Written By Robert Brooks Cohen
Directed By Michael Pressman
An intoxicated woman is attacked in the courtyard outside of her apartment building and the SVU team discovers that there are multiple witnesses (in excess of forty) who witnessed various parts of the attack but didn't call for help. While the woman struggles to remember what happened to her, Benson and Barba must deal with the unreliability of those witnesses in making an ID of the attackers or indeed even testifying. The case only catches a break when Carisi is able to convince an unassuming witness with a supposed photographic memory to step forward.
Tropes
- Addled Addict: both the victim and the surprise witness, who met her in AA and who shows up to court drunk. He didn't call 911 in part because of his shame over his relapse into drinking (he relapsed after watching the assault after five years of sobriety).
- Artistic License – Law: Barba puts the surprise witness on the stand knowing he is intoxicated (and the judge allows it).
- Asshole Victim: this is Rollins' assessment of the victim, she goes on a long rant about how there's no such thing as a perfect victim but this one is unacceptably irresponsible because women with kids mustn't go out and use drugs.Rollins, after the conviction: What, you think she's going to change her life, I don't, I think she'll be drinking again by Friday night.
- Bookends: Early in the episode Rollins goes on a rant about how mothers who get intoxicated are unacceptable (referring to the rape victim). The episode ends with Benson, sitting alone, looking at a photo of Noah while drinking wine.
- Bystander Syndrome: Not only were the neighbors unwilling to help the rape victim, they're also unwilling to even testify. Also, when Carisi was pursuing one of the perps, people were just watching him without helping. But once Carisi catches the perp, the bystanders were all too eager to flip open their phones and shoot video of the arrest.
- Heel–Face Door-Slam:
- After the surprise witness testimony the youngest perp's lawyer says he wants to testify against the others and should get lenience because he was "a bystander". Barba blows him off.
- The surprise witness goes to the victim, after his testimony, to apologize for not calling 911. She no-sells his apology.
- Photographic Memory: The surprise star witness has one.
