Written By Michael S Chernuchin and Julie Martin
Directed By Norberto Barba
Carisi's sister visits saying that her daughter Mia was raped, but upon further investigation, the girl claims she lied about the rape. However, she later retracts her retraction upon visiting the suspect and SVU must now make a case based on the testimony of a victim with now shaky credibility. Meanwhile, ADA Stone learns the hard way that there are no perfect witnesses when it comes to dealing with sex crimes, while the squad warms up to him after the departure of Barba.
Tropes present in this episode
- Convicted by Public Opinion: Ethan after being falsely accused by Mia of raping her.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Ethan's way of making Mia pay for her reputation-destroying false accusation was to rape her for real. Carisi assures Mia at the end when she blames herself for everything that her actions didn't warrant being raped as a punishment.
- False Rape Accusation: Mia has consensual sex with Ethan Hartley. Her roommate has a crush on Ethan. Mia did not want the roomie to be angry at her for that, so she accused him of rape.
- Then Let Me Be Evil: Hartley had been found guilty by the university of raping Mia, even though her accusation was false. She invites him to her dorm so she can apologize and he ends up raping her for real this time.
- Villainous Breakdown: On the witness stand, Hartley snaps:Stone: You were accused. Therefore, you were guilty.
Hartley: That's right. I was already labeled a rapist. What the hell? I might as well be a rapist.
Stone: And who better to rape than Mia Marino?
Hartley: That's right! The bitch ruined me and I got to ruin her.
