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* BelievingTheirOwnLies: Stabler tells Rook "I don't abuse my authority." He seems sincere, even though it's demonstrably untrue.



* FreudianExcuse: The reason behind Merritt's anti-authoritarian zealotry: [[spoiler: his wife and child died while she was giving birth, a result of her doctor ignoring Merritt's insistence that he do a C-section and Merritt not challenging his authority]].

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* FreudianExcuse: The reason behind Merritt's anti-authoritarian zealotry: [[spoiler: his wife and child died while she was giving birth, a result of her doctor ignoring Merritt's insistence that he do a C-section and Merritt not challenging his authority]].authority. And, while losing his family is what caused Rook's current criminal behavior, his contempt for authority started when he was a child and witnessed a group of teenage boys rape a girl, but the cops didn't believe him because the ring leader was the sheriff's son]].
* HypocriticalHumor: Rook's fans loudly proclaiming that they aren't sheep and won't be obedient, all while doing the exact same thing at the direction of their leader.
* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: The sheriff's son who Rook saw raping a girl as a teenager is serving life in prison for an unrelated crime.
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* AffablyEvil: Despite being an anti-authoritarian vigilante, Merritt remains polite and friendly to the SVU detectives and to Casey during court. Being played by [[Creator/Robin Williams]] makes this believable.

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* AffablyEvil: Despite being an anti-authoritarian vigilante, Merritt remains polite and friendly to the SVU detectives and to Casey during court. Being played by [[Creator/Robin Williams]] [[Creator/RobinWilliams]] makes this believable.
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* AffablyEvil: Despite being an anti-authoritarian vigilante, Merritt remains polite and friendly to the SVU detectives and to Casey during court. Being played by Robin Williams makes this trope believable.

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* AffablyEvil: Despite being an anti-authoritarian vigilante, Merritt remains polite and friendly to the SVU detectives and to Casey during court. Being played by Robin Williams [[Creator/Robin Williams]] makes this trope believable.
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* AffablyEvil: Despite being an anti-authoritarian vigilante, Merritt remains polite and friendly to the SVU detectives and to Casey during court.

to:

* AffablyEvil: Despite being an anti-authoritarian vigilante, Merritt remains polite and friendly to the SVU detectives and to Casey during court. Being played by Robin Williams makes this trope believable.
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* MindRape: (Of the "mundane kind", of course): [[Creator/RobinWilliams Merritt Rook]]]] puts Elliot and Olivia through this once. [[ShutUpHannibal It fails]].

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* MindRape: (Of the "mundane kind", of course): [[Creator/RobinWilliams Merritt Rook]]]] Rook]] puts Elliot and Olivia through this once. [[ShutUpHannibal It fails]].
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[This description was copied in violation of our Administrivia/{{Plagiarism}} policy. Please replace it with original writing.]

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[This description was copied in violation of our Administrivia/{{Plagiarism}} policy. Please replace it with original writing.]A formerly law-abiding audio engineer (Creator/RobinWilliams) challenges authority and urges others to follow his example after his life takes a turn for the worse.
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Description was copied in violation of the Plagiarism policy.


A telephone voice impersonating a police officer asks a fast food restaurant manager to strip search and tie up an employee (Creator/MonicaRaymund). SVU detectives learn that this plan was orchestrated by an engineer, Merritt Rook (Creator/RobinWilliams), in order to convince the public to be more discerning and oppose authority. After he is found not guilty, Rook gains much media attention and seizes an opportunity to abduct Olivia Benson. With the help of Rook's co-worker (Creator/KaLingCheung), Elliot is able to learn about the man's tragic past and track him down. In an apparent hostage situation, Rook tries to make Elliot inflict pain on Benson by way of a Milgram experiment.

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A telephone voice impersonating a police officer asks a fast food restaurant manager to strip search and tie up an employee (Creator/MonicaRaymund). SVU detectives learn that this plan [This description was orchestrated by an engineer, Merritt Rook (Creator/RobinWilliams), copied in order to convince the public to be more discerning and oppose authority. After he is found not guilty, Rook gains much media attention and seizes an opportunity to abduct Olivia Benson. With the help violation of Rook's co-worker (Creator/KaLingCheung), Elliot is able to learn about the man's tragic past and track him down. In an apparent hostage situation, Rook tries to make Elliot inflict pain on Benson by way of a Milgram experiment.
our Administrivia/{{Plagiarism}} policy. Please replace it with original writing.]
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* TheAnticipator: When Elliot arrives in Merrit's lair to rescue Olivia, Merrit is on a chair and congratulates Elliot for finding him quickly. He then escalates to CrazyPrepared during his daring escape by blowing up his lair as a distraction.

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* TheAnticipator: When Elliot arrives in Merrit's Merritt's lair to rescue Olivia, Merrit Merritt is on a chair and congratulates Elliot for finding him quickly. He then escalates to CrazyPrepared during his daring escape by blowing up his lair as a distraction.



* BavarianFireDrill: The scam that Merrit pulled at the Happy Burger place.

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* AmbiguousEnding: [[spoiler: Did Merritt really commit suicide by jumping into the lake while handcuffed? Or did he flee, with Benson and Stabler deciding to presume he was dead out of sympathy?]]
* BavarianFireDrill: The scam that Merrit Merritt pulled at the Happy Burger place.



* EnhanceButton: Deconstructed, Merritt acts as his own defense attorney and questions the techie on the software used to enhance a photograph that showed him leaving a library, which was the key piece of evidence against him. He coaxed the techie into admitting that the software can only make educated guesses based on various factors of the picture itself and can't actually recreate the scene shown the photograph in higher resolutions. Merritt then presented the original photograph, where his face is too shadowed to be seen. It works and the jury lets him go.

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* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: The doctor who tended to Merritt Rook's wife later died in a car crash. While it was initially ruled a result of brake failure and believed by one of his nurses to have been a drunk driving accident, Benson and Stabler learn that Merritt psychologically tortured the doctor into killing himself as revenge for him being indirectly responsible for his wife and child's deaths]].
** [[spoiler: This also appears to be Merritt's fate in the end, if we're to believe he really did jump into the lake handcuffed after fleeing from Benson and Stabler's capture]].
* EnhanceButton: Deconstructed, Deconstructed. Merritt acts as his own defense attorney and questions the techie on the software used to enhance a photograph that showed him leaving a library, which was the key piece of evidence against him. He coaxed the techie into admitting that the software can only make educated guesses based on various factors of the picture itself and can't actually recreate the scene shown the photograph in higher resolutions. Merritt then presented the original photograph, where his face is too shadowed to be seen. It works and the jury lets him go.



* MindRape: (Of the "mundane kind", of course): [[Creator/RobinWilliams Merrit Rook]]]] puts Elliot and Olivia through this once. [[ShutUpHannibal It fails]].
* ObfuscatingStupidity: Merrit comes off as this during the arraignment where he represents himself and doesn't argue against the bail request of $250,000. But during his trial and later abduction of Olivia, he shows just how dangerously manipulative and intelligent he is.

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* FreudianExcuse: The reason behind Merritt's anti-authoritarian zealotry: [[spoiler: his wife and child died while she was giving birth, a result of her doctor ignoring Merritt's insistence that he do a C-section and Merritt not challenging his authority]].
* MindRape: (Of the "mundane kind", of course): [[Creator/RobinWilliams Merrit Merritt Rook]]]] puts Elliot and Olivia through this once. [[ShutUpHannibal It fails]].
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: The fast food manager is stunned to learn that the "NYPD detective" who instructed him to strip search and tie up a young female employee was a fraud. He can seen visibly crying as he's put in the holding cell.
* ObfuscatingStupidity: Merrit Merritt comes off as this during the arraignment where he represents himself and doesn't argue against the bail request of $250,000. But during his trial and later abduction of Olivia, he shows just how dangerously manipulative and intelligent he is.



* SecretTestOfCharacter: Merrit tried to force Elliot to inflict pain on Olivia but Elliot didn't budge. Turns out he was merely testing him.

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* SecretTestOfCharacter: Merrit Merritt tried to force Elliot to inflict pain on Olivia but Elliot didn't budge. Turns out he was merely testing him.him and Olivia was never in any harm.
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* SequelHook: The episode ends with Rook escaping and appearing to evade capture. The only obvious escape route - the river - probably would have been fatal since he was handcuffed and wouldn't be able to swim, but the door was clearly left open for him to make a return appearance. He never did, sadly, before Williams died in 2014.
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* AffablyEvil: Despite being an anti-authoritarian vigilante, Merritt remains polite and friendly to the SVU detectives and to Casey during court. It is shown in the end he had no intention of electrocuting Olivia during the Milgram experiment and he complements Elliot for resisting his orders to inflict pain on Olivia for “being a man” and not a sheep like Merrit was.

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* AffablyEvil: Despite being an anti-authoritarian vigilante, Merritt remains polite and friendly to the SVU detectives and to Casey during court. It is shown in the end he had no intention of electrocuting Olivia during the Milgram experiment and he complements Elliot for resisting his orders to inflict pain on Olivia for “being a man” and not a sheep like Merrit was.



* WorthyOpponent: Merritt Rook regards Casey as this when acting as his own defense attorney. For her part, Casey is perplexed and wonders how good he would be if had a law degree.

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* WorthyOpponent: Merritt Rook regards Casey as this when acting as his own defense attorney. For her part, Casey is perplexed by how smart he is and wonders how good he would be if had a law degree.
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* AffablyEvil: Despite being an anti-authoritarian vigilante, Merritt remains polite and friendly to the SVU detectives and to Casey during court. It is shown in the end he had no intention of electrocuting Olivia during the Milgram experiment and he complements Elliot for resisting his orders to inflict pain on Olivia for “being a man” and not a sheep like Merritt was.

to:

* AffablyEvil: Despite being an anti-authoritarian vigilante, Merritt remains polite and friendly to the SVU detectives and to Casey during court. It is shown in the end he had no intention of electrocuting Olivia during the Milgram experiment and he complements Elliot for resisting his orders to inflict pain on Olivia for “being a man” and not a sheep like Merritt Merrit was.
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Recap pages aren't supposed to be spoilered.


* TheAnticipator: When Elliot arrives in [[spoiler: Merrit's lair to rescue Olivia, Merrit]] is on a chair and congratulates Elliot for finding him quickly. He then escalates to CrazyPrepared during his daring escape by [[spoiler: blowing up his lair as a distraction]].
* AffablyEvil: Despite being an anti-authoritarian vigilante, Merritt remains polite and friendly to the SVU detectives and to Casey during court. [[spoiler: It is shown in the end he had no intention of electrocuting Olivia during the Milgram experiment and he complements Elliot for resisting his orders to inflict pain on Olivia for “being a man” and not a sheep like Merritt was.]]

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* TheAnticipator: When Elliot arrives in [[spoiler: Merrit's lair to rescue Olivia, Merrit]] Merrit is on a chair and congratulates Elliot for finding him quickly. He then escalates to CrazyPrepared during his daring escape by [[spoiler: blowing up his lair as a distraction]].
distraction.
* AffablyEvil: Despite being an anti-authoritarian vigilante, Merritt remains polite and friendly to the SVU detectives and to Casey during court. [[spoiler: It is shown in the end he had no intention of electrocuting Olivia during the Milgram experiment and he complements Elliot for resisting his orders to inflict pain on Olivia for “being a man” and not a sheep like Merritt was.]]



* MindRape: (Of the "mundane kind", of course): [[spoiler:[[Creator/RobinWilliams Merrit Rook]]]] puts Elliot and Olivia through this once. [[spoiler:[[ShutUpHannibal It fails]], by the way.]]

to:

* MindRape: (Of the "mundane kind", of course): [[spoiler:[[Creator/RobinWilliams [[Creator/RobinWilliams Merrit Rook]]]] puts Elliot and Olivia through this once. [[spoiler:[[ShutUpHannibal [[ShutUpHannibal It fails]], by the way.]]fails]].
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Added DiffLines:

* TheAnticipator: When Elliot arrives in [[spoiler: Merrit's lair to rescue Olivia, Merrit]] is on a chair and congratulates Elliot for finding him quickly. He then escalates to CrazyPrepared during his daring escape by [[spoiler: blowing up his lair as a distraction]].


Added DiffLines:

* ObfuscatingStupidity: Merrit comes off as this during the arraignment where he represents himself and doesn't argue against the bail request of $250,000. But during his trial and later abduction of Olivia, he shows just how dangerously manipulative and intelligent he is.

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* BavarianFireDrill:

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* BavarianFireDrill:BavarianFireDrill: The scam that Merrit pulled at the Happy Burger place.



* EvilCounterpart: Merritt Rook. As a freedom-loving, anti-authoritarian anarchist whose "noble" goals are actually a cover for more selfish personal motives, he forms a poetic contrast to the SVU crew, whose fascistic tendencies are born out of a genuine, if perhaps misguided, desire for the greater good of the people.

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* EvilCounterpart: Merritt Rook. As a freedom-loving, anti-authoritarian anarchist whose "noble" goals are actually a cover for more selfish personal motives, he forms a poetic contrast to the SVU crew, whose sometimes fascistic tendencies are born out of a genuine, if perhaps misguided, desire for the greater good of the people.


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* RippedFromTheHeadlines: The first half of the episode is based on the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strip_search_phone_call_scam strip search phone call scam]]. The method was the same: a man claiming to be a detective called the restaurant and told the manager that an employee might be a thief. The caller then instructed the manager to force the employee to undress and participate in other humiliating acts. Multiple managers complied, despite never having met the man or asking for his credentials or evidence, who, as it turned out, was not a police officer.
* SecretTestOfCharacter: Merrit tried to force Elliot to inflict pain on Olivia but Elliot didn't budge. Turns out he was merely testing him.

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* AffablyEvil: Merritt Rook

to:

* AffablyEvil: Despite being an anti-authoritarian vigilante, Merritt Rookremains polite and friendly to the SVU detectives and to Casey during court. [[spoiler: It is shown in the end he had no intention of electrocuting Olivia during the Milgram experiment and he complements Elliot for resisting his orders to inflict pain on Olivia for “being a man” and not a sheep like Merritt was.]]



* TakeThat: InUniverse example - Merritt Rook, after winning his case, appears on a morning talk show with a pet sheep named "Elliot."

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* TakeThat: InUniverse example - Merritt Rook, after winning his case, appears on a morning talk show with a pet sheep named "Elliot.""
* WorthyOpponent: Merritt Rook regards Casey as this when acting as his own defense attorney. For her part, Casey is perplexed and wonders how good he would be if had a law degree.
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* MindRape: (Of the "mundane kind", of course): [[spoiler:[[Creator/RobinWilliams Merrit Rook]]]] puts Elliot and Olivia through this once. [[spoiler:[[ShutUpHannibal It fails]], by the way.]]

to:

* MindRape: (Of the "mundane kind", of course): [[spoiler:[[Creator/RobinWilliams Merrit Rook]]]] puts Elliot and Olivia through this once. [[spoiler:[[ShutUpHannibal It fails]], by the way.]]]]
* TakeThat: InUniverse example - Merritt Rook, after winning his case, appears on a morning talk show with a pet sheep named "Elliot."
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* MindRape: (Of the "mundane kind", of course): Merrit Rook puts Elliot and Olivia through this once. [[spoiler:{{ ShutUpHannibal It fails, by the way.}}]]

to:

* MindRape: (Of the "mundane kind", of course): [[spoiler:[[Creator/RobinWilliams Merrit Rook Rook]]]] puts Elliot and Olivia through this once. [[spoiler:{{ ShutUpHannibal [[spoiler:[[ShutUpHannibal It fails, fails]], by the way.}}]]]]
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* MindRape: (Of the "mundane kind", of course): Merrit Rook puts Elliot and Olivia through this once. [[spoiler:[[ ShutUpHannibal It fails, by the way.]]]]

to:

* MindRape: (Of the "mundane kind", of course): Merrit Rook puts Elliot and Olivia through this once. [[spoiler:[[ [[spoiler:{{ ShutUpHannibal It fails, by the way.]]]]}}]]
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* MindRape: (Of the "mundane kind", of course): Merrit Rook puts Elliot and Olivia through this once. [[spoiler: ShutUpHannibal It fails, by the way.]]

to:

* MindRape: (Of the "mundane kind", of course): Merrit Rook puts Elliot and Olivia through this once. [[spoiler: [[spoiler:[[ ShutUpHannibal It fails, by the way.]]]]]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
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* EvilCounterpart: Merritt Rook. As a freedom-loving, anti-authoritarian anarchist whose "noble" goals are actually a cover for more selfish personal motives, he forms a poetic contrast to the SVU crew, whose fascistic tendencies are born out of a genuine, if perhaps misguided, desire for the greater good of the people.

to:

* EvilCounterpart: Merritt Rook. As a freedom-loving, anti-authoritarian anarchist whose "noble" goals are actually a cover for more selfish personal motives, he forms a poetic contrast to the SVU crew, whose fascistic tendencies are born out of a genuine, if perhaps misguided, desire for the greater good of the people.people.
* MindRape: (Of the "mundane kind", of course): Merrit Rook puts Elliot and Olivia through this once. [[spoiler: ShutUpHannibal It fails, by the way.]]
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Added DiffLines:

* AffablyEvil: Merritt Rook
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* EnhanceButton: Deconstructed, Merritt acts as his own defense attorney and questions the techie on the software used to enhance a photograph that showed him leaving a library, which was the key piece of evidence against him. He coaxed the techie into admitting that the software can only make educated guesses based on various factors of the picture itself and can't actually recreate the scene shown the photograph in higher resolutions. Merritt then presented the original photograph, where his face is too shadowed to be seen. It works and the jury lets him go.

to:

* EnhanceButton: Deconstructed, Merritt acts as his own defense attorney and questions the techie on the software used to enhance a photograph that showed him leaving a library, which was the key piece of evidence against him. He coaxed the techie into admitting that the software can only make educated guesses based on various factors of the picture itself and can't actually recreate the scene shown the photograph in higher resolutions. Merritt then presented the original photograph, where his face is too shadowed to be seen. It works and the jury lets him go.go.
* EvilCounterpart: Merritt Rook. As a freedom-loving, anti-authoritarian anarchist whose "noble" goals are actually a cover for more selfish personal motives, he forms a poetic contrast to the SVU crew, whose fascistic tendencies are born out of a genuine, if perhaps misguided, desire for the greater good of the people.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* ChewingTheScenery: [[Creator/RobinWilliams Merritt Rook]], especially during his VillainousBreakdown.

to:

* ChewingTheScenery: [[Creator/RobinWilliams Merritt Rook]], especially during his VillainousBreakdown.VillainousBreakdown.
* EnhanceButton: Deconstructed, Merritt acts as his own defense attorney and questions the techie on the software used to enhance a photograph that showed him leaving a library, which was the key piece of evidence against him. He coaxed the techie into admitting that the software can only make educated guesses based on various factors of the picture itself and can't actually recreate the scene shown the photograph in higher resolutions. Merritt then presented the original photograph, where his face is too shadowed to be seen. It works and the jury lets him go.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* ChewingTheScenery: [[Creator/RobinWilliams Merritt Rook]], especially during his Villainous Breakdown.

to:

* ChewingTheScenery: [[Creator/RobinWilliams Merritt Rook]], especially during his Villainous Breakdown.VillainousBreakdown.
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* ChewingTheScenery:[[Creator/RobinWilliams Merritt Rook]], especially during his Villainous Breakdown.

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* ChewingTheScenery:[[Creator/RobinWilliams ChewingTheScenery: [[Creator/RobinWilliams Merritt Rook]], especially during his Villainous Breakdown.
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* ChewingTheScenery:[Creator/RobinWilliams: MerrittRook] in "Authority", especially during his Villainous Breakdown.

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* ChewingTheScenery:[Creator/RobinWilliams: MerrittRook] in "Authority", ChewingTheScenery:[[Creator/RobinWilliams Merritt Rook]], especially during his Villainous Breakdown.
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* ChewingTheScenery:[Creator/RobinWilliams Merritt Rook] in "Authority", especially during his Villainous Breakdown.

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* ChewingTheScenery:[Creator/RobinWilliams Merritt Rook] ChewingTheScenery:[Creator/RobinWilliams: MerrittRook] in "Authority", especially during his Villainous Breakdown.
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* BavarianFireDrill:

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* BavarianFireDrill:BavarianFireDrill:
* ChewingTheScenery:[Creator/RobinWilliams Merritt Rook] in "Authority", especially during his Villainous Breakdown.

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The life of a law-abiding engineer (Creator/RobinWilliams) goes terribly wrong, leading him to challenge authority and to urge others to do so as well.

to:

The life A telephone voice impersonating a police officer asks a fast food restaurant manager to strip search and tie up an employee (Creator/MonicaRaymund). SVU detectives learn that this plan was orchestrated by an engineer, Merritt Rook (Creator/RobinWilliams), in order to convince the public to be more discerning and oppose authority. After he is found not guilty, Rook gains much media attention and seizes an opportunity to abduct Olivia Benson. With the help of Rook's co-worker (Creator/KaLingCheung), Elliot is able to learn about the man's tragic past and track him down. In an apparent hostage situation, Rook tries to make Elliot inflict pain on Benson by way of a law-abiding engineer (Creator/RobinWilliams) goes terribly wrong, leading him to challenge authority and to urge others to do so as well.Milgram experiment.

!!Tropes

* BavarianFireDrill:
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Added DiffLines:

Written By Creator/NealBaer and Creator/AmandaGreen

Directed By Creator/DavidPlatt

The life of a law-abiding engineer (Creator/RobinWilliams) goes terribly wrong, leading him to challenge authority and to urge others to do so as well.

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