 1995 to catch a drive-by mass murderer.
31	* LockedOutOfTheLoop: Jo knew of Sophia and the FBI's FakingTheDead to beat Petrov in a XanatosSpeedChess but didn't tell the main characters until after TheReveal.
32	* MinorCrimeRevealsMajorPlot: The rape of a pregnant woman leads to the discovery of a baby trafficking operation led by a Bulgarian mobster.
33	* ObviouslyEvil: Anton Petrov, a CardCarryingVillain who is a SmugSmiler.
34	* PottyEmergency: Jo secures her highly improper ex parte meeting with the judge when the latter ditches the male defense attorney because she desperately needs to pee.
35	* RapeAsDrama: The episode's first act is catching a SerialRapist who targets pregnant women.
36	* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: The prosecutor, judge and an unaffiliated defense attorney concoct a scheme to undermine one defendant's relationship with his legal counsel in order to secure a conviction against the other defendant; this scheme includes inducing the first defendant to lie under oath.
37	* ShipTease: Elliot and Olivia are UndercoverAsLovers for much of the third quarter of the episode.
38	* SmugSnake: Anton Petrov is [[SmugSmiler all smirk]] until he sees that Sophia is alive.
39	* UndercoverAsLovers: Elliot and Olivia pretended to be a HappilyMarried couple to catch baby trafficker Anton Petrov.
40	* VillainousBreakdown: When Sophia Zarov reveals herself to be FakingTheDead, Anton Petrov loses it.
41	* WhamShot: TheReveal that Sophia Zarov is only FakingTheDead.
42	* WoobieOfTheWeek: Unlike many other adult victims on the show (who have a range of character flaws and occasionally turn out to actually be the perpetrator), Sophia mostly exists to elicit sympathy.
43	* XanatosSpeedChess: Upon realizing that Anton Petrov has frighteningly unknown connections after finding his planted bomb, the FBI decides to fake the deaths of Sophia Zarov and her assigned guardians until the perfect opportunity to screw him presents itself.
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Context Recap / LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnitS11E22Ace