Kelli Giddish gave an exceptional, impassioned performance which brought Rollins inner struggle to life, and this is probably her best and most realistic performance on SVU. It’s a shame that the story itself was anticlimactic as it was made obvious in previous episodes that Patton was her problem in Atlanta. I hoped that Patton was only the tip of the iceberg and we’d get a “meatier” story with a wider reach. I saw a glimmer of something more when Sam Reynolds began to get creepy with Rollins when he confronted her while she was out for a walk, but no. He’s just another member of the Atlanta scummy entitled boys club who thinks he deserves a piece of the action.
I have issues with Rollins’ behavior, past and present. Rollins never reported that Patton raped her when it first happened. I can understand her actions in part. Rollins felt that as she first consented to have sex with Patton to get her sister off the hook that no one would believe her accusation of rape. But it worries me that Rollins would have consented in the first place and I wonder what that says about Rollins’ overall integrity. Yes, it is difficult when one's attacker is someone who is in a position of power, and, at first, Detective Reese Traymor seems to be taking the same approach as Rollins did 5 years prior. As Reese’s rape accusation against Patton unfolds, Rollins lies, or at least avoids, telling Benson and Dodds what she knows about Patton. She knew Patton was a predator. Rollins was only looking out for herself, likely worried about how it would reflect on her if her own story came out. I find her omission of the truth to Benson/Dodds disappointing, yet there seemed to be no professional repercussions to Rollins for her initial lack of cooperation with this case. All she gets from Benson is a referral to her therapist and some time off. Based on the sum of Rollins’ past and present performance issues and behaviors, I would have zero trust in her and probably would have initiated some kind of official disciplinary action, at least to document that she seek help for her trauma. Most importantly, Rollins refused to testify but expected Detective Reese Traymor to do what she didn’t have the nerve to do 5 years ago. Reese did shame Rollins when, on the stand, she testifies what Patton did to her was a crime and she realized if she did not testify it could happen to someone else and she did not want that on my conscience. Later, Reese rightfully calls Rollins on her reluctance to testify about her own attack. The bottom line is that Rollins’ actions – and inaction – allowed a predator to continue, leading up to Reese’s rape. Even though Rollins’ rape does shed light on understanding some of her behavior, it doesn’t excuse it. I am not sure if I like Rollins, much less forgive her at this point. In her defense, she has been through a lot and needs therapy. Let’s just say for now that I remain disappointed in her and hope therapy can bring about positive results.
I don’t understand why Barba couldn't cool his jets and wait to call Rollins as a rebuttal witness to counter Patton’s testimony stating he would not harm a woman. Yes, the judge did rule out Rollins as an initial prosecution witness, but Patton’s statement should open the door to allow Barba to call her to rebut. I do understand why the judge blocked Barba’s questioning of Patton on this specific issue at the time and likely Barba was simply looking to rattle Patton by bringing it up. I suppose the point is moot, as Barba went at him full throttle and Patton conveniently became ill on the stand and Barba cut a deal at a later time. (Loved Patton’s “Spanish dandy” insult. by the way.)
I really disliked Hamlin’s faux southern accent, y’all.
This was a compelling episode which answered some question about Rollins, but it made me wonder more about what kind of detective – or person – she really is. There is still a lot more of Amanda Rollins “pre-rape” of which we know nothing about. I think there is more to her inner struggle than meets the eye.
Here is the recap:
Cast:
Mariska Hargitay – Sergeant Olivia Benson
Ice-T – Detective Odafin “Fin” Tutuola
Kelli Giddish - Detective Amanda Rollins
Danny Pino - Detective Nick Amaro
Raúl Esparza - ADA Rafael Barba
Peter Scanavino - Detective Dominick Carisi, Jr.
Guest stars:
Peter Gallagher - Deputy Chief William Dodds
Harry Hamlin – Deputy Chief Charles Patton
Dreama Walker - Reese Taymor
Delaney Williams - Counselor John Buchanan
Jenna Stern - Judge Elana Barth
Myk Watford - Captain Sam Reynolds
Becky Ann Baker – Vivian Dodds
Yvonna Kopacz-Wright – Dr. Darby Wilder
Mike Massino – ConElectric Worker #1
Brian Michael – ConElectric Worker #2
Atlanta’s Deputy Chief Patton is giving a speech, saying it is a brave new world, and criminals are bound less and less by geographical jurisdiction, and law enforcement must follow suit. He adds they all need to share information quickly and efficiently. He cites as an example the recent Pattern Seventeen rape case in New York. He says that for the APD, the most gratifying part of closing out that case was their collaboration with their esteemed and charming (looking towards Benson, who is sitting on the panel on stage) colleagues on the NYPD. He explains that one of Benson’s detectives, who was formerly one of his own (Rollins, sitting in the audience, gets squirmy), recalled cold cases in Atlanta that matched the profile they had established. He states that given the similarities in the MO, they felt certain that the DNA on file in the Atlanta precinct proved this was the work of one man, DNA they were unable to obtain from the New York crime scene.
After the speech, Benson, Rollins, and Fin are at the reception that followed, and so is Patton. Fin grips that Patton sat on the rape kits for 6 years, SVU catches the guy, and questions Patton taking the victory lap. Rollins tells Fin to accept the things he cannot change. Fin adds not to ask him to go out to dinner with Patton, Patton walks over to the detectives, accompanied by a young blonde woman. Patton complements Benson on their beautiful city, and Benson replies “Even when it isn’t.” Patton says that is true, then says speaking of beautiful, tells Rollins it is nice to see her. He said it broke his heart to let this one go, and that they all have a winner with her. Fin states dryly that they know that. Patton then introduces the blonde woman, Detective Reese Taymor, saying this is her first conference. Benson welcomes her to New York. Reese says it is just like the song, adding that she loved Benson’s presentation. Rollins glares at Patton as Reese tells Patton they should look into some of the program’s Benson mentioned. Patton responds by saying “Anything you want, darlin’. As he strokes Reese’s arm, and Rollins continues to give him the evil eye, Patton says there are so many friends here and excuses him from the SVU team, saying he will catch them later. Reese says it is “nice to meet y’all.” As Patton and Reese walk off, Fin lets out a sigh and Rollins states with sarcasm that in Atlanta, they are so polite. Amaro walks up to the group and says that Sam Reynolds, Rollins’ old captain, wants them to join the APD at Moran’s. Benson and Fin make excuses and bow out. Rollins says she is not good at hanging out with the good ol’ boys and adds she has to walk Frannie. Patton and Reynolds watch as she leaves.
Later, Rollins is at a bar drinking, and asks the bartender for another drink, saying “hit me.”
The next day at SVU, Amaro and Fin speak about the Atlanta detectives and Fin laughs that Rollins stuck Amaro with them. Amaro asks what is Rollins’ deal with these guys, and Fin suggests he ask Rollins, who is entering the squad room. Fin moves to answer his phone and Rollins, wearing sunglasses, races in and asks Amaro if Benson is already in. He says yes; he told Benson she was running late. Fin gets off the phone and gives them bad news: there was a hotel rape last night and the victim is the young detective from Atlanta.
At Bellevue Hospital on Saturday, January 3, Benson and Rollins speak with the doctor who said Reese Traymor was found by the maid in the hotel bathroom with a serious head wound. Security called 911. Reese disclosed to the ER nurse so they ran a kit. There were no drugs in her system but her alcohol level was 0.12, and Rollins notes Reese is still intoxicated this morning. There were bite marks and bruising on her thighs and hips. Rollins asks if she said who her assailant was, and the doctor says that is outside her purview.
Benson and Rollins then speak with Detective Reese Taymor who says she had too much to drink at dinner and she got up in the middle of the night to get a glass of water and thinks she fell and hit her head on the sink. When Rollins asks her about the assault, Reese says she doesn’t know what she means. Benson, confused, tells Reese that the ER nurse said she disclosed. Reese shakes her head and says she was in an emotional place. Rollins pulls out her phone and then says she is sorry, Fin needs her, so Benson excuses her from the room. After Rollins leaves, Reese says she feels so stupid bringing them in here, and Benson asks her to start at the beginning. Reese says they had drinks, he escorted her to her door, using a false pretense to get in.
Meanwhile, Rollins races down the hall, clearly in distress over the situation. Reese tells Benson that when she told him she needed to sleep, it became something else. She adds she can’t believe she is saying these words out loud. Benson asks if she struggled or said no, and understands Reese has some bruising. Reese is silent. Benson tells Reese this is not going to go away, and Reese replies yeah, it will. Benson goes on to say they will pull the security footage and find out who went in and out of that hotel room. Reese explains it was her boss. Benson asks, “Captain Reynolds?” and Reese laughs, saying no, it was his boss, Deputy Chief Patton. She says she is not pressing any charges and she won’t testify - she can’t. Benson looks stunned. Rollins, still in the hallway, tries to compose herself.
Later. Deputy Chief Dodds is in Benson’s office, along with Fin, discussing this whole situation. Fin explains Patton was staying in an adjoining suite at the hotel and security footage shows them entering her room from the hallway at 1AM. Benson adds a male voice orders room service 10 minutes later and security footage caught Patton leaving his room at 6AM. Fin states housekeeping found Reese at 8AM unconscious on the bathroom floor and she said she slipped at fell. Reese admitted to allowing him in and Benson reminds Dodds that Patton is Reese’s superior officer and it is pretty tough to say no. Dodds thinks it is not inconsistent with drunk sex, and Benson counters “or rape.” Dodds asks that Rollins worked for this guy.
Meanwhile, Rollins is sitting at her desk in the squad room and Amaro eyes her and then he says she knows Patton and asks if he is good for this. Rollins is silent and Amaro goes on to ask if Reese seems credible. Rollins, without looking at Amaro, says she wasn’t there for Reese’s disclosure. Fin enters the squad room and tells Rollins that Dodds wants her inside. As she walks to the office, Amaro looks on with a look of concern.
In Benson’s office, with Fin, Benson, and Dodds, Rollins explains that Deputy Chief Patton was her superior officer for 6 years; he’s smart and political. Dodds asks if personally there were any rumors of harassment or skirt chasing. Rollins says he has been married 20 years, and Fin comments he did not see his wife at the convention. Benson tells Rollins that Reese would not disclose until she left the room, asking Rollins if she heard any whispers about a relationship. Rollins replies as far as she knows, they just work together. Dodds questions “In adjoining rooms?” and Rollins states she is not privy to his personal life. Dodds counters that they are all grownups here and they know there is a difference between infidelity and assault; he’s asking if Patton is capable of something like this. She shakes her head and says you can never tell who’s capable of what. Benson thanks her and Rollins and Fin leave the room. After they leave, Benson tells Dodds that Rollins is in a awkward position here, and is sure Rollins still feels loyal to Patton. Dodds comments as should they, he is a fellow officer. Benson counters so is Detective Taymor; Patton outranks her but… Dodds cuts her off and states they haven’t heard Patton’s side yet. Benson says okay, asking would Dodds like to watch the interview? Dodds replies no, he will take it.
Later, Dodds brings Patton into the SVU interrogation room while Benson and the detectives observe from her office. Patton admits an involvement with Reese and that they had sex and they had a few drinks. Dodds brings up that Reese said it was not consensual, and wonders why she accused him like that. Patton continues to try to minimize the whole thing and when Patton suggests he talk to Reese, Dodds says that is against protocol. Patton thinks this is a set up giving him the “fellow officer courtesy bullcrap” and, looking to the observation window, points to it and says he thinks Rollins put them all up to this. He says he would like to be the gentleman here but “that one” has an axe to grind and there are reasons why she left Atlanta. He says she got around and tells Dodds to ask him about the time Rollins threw herself at him to save her sister. Rollins looks on with a blank stare. Patton says she offered him things that made his eyes water and she never let go of that one. Patton gets up and thanks Dodds for the hospitality but he is the Deputy Chief of the Atlanta PD and he has some business to attend to back home. As Patton reaches for the door, Dodds tells him as far as leaving town, he thinks the New York press might catch wind of that and they will make mincemeat out of him, his career, his marriage and, with fake concerns, says he would hate to see that happen. Patton says they both know the next time they have a conversation, his attorney will be present. He puts his hand on Dodds’ shoulder and tells him to have a nice day as he leaves the room. Benson, watching this, sighs in disgust and says, “Son of a bitch.” Amaro comments no one will buy what Patton says, but Rollins disagrees, stating that back home, pretty much everyone does. She walks out of the room and grabs her coat to leave. Fin calls out to her but she walks off, telling him to let he be; she needs to get out of here.
Later, Fin catches up with her at a bar where she is drinking alone. She does not want to talk about this but Fin says he is not leaving, asking her to tell him what went on with her and Patton. She says she was Patton’s shiny blonde protégé; she was smart and a good girl, just his type. It wasn’t like that at first, and then her sister got arrested for check fraud, wire fraud, and possession. Patton called her into his office – it was late and nobody was around – and he said he could make it go away. Fin starts to comment bus she cuts him off and says it was her sister. Fin asks if Patton forced her, and, squirming, she says he did not put a gun to her head. Fin asks if Reese is telling the truth, and Rollins says yeah. Fin tells her she has to tell Barba, but Rollins replies no, she won’t say she was raped because she wasn’t. Fin continues to press that she has to tell so they know Patton is a predator, but Rollins explains Patton fights dirty. Fin asks what about Reese, and Rollins replies she will get over it, she might have been sleeping with him anyhow; she’ll go back to Atlanta and she will pretend like nothing ever happened. Fin retorts’ “Just like you did.” Rollins comments that you pretend long enough, after a while it’s like nothing did happen. She tells him to just let it go. Fin looks less than happy about it.
Sometime after, in Barba’s office with Benson and Dodds, Rollins explains she put herself in a bad position and Patton took advantage of it. Dodds asks if she is saying Patton raped her, and she states she is saying – off the record – based on her personal experience, she believes Reese is telling the truth, Dodds asks Barba now what, and Benson answers and says they arrest him. She adds they have a rape kit with bruising and a split lip, a rape nurse as an outcry witness and Benson herself. Barba reminds her Reese says she will not testify and Dodds adds he can’t arrest a deputy chief without a complainant - they can’t move. Rollins continues to look on in blank silence. Benson says she will talk to Reese again, and Rollins pipes up and says now it is her turn.
Later, Rollins reaches Reese in her hotel room, who is packing her suitcase. Reese thinks Rollins is there to shut her up but Rollins says that is not why she is here. She urges Reese to cooperate with SVU and testify but Reese is skeptical of Rollins desire for justice for her and worries that everyone at home will know what happened to her, her humiliation, and know what she’s been through and call her a slut…”just like you.” Reese says she is nothing like Rollins, saying she worked hard to get where she is. Rollins says she knows that and knows that is why this is so hard, thinking that Reese feels if she does her job well and works twice as hard as the men she will be seen as a good detective but Chief Patton is king and the way he figures it, he’s entitled. Reese says she knew his reputation and to not be the last person in the office and watch for his accidental touches. Had made his jokes and told him she was flattered but she was not having an affair. She gets upset when she thinks that is what he is saying and asks if Captain Reynolds is backing him up. Rollins replies guys are gonna talk whether they sleep with them or not, and does she think that Sam Reynolds wanted everybody to know that she turned him down? She asks Reese if she thinks she is Patton’s first good girl? Reese realizes everything they said about Rollins and why she left was not true. Rollins confirms no.
Afterwards, Patton is holding court with his colleagues at a restaurant and Amaro, Fin, and Dodds arrive. Dodds encourages them to take this outside but Patton refuses. Amaro says they have a warrant for his arrest for rape 1. Sam gets upset but Patton tells him it is alright, and give Sam his gun. He puts his hands out to be cuffed and Dodds says they are not going to cuff him, they are going to quietly walk out of there, then he will be processed an arraigned. Patton tells Sam that lawyer they met – the big guy – and he winks.
In the evening, as Rollins is walking her dog Frannie, she speaks to Amaro on the phone and says she knows Patton is out on his own recognizance. She adds she knows he (Amaro) is there if she needs him but she wants a quiet night. As she tends to the dog, a car pulls up and Sam gets out. She asks if they have a GPS signal on her ass, but he says he is a police officer. She says he had APD track her cell, and he replies he is just trying to look after her, calling her darlin’. He wants her to think about what she is doing and they know she got to Reese. Rollins says she took her statement, and Sam counters that she elicited a story and Reese was looking for payback, just like Rollins. He continues to move closer to her as he says he is not going to pass any judgment, accusing Rollins of sleeping with the Chief and it backfired and that is on her. Rollins says Patton is a liar, but Sam counters he is a man he knows and trusts and he knows how ambition Rollins and Reese are, but to take his advice and let sleeping dogs lie. Rollins firmly tells Sam to get the hell of her street. He walks closer to her and says all these years she has been giving him the good girl act but she was just keeping herself wide-eyed and wet for the big boss, asking that there was no piece for her old friend Sam? Rollins knees him in the groin and Frannie lets out a bark. Sam drops to his knees in pain. He calls her a bitch and says he will report her. As Rollins walks off, she tells him to do that and make sure he tells his wife she said hello. She tells Frannie “good girl” as she storms across the street, leaving Sam on the sidewalk in pain.
The next day, Rollins is out for a run and Barba, also out for a run, catches up with her. She keeps running and he tries to get her to stop, asking don’t make him hurt himself. She stops and asks that he is stalking her now? He says she wasn’t returning his calls, and she explains she is not testifying. When Barba comments not to make him subpoena her, she says she is not talking about her and Patton, adding prior acts are inadmissible and nothing really happened. He says if he does not call her, the defense will and they will claim she is out for revenge and they have to get in front of this. She says they are not going to call her up to the stand, then says she has to go, Benson hates it when she is late. She runs off.
Later, in a restaurant, Barba and Dodds meet with Patton and Counselor Buchanan who wants to talk about a graceful exit strategy. Dodds and Patton get snippy with each other and Buchanan suggests they talk lawyer to lawyer. Barba says they are not dismissing and Buchanan thinks this is disorderly conduct with disciplinary action handled by APD. Barba counters rape is a felony and they will accept sex abuse 3 minimum. Patton thinks they may want to think about the next time a New York detective gets in trouble in Atlanta. Dodds says what Patton out to think about is how quickly the shine goes off his shield once he goes on the registry. Patton scoff and says he doesn’t know about Dodds or his little “Spanish dandy” – gesturing to Barba – but he is as straight as an axe and that girl got what she wanted, just like Rollins did. Dodds says with sarcasm that this was fruitful and he gets up to leave. Buchanan offers assault 3 with a bloody lip, no time and no registry. But Patton says that won’t work for him, and Barba adds “me neither” and then says “Nos veremos en los tribunales, mi amigo” [translation: See you in court, my friend], leaving Patton perplexed.
In Supreme Court Part 21 on Tuesday, January 6, Benson testifies that Reese’s injuries are consistent with forcible rape and the details of her outcry. Reese’s initial lack of cooperation is not uncommon when the rapist is known to them and they fear professional or personal repercussions. Patton shakes his head, and sitting behind him in the gallery is his wife Vivian. Buchanan has no questions for Benson. As she steps down, Patton gives a long look back to his wife.
Meanwhile, Fin and Amaro are in the courtroom hall as Rollins arrives. She asks how is it looking, and Fin informs her Patton is smug and he hates this guy. Amaro says Patton is working the jury with long looks to his wife. Rollins is surprised Vivian is there and Vivian calls out to Rollins from right behind her. Rollins asks Fin and Amaro for a minute. Rollins comments to Vivian that it has been 5 years. Vivian asks how is her mother, with her sister's situation and with Rollins up here, commenting it must be hard on her all by her lonesome. Rollins says with veiled sarcasm “how sweet of you to ask, with all the drama you got going on.” Vivian puts on a super fake smile and says she is blessed, everyone at home knows what a good man Charlie is and he has a world of support. She see him coming out of the courtroom and excuses herself.
Later, Reese testifies that she viewed Patton as a mentor and socialized with him in group functions with other detectives. She explained what happened that night. Patton said his cell phone demagnetized his key card and he did not want to go down to the front desk so he asked to enter through her room. He then suggested room service and she said food sounded good but her ordered champagne. She did not want to be rude so she had one glass. He kissed her and she pulled away, reminding him he was a married man and she thought it would be best if they called it a night. She says his exact words in reply were “Don’t you know by now that I don’t take no for an answer.” He shoved her onto the bed and pinned her wrists above her head and he bit her lip too. She said no don’t do this, and he slapped her hard. He unzipped, shoved his knee between her legs and forced himself inside her. Then he finished and he went into his room, and told her to clean herself up for the conference tomorrow. She did not call 911 or hotel security, she was embarrassed and ashamed. She finished the champagne and passed out, and a few hours later she fell in the bathroom. In the hospital, she told the nurse she had been raped and she told Benson. She told Benson at first she did not want to cooperate as she was afraid her career would be over and that no one would believe her. But she is here now; what Patton did to her was a crime and she realized if she did not testify it could happen to someone else and she did not want that on my conscience. Rollins, sitting in the gallery, looks down.
Under cross examination, Buchanan implies that Reese let loose because she was away from home and argues that she never fought back because she left no marks on Patton. She says she froze. He also brings up that she called no one about the attack and reminds her she had finished all the champagne and on top of all the drinks she had at dinner she was so drunk that she took a nasty fall and was found passed out on the bathroom floor. Buchanan says they had to call an ambulance for her and for an ambitious detective that had to be embarrassing for her. Barba objects, saying Buchanan is harassing her. Judge Barth agrees. Buchanan says she is a sex crimes detective and what would she make of a victim who let her boss into her room and then didn’t report a rape until the next day and then recanted. Reese says she would try to understand the pressure on her. Buchanan suggests there would be more to the story than she is telling you – or less. Reese says she would investigate but in her case…Buchanan cuts her off and says he will mark that as a yes, adding this may be what Patton did that night. Barba leaps from his chair and objects, and Buchanan withdraws the comment. Benson shakes her head and Rollins looks on in frustration.
Afterwards, Rollins encounters Reese in the lades rest room and Reese is angry with her that Rollins convinced her to testify but she doesn’t see Rollins taking the stand. Reese walks out, leaving Rollins to stare at herself in the mirror.
At a later time, Rollins is in the courtroom on the stand, going through her testimony with Barba in a practice run. She says her sister was facing felony charges and Patton called her into his office so they could fix the problem. She inferred that if she had sex with him, her sister would not be prosecuted. She stops and asks Barba if this is necessary as she has testified before, and he explains she hasn’t about her own assault. If the judge allows this, she needs to be ready. They go back to her testimony, and she explains at first she did consent to sex with Patton. They met at a hotel and she laid down on the bed and he was drunk and he was grabbing at her and pulling off her clothes. She asked him to slow down and he got rough with her. He bit her and slapped her and banged her head against the headboard and she was bleeding. She tried to get up but he said “Amanda, you know I don’t take no for an answer.” He then pinned her wrists above her head and told her she wasn’t going anywhere and no one would believe her anyway. She gave up; he raped her.
In Supreme Court Part 21 on Wednesday, January 7, Barba and Buchanan argue having Rollins as a witness. Buchanan cites she has been in t he courtroom during the trial and there has been no Molineaux hearing. Barba says prior bad acts are admissible when they speak to pattern. The judge rules it would be more prejudicial than probative and she will not allow Rollins to testify. Barba has nothing else so he rests and the judge tells Buchanan he can resume after lunch.
In the hallway, Rollins gripes that after all that the judge won’t let her testify. Barba, there with Benson, explains it was a long shot. Barba bets Patton will take the stand, saying it’s a he said/she said Patton's got to say something and he will get him.
Back in Supreme Court Part 21 on Wednesday, January 7, Patton is on the stand and he says the real victim is his wife, and he apologized to his wife and the APD for his foolishness. He denies raping Reese. He says their brief affair was consensual and he would never harm a woman, Under Barba’s cross examination, Barba brings up the fact that Patton said he would never harm a woman and asks if that would include any other young, blond subordinates he mentored. Buchanan objects and the judge sustains it. Patton asks if he is talking about Amanda Rollins, and he says he didn’t rape her or that other girl or any of them. Buchanan stands up as Patton says that is what they say when they don’t get what they want. Buchanan says “your honor” and the judge instructs the jury to disregard the question and the answer and it will be stricken from the record. Barba continues to press Patton on the details of that night and Patton begins to clutch his left arm and seems to be getting fuzzy. He appears to be getting ill and calls Barba a son of a bitch and begins to cough and after gagging for what seems like an eternity, they finally get help for Patton, Buchanan thinks Patton is giving a heart attack.
Back at SVU, Benson finishes a phone call as she motions Rollins into her office. Benson explains that Patton didn’t have a heart attack, it was an anxiety attack. Benson does not know if the trial will continue and asks Rollins to close the door. Benson says what Patton did to her she has been pushing down for years and if she doesn’t deal with this now, it will keep her trapped or stuck more than it already has. She says Rollins has an opportunity here. Rollins says she’s gone through it, and you are only as sick as your secrets. She’s going to meetings. Benson reminds her that is for gambling and she knows she doesn’t like to feel sorry for herself but asks if she can go back to that detective she was 5 years ago and feel compassion for her? Rollins says she walked into it and put herself in that position. Benson tells Rollins she has to stop blaming herself and she can move past this. Rollins says she is okay. Benson says she knows Rollins thinks therapy is paying someone to talk about your problems – Rollins says she shouldn’t have said that to her – and Benson reaches into her desk drawer and says to make it up to her. She hands her a business card for her therapist and says she wants her to see him. Rollins shakes her said, saying she is not seeing HER therapist. Benson stresses it is just for a referral and he has time later today and she is going to tell him Rollins is going to call. She motions for Rollins to take the card and says it is important. Rollins replies, “Okay, Sergeant.” She walks out of the office.
Later, in Dr. Lindstrom’s office waiting area, Rollins gets impatient and then decides to leave without seeing him. She walks out into the street and as a man working on the street calls her sugar and asks for a smile, she continues to walk past him without acknowledgement, as he says it can’t be that bad. She begins to cry as he walks down the street.
At a later time, Buchanan and Patton are in Barba’s office trying to negotiate a deal. In the interest of getting Patton home for further tests, they will plead guilty to sexual abuse in the third degree and he will go on the registry, adding probation and community service, no jail time. He will resign his position as Deputy Chief first, and Barba knows they are protecting his pension, Buchanan says that is for his wife’s and family’s sake. Barba adds Patton can’t seek further employment in law enforcement, and Patton nods in silence. Barba insists that Patton allocate to the sexual assault, in open court. Patton nods again.
In Supreme Court Part 21 in Thursday, January 8, Patton pleads guilty to sexual abuse in the third degree, and he is making this plea voluntarily and no one coerced him. He admits to the fact that he engaged in sex with Reese and she did not consent. The judge accept his plea, and asks if there is anything he wants to say before she imposes sentence. He looks over to Rollins who is sitting in the gallery with Amaro, Fin, Dodds, and Reese, and then Patton says no.
Afterwards, Rollins leaves the courthouse with Fin and Amaro, who comments on the sentence of no jail time. Fin adds at least Patton is on the registry. Rollins adds it is over. Amaro comments that Benson said Rollins may be taking some tome off after all, and she says it is probably not a bad idea. Fin tells her not to take too much. Amaro says he will pull the car around, but she tells them to go ahead, she will get some fresh air. They walk off. Rollins turns and walks away as we fade to black.
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I completely agree with this review.
ReplyDeleteKelli Giddish gave a very strong performance and I was very impressed but I'm conflicted about Rollins. It does seem as though her questionable decision making precedes her assault.
I suppose the reason that she did what she did to "save" her sister is meant to be an explanation for her decision to sleep with Patton and perhaps she was vulnerable.
I'm not intending to judge but for me I think this episode posed more questions regarding Rollins than answered them. Maybe that was the point.
Also, it wasn't clear to me that Amaro knew the full extent of what happened to Rollins. I'm assuming he now knows but that was left a bit vague.
Great performance by Kelli Giddish and a good episode but overall I still feel conflicted about Rollins.
Good episode. Congratulations on your glowing review. Kelly is good, but is far from being a great actress. Aside from Ice-T, SVU has always had great actors in its main cast. Mariska and Chris are excellent. Kelly is at a lower level. But the show thanks for the good story.
ReplyDeleteThat was an extremely thorough review with an excellent and equally satisfying initially stated opinion. Thank-you. I don't have cable and don't watch video on my (tiny) laptop computer (it should be called a knee top computer- it is that small). Thus your elaborate posts are my only way to 'see' the episode. And now I feel as though I have not missed out on anything.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work.
I really cannot understand where this comment above is coming from but judging by the tone of it a profound adoration towards the old svu and the two leading stars is more that obvious and making less of giddish to showcase meloni and hargitay is borderline rude. Being a fan of mariska or meloni is great but making it clear that Kelli is not good enough in so many ways inside a single comment is plain biased. I dont know what more kelli has to do. In 4 seasons she has given us 4-5 incredible episodes and imagine what she would have done in 12 seasons with 10 mil ratings ( past glory)...
ReplyDeleteAnyway Kelli's performance was stellar and i guess the positive reviews speak for themselves...
I totally agree with Killattila
DeleteI'm sick of hearing about Meloni. He was never a credible actor more like a preening peacock. In real life he would have been fired years ago. You can not be in your squad room throwing chairs punching out walls and boxing with locker doors in fits of rage and keep your job. Not to mention the excessive uses of force. Example the guy her broke his arm in the interigattion room. That type of behavior would not be tolerated in real life. Amaro, same thing to a lesser degree. He would have been in serious trouble the time his wife came into the office and screamed at him. Then they went into another room and screamed some more and Fin came in and told them "everyone can hear you." Also 90% of the time Amaro victim blames. His so called "instincts" rarely pan out. Just not a believable character. Giddish is a goodactress. I don't think she's getting the credit she deserves. Love the character Fin. He's like the "yoda" of SVU. Hargitay of course is one of the best actresses on TV today. Love her character.
ReplyDelete@ Kilatila
We live in a democracy and people are Entitled to Their Own opinions. Here on this site have read many negative reviews and even unfair on Mariska Hargitay. Called in the mediocre actress. So let's agree: you get your opinion. I get mine. I have nothing against Kelly Gidish. But I have every right to not find it one granmde actress. It is far, far from it. No more to say.
fair enough..i m just sorry that we seem to have watched an entirely different episode...bottom line is: being objetive is needed in order to write a critic. I for one am trying to be.
ReplyDeleteto be honest, I was a a little confused by this episode and exactly WHAT happened in Atlanta. I got the whole sister/consensual-then-not deal, but I don't really feel like they entirely explained what happened after that. Obviously, she was uncomfortable around Patton, but I am assuming that he spread it around, bragged that he'd slept with her? That they were having a full-on affair and the gossip combined with Amanda's hurt over everything that had happened is what made her leave?
ReplyDeleteBased on season 13 (Strange Beauty) we know that Sam knew that the deputy chief was "out of line", drunk or not. I'd always assumed that she'd gone to Sam with the real rape story, he was the one who helped her transfer. Because if it was just the rumors that he'd heard, I don't think he would have alluded to the fact that the deputy chief did anything wrong?? He seemed to be on her side in that S13 episode, she even brought him to the bar to meet Nick and Fin, and on her two trips to Atlanta, he was the one she interacted with.
So then that scene on the street where he tracks her down and threatens her and accuses her of "holding out on him" so she could sleep with the boss seemed weird, because he clearly already knew she'd done that. Did he think Rollins was looking for payback because she slept with Patton once and he didn't leave his wife for her at that point?
...
Anyways. I feel like this episode left lots of questions still, so I hope they intend to continue to follow up. I just hope she doesn't fall off the wagon again. I think we've heard that we're going to meet Rollins' mom later this season, seemed like that conversation between Patton's wife and Rollins set up for that as well. I think there's more to that than we know...
Re: Rollins' case, I think it's also that he "got away" with it because it happened in Atlanta. Georgia does have a 15 year statute of limitations, but Amanda's case was out of NYPD's jurisdiction. I think the only reason Reese's case went ANYWHERE is because it happened in NY. Would have been swept under the rug in Atlanta I bet.
And as far as disclosure, seems like Barba is really the only one who knew the full story of what actually happened. Fin, Benson, Amaro - all they know is that she "put herself in a bad situation". I still don't think she ever revealed to them that it became something nonconsensual. She's still completely blaming herself and refusing to see herself as a victim. Maybe we will see this come full circle by the end of the season?
And, small irritation, Hamlin's fake southern accent is too "Charleston"... not really Atlanta.
In the south the "Good old boy" system is far and wide in law enforcement even to this day. If you accuse any officer much less your boss of anything the male officers will turn on you and slander you eventually forcing you off the job. If you didn't leave they would fail to respond to your assistance calls and you could be killed. They hound you. Disrespect you. Talk trash behind your back and even to your face. Even if you could prove rape then they force you out because they say you can't "handle yoursekf" and they don't want to partner with you because you can't back them up in a crisis. It is a loose loose situation. Your only option is to leave before they completely ruin your name and find a new department IF you decided to stay in law enforcement. Even though it sounds bad. You're safer if you just shut up. However it will make you crazy because you can never trust a male officer ever again inside that department. I worked for one of this types of departnents. Just not in Georgia. There was what the senior female officer named "The wolf pack." We tried to warn all the new boots about those animals. We couldn't report them because half of them were the Supervisors. They would invite new boots who were eager to fit in our for drinks. They would get them drunk and wolf pack them. Even after reported to Internal Affairs nothing happened. I screamed about them the loudest and I paid dearly for it. I don't know how departments up north are. But in the south it's still like we are stuck in the 60's. Those animals never looked at what they were doing as rape. It was considered making sure female officers were willing to be trusted and one of the "boys." Go along to get along.
DeleteThis episode was drama-less. It was no shock that it was Patton. The SVU writers do this all the time! They sucked all the suspense out of the episode by giving away Patton A LONG TIME AGO as the evil boss who wronged good girl Amanda Rollins. I agree with you Chris that I was hoping there would be some weird twist to the story but it never showed up.
ReplyDeleteAs far as what happened in Atlanta, I think it was clear that Rollins’ sister got in trouble and Patton wanted sex from Amanda Rollins to make it all go away. There seems to be no doubt that she agreed to the sex. Rollins told Barba she was raped. I suppose we really don’t know what she told the other detectives and Benson but IMO it is safe to assume they know she said she was raped, based on their discussions with her over the course of the case. I think this is also why Benson gave her Dr. Lindstrom’s card for the referral. Benson should have officially gotten on her case for lying about her involvement with Patton.
Regarding the title of the episode “Forgiving Rollins” we are left to wonder: what should we be forgiving her for, or what she should be forgiving herself for? Are we supposed to feel sorry for her? I don’t. She made a bad choice by agreeing to trade her body to wipe the slate clean for her sister. She clearly thinks that she can use her good looks to get what she wants. She DID NOT deserve to be raped, though. She made a bad decision then but I think she was a head case before that happened. She’s made horrific decisions after that, no doubt, but I don’t see why we should blame all of that on her being raped. I’ll just spit it out: just because someone gets raped or experiences some kind of trauma does not give them a free pass to do stupid things the rest of their lives. This whole “poor troubled Rollins” premise that was leading up to this episode was ridiculous. Reese was right. Reese took all the risk by coming forward and telling the truth while Rollins lied to her bosses and hid her involvement with him. Rollins not coming forward when Patton raped her meant he was still on the loose to do it again and he did. IMO she is always avoiding taking responsibility for her actions. I don’t trust her either and she is beginning to annoy me. I won’t be forgiving her any time soon.
Harry Hamlin's accent" cringe-worthy!
Well in my opinion, if you withdraw your consent, it's rape. And Patton saying: I won't take no for an answer and pinning her hands above her head, causing her to bleed too, when she struggled and said he should slow down - well I don't really see any consent here anymore
DeleteIt's true that she agreed to have sex with him, probably bc at the time she wouldv'e done anything for her sister...
ReplyDeletebut: you're forgetting that he was her superior and he's the one who actually "offered" her that.
And "the detective you were 5 years ago" fits perfectly: she was a different person back then.. I mean sure now the writers are making her "worse" but I think that's okay since Benson is just always depicted as being "right" and "perfect" and that's not great as well, but it's kinda over the edge with Rollins (and Amaro, too) cause they're erasing any good aspects of them...
idk where i was going with this comment but yeah the episode had too many courtroom scenes that were too long, especially since the people were only repeating what we already knew...
I never really liked Rollins to begin with. In my opinion she is the weakest link on the team. I was hoping that they would write her out of the series's for this episode.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWell, just saw it and I now understand better your review Chris. Although I really think Kelli Giddish did a tremendous job on this one, I'm kind of disappointed with this episode. Rollins and Amaro are definitely my favourite characters so I was expecting a bit more of an episode cantered on Rollins this way, but in the end the feeling is that I know about Rollins just as much as I knew before. And I believe they could have explored it a little bit better in order to disclose more of her sister history as well as a link with the discussion she had with Amaro on a past episode. Anyway, it was a really strong and amazing actor job by Kelli Giddish and that's the most positive thing I take from this episode. I've already admired Danny Pino as an actor (I knew his work before SVU), which in fact was the reason why I've started watching SVU, and Kelli Giddish just won the same admiration for the brilliant act she's been playing on SVU since she started playing Rollins. Wonderful Performance!
ReplyDeleteIf you had any understanding of law enforcement you would know that Rollins works for the NYPD now . They can not punish her for something that happened not only in a different police department but in a totally different state. However they probably would begin to watch her closely and look back over her prior involvements in her sisters cases that happened in New York. However internal Affairs had already cleared her of any wrong doing in those cases her credibility has now been called into question. That and her active gambling addiction would get her fired in real life. Once your credibility has been called into question it will be brought up in all your future court cases and can cause her being called as a witness being thrown out. I read somewhere that Rollins isn't in the last two episodes of the season and we have to wait until the end of March to find out if the show is picked up by NBC for season 17. Sense the head producer had to take a pay cut last year I doubt NBC is going to pony up any more money. Furthermore the newest members of the cast contracts are up for renewal & I don't see NBC giving them a raise. They would probably look at it as the perfect time to end the show.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it's a good idea to criticize Stabler by saying in real life he'd be off the force a couple seasons into the show. All of these detectives are either massively corrupt or hideously incompetent.
ReplyDeleteIn the episode called "Justice Denied" Benson is walking down the street talking to a defense attorney named Beard. He brought up the fact that Stabler had been under investigation when he left because of a thick fold of excessive uses of force and coercion. Stabler is not eligible for rehire by the NYPD. So yes Stabler is not psychologically a good officer.
DeleteDo not understand why criticize Olivia is perfect and right. And Amanda is not. The characters were drawn that way. Amanda has flaws, but that does not take away the merit of the character. Since she arrived in SVU, she brought problems. She has a past, and is facing the demons of the past. It is a bit off-balance, but it's a good detective. I'm sure SVU will be renewed and Kelly Gidish will be in the cast. Rollins stands well over Amaro, which seems insecure and problematic. I think the fans like more than Rollins.Também do not understand the criticism of Stabler. It was a great detective. Only his human side surfaced, to see so many heinous crimes. I like the new SVU, their stories are fantastic, but no one can deny that the partnership Eliot / Olivia was in television history.
ReplyDeleteSorry for my English.
So of course I have to jump in here and take a stand for my ltl flawed & adored character Amanda Rollins. Look she worked under Patton for 6 years! So for 6 years (and probably more since I can suspect she had it hard as a beat cop as well down there) she had to - using her own words - work twice as hard to live up to the boy's club, & - using Taymor's words - make sure she wasn't the last one in the office, watch out for accidental touches & smile at his (stupid) jokes. Now I know what it's like to work with someone like that but in my case it wasn't my superior officer so we were on an equal level which meant he couldn't order me around or call me in to his office late at night. Now Amanda had that, plus she had a captain (argh I so desperately wanted Sam to turn out to be a good guy but no) that tried to get in her pants as well.
ReplyDeleteAnd the rape happened 5 years ago, Amanda came to NY 3½ years ago which means she had to work with the slime/s for at least a year after the rape. It must've been absolutely horrible, and with Patton slutshaming her. Now I don't know what ppl knew or didn't know but I don't think Amanda told anyone that she was raped so whatever Amanda & Sam talked about at the bar while playing pool in Strange Beauty, the 'no lasting harm no foul', the 'drunk or not the deputy chief was out of line' was probably something more recent, something that may have happened in public & which made Sam put in a call to Cragen for a transfer. So I don't think we know just everything she was put through down there. So she came to NY after being basically ostracized by her squad. And yes I'm still bitter Benson didn't even knew she came from Atlanta, Dallas my ass, so much for compassionate Liv.
Now I of course don't know what may have happened to her before she became a cop but from what ltl her sister gave away it seems they had it rough growing up. I don't think Amanda comes from a good & stable place to begin with, APD certainly didn't do her good & it didn't help to 'run' to NY or to 'if you pretend long enough it is like nothing did happen'. I'm not excusing everything she's done wrong but I can totally see why & where she comes from.
What she offered Murphy in Gambler's Fallacy also comes in to light, she never saw what Patton did as a rape, she blamed herself, she saw it as she offered herself & she repeated that pattern with Murphy. She doesn't hold herself to much value but I absolutely wholeheartedly believe she would do anything to help a victim. She'd give up her life for her job, which in itself is a problem.
I'll stop ranting now ;) Cudos to the writers though, I might not like that they wrote such a disturbing & difficult past for Amanda but in a way it's brilliant. They could've easily made it a straight up rape (if there is such a thing?) but now they made the situation very tricky & I can see a lot of destructive behavior in Amanda's future before she's able to turn things around, to get her head around that she was raped & harassed & treated just really really poorly by APD. If she continues her lonely path I'm not sure she can overcome it actually. And that's why it pains me to see that her new squad didn't push themselves on her when she so obviously needs guidance with this.
@ptsdtrbl - the situation that you were in sounds absolutely horrible & I'm very sorry that you had to go through that :(
@Killatila - don't worry girl, I saw the same episode as you and Kelli Giddish was AMAZING. So subtle but fragile, just outstanding. I'm not objective though, I adore Kelli *lol* But the media seems to have caught on to it as well so don't let the Olivia-fanatics get to you. Judging by Mariska's twitter & instagram accounts she knows the truth too ;)
@petra this is what bugs me. Kelli and Mariska always compliment each other and Mariska praised Kelli's acting and mariska fans think kelli is not good enough and the old ones were better actors. This is insane. If Mariska -as a great actor herself- considers Kelli a great actor (and also warren and julie etc) then why should marika-olivia fans who dont know as much about acting as actors do bring kelli down like that? I am not a devoted mariska fan but i admit she was amazing in the lewis episodes...why be mean and not speak the truth?
ReplyDeleteBottomline is : Why cant kelli and mariska both be great? Why not be proud of su for casting great NEW actors to shine after 16 seasons? would they rather see kelli suck and svu get vad critics and go off the air? :/ like ice -t has said himself in order for the show to keep on being on air and being successful (otherwise there is no point ) we need to be good team players! When the player you dont think higly off scores the winning goal applaude it. Be the bigger person...
I think Kelli and Mariska are the best on the show. Their story lines are the reason the show is still on the air. If they were not great actors they couldn't convenience the audience to follow their story lines.
Delete@Killatila - I think it all boils down to fear that she'll bump Mariska off the show. It is irrational though cause it will never happen. I would certainly watch SVU without Mariska but let's face it SVU will probably end the day Mariska steps off so I only hope we'll get to see the compassionate/friendly Liv back in the squad room anytime soon. And it's the character of Liv I have a problem with, not Mariska or her acting. But her fans just wants all light on her & another female is more threatening than the male ones.
ReplyDeleteSome ppl will just hate for the sake of hating as well. Take the Meloni fans, over three years and they are still hating on him leaving!? Insane. If I was a Meloni fan yeah sure I would've been pissed back then but you would not find me three years later posting nasty comments every chance I got. Like I was nasty one episode after they killed of Shay on CF & then I just quit following the show & it's social medias. Simple as that. It's not like there aren't plenty of shows out there to chose from. I would still trash the writer's decision to kill her off if someone asked me but I wouldn't go on a fan forum and trash the show. That's so not cool. The haters are just nasty. How one could disrespect other fans like that is beyond me. Constructive criticism sure, go ahead, but plain hate - just tells me they're inconsiderate & speak volumes about their personality.
I find the block or ignore function very useful cause fighting back is just wasted on those morons, I do sometimes try n smother them with love but it brings out the passive aggressive in me so I try to restrain from it ;)
@Petra I stopped watching Chicago Fire the day they killed off Shay as well. She was the only reason I watched that snooze fest. I won't even watch their promos anymore. Stupidest decision in network tv history.
DeleteI'm becoming a bit worried about Barba, to tell the truth. I know this episode was all about Rollins and I loved it for that, but I also love Barba, and am still waiting for a more probative episode on his character than "October Surprise."
ReplyDeleteWhen he started on the show, Barba was (and still is) a shark - super-confident in the courtroom and willing to do what it takes to win a case. He had sympathy for the victims, but hardly showed any emotions about the cases he worked- though I'm not saying he didn't have any, just that he probably didn't want to get too close. Then as Barba started working more with Benson and SVU, we started to see how this stuff really affected him.
When everything happened with Benson and William Lewis, it hit Barba hard because of the guilt he felt about not being able to convict Lewis to begin with, not to mention having to watch his friend go through such a horrific ordeal. Now Barba is the only one who knows that Rollins was raped. His face while she was telling him her story killed me just as much as what Rollins was saying.
Maybe I'm alone in thinking this, but Barba almost seems ready to crack or lash out or something. Because now these horrible people are hurting the people he has come to care a lot about, and he's much closer to them than maybe he wanted to be. Like I said, in the beginning, it seemed like he felt better sort of distancing himself from the emotion. So I'm just hoping that Barba gets the same emotional and personal treatment from the writers that the detectives get in future episodes, because he could really be fleshed out so much more.
A few other thoughts:
That defense lawyer Buchanan needs to die a painful, horrible death very soon. He's even worse than Kessler.
Thank you for the translation of what Barba said to Patton!
Well, scratch that - he's probably not the only one who knows about Rollins' rape - Benson seemed to have a pretty good idea - but he was the one who actually heard her story.
ReplyDeleteI'm super late to this but there are some things that I want to talk about regarding Chris's review.
ReplyDeleteI completely disagree regarding Amanda. While you do understand that what happened to her was horrible, I feel that there are some things that you forgot to consider. You say that she should have reported her attack and I agree. However, how many victims are too ashamed to do so? A lot. Very few are willing to go straight to the police. You also say that Amanda was lying during the investigation to protect her reputation with her coworkers while this is not the case. I think she was doing it to prevent one of her most shameful secrets from coming out. How would you like it if all of sudden everyone found out you've been raped?
You say that Amanda shouldn't have agreed to have sex with Patton. The fact that she was willing to do so at first to save Kim shows that despite everything that her family has put her through, all the drama, she's willing to do anything to protect them because she really cares.
I do think that Amanda reporting her rape would have prevented Reese's. However, I feel that Reese calling Amanda out about not reporting was harsh. Just because you are willing to report and testify doesn't make you a better person.
Also, where did you get the impression that Rollins' was using the trauma from the rape to excuse her bad decisions? What is it about her that you don't like? You don't trust her because she was raped and didn't tell anyone? That's ridiculous. I do think that she should go to therapy though.
Overall I think that your being very unfair to her. It seems as if you're looking for any reason to hate and judge her.
I'm sorry if I came across as too harsh, but there are some things you didn't consider regarding what happened in this episode. Chris, I would love to hear what you think of my opinion. Also, how much are you looking forward to season 17? How do you hope they handle Kelli's pregnancy? I would be fine with whatever they decide to do, whether it's making Amanda pregnant or not. If they make her pregnant, I hope that Nick is the dad. It would be an inter
interesting way to get Danny Pino back. Hope you have a great day :) (For some reason my comment got cut off)
ReplyDeleteAna - My issue with Rollins is that she is in law enforcement and should know better than to paint herself in a corner in the manner that she did. She was already on shaky ground with Benson and if I recall correctly, this situation didn't help. I think Rollins was purposely pained as a flawed character for dramatic reasons. If she had no flaws, I don't think people would have much interest in her!
ReplyDeleteAs far as her pregnancy, as I think the first 3 episodes were filmed months ago, we may not find out whether they work this into the show or not. Some of the on location photos taken recently show her obviously pregnant, but we all know that they have their ways to hide this on screen. I admit I am not sure what they'll do! But I suspect they won't have Amaro be any part of it if they do write it in. Just a guess!
Yes, Amanda's flaws are what make her interesting. As for the relationship between her and Olivia, I feel that it got better because Liv understands Amanda more. At least that's the impression I got during that scene at the beginning of Decaying Morality. What do you think?
ReplyDeleteAs for the pregnancy, they'll probably let us know sooner rather than later. They filmed the first 3 episodes before hiatus. I also remembered Ice posting a picture with Whoppi Goldberg shortly after they returbed, and I assume that's when they were filming episode 4. That means we should find out by the time Institutional Fail airs. Kelli is supposedly due at the end of October. There are so many possibilities of what they can do. Pregnant, not pregnant, miscarriage, putting the baby up for adoption, keeping the baby, etc.... What do you personally hope they do?
An upcoming episode (I believe it's episode 6) is supposed to have her mom and sister. I think we'll learn more about what happened in Atlanta in that episode.
I know this post is a year old, but I hope you see this comment at some point.
ReplyDeleteI'm just a random person who was googling to find out what happened in this episode, so I haven't actually seen it, but reading your review really bothered me.
You seem to think that Rollins is some kind of bad or untrustworthy person because she's so secretive about her rape. I get that she was holding back important information on the case, but at the same time, we're talking about a rape survivor's reluctance to share her story. Of course Benson was forgiving about it, because she knows a thing or two about rape survivors, and she knows it can be difficult for them to open up. In fact, it seems that Rollins is dealing with major self-blaming issues, and frankly, you're supporting that idea.
One of the many awful things about being raped is that afterward, you have to carry around this label of "victim" for the rest of your life. People insist on putting you into boxes, expecting you to feel and behave a certain way, and they cast judgement on you of they don't think you're fulfilling some kind of duty that you never signed up for. Some survivors describe it as a kind of public reinforcement of their rape.
As for the fact that she initially agreed to have sex with Patton for her sister's sake, I still disagree with your harsh judgement. This was her boss, using his position of authority over her and threatening her sister (whether or not her sister was "supposed to" be caught). It was severe sexual harassment at the very least, and the validity of her consent is questionable.
Bottom line, Rollins was a victim in this situation, and it's not cool to judge her for how she copes with trauma. "Victim-blaming" doesn't just refer to blaming the victim for the crime itself, you know.
I'm sure you didn't mean to, but in writing this post, you've made a small contribution to the perpetuation of rape culture. :\
I hope I've been able to shed some light on this for you.
@SomeoneWhoCares, I think you are overreacting to my review. Rollins made some bad decisions and remained secretive about her former boss even knowing her former boss was a predator. She admits she consented to sex with him in order to gain her sister's release. If you know anything about Rollins, her sister has always been, and continued to be, a weak spot for her. She should have let her sister face the consequences and not bartered for her release by having sex with her boss, and I think Rollins knows it, which is party why she is so ashamed. Rollins' actually allowed this predator to continue to operate because she did not speak up. This is not victim blaming, it's stating fact. Her actions could have contributed, albeit indirectly, to other rapes besides the one that occurred in this episode. Being a victim or rape, or even sexual harassment, doesn't give a person a free pass to turn a blind eye to predators or criminals.
ReplyDeleteYou said "One of the many awful things about being raped is that afterward, you have to carry around this label of "victim" for the rest of your life." No, you don't. I don't agree with that at all. I know many rape survivors who don't feel that way. You also said: "I'm sure you didn't mean to, but in writing this post, you've made a small contribution to the perpetuation of rape culture. :\" You're contributing to victim stereotypes by pigeon-holing rape victims as being helpless people who will never get over what happened to them. I've known a lot of victims who don't see themselves as eternal victims as you do. They don't use what happened to them as an excuse for anything they've done in the past or on the future. My review was based on a fictional character whose story had been told over many episodes; what led up to the incident in this episode should be openly discussed. How will anyone learn if we can't discuss what happened and why?
And I hope I've shed some light on the subject for you too!
Chris, I came back to see if you added anything to this post. I honestly don't see how you can believe that Amanda is untrustworthy just because she didn't disclose what had happened with Patton and how you can question her integrity because she agreed to have sex with him. I understand that she was withholding important info, that she unknowningly led to Resse's rape and possibly others, and that she has a blind spot for her sister. I believe that Benson let her off because she was dealing with a survivor, not a cop. I honestly see Rollins as someone who's willing to put others before herself, even if that person puts her through hell like Kim. She didn't have to help save Kim, but she did because she's family. What exactly about her keeping quiet makes her seem untrustworthy? I believe she kept quiet because she's ashamed that something terrible happened to her and not because she's concerned about her image like you make it seem. As for questioning her integrity, I guess you can't really see the selfless thing she believed she was doing when she agreed to the sex. Hopefully now that I pointed it out you do.
ReplyDelete@Ana Andrade - no, haven't added anything. This review is over a year old and my opinion of that episode still stands!
ReplyDeleteChris, I'd like you to know that this show is not real, there have been many times on this show were charges and procedures are not what is done in real life law enforcement. I enjoyed your review, but calm down, the show isn't real, nor accurate.
ReplyDelete@Brittany Howard - of course the show is not real - I never said it was. My comments are years old but I still stand by them. It's okay to discuss issues with fictional characters. If we can't analyze what's going wrong with them we will never learn anything from their mistakes. And I believe over times, Rollins has learned her lesson, albeit the hard way. Frankly, I think fictional shows like SVU are meant to be analyzed and discussed!
ReplyDeleteI am re wachting the seasons so I came via google on your site. I watched this episode last week. Its interesting how your thoughts especially as a man were back in 2015. So this was before METOO, The public opinion was so different back then from what it is now. Rollins was clearly the victim of rape. Her boss beat her, bite her, slammed her head to the bedboard till she was bleeding and he raped her. That was about violence and power abuse, not about sex. It doenst matter if she came to him to have sex in the first place. She had all the rights to say No to him after he got violent. That she not want to report the rape and that she felt guilty and so ashamed was a natural reaction. What could she do and who would believe her? She was stuck in a mensworld full of macho s and powerabusers. He was her boss who could make her or break her. For the next 9 months or so she got slutshamed, there were many bad stories and rumors about how she slept with her boss. There was no one to trust, if she had reported it then it was put under the carpet. Probably in this situation she got isolated from the squad and she was in the center of rumors for months till she finally left Atlanta. It was the best to report such a crime but in reality it's a utopie to believe that many victims will do this. Also in RL rape by your boss or someone you know well are almost not reported. I think for Rollins the months full of isolation and slutshaming were worse then the rape unsich. The Rollins character is well written: She has a troubled messed up character, especially in the first season. She got triggered easily which results in addiction problems, she is strongly against putting the victim label on a victim, her has a low selfsystem, she thinks she deserves no happiness. she feels worthless in general and its common behavior after rape. I did not like how she did not do or say anything the moment she saw Reese with Pattern, she knew very well what he could do with his new young blond protege. Also afterwards she did not stand up for Reese. But its a realistic storyline because this happens a lot in RL. Amanda always downplayed what had happened, she never wanted to admit she was raped, that she lost the control in a situation. What she said: If you are long enough telling yourself nothing has happened then you will believe in a while that nothing has happened
ReplyDeleteI think you are the victim blaming her too much but that was just the way it was in 2015.