Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

I couldn't find a thread for SVU so I decided to just make one. This is for general SVU conversations and any related topic is welcome.

I'm not really sure how to start this off, so I'll just ask a question.

Did anyone find the episode "Behave" to be a bit confusing? The ending seemed to be a big issue on the headscratchers page and I actually had to watch it for a second time before everything 'clicked.' I think this might have to do with how the ending was handled. Within the last few minutes of the episode, Olivia gets the rapist on kidnapping charges and that made total sense the second time I watched. But the first time, the whole kidnapping thing seemed to come out of nowhere*

and it left me with a "wait...what?" reaction.

"With hard work and dedication, I will become a splendid ninja!"

Here's to getting this thread going!

I can't really think of anything to talk about, other than this episode that really stuck with me because of how annoying I found it.

It's the one where Stabler goes undercover in what is basically AA for rapists. Stabler is convinced that some guy can't be rehabilitated and decides to join RA and prove it... by intentionally pushing him to break every rule the program puts in place to keep him from relapsing.

The first big rule was that members of RA don't talk to each other. Of course, Stabler goes to his apartment and doesn't leave when the guy tells him to. The guy relents and agrees to hang out with Stabler, who eventually gets a 'pedo van' (seriously) and drives the guy by a high school. Throughout the episode the guy seems unsure of himself and makes comments of the 'we shouldn't be here/doing this' sort. And Stabler, sure that he'll rape again, keeps pushing the guy. Towards the end of the episode he kidnaps a girl, who Stabler saves.

What really bothered me about this episode wasn't that it questioned the idea of rehabilitation— it was that Stabler never gave it a chance to work in the first place. Every. Single. Rule. ...was intentionally broken in Stabler's plan. I mean, that was his plan. It's like if Stabler met an alcoholic in AA and tried to prove he'd never quit drinking by telling him how great alcohol is, leaving bottles outside his door, and driving him by a bar. ...Then shouting "I told you so!!!1!1" when he relapses. Well, no shit.

So, any thoughts on this episode?

And another conversation starter: What are your favorite episodes? I really liked the arc with Fin's nephew Darius (S7 "Venom", S8 "Screwed").

edited 17th Feb '14 2:56:53 PM by RockLeeYourFace

"With hard work and dedication, I will become a splendid ninja!"

Stabler, you fucking jackass.

What, did he come back to the show for something?

I don't have any favorite episodes off the top of my head. I love Casey Novak, Fin, Munch, Huang, Melinda Warner, and a great many of the recurring characters. I like Captain Cragen, Fin's new partner, Benson and (in)Stabler. Other characters have to grow on me.

The show is changing... Novak and Cabot aren't there, Stabler's gone, Munch is gone, Huang is gone, and it seems Cragen is the next to go? Honestly, after Stabler left, I'd have loved it to be the Fin and Munch show, or to use more of the recurring characters. But no, they killed off Sister Peg in the dumbest way possible.

The sad, REAL American dichotomy

The Fin & Munch Show would've been awesome. They were so underused.

edited 18th Feb '14 1:34:08 PM by RockLeeYourFace

"With hard work and dedication, I will become a splendid ninja!"

Fin and Munch were great .... 15 years ago. Last I checked, they were ghosts of their old selves.

Not that I watch it, but Criminal Minds has all the draw of SVU along with a modern look and feel. From what I hear, Dick Wolf's not the type to fix what ain't broke. And his salary is in the tens of millions, so this is just a pension for him.

I'm a skeptical squirrel

Watching the Jeremy Irons episode. It is automatically made better with his presence.

"If you aren't him, then you apparently got your brain from the same discount retailer, so..." - Fighteer

... Huh, I had no idea this was still airing new episodes.

Jeremy Irons would've made a great replacement for BD Wong, if the Huang character ever gracefully left the show.

The sad, REAL American dichotomy

The Fin and Rollins show is pretty damn good, though. I'd be cool with them getting a buddy cop spinoff just so I could wash my hands of SVU.

Except for taking her job too personally (just like everyone else, of course), I'm starting to like Benson a bit more (I never disliked her). Full disclosure, it helps that I'm finding her more attractive than before.

I've finally seen two of the three episodes of that whole Escort Service Trilogy. I still need to see the last one. USA aired a different episode (the 300th, which made me realize Benson got hot) instead.

The sad, REAL American dichotomy

Back to the Stabler in RA point . . . entrapment isn't legal, but it's a fairly common plot in shows like this.It's supposed to show cops driving past the little moral line.

What really got me about that episode was that it seemed like, had Stabler not insisted on engaging him, the guy could've led a relatively normal and uneventful life, and no one else would've ever been put in danger because of him.

His decision to kidnap a girl at the end of the episode was a direct result of Stabler's influence, yet Stabler didn't seem to consider himself responsible to any degree for what happened to that girl.

"With hard work and dedication, I will become a splendid ninja!"

Currently watching the episode where Fin finds out his son is gay. It took them faaaar to long to notice that the connection was AIDS.

I like seeing several recurring characters, though. The lab tech that got killed by Dale Stuckey, and the female tech whose name I haven't seen before. Olivia posing as a hooker and soliciting Cragen near a gay bar was hilarious.

It would be interesting to see Fin's son Ken brought on as a computer technician.

---

"Anchor" came on. Man, maybe it's the being in law school talking, but Alex is a terrible lawyer.

---

After that, it was the episode "Poisoned Motive". Never saw Fin lose it like that. That was interesting.

edited 16th Mar '14 7:28:09 PM by wanderlustwarrior

The sad, REAL American dichotomy

edited 9th Oct '14 12:35:18 PM by hillbilly

John Mulaney likes SVU.

And vanilla LO.

Anyway, one episode that annoyed me was one where gigolos were being killed be their madam... they managed to convince one to wear a wire when he was meeting with her. A bold choice considering they were in a sexual relationship, but okay. And then... they hear her find the wire. So they mobilize. Alright, solid choice. Probably should've seen that coming, but at least you're doing something.

... then they wait outside the apartment until they hear him scream in pain. Seriously, guys?

edited 9th Oct '14 1:02:51 PM by Larkmarn

Found a Youtube Channel with political stances you want to share? Hop on over to this page and add them.

If you just want the "Law and Order" portion you can watch the beginning and then skip to 14:08 but you'd get the joke at the end if you watch the whole thing. I don't know who everybody is but I recognize the man from IAB in Special Victims Unit and of course Benson in the beginning.

edited 9th Oct '14 4:19:15 PM by lexicon

Marathon on again. There's so many minor characters the show has lost that I came to like just before their last episodes (and often pointless deaths). Sister Peg, O'Halloran, and others. On that note, the guy from IAB is Lt. Ed Tucker. I like the dynamic he and IAB have with SVU.

I really like Barba. Of course I like Casey more (because yum), but from a law student perspective, he's one of the few characters on the show who isn't laughably bad at their job. Also, he's entertaining.

edited 26th Nov '14 5:07:53 PM by wanderlustwarrior

The sad, REAL American dichotomy