Written By Allison Intrieri
Directed By Yelena Lanskaya and David Platt
A high school student is found dead at a binge party hosted in the house of a vacationing couple, and the mother of one of the partygoers is arrested for supplying the booze and is later revealed to have been sleeping with one of her daughter's classmates.
Manhattan SVU is called in when a young teenager named Melanie Tamkin is found dead due to alcohol poisoning. This leads Stabler and Benson to discover the world of underage drinking and high school binge parties. After arresting four students, Jordan Owens, Reagan Michaels, Matt Schroeffel and Luke Young, and having them tried for Criminal Negligent Homicide and Criminal Trespass. Judge Donnelly clears them of the former crime but has them convicted of the later. However, she goes easy on them with their punishment, but warns them to not consume any alcohol from this point onward unless in under parental supervision. They are arrested again later for violating court order, but Donnelly again goes easy on them when they act like they are sorry for disobeying her and apologize, and when Cabot and Stabler try to tell her it was a bad idea, Donnelly is unconvinced to change her mind. However, some time later, Stabler shows Donnelly a viral video of the three teens they posted, showing them drunk on their butts, and even going so far in their drunken stupor to insult Donnelly as well, calling her a witch. Needless to say, a furious Donnelly immediately orders the three brought back into her courtroom in irons to give them a good dressing down of their disobedience.
After Jordan is caught making love with Becca Rice's mom Lillian, the three are brought to the precinct, but angrily demand their parents, only to learn that their parents are not on their side this time for disobeying a judge's court order. In Donnelly's courtroom, she gives Luke, Jordan, Matt and Reagan the Riot Act for their disobedience and disrespect of her authority. Not only does she find them in contempt of court and facing time in Juvenile Hall, she also shows just how big a grave they dug for themselves by announcing that their principal, with Donnelly's support, has suspended them with academic probation from any and all extracurricular activities until further notice, including athletics and prom. Faced with the cold, hard truth and punishment for their actions, Reagan pleads with Donnelly for forgiveness, but the judge makes her ultimatum clear: Stay sober until their next court date, and their records will be expunged, and makes certain of that with daily tests to make sure there is no alcohol in their systems until then. Outside the courtroom, Stabler confronts Jordan with being a tattletale to avoid a heavier sentence compared to Luke, Matt, or Reagan with confessing to where they got the alcohol, but while Jordan does agree to confess, he then tells Stabler off, angry at how Stabler ruined his life with the criminal record he now has.
That night, Stabler is awoken by a phone call from Benson and the SVU team: Jordan and Reagan have died in a car accident. Jordan was driving, and his blood alcohol level was well over the legal limit according to Dr. Warner. Reagan was still sober and was getting a ride home to study, so she was just an innocent victim. At the memorial service at the school, Stabler is allowed a chance to say a few words to the students over not helping Jordan and Reagan with their alcohol problem and telling them off for their failure to prevent Jordan and Reagan's deaths, and moved by it, Luke confesses that Becca and Lillian supplied the booze, as the water Becca drinks is laced with vodka...
During the trial that follows to try Lillian for what happened, with Donnelly overseeing it, when Dr. Warner shows the damage Becca's organs, especially her liver and brain, have sustained from the alcohol, Lillian finally crumbles and accepts a guilty plea to pay for her crimes. She faces five years for negligent homicide regarding Melanie, Jordan, and Reagan, and Becca is put in rehab to recover from the damage the alcohol did to her body.
This episode contains examples of the following:
- Alcohol-Induced Idiocy: Basically the plot of the entire episode.
- Alpha Bitch: Reagan Michaels fills the "mean and irresponsible popular girl" trope, but she's One of the Boys rather than leading a Girl Posse.
- An Aesop: When you are a parent, teaching your child to make good decisions, as well as having them face consequences for their actions, is more important than being the "cool parent" who (for example) lets their child drink alcohol while underage. No matter how much you love your child, their health and safety has to come first.
- And Starring: Judith Light in the guest stars lineup.
- Bullying a Dragon: Jordan Owens and his friends post a video of their Wild Teen Party online mocking Judge Elizabeth Donnelly — who let them off easy for doing the same. Three guesses what happens to them."Up my butt?" Haul their asses in.
- Call-Back: Elliot using his pull to whitewash Kathleen's drunk driving arrest during Season 6 is brought up a few times in the episode.
- Chekhov's Gun: Becca is always seen with a water bottle. Near the end of the episode, one of her classmates confesses to the police that Becca is an alcoholic and that the "water" in her bottle is actually vodka.
- Childhood Brain Damage: Melinda Warner reveals that Becca's alcohol abuse has damaged her brain, giving her memory loss and impaired cognitive functions.
- Expelled from Every Other School: At the trial, the prosecution brings up incidents from Becca's past to paint her as a chronic liar, revealing that she was kicked out of her previous school for stealing from a bake sale (and blaming another student) and a summer camp for lying about smoking in the woods when a fire broke out.
- Fan Disservice: The scene where Lilian pointing out to Elliot that her daughter is Beautiful All Along comes off as if she's pimping her out to him. Becca and Elliot's uncomfortable reactions lampshade this.
- Glamorous Single Mother: A deconstruction of one. Becca's mom Lillian is a beautiful woman (especially for her age), lives in a nice fancy house, and is the "cool mom" who not only lets her daughter's friends drink alcohol, but provides them with it. She's also sleeping with Jordan, provided the booze for the party where the Victim of the Week died, and her allowing Becca to drink starting from her 12th birthday has given her liver and brain damage.
- Heel–Face Door-Slam: Reagan was actually taking the warnings and punishments to heart, and stopped drinking to resume studying. Unfortunately, she got in a car with a drunk Jordan.
- Hollywood Law:
- Lillian Rice's attorney says Becca having a .06 blood alcohol level is within the legal limits. It's illegal for minors to have a blood alcohol level past .02.
- During Dr. Warner's testimony Lillian has an emotional breakdown and admits her guilt. Casey then begins to question her instead of Warner who's still on the witness stand. In a real court, the judge would've never allowed that.
- I Just Want to Have Friends: Becca never had any friends until one day she threw a party and her mother started giving out alcohol.
- I Take Offense to That Last One:Reagan: Shut up, you dirty old man!
Munch: Who're you calling old? - Inspector Javert: While Stabler and Benson aren't normally known for having a healthy sense of perspective, they don't usually get fixated on crimes this petty.
- The teenagers threw a party in a stranger's home without permission while the owners were on vacation and made alcohol available to their fellow teenagers. But because the victim who died (by accidentally choking on her own vomit) vaguely resembled Stabler's daughter, he was determined to get the kids thrown in jail for anything and everything he could get them on.
- Benson detained and interrogated Lilian just because she thought the boy Lilian was sleeping with wasn't above the age of consent enough.
- Ironic Episode Title: The episode deals with irresponsible people prone to Alcohol-Induced Idiocy.
- Likes Older Women: Jordan Owens is sleeping with Lilian Rice, his friend Becca's mother.
- Mrs. Robinson: Lilian Rice sleeps with Jordan Owens, who is her daughter's classmate and crush.
- Ms. Fanservice: Lilian Rice wears revealing clothes, seduces Elliot, and has a sex scene with Jordan Owens.
- Murder by Inaction: How the parents of the Victim of the Week feels towards the other attendants of the Wild Teen Party where their daughter died, calling them out for doing anything out of fear of getting in trouble.
- Outliving One's Offspring: The Victim of the Week's parents had no idea she was out drinking and partying until they get the news that she was found dead in a random stranger's home.
- Ridiculous Counter-Request: Luke Young and John Munch have the following exchange after Luke is arrested and put in jail:Luke Young: You can't do this to me. I want my parents!
John Munch: Yeah, and I want the troops home, the Kyoto Protocol signed, and a Tijuana oil job from Miss February. - Sibling Triangle: A mother and daughter variant between Lilian and Becca Rice regarding Jordan Owens. Becca has a crush on him, while he and Lilian have a sexual relationship.
- Speak Ill of the Dead: Downplayed. During Jordan Owens and Reagan Michaels' funeral, Elliot makes a brutally honest "eulogy" about how the two deceased were drunks, but it's mostly in service of giving everyone else a "The Reason You Suck" Speech on how they did nothing to help them.
- Teen Pregnancy: Lilian had Becca in her late teens.
- There Should Be a Law: Lillian admits she was having sex with Jordan and comments that since he's 17 it's not illegal. Benson says it should be.
- Too Dumb to Live: Really, these teenagers mostly have little in the way of common sense (aside from being teenagers, their copious amount of drinking lowers their already limited amount of inhibitions, and their youth can't handle the amount of alcohol that they consume). Even after seeing their friend die of alcohol poisoning and getting in trouble for being criminally responsible, they still drink regularly. This ultimately leads to two of them being killed due to one driving drunk and the other getting in the car with him, despite knowing he was intoxicated.
- Tragic Mistake: Near the end of the episode, Reagan actually does try to stay sober and go to the library to study instead of drinking. Her final mistake is getting a ride from a drunk Jordan, and both of them die in a car accident.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Jordan Owens and his friends post a video of their Wild Teen Party online mocking Elizabeth Donnelly, who let them off easy for doing the same.
- Very Special Episode: While the show never shied on hammering its messages, this particular episode ends with a reminder about the dangers of alcohol, especially for young people.
- Wacky Parent, Serious Child: Deconstructed. The contrast between Lilian's free-spirited attitude and Becca's uptight personality is presented negatively and being harmful to their relationship.
- Wild Teen Party: The suspects are fond of doing these.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Becca was sent to rehab, but rehab never lasts more than a few months. What's going to happen to her once she leaves, considering her single mother is now in prison?
