Thursday, October 11, 2012

Law & Order SVU “Twenty-Five Acts” Recap & Review



Law & Order SVU “Twenty-Five Acts” received quite a bit of advance press explaining the episode involved a best selling book similar to  the current erotic novel best seller “Fifty Shades of Grey.” It seemed very obvious to where the episode was headed, but despite the predictable story, this was a great episode with intense scenes and tension between the main characters.

The SVU squad is off-kilter, with Captain Harris making some changes which has unsettled some. Amaro requested to work as a swing man; clearly he feels alienated from the group - especially Benson -  after the  recent law enforcement scandal. I wonder if working as swing man will only make it harder for him to build a relationship of trust with the squad. Harris also reunited Munch and Fin as a team, which I always felt was an excellent pairing. Benson, however, doesn’t seem completely thrilled with being paired with Rollins, but that may be because it came about from Amaro’s request to go it alone. Adam Baldwin was an excellent interim captain and was very likable,  despite Harris' stoic and authoritative demeanor. The detectives treated Harris as a newbie but he was smart enough to let them know at every opportunity that he has far more experience for which the detectives gave him credit.  While I will always be loyal to Captain Cragen, Harris gave the SVU squad a much needed kick in the pants.

This episode clearly belonged to the guest stars. Anna Chlumsky was strong as a woman who lived an exciting life as the author of an erotic book, who didn't write the book and behaved nothing like what the book described. Raúl Esparza stole the show and was fantastic playing a district attorney who seemed very driven - and maybe a little too cold -  in his approach. I enjoyed how he managed to taunt Adam Cain into using the belt in court to highlight Cain’s rough behavior. It brought back memories of an old Law & Order episode (“Showtime”) where Jack McCoy worked a murder weapon into the hands of the defendant, which made him look guilty as sin. I hope we get to see Raúl Esparza come back for more episodes – he’s a character that would bring a real spark to the legal side of the show.

Some nitpicks: Rollins really shouldn’t be calling anyone “honey,” much less the victim. It’s one of those terms that most women find demeaning, and coming from another woman, it sounds even worse. Benson also made a comment to Harris that SVU is the only unit where the victim’s word isn’t good enough, you have to prove a crime was committed. That statement sounded awkward to me. My understanding of the justice system is that one is innocent until proven guilty, and the prosecution has to back up any charges for any crime – sex crime or not - with facts or evidence. An accusation is not always enough to have law enforcement act. A victim’s behavior can be questioned for ANY crime and I don’t agree that SVU is the only unit where a victim's word may be questioned. While it does seem wrong to have a rape victim’s past sexual history put out there for all to see, I think that people who are charged with rape do have the right to question the actions of the accuser regarding the events surrounding the crime. And, using Harris’ example, a robbery victim may not necessarily be accused of “asking for it” but they still could be questioned about their claims of what was stolen (thefts involving possible insurance fraud come to mind).




Here is the recap:


Cast
Mariska Hargitay – Detective Olivia Benson
Ice-T – Detective Odafin “Fin” Tutuola
Richard Belzer – Sergeant John Munch
Dann Florek – Captain Don Cragen
Kelli Giddish - Detective Amanda Rollins
Danny Pino - Detective Nick Amaro


Guest stars
Adam Baldwin - Captain Steven Harris
Raúl Esparza - ADA Rafael Barba
Anna Chlumsky – Jocelyn Paley
Roger Bart – Adam Cain
Elizabeth Marvel – Adam Cain’s lawyer
Romy Rosemont – Kathleen Dobson
Tony Patano – Judge Maskin
Peter McRobbie – Judge Walter Bradley
Rory O’Malley - Craig
Steve Rosen - Public Defender Guthrie
Hallie Cooper- Novak – Katie
Lucia Spina – Sara Palermo
Jay McInerney – himself
J. Elaine Marcos – Lisa Vaughn
Jane Dashow – Holly
Nava Namdar – Jury Foreperson



In the SVU squad room Benson, Fin and Munch are talking about the 16 murders over the 4th of July. Captain Harris enters and announces they are stuck together a little longer; Captain Cragen was cleared of the charges but One PP has not yet declared him fir for duty. Munch refers to One PP as the “Puzzle Palace.” Benson questions if they did say he was coming back, and Harris replies as far as he knows. Harris also announces he’s moving them around and teams Munch back up with Fin, and Benson with Rollins. Munch asks about Amaro – referring to him as Serpico – and Harris says he will be swing man, or sometimes on his own, depending on the call. Amaro says it is all good, and Benson looks at him,  wondering. As he walks away from his desk, Benson gets up from hers and follows him, and explains to Amaro that she did not ask for the switch. But he surprises her by telling her that he did, adding that one thing about her is that she needs a partner she can trust. As he walks off she looks slightly exasperated with him.

Munch enters Harris’ office; Harris' TV is turned on to a TV talk show “Raising Cain.” Munch tells him he is punching out, and then asks Harris if he is an Adam Cain fan. Harris comments it is just white noise for his paperwork. Harris asks how his new lineup is going today and Munch replies “like a lead balloon” and says they will adjust, commenting that “heavy lies the crown.” Harris jokes for Munch to take the rest of the night off, and Munch chuckles an OK. Harris returns to the TV show.

Meanwhile, at the “Raising Cain” talk show taping, talk show host Adam Cain introduces Jocelyn Paley, the author of the book “Twenty-Five Acts,” which he states is about a woman’s journey into a world of domination and is revolutionizing women’s attitudes about sex. He adds that her book makes “Fifty Shades” look like a Disney story. He says the author is hot, rich kinky, and he thinks he is in love. Jocelyn walks on stage to the loud applause and hoots from the live audience. He greets her, commenting he doesn’t know whether to kiss or spank her. She asks who says he can’t do both - and she gives him a quick kiss.

Afterwards, with Adam and Jocelyn at dinner in a swanky restaurant, Jocelyn asks Adam what is his fantasy while she discreetly removes her panties and hands them to him. Quickly they are in his apartment and kissing passionately, She reaches for his belt but he slaps her hard, saying “Act two. I say when you can touch me.” She feigns an apology and he orders her on the bed and to get on all fours, adding that she needs to be punished. He whips her hard with his belt and she says that really hurt and tells him to stop it. Instead, he takes the belt an begins to choke her. As she struggles for breath, he angrily says she does not tell him what to do.

Later, Benson and Rollins are at a hospital ER meeting up with Sara Palermo,  who handles Jocelyn’s book tour. She explains she called 911 as she went to Jocelyn’s hotel room and found her crying and she also had blood in her nightgown, she was bruised and there was a mark on her neck. Jocelyn had a taping with Cain the day before and he asked her out and was sky high about it but today – not a word. She asks what that sounds like to them.

The detectives speak with Jocelyn who denies being raped and did not ask Sara to call the police. Rollins cites paperwork and asks about her date with Adam Cain. She admits to going for drinks and then to his place, and when Benson sees the mark on her neck, Jocelyn adds he got a little handsy. Rollins observes it looks more like a belt, and Benson questions if Jocelyn asked him to do that to her. She says no, but thinks he thought it was part of the sex. She goes on to say he put it inside her and not where she was used to. She did try to tell him to stop but he pulled the best so tight she could not talk. She admits she was flirting with him all night and told him to dominate her and doesn’t see how she can call that rape. Benson suggests they do a rape kit and when Jocelyn balks, Rollins asks her if he used a condom and warns her of possible STDs. Jocelyn nods.

Afterwards, Benson voices her concern to Rollins about Rollins’ scaring Jocelyn into getting a rape kit, saying it is better to built trust. Rollins says it won’t matter, asking her if she read Jocelyn’s book, explaining that in Act 5, the main character is choked with a belt and sodomized and had 18 orgasms. Benson dryly responds, “Great. It’s a best seller.”


Back at SVU while the squad watches a recording of Jocelyn on the talk show, and as they discuss it situation, Harris asks if Jocelyn agreed to the rape kit. Benson replies she did reluctantly, she has anal fissures and a severe ligature mark on her neck. When Fin questioned that she didn’t press charges, Rollins explains Jocelyn is worried because of her book. Munch says her prose is pretty florid but he admires any author who can work in nipple clamps and Albinoni’s Adagio into one sentence. Harris wonders if she didn’t press charges, why are they wasting their time. Benson tells Harris he is new to SVU, sometimes it takes time for the victims to process. Jocelyn said stop and he tightened the belt and probably thought that, given her book, he could get away with it. Rollins remarks about rumors about Cain saying it is possible he may have crossed the line with some of his interns. Munch counters that Cain may be a ladies’ man but insists he is one of the good guys, Fin citing charity work he has done, saying Cain never says no. Benson comments that Cain never HEARS no. Harris tells Fin and Munch to pay Cain a friendly visit and tells Benson and Rollins to see if Jocelyn has had time to process. Amaro asks if he is reading the book, and Harris hands the book to him, adding Amaro should follow up on the rumors about Cain’s interns; if Cain did do what she says, he’s done it before.

Harris turns and walks with Benson and asks if he is bringing Rollins up to speed. She replies Rollins has been there a year and has a degree in forensic science. Harris comments that Benson is not shy with sharing experience and instructs Benson to share it with Rollins, not him.

On the set of the talk show, Munch and Fin question Adam about Jocelyn who seems shocked Jocelyn was assaulted. But when the implication is that he did something, Adam explains that they acted out a few scenes from her book, saying she wanted him to throw her down and take control. When Munch questions him about the belt, and Adam says that was her idea, and everything was consensual. He tells them she gave him her panties in the restaurant and she was all over him. He cuts the discussion short, saying he has a show to prep. As Adam walks off, Fin observes that Adam seems testy, and Munch comments that no charges have been filed yet and he hates this case already.

At Intimate Adventures, Jocelyn is doing a book signing and Benson and Rollins ask to speak with her. Jocelyn tells them she is doing fine but Benson urges her to take it easy. Benson thinks she is in shock but Jocelyn says she is in the middle of a 10 city book tour and Anthracite Magazine is throwing her a party tonight and the last thing she needs to do is deal with this. Rollins cautions that if she does want to press charges later, this behavior could make a jury think twice. Jocelyn says she is a big girl and everyone is waiting. Benson gives Jocelyn her card, if she needs them to call.

Later at the party, Adam Cain is there and he makes a toast to her but Jocelyn seems creeped out by his tone and his gaze. She makes a quick exit and steps in to the elevator. Adam stops the doors from closing and steps in with her. He is upset she talked to the cops, and pushes her against the elevator wall. He turns her against the wall and says he knows she wanted it and she wants this now too, and he rapes her.

Later, Jocelyn arrives at Benson’s apartment, saying she could not handle a police station. She explains that Adam showed up at her party, he was not on the list. He made a toast and she had to leave and went into the elevator and he followed her in. He was angry and thought she told the police he raped her. She asks Benson if she told him that, and she admits they did send detectives to talk to him Jocelyn freaks, and asks why would they do that, saying this is all their fault. Benson tries to calm her. Jocelyn explains how he raped her and how he said she wanted it like she wanted it last night. But she didn’t say anything to him, she just froze. He said if she screws with him she will be sorry. Benson asks if she is ready to press charges now.

Back at SVU, the detectives watch the attack on a security camera video from the elevator. Rollins says this is brazen, he must have known there were security cameras; Amaro adds he also probably knew act 9 of the book on elevator sex, explaining he read the masterpiece last night. When Munch observes it doesn’t look like she is enjoying it, and Fin adds it doesn’t look like she is resisting either, Rollins informs Fin it is called tonic immobility. Benson explains Jocelyn was traumatized from the night before and he goes after her again; everybody knows fight or flight but there is a third response – you freeze. Fin wishes her luck in selling that to a jury. Captain Harris enters and says that Rollins knows her stuff and it wouldn’t hurt the rest of them to keep up with the literature. He asks if Jocelyn is ready to press charges, and Benson informs him they are ready to go to the DA. Munch sarcastically asks which one, they’ve all lawyered up since Delia Wilson stared naming names. Harris says he has somebody – Rafael Barba. Rollins comments he’s the guy that put away two johns for raping a prostitute. Benson recalls that was a tough case, but she thought Barba was in Brooklyn. Harris explains that he was, Barba just requested a lateral to Manhattan. He adds the guy has big brass…and catches himself when Benson gives him a look and finishes the sentence to say “ego.” Harris adds that Adam Cain is high profile and so is Jocelyn, and that Barba is perfect.

At arraignment court, Barba and a defense lawyer are talking about making a deal and he sees Harris in the back of the courtroom. With Benson and Rollins standing next to Harris, Barba comments if it is take your daughters to work day. Harris introduces Benson and Rollins, and Harris quips that he lied and told them Barba knows his way around the courtroom.

In Barba’s office, he asks Benson and Rollins if Jocelyn is credible, explaining a previous case where the jury deadlocked on a strangulation case and they later found the jury read Jocelyn’s book. Benson says she is confused because Harris told them Barba wins cases everybody else ducks. He says sometimes, and asks to talk to the victim. When Rollins says Jocelyn has had a rough few days, Barba warns her it is not going to get any easier.

Later. Jocelyn and Benson are in the conference room and he questions her about the circumstances. He cautions her that the one personal history thing she leaves out is the one thing the defense will use to blow up the case. He adds she won’t like him when they are done, and Jocelyn says she does not like him now. He likes her honesty. He asks about her dating and is she has been raped before, and she says no. He asks about her dating life in college.

Later, at SVU, Barba questions Munch, Fin, and Amaro about Cain and Amaro explains he did some digging and that rumors say Cain preys on young girls new to the city. Jocelyn will be the first to press charges. Rollins enters and alerts them to Cain leaked his monologue early and now it is all over the Internet. They later watch the recording as Adam says the media “he said she said” circus is coming to town and now he’s about to be thrown into the ring of fire. He explains he is about to be accused of raping author Jocelyn Paley. He says unlike a certain president, he did have sex with that woman – he knows it, and she damn well knows it. As Rollins turns off the TV, Amaro says it is a smart move that he got out in front of it. When Rollins comments it is right out of Letterman’s playbook, Munch retorts that is not fair, Letterman didn’t rape anyone. Fin thinks if he keeps running his mouth like Barba said, they will get Cain. Benson is worried that Adam can use his show as a bully pulpit. Barba said Cain just forced their hand and they have to strike back.

Later, Munch and Fin arrive at a restaurant and arrest Adam Cain, walking him out to w hoard of waiting reporters. Adams shouts that the NYPD got so jammed up in their hooker scandal and they will do anything they can to distract. As Fin puts Adam in the back of the police car, Munch tells Adam he does not know when to shut up. Cain says the court of public opinion is his wheelhouse. Fin says taking down rapists is theirs, and he shuts the car door.

At arraignment, Barba argues for remand for Adam’s attorney makes a counter arguments. Judge Bradley orders remand. Afterwards, Barba and the defense lawyer have words and afterwards Barba tells Benson, Rollins and Harris that this was just a warning shot and the defense will move to have the book admitted. Rollins comments there goes rape shield; Benson adds they will find the lover that inspired the book who will testify she liked it rough from behind and game over. Harris thinks it is better if they find the guy first. Rollins suggests they drive down to Silver Spring College in Maryland where Jocelyn went to school, but Barba tells them to try tonight, the clock already stared ticking. They have five days to indict or the judge releases him. Benson adds he’ll be back on TV and mock Jocelyn every night until she falls, saying they have to go now. Harris says not them, Jocelyn sees them as advocates and they have to keep it that way.

At Robinson Field in Silver Spring, Maryland,  Munch and Fin speak to a former boyfriend, Craig, who says he didn’t know Jocelyn had been working on a book. He explains they never did any of what is in her book, and that she said he was her first, and he admits she was his.

Amaro meets with Munch and Fin and has talked with roommates and if Jocelyn was in to BDSM, she never talked about it. They speculate about the book and Amaro says after reading her blogs and tweets, Jocelyn’s idea of sexual cultural references is Gilligan’s Island. Fin suspects she is living a double life.

Meanwhile, Benson and Rollins speak with a former female co-worker of Adam’s, Katie, and press her for information. Rollins said that Cain was only allowed male interns after she left, and Rollins reminds her she had to come into work with a broken wrist and bruises on her neck. Benson tries to convince her to talk, but Katie says she went home with him and she wanted to have sex with him until he started to hurt her. Benson said she told him to stop, and Katie says “so what if I did?” saying that she has moved on. Benson says this is giving him power over her, be she counters with what Adam did to Jocelyn. Katie says he is not really a bad guy, but when he gets that belt in his hands, he loses it.

At the office of Kathleen Dobson at Silver Spring College, Amaro discusses Jocelyn and comments that Jocelyn seems unsophisticated in that world and wonders how she got involved in domination and submission. Kathleen does not know. Amaro wonders if it was a professor but she says no. Amaro notices what he calls a fancy a piano in her office and Kathleen says it is a harpsichord that belonged to Albinoni. Amaro says his wife loves his…and he can’t recall the piece and she says it was his adagio, his most well know work. Kathleen says the adagio wasn’t his, his biographer composed it two centuries later.

Back at SVU, Munch explains to Barba, Harris, and the others the results of their college trip and Rollins gives the result of their talks with interns. Rollins gets a call from Amaro and puts him on speaker, and Amaro says they may be asking the wrong questions. He asks for another day but Barba says they don’t have it, he’s taking Jocelyn to the grand jury now.

At Grand Jury #3, Jocelyn testifies about what happened. Afterwards, Barba is met by the press on the courthouse steps and brags about the successful indictment, but Adams’ attorney shouts out this is just a distraction from the DA’s office own scandals. Barba reminds her no matter who you are, no means no. The defense lawyer says when the jury compares Jocelyn’s actions to the book, Barba’s case falls apart like a hour of cards.

Meanwhile, back in Kathleen Dobson’s office, Amaro compares a passage from Dobson’s own writings to a passage in Jocelyn’s book. Amaro suggests that Dobson has a case for plagiarism. She doesn’t want to be associated with a book like that. When Amaro mentions her harpsichord was recently purchased at Sotheby’s for $285K, Dobson stops dead in her tracks.

Back in Barba’s office, he speaks with Jocelyn with Benson and Rollins present. He thinks the defense will bring out the man she based the book on, but Jocelyn insists it is fiction. Rollins presses and Jocelyn admits some experimentation in college. But Rollins says it was not with Craig. Benson and the others continue to press about the inconsistencies in her story and Benson flatly asks Jocelyn who wrote the book. Jocelyn looks stunned and then asks how they found out. Barba reminds her he told her the first day that the one thing she did not tell them was the one thing the defense would use to destroy her. He tersely asks her what was she thinking. Benson quietly says, “Barba, she gets it.” Jocelyn asks if they know, and Rollins says no, but they will have to tell them. Jocelyn says they can’t, it will ruin her career and her life and begs them not to tell anyone.

She then explains it was Profession Dobson’s idea to put Jocelyn’s name on the book as she was worried about her own reputation. Jocelyn adds she owes $90K in college debt and the year before that she made $2,600 in writing an Dobson gave the 10%. Benson says she was raped and Barba reminds her she lied to the grand jury. Jocelyn replies she had to, if she even said she didn’t write the book she would lose all the money, it was part of the book contract. Jocelyn says she wants to drop the charges but Barba coldly says the secret will come out anyway as they will indict her for lying to the grand jury. She is shocked, but he goes on to say if she does not testify, she is also looking a perjury. She starts to freak out and races out of the room. As Benson follows her, Rollins tells Barba that was hardball, and he says he wasn’t playing. Rollins says she got that, and asks if this can possible help them; he was worried the jury would hold the book against them but she didn’t write it. Barba thinks they will see her as a liar.

At Superior Court, Jocelyn is on the stand and she talks about not writing the book and needing the money, saying she was just playing a role. She admits to flirting with Adam and going home with him, and that he was charming and she wanted to have sex with him until he started hurting her. She asked him to stop but he did not, he forced himself inside her and chocked her with his belt. The more she cried the more he hurt her. She testifies that the next night he stalked her at a magazine party and trapped her in an elevator and raped her again. She says because she now is telling the truth she must return all her royalties and he reputation is ruined.

Under cross examination, Jocelyn is not sure how many times she lied about writing the book. Her name is falsely on the cover and she also lied at public engagements. The defense brings up a tape of her appearance on Adam’s TV show where Jocelyn said sometimes a woman wants a man to throw them down and take control, adding her fantasy is being there with him. She testifies she was playing a part, flirting. The defense asks what else she would do for money, lie about rape or sue her client? Jocelyn states she would never lie about sex for money and when the defense says she’s done that in the past, Jocelyn says she is telling the truth now. The defense asks how Jocelyn expects the jury to tell the difference, the quickly withdraws the question.

In the hallway, Jocelyn tells Benson she knew this would happen, and Benson replies that Jocelyn told them what he did to her and she confronted him and no one can take that away from her. Meanwhile, Rollins tells Barba that was brutal and he informs her that he has one Hail Mary, Dobson is coming to testify as he subpoenaed her. Amaro walks in with Dobson who looks toward Jocelyn.

Later, with Kathleen Dobson on the stand, Barba questions her about writing the book and she admits she wrote the entire book. She decided to put Jocelyn’s name on the cover and they are all her own fantasies. She said Jocelyn hardly knew the subject and was shocked, adding Jocelyn was a sweet girl and the contrast between her innocence and the books sexuality was compelling. Now, in her world, Dobson says she is between a pariah and a laughing stock. She does not like that someone ascribed her fantasies to Jocelyn and used that as a smokescreen for assault sickens her.

Under cross, Dobson says that no one knew Jocelyn was not the real author and supposes others thought the book was based on Jocelyn’s fantasies. She admits to choosing Jocelyn because she was sweet an innocent. When pressed about what made Jocelyn the right choice, Dobson said it was the contrast between her innocence and the subject matter. The defense attorney asked if it was because Jocelyn is a good liar, and as she continues to press on this issue, Barba objects.

With Adam Cain on the stand, he denies raping Jocelyn, saying he does not need to rape anyone, he does fine with volunteers. He admits to having a lot of girlfriends because of his hit TV show and he has been told his company isn’t unpleasant. He admits follow his partner’s lead in sex games, saying her pleasure was rough sex initiated by her. He says her false accusations make real rape victims not be believed. When Barba makes a move to strike, the judge cautions Barba to just answer the questions. Barba moves to begin his cross examination, but the judge adjourns for the day.

In Barba’s office, Rollins comments that the professor didn’t help them, and Barba calls it a draw. Munch and Fin arrive and Munch says they had no luck; all three of Adam’s last victims have disappeared and Fin tells Barba he can’t get into any of Cain’s prior bad acts. Barba wonders if they can get him to open the door.

The next day in Superior Court, Barba questions Adam about what excited him about having sex with Jocelyn, and he asks if it was the belt, if it was her idea, even though she was pretending. Adam says she wanted to try role play, and Barba asks how you start something like that, and Adam admits he gave her a few hits with it and put it around her neck. When Barba starts to question further how this came about, Adam asks if he would like him to show him. The defense objects and Barba says that as a regular Joe, he is curious as to how this belt around the neck thing is exciting and he is sure that the jury is curious as well. Benson, in the gallery, looks happy that Barba found an opening. The judge allows it – for now. Barba takes off his belt and shows how it was looped using his own neck. As Barba continues to recreate the event and Adam denies raping her,  Barba says it is the mindset of the rapist – admit what you can’t deny and deny what you can’t admit. When the defense objects, Barba withdraws the question. As Barba presses for Adam to show him, he encourages him more and more to pull it tighter, taunting him, yelling for Adam to pull it – PULL IT! – and show him how he likes it. Adam pulls it very tight and Barba begins to choke. The judge says that is enough as Adam lets go and Barba coughs and gasps for air. Barba says there is not a mark on his neck, but shows a photo Jocelyn’s bruised neck from the belt. He asks Adam if this is what excites him – hurting his victims. Adam says she likes it like that, but Barba counters that Adam liked it like that, she didn’t. Jocelyn, in the gallery, wipes away a tear.

Back at SVU, Harris is in his office packing his things and Benson walks in. He comments it’s been 3 days and the jury is still out, adding it is longer than the trial. Benson replies that SVU is the only unit where the victim’s word isn’t good enough, you have to prove a crime was committed. Harris says that is true, they don’t ask robbery victims if they wanted it. She asks Harris if he is going somewhere, and he says good news, the captain is coming back. She says Harris must be relieved, and she hopes his next assignment is easier than this one. He replies that they never are, he’s just paid to fix. He says she could do it, and asks if she thought about moving up the ranks. Benson says it’s come up but she would not want to supervise anyone like her. He hands her a business card and says he has friends at One PP, if she ever needs a rabbi. She thanks him but says she has Cragen. Harris says he won’t be the same, and she replies that she knows. Benson gets a message that the jury is in and they have reached a verdict, and Harris wishes her luck.

In court, the jury reads the verdict as guilty. Cain looks stunned, and Benson shows her support to Jocelyn. Barba looks back at Benson and she nods back in approval.

Outside the courthouse, Rollins congratulates Barba. He said it was a good jury, they looked past Cain’s image and saw who he really is. Jocelyn says Barba told her that she wouldn’t like him when this was over and he was right. He asks what can she do now, and he says the thing about America is that this country loves a comeback. Barba walks off to talk to the waiting press. Benson nods her head at Jocelyn, and as we look down at the courthouse steps from far above, we fade to black.




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11 comments:

chillicothe20 said...

Rollins says "Honey" because she is Southern (the character came from GA, I believe). I agree it sounds condescending given her being a cop and saying it so tersely.

ConnorBehan said...

S..V..U.. the only crime drama written by someone who apparently doesn't think that you need to prove other crimes are committed!

Yes that line was really awkward. Almost as awkward as Bruce's and Alfred's parting conversation in The Dark Knight Rises. And what made it worse is that CTV screwed up its broadcast. So that scene actually ended the episode and I had to download it to see what the verdict was!

Chris Zimmer said...

I watch the show in the US and I was a little worried that at 9:56 they seemed to show the ending and then break for a commercial. I thought it was going to be a cliffhanger. I was actually surprised when they came back from the commercial break for that ending which lasted about 2 minutes, I think. It seemed strange to me.

Ry A said...

Was it just me, or did anyone else get the impression that the Barba role had originally been written with Cutter in mind? Throughout the entire episode I kept thinking how Linus Roche would have played the part in a fairly similar manner.

gahks said...

If that is so, I want Cutter back! I miss Linus Roache :(

Also, I have a strong suspicion our prosecutor Barba is named after Norberto Barba, a longtime producer on the franchise.

Joanne said...

I really enjoyed watching Adam Baldwin and Raul Esparza. Barba might be a bit too much on a weekly basis but for this episode he was great. I was a huge X-Files fan so seeing Adam Baldwin is slightly creepy given his character on the X-Files, but Harris is quite likeable. I liked his little chat with Munch when nobody else was there.

Rollins calls everybody honey and it really annoys me.

Miss Capri said...

This ep was on again last night. I'm glad I didn't see it from the very beginning, but it ended right. I always like it when creeps like Cain are put away. Wow, Barba was brave putting his life on the line to get that creep to show his true, violent, repulsive character on the stand. The choking was very distressing to see, so, glad he was just fine afterword.

Your site is great, particularly the show recaps.

I watch TV, but can't actually see what's on the screen and have to rely on sound to tell me what's going on.

Your blog fills in a heck of a lot that I miss, even if i get most of the story.

For instance, this episode - I couldn't tell what was going on in court with Barba and Cain, only that Barba was getting Cain to show him what was done with the belt. I didn't know it was actually around anyone's neck until I heard the choking and gasps. *Shudder* And then I didn't know which one was being choked - if Cain was doing it to himself, or to Barba.

So your recap explained that. Thanks.

I also read all of your LAO CI recaps, being a big fan of that particular series. There are some SVU episodes I really like, and others that just creep me out or are otherwise loathsome. this one was a creep-out but it ended right, and that counts for a heck of a lot.

I'll definitely keep coming back to your site.

Unknown said...

I know this is s bit late but i m curious to why u cant see whats on the screen?
Sry if my question bothers u in any way

Miss Capri said...

Hehe Not a problem. I am blind. I use a screen-reader on the computer, too.

Unknown said...

God bless u!!
Didnt expect a fast answer 😅
Have a good day Miss Capri 😀😀

Miss Capri said...

Hehe Thanks! God bless you too! Glad to have pleasantly surprised you. I use the audio option for these dreaded captcha codes too. Thank goodness this one works, though I really dislike how the trend is multiple puzzles instead of just one now. Have a great day! :)