Written By Julie Martin and Warren Leight
Directed By Arthur W. Forney
Transgender teenager Avery Parker is hospitalized for injuries inflicted after three boys bullied and then pushed her off a walking bridge. Although Avery shows forgiveness to the boys, ruthless ADA Kenneth O'Dwyer (Robert Sean Leonard) takes the case out of family court and decides to try one of the offenders (15 year old Darius McCrae) on adult charges. Detective Tutuola and the SVU squad are conflicted on whether the crime fits the charges, while dealing with the delicacy of the families involved. Avery's death from her injuries only compounds the issue...
Tropes
- Apology Gift: Darius, an artist, draws a comic for Avery, depicting the two of them, with him apologizing for hurting her and saying he wishes he could take it back and that he hopes Avery gets well soon. Tragically, she doesn't.
- Bittersweet Ending: With emphasis on the bitter. Avery eventually succumbs to her injuries from the fall, and Darius is found guilty and sentenced for his role. The Parkers lost their child, and Mrs. McCrae has effectively lost hers for the foreseeable future. There are no winners here. The only silver lining is that Darius got a chance to apologize to Avery, who clearly appreciated the gesture.
- Innocently Insensitive: Sonny doesn't understand being trans, but isn't discriminatory or rude to Avery in any way, and only admits his uncertainty to Amanda in private.Sonny: You know, my parents, they think this is all about getting attention.
Amanda: Uh-huh. You were a 14-year-old boy once. And would you or any other boy you knew put on a skirt if it didn't come from a really real place?
Sonny [chuckles] No, not a chance. - Karma Houdini: Downplayed. Despite being involved with Avery's bullying, Markus and Keon are basically given slaps on the wrist because they didn't actually push Avery off the bridge, getting probation and community service while Darius gets seven-to-ten years in prison. This is justified by the fact that, unlike with Darius, their cases were settled in family court, and the DA's Office only wanted to make an example out of Darius, so they weren't tried as adults. Had they been tried as adults like Darius, they more than likely would have been charged with Accessory to Murder.
- Make an Example of Them: After Avery dies, the District Attorney's Office decides to take over the case and charge Darius with Second Degree Manslaughter and try him as an adult, despite the fact Avery's parents don't want to press charges. ADA O'Dwyer explains that the DA's Office wants to take a stand against the string of hate crimes against Transgender teens that have been on the rise, using Darius as an example that these types of crimes will not be taken lightly, and are not interested in waiting for a more malicious offender to kill someone when Darius is readily available. As a result, Darius is sentenced to seven-to-ten years, spending the rest of his childhood in a Juvenile Corrections Facility before spending the rest of his sentence in prison.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Darius is clearly remorseful for having pushed Avery over the bridge, in complete contrast to his friends who think it's all a joke.
- Oh, Crap!: The reaction of the bullies when Avery, the transgender kid they were bullying, fell off the bridge as a result of their altercation.
- Realpolitik: It's made abundantly clear that the District Attorney's Office decision to charge Darius as an adult has less to do with his accidentally killing Avery, and more about "sending a message" to the people of Manhattan and the politics behind it. Despite Avery's parents not wanting him to be tried as an adult, multiple people pointing out how he's Just a Kid, and even Barba agreeing that Darius should be tried in family court, ADA O'Dwyer makes clear that Darius is being charged so that people are made aware that Transgender hate crimes will not be tolerated, and neither he nor the DA's Office are in the interest of waiting for a less sympathetic person to use to make that message clear.
- The Scapegoat: Since Darius was the one who actually pushed Avery off the bridge, he's the one the District Attorney's Office wants to charge for Avery's murder. His friends, Markus and Keon, aren't charged however despite being just as involved since they didn't push her off the bridge, the two getting off with probation and community service while Darius is treated as the sole party responsible and made an example of.
- To Be Lawful or Good: Judge Elana Barth is faced with a legal version of this due to presiding over a bench trial for Darius. While she is deeply moved by the multiple character witnesses and testimony in favor of Darius, she ultimately sides with being Lawful, finding that none of what was said in his defense detracts from the fact that Darius did push Avery off the bridge while bullying her for being Transgender, which resulted in the medical complications leading to her death. As he is being tried as an adult, this results in her ruling him guilty on the charges of Manslaughter and committing a hate crime.
- Too Good for This Sinful Earth: Avery Parker is shown to be a truly kind and gentle person, being bullied and accidentally pushed off a bridge just for being transgender. Despite all that Darius did to her, she still is willing to forgive him for his actions after seeing his handwritten apology card, only to tragically die from medical complications brought upon by the fall. Her compassionate heart and willingness to forgive is what allows her parents to argue against charging Darius as an adult, and even convinces her father to testify on his behalf, as they know that Avery wouldn't want him to suffer for her death.
