Written By Wendy West
Directed By Arthur W. Forney
When Marnie Owens, a dedicated teacher at an inner-city high school, is found raped and murdered in her home, SVU learns about her secret sex addiction when one of her students discovers nude photographs of her on the Internet. The case takes a turn when one of the men that Marnie was involved with is revealed to have been stalking her.
Tropes
- The Alcoholic: Marnie was a sex addict.
- Everyone Has Standards: The Fling hosts couples who engage in sexually deviant acts behind closed doors, but the owners also say the couples have to be Happily Married. As such, Marnie was kicked out after it was discovered she was in an adulterous relationship.
- Parental Incest: Subverted. Marnie's brother is adamant that their father never laid a hand on her, but still talked to and about her in a manner no father should ever do with his daughter.
- Pervert Dad: Marnie's father. He never crossed the line into physically molestation, but openly treating his daughter like a sex object led to her issues with sex addiction as an adult. Dr. Skoda describes this as "covert incest".
- Promiscuity After Rape: Subverted. It's apparent that Marnie's sex addiction stems from a troubled relationship with her father, even though her brother is adamant that he never laid a hand on her. He did, however, talk to and about her in a manner completely inappropriate for father and daughter.
- Slut-Shaming: Although the detectives make a legitimate effort to avoid doing this with Marnie despite her sex addiction, her killer and his lawyer have no problem exploiting this as part of his defense, pointing out that she could have easily picked up someone else who could have murdered her. Her student is devastated at remembering calling her a whore after everything she did to help him. Munch also appears determined to avert this with the people found at the sex club, citing that they're all consenting adults whose sex lives are no one's business but their own.
- Student/Teacher Romance: Averted. When the detectives question the student who discovered Marnie's illicit lifestyle and gently ask him if she ever made advances to him, he very adamantly tells them that she never said or did anything inappropriate.
- Villain Has a Point: The key facet of Marnie's killer's defense is that thanks to her sex addiction, she could have easily picked up someone else who could have murdered her, which is sadly not untrue.
