Line #12 Recap/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnitS13E1ScorchedEarth


1	Written By Creator/DavidMatthews
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3	Directed By Creator/MichaelSlovis
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5	A hotel maid (Creator/AnikaNoniRose) reports being assaulted by a powerful Italian diplomat (Creator/FrancoNero). Bureau Chief [[Series/LawAndOrder Michael Cutter]] (Creator/LinusRoache) and ADA Cabot (Creator/StephanieMarch) both get involved in the high profile case, but the victim's credibility is shot when it's revealed she exaggerated some of the details on her asylum application.
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8	!!This episode provides examples of:
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10	* AdaptationalHeroism: The alleged victim in the real life case this episode is based on admitted to fabricating the story of her previous gang rape in her home country; Miriam, however, maintains that she was raped in Sudan but admits to exaggerating some of the details in order to bolster her asylum application.
11	* AdaptationalNationality: Italian diplomat Roberto Distasio is based on French politician Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
12	* AsLongAsItSoundsForeign: Miriam is portrayed by an American actress, who feigns an accent that sounds very different from Sudanese accents.
13	* BasedOnATrueStory: Many details of the episode closely resemble the real life case it is based on.
14	* BrokenTears: Olivia takes Elliot's resignation hard.
15	* TheBusCameBack: Alex returns from working in the Congo.
16	* CallBack:
17	** Alex's [[Recap/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnitS11E16Witness time in Africa]] is repeatedly brought up.
18	** The episode deals with [[Recap/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnitS12E24Smoked the fallout of the precinct shooting]].
19	* ChangingOfTheGuard: With Elliot's departure, Olivia becomes the main protagonist and lead detective.
20	* {{Crossover}}: [[Series/LawAndOrder The Mothership]]'s Michael Cutter appear in this episode.
21	* DawnOfAnEra: Amanda Rollins joins SVU not long before Elliot resigns, kick-starting the show's new status quo.
22	* DebutQueue: Amanda Rollins makes her series debut.[[note]]This is not the case for Creator/KelliGiddish, however, as she is RecastAsARegular[[/note]]
23	* DiplomaticImmunity: Roberto Distasio claims this as an excuse to get away with raping Miriam.
24	* DirtyOldMan: Roberto Distasio rapes Miriam Deng, a woman forty years his junior.
25	* EndOfAnAge: Elliot officially resigns from the force, solidifying the end of the show's original status quo of him and Olivia being the central ActionDuo.
26	* FirstDayFromHell: Rollins's first day in SVU starts with her working on the rape of a maid by Roberto Distasio.
27	* PerpWalk: Even though Cragen said not to do a perp walk, Olivia and Fin give him one.
28	* PresentAbsence: Elliot's absence is noted by several characters, with Liv in particular tying to cope with it.
29	* PutOnABus: Stabler has quit the police in between seasons after the events of the last season finale.
30	* RapeAsBackstory: Miriam was gang raped in Sudan and the [[PoliceAreUseless police wouldn't help her]], saying she broke Sharia law and that she should be stoned to death.
31	** Later it's clarified that she was actually raped by one man, but claimed to have been gang raped by twelve men in order to build a stronger asylum case. This revelation negatively affects the case against Distasio.
32	* RippedFromTheHeadlines: The episode is inspired by [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_v._Strauss-Kahn the New York vs. Strauss-Kahn case]].
33	* SuddenDownerEnding: The episode seems to be heading to BittersweetEnding with Roberto Distasio being sentenced less than he should have, but before the episode ends Cragen breaks Elliot's resignation to Olivia which sends her to tears.
34	* WhamEpisode: Elliot officially departs the cast. This is somewhat lessened with the announcement of Creator/ChristopherMeloni not returning months prior.
35	* WhamLine: "Elliot put his papers in." And with that, the show's original ActionDuo is officially no more.
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Context Recap / LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnitS13E1ScorchedEarth