Thursday, November 10, 2016

Law & Order SVU “Broken Rhymes” (AKA “Bad Rap”) Recap & Review


Maybe I was still in a bad mood from the results of the presidential election the day before, but I could not get into this episode. There wasn’t much of a story to grab onto. It’s another episode where I felt nothing for the victim. It was not because of the issues that a transgender person might face, it was because the victim seemed to be coping well with her life. The problem was that others couldn't cope.  Having to encounter transphobic people must be very difficult but because we never saw Eva having any discussions or arguments with the transphobic Vincent Love and Cash, we never got to see any of what she had to endure. Rather than showing that first throwaway scene at the art studio, I would have preferred seeing her tearing up the $50K check or arguing, even on the phone, with an unseen Cash or Vincent. It was another episode with no suspense.

Fin probably had the most relevant commentary on the issue of transgender people when he said that gender fluidity is coming out more these days and that was cool, but it’s confusing and a lot of people can’t make sense of it all. I wish they had continued this thought and have a deeper discussion on the actual viewpoints people have regarding gender and gender identity.

Benson really twisted things up when she defended Hype’s murder of Cash, trying to convince Barba it was a “heat of the moment” situation to her. Barba was right, this was a premeditated murder. I can see her point of trying for a lesser charge and sentence, but for her to even begin to defend his actions and not see that it was cold-blooded murder was a head-scratcher. Another head-scratcher was when she tried to convince Barba that the lawyer was in a conflict of interest situation. Barba is not an idiot; he would easily conclude this on his own. Yet they continue to write Barba in a manner that Benson always has to be the one to explain things to him. I loved it when Barba said “Oh, you are not gonna let me get outta here” because I felt the same way about this episode.





Here is the recap:

Cast:
Mariska Hargitay - Lieutenant Olivia Benson
Ice-T - Detective Odafin “Fin” Tutuola
Kelli Giddish - Detective Amanda Rollins
Raúl Esparza - ADA Rafael Barba
Peter Scanavino - Detective Dominick “Sonny” Carisi, Jr.

Guest stars:
Wyclef Jean - Vincent Love.
Mitchell Edwards – Hype
Okieriete Onaodowan - Cash Lewis
Will Swenson - Attorney Mitch Hampton
C. David Johnson - Mark Carson
Jacqueline Torres - Nina Carson
Rodney Richardson - Logan Blake
Sabel Gonzales - Eva Carson
Jay Klaitz -
Ngozi Anyanwu – Officer Perlina Edozi
Sonia Manzano – Judge Gloria Pepitone
Alet Taylor – Liza Johnson
Ruby Taylor – Sophia Johnson
Renata Hinrichs - Professor
Molly Leland – SANE Nurse
Rae Nelson – Kate
Matthew Vitticore = Jury Foreperson
Matthew Wechsler – Employee
Dewey Wynn - CSU Tech


A woman leaves an art class and goes to a mall. She looks at her watch and sits down at a table to wait and then walks to the ladies rest room. While she is in there, someone breaks into her stall and she screams.

Later, Benson and Rollins are on the scene. An officer tells them the vic took a bad beating and lost a lot of blood. There were obvious signs of sexual assault; someone did it with a pipe. Benson asks if they recovered it, and the officer replies yes, they didn’t have to look too far, it was in the bathroom next to the vic. A mom and daughter found her, they saw a male, black, 30s. They are looking for other witnesses but nothing so far. There are no security cameras in the hallway or the bathroom. The officer hands Rollins the victim’s ID and tells them to look at it. As the EMTs wheel the victim past them, Benson comments that it was a public bathroom in a crowded mall in broad daylight, adding this is a hell of a place to attack someone. Rollins counters “or the perfect place,” holding up the victim’s ID, saying the victim is transgender.

Benson and Rollins question the mother and daughter, Sophie, and the young girl knows something but her mother is reluctant to cooperate. The mother tells the detectives Sophie doesn’t remember anything else and Sophie reluctantly agrees. Benson thanks Sophie and as mother and daughter walk off, Benson sarcastically thanks the mother for cooperating. Sophie’s mom comments it is just a matter of time before something like this happened, they have to make a big fuss over this transgender issue. She asks why can’t people use the damn bathroom they were born to use? Benson gives her a business card and say they will be in touch and she thanks Sophie.

At Mercy Hospital at 365 West 32nd Street on Monday, November 14, Carisi explains to Benson and Rollins that the vic’s legal name is Eric Carson and she is a 24 year old art student from Montclair New Jersey who goes by the name Eva. Fin adds the parents are on the way. The nurse explains the rape kit showed forced penetration and severe tearing and bleeding; a perforated colon and significant blunt force trauma to the head and the torso as well and she is lucky to be alive. No semen,  and there are bruises on her wrists and arms and they are checking her fingernails for DNA. Carisi comments this happens just after New York signed the gender-neutral bathroom bill, adding the media will be all over this. Benson states this is for good reason – this is a hate crime.


Afterwards, Benson approaches Mr. & Mrs. Carson and introduces herself. Mrs. Carson asks when she can see her daughter. Benson says she is not sure but the doctor will be out shortly to give them an update. In the meantime, if it okay with them she would like to ask them a few questions about Eva. She asks when in the last time they saw her, and Mr. Carson replies last night, she called him around midnight. She was upset and said she was having relationship issues. He asks who would do something like this; she is 5’7” and 120 pounds. Mrs. Carson thinks it is some religious, transphobic monster, afraid of a man living as a woman. When Eva said she wanted to transition they supported her but she was afraid she might get targeted, so many of these young women get assaulted. Mr. Carson tries to comfort his wife, saying it is okay, she is going to be fine. Benson comments that they said she was having relationship issues, asking if she had a boyfriend or girlfriend. Mrs. Carson says Eva had a boyfriend, Logan, but they broke up. Mr. Carson explains they got back together last week, adding Eva confides in him which is why she called him last night. They were fighting. He thought she was seeing somebody else; he is not sure that she was.

At the Law offices of Shannon & Whitmore at 198 Lafayette Street on Monday, November 14, Benson and Rollins speak with Logan who is upset at the news. He wants to be there but Benson wants to talk to him now. Rollins asks where was he between 12 and 1 PM, and he says he was here in the office all day. He ate at a diner in Tribeca. Benson brings up the argument that Eva’s father mentioned and Rollins reads back some of the nasty messages he sent to Eva. He states he lost his temper, saying the relationship is complicated because she is transgender and no matter how open minded you are, it is still challenging. She started working as a model and going to parties, getting paid $1000 a night. She started falling in love with the “it” crowd and the scene. The agency fired her last week because of an altercation with a guest last Thursday. Rollins asks where was that?

Later, at the Panda Club at 949 Washington Street on Monday, November 14, Fin and Carisi speak with someone working there who thinks he recognizes Eva but doesn’t want a law suit from trans-people who he thinks can sue you if you look at them sideways. He explains a big music company threw a party Thursday and there were a lot of models there, a few of them were transgender. Eva slapped one of the guests and made a scene, so they tossed her ass. Fin points to a camera on the wall and asks if they have any of that one video. Soon, they are looking at the video and Carisi spots Eva and when they see the slap, Fin thinks it looks personal. The worker doesn’t know the name of the guy who she slapped so Carisi asks for the person who tossed her.


Back at SVU, Rollins informs the others that Eva is on life support and it doesn’t look good. Carisi says there are no prints on the pipe and they are waiting on the DNA. Fin adds that he just got off the phone with the event planner who doesn’t know the name of the guy who got slapped but he does know he was a guest of Vincent Love. Rollins asks if that is the rap guy, and Fin says he is the founder of 187 Music and he works with the biggest names out there. Benson guesses that big name rappers don’t appreciate getting slapped by transgender models, telling them to find Vincent Love and find out what happened.

At the residence of Vincent Love at 49 Spring Street on Tuesday, November 15, Carisi and Fin speak with Vincent who explains that Eva tried to pick a fight and she slapped one of his boys so he told the men who owned the club to kick her dumb ass out. Fin explains she is in a coma. The guy she slapped is his new artist, Hype. Vincent explains he has a biggy-style talent and they are working on his new album right now. Hype was cracking a joke and she got offended and Hype is straight out of the hood and sometimes his table manners aren’t perfect.

Afterwards, Fin and Carisi arrive at the studio and speak with Hype about Eva, who calls Eva a freak, saying they should arrest his stupid ass. Fin explains she is in a coma because someone did her with a pipe. Hype says “he” looked like a girl and when he found out the truth he made a few jokes. Hype says he was here in the studio all day. It was the first and last time he ever met her. One of Hype’s people says they have to get back to work so the detectives leave.

Back at SVU with Fin, Carisi explains to Benson that Hype’s real name is Randall Leonard who claims he was in the studio at the time of the assault. Fin adds they have nothing the says otherwise. Benson asks what is their theory, asking if Eva humiliated him at the club and then he tracked her down and attacks her? Fin replies it wouldn’t be the first rapper with a fragile ego. Benson asks if they have anything in Hype’s past that would suggest he is good for this, and Carisi replies he had one prior for armed robbery, plead down to a misdemeanor and didn’t do any time. He listened to some of his music; it is hard core. Rollins adds he means hateful, full of homophobic rants and gay slurs. Benson comments that doesn’t mean he is good for the assault, but Rollins counters this might: she shows them a picture captioned “Look who I saw at Cyprus market!” and it is a photo of Hype and a woman taken 20 minutes before Eva was attacked. Fin comments so much for Hype being in the studio all day working on his rhymes. Benson tells them to bring him in, she wants to know what he was doing at Cyprus Markets and why he lied about it.

Later, Carisi and Fin have Hype in interrogation. Carisi and Fin brings up Hypes hateful lyrics and the fact he was at the market. Hype says he stepped out for lunch. Carisi continues to press and Hype says he never touched Eva. Fin also presses and Hype denies it again, saying he was just getting food and he did not see Eva. He eats there three days a week and his studio is three blocks away. He asks if he can go and Fin tells him not to go too far. Meanwhile, Benson and Rollins are observing and Benson thinks he is lying about something, telling Rollins to get his mug and a photo array and show it to the mother and daughter. Rollins explains they are in Boston until Wednesday, adding that Hype is not the only one who is lying. Security video shows the boyfriend Logan left his law firm at 11:30 and didn’t return until 1:45. Benson comments that is not a quick lunch, Rollins saying not unless you live in Italy.

Benson and Rollins speak again with Logan who says he didn’t lie, admitting he just didn’t tell the truth. He admits he was at a meeting with Dr. Kensit as Eva was planning to undergo surgery to become a woman but she changed her mind last week. Logan put down a deposit of $5,000 and he was trying to get a refund. He was only there an hour and he took a “Quick Ride”, showing them the record with the times. He should have been more forthcoming. He and Eva were having problems and she was starting to see someone else which is why she changed her mind about the operation. He thinks the guy she was seeing liked her just the way she is. He doesn’t know his name but he saw him in the park the other day and he took photos. Rollins says they will have to see them.

Back at SVU, they look at the enlarged photos and Fin recognizes the man as Cash Lewis, Hype’s business partner and producer. Rollins goes through his extensive rap sheet. Carisi asks if Cash was hanging out with Eva behind Logan’s back, why would he beat and rape her. Fin replies, “Lots of reasons” and Benson adds all they need is one.

Later, Fin, with Carisi, shows Cash the picture and he admits it is him. Cash explains they were talking business, and Eve is a song writer who wrote some of Hype’s songs. Cash and Vincent bought her out so she would remain anonymous. Fin says they wouldn’t want a trans girl on the album as a writer. Cash claims they gave her 50 grand and the dumb bitch didn’t know they could pay her five times that. Carisi says that is not a nice way to describe someone who is fighting for her life. Cash suggests they call his lawyer.

Back at SVU, Carisi shows Benson a photo of a check for $50,000 to Eric Carson that had been torn up in was in her wastebasket. Fin adds it was written on the 187 checking account. They don’t know why she ripped it up. Benson wonders that Cash and Vincent tried to bribe Eva and she says no, then what? Fin comments that Hype is worried about some transgender girl telling the world she writes all his hard core raps. Benson agrees that sounds like motive. Carisi asks for who – Cash, Hype, Vincent? Rollins pipes up and says he money is on Hype; she just spoke with the lab and they found his DNA under Eva’s fingernails. Benson tells Rollins to sit on the studio and she will send anti-crime to the apartment, telling Fin and Carisi to work on an arrest warrant – NOW.

As Rollins waits in her car outside the studio, she sees Hype leave. She calls Carisi who is at the courthouse getting the warrant and he tells her not to take her eyes off him. Hype gets in a taxi and she follows in her car. He arrives at the hospital where Eve is at and Rollins is following on foot. Carisi and Fin arrive and when Carisi calls out he is NYPD, Hype sees them he begins to run, unknowingly toward Rollins who trips him. Fin cuffs him and Rollins says he is under arrest for rape and assault with a deadly weapon.

Back at SVU in interrogation, Benson tells Hype they have his DNA under Eva’s fingernails, they have him near the crime scene 20 minutes before the attack and as for motive, there are too many. Benson asks if he was going to the hospital to kill her so she couldn’t ID him. Fin says he has to come clean, they have enough to charge him. Benson says they are just being polite, they are giving him a chance to tell them what happened. Hype explains if he tells him all, will they keep it private, and Benson says they won’t say a word. Hype says they had sex and they were dating. They are in love.

Afterwards in the break room, Benson and the detectives discuss this news, but Hype has told so many lies. Fin thinks Hype had been lying to protect his career. This style of rap is all about street cred and if they heard he was in love with a transgender they would laugh at him. Benson says it is 2016 for god’s sake, and Fin counters not for people selling gangsta rap. Carisi adds or for some of his relatives, and Rollins adds hers too. Fin adds that the gender fluidity is coming out more these days and that’s cool, but the truth is, it is confusing and a lot of people can’t make sense of it all. Benson wonders if Hype just cracked and took out all his rage on Eva, suggesting they go back inside and see if they can learn anything.

Back in the interview room, Benson asks to go over everything again. He said he went back to the hospital to be sure if she was okay. He claims he is not gay, not even close, he just likes her. They first met 3 month ago at a party and they started hanging out. She slapped him to pretend that she knew him and he started making stupid jokes. He didn’t want anybody to know. Benson asks if it’s not about the songs she wrote, and when Hype asks what is she talking about, Fin adds that Cash said she wrote some of the tracks but he didn’t want her name on the album and that is why Cash and Vincent gave her 50K to remain anonymous. Hype says Eve didn’t write any and she doesn’t even like rap. He writes his own rhymes. He was at the market as Eva wanted to have lunch in public and was tired of their relationship being on the DL. It was a big deal to her and he freaked out and changed his mind. He wanted to have lunch but he just couldn’t do it so he left and went to the bar down the street for a peach schnapps and then went back to the studio.

Later, Fin, along with Carisi and Rollins, tells Benson the bartender remembers Hype as he was the only person who has ordered a peach schnapps in five years. Surveillance video shows him there from 12 to 1:05. Rollins informs them Logan’s alibi is confirmed. This leaves Cash. Benson tells them to get the mother and daughter down her right away to see if they can ID him.

In the interview room, Sophie and her hesitant mother look at the photo array and when Sophie locks in on one person with her eyes, Benson gets the reluctant mother out of the room. Benson then presses the mother about her daughter telling the truth, explaining details about Eva and if she continues to interfere and allow her daughter to lie, she will arrest her. The mother gets the message,

Later, Benson is in Barba’s office to tell him that Cash Lewis was identified and Benson believes it is credible. Benson says the motive is that Eva posed a threat to Hype and when she refused to be bought off, he beat and raped her with a pipe. Barba doesn’t think they have enough for an arrest but he will get a search warrant. Benson gets a text, then tells Barba the sooner the better – the rape case has turned into a murder investigation. Eva passed away an hour ago.

At the apartment of Cash Lewis at 146 east 50th Street on Thursday, November 17, Fin, Carisi, and Rollins arrive at the apartment and when they find the door open, they enter with guns drawn. Rollins sees a body and it is Cash but he is still breathing so they call out for a bus. Fin sees a trail of bloody footprints leading to a closed door. Fin pushes it in to find Hype standing there, his shirt bloody, begging them not to shoot. Carisi cuffs Hype.

Later, at SVU in interrogation with his attorney. Hype says he had been reading over his contract last night. He was supposed to get 20% of the profits, not 15, so he went to see Cash and they got into it. He explains that he said Cash was trying to hustle him and Cash got pissed off and starting saying things. It got ugly and Cash punched him in the left side of his head. He hit back and they started swinging at each other and Cash pulled out his piece so he grabbed it. Cash didn’t back down and he is big and strong so she started stepping into him with a crazy look in his eyes. The lawyer moved to put his hand on Hype’s back and Hype says he was in fear for his life that he was trying to kill him so he shot him. Hype’s lawyer states Hype was acting in self defense; he is much smaller than Cash and despite his tattoos and his ghetto affectations, he is an artist, not a fighter or gangster. There was no pretend in Cash. Carisi asks then how did Hype get the gun? They lawyer says he grabbed it out of Cash’s hand and Hype agrees, saying Cash just had it by his side and he snatched it. Rollins asks if this whole fight was over a contract and not Eva, and the lawyer agrees. Rollins reminds them that Eva died 3 hours before this fight and Carisi adds that it was Cash that killed her. The lawyer says that may be the case but it has nothing to do with this dispute. Hype adds he was just there to talk business. Carisi is skeptical and Rollins comments that as this was self defense, she assumes they have their permission to take a few photos and collect his clothing and clip his fingernails. Carisi looks back to the observation window where Benson and Barba are watching. Benson comments that this guy is lying his ass off and Fin adds it is more like fronting his ass off. Barba says he does not want to charge him yet, and to dig into his story and find out what is true or what is not.

As Hype is being photographed and asked to remove his bloody clothes, Carisi comments he did not care for Cash and hopes Hypes is telling the truth as he would hate for him to go down for murder for a lie like that. They lawyer says Hype is done talking, he thought he was clear on that. Carisi says he is trying to help. Fin then calls Carisi over and whispers that he got a hit on the gun; it belongs to Vincent Love.

Back at Vincent Love’s place, he thinks Hype must have stolen his gun, he knows he owns many guns. He keeps them locked up but keeps one in his desk – of course he looks for it and it is not there. He says Hype knew he kept it there but Carisi is skeptical. When Carisi asks when the last time Hype was there, Fin pipes up and says today; from 3:20 to 3:43, Fin was downstairs with the doorman looking at the video. Vincent admits he was there, playing him his new album. He was excited about it. Hype and Cash were tight and had no beefs. The bring up Eve and Vincent gets evasive. But Fin confronts him, saying Eva and Hype were involved and that is why he cut that 50G check so she would go away and not screw up his career before it started. Carisi adds when Eva said no, Cash went to the next level and beat her with a pipe. Vincent claims he knows nothing about it and says if they need any more information to call his lawyer, motioning them out and telling them to have a nice day.

Back at SVU, Barba says the whole self defense thing is a total mess. First and foremost, Cash didn’t pull the gun, Hype did, he is lying about everything. Benson reminds him he admitted he was in love with Eva. Barba counters that even if Hype tells the truth, that he was seeking revenge because of her death, he is still staring down a murder charge. Benson states that the love of his life just died after being beaten and raped with a pipe, it sounds like “heat of the moment” to her. Barba counters no, Hype had 3 hours to cool down. He stole Vincent Love’s gun then drove 60 blocks looking for his victim and he shot him in cold blood. To Barba, that sounds like murder. Benson says if the victim wasn’t such a hate-filled, pipe-wielding rapist then she would be more inclined to agree with him. Benson states from a legal perspective, that is irrelevant. Benson counters that from a human one, it is not. Cash killed Eva because she was transgender, asking if the world is really going to be a worse place because Hype does 5 years instead of 20? Barba does not answer.

Afterwards, Hype is in interrogation with his lawyer and Benson and Barba return. Barba says he is going to indict Hype for murder the first thing tomorrow. The lawyer says Hype acted in self defense but Barba says they disagree, the evidence doesn’t add up. But he is here to offer them a deal: Man 1. He adds that he will need Hype to allocute so the judge and the public knows why he is offering him this deal. Hype asks what that means, and Benson explains Hype will need to tell the judge what really happened, that he killed Cash in a heightened, emotional fit of rage because he loved Eva. The lawyer shakes his head and Hype says this has nothing to do with someone named Eva. Benson tells him not to be stupid, but Hype shouts he shot Cash for a business dispute, it was self defense, adding it is like his said, he ain’t no faggot.

Back in her office with Barba, she says that Hype thinks because he is in love with a transgender woman that is gay…confused. Barba comments they tried; it was a good deal, almost too good. Either Hype has a lot of confidence in his lawyer – and Benson finishes, saying he is being handled. She thinks the lawyer is in Vincent’s back pocket and when his rappers get jammed up, good old Hampton gets a call. Barba asks, “so?” and Benson says the real client is Vincent Love, not Hype. Barba states he is allowed to pay the legal fees as long as there is no conflict of interest. Benson says he just talked Hype out of the best deal that he is ever going to see because he is protecting Love’s brand. She adds they are transphobic, homophobic and if they have to sell Hype out in the meantime and convince him to “stay street”, so be it. Barba doesn’t disagree but it is not his problem, he has a trial to win. Benson thinks Vincent Love orchestrated the attack on Eva and Barba says, “Oh, you are not gonna let me get outta here.” Benson says he is the one who got Eva thrown out of that party and he told Cash to pay her off and when she refused, he told Cash to beat her. Barba tells her to go on, and Benson says Vincent has too much to lose. Hype was supposed to be the next big thing, the Golden Goose, he has the looks, the talent and attitude. The only thing that could possible screw that up was Eva. Barba glares at her and says this is a little late in the game, doesn’t she think? He asks if she has any evidence, anything at all to back this up/ She admits no, and he tells her to let it go - or find some fast. She asks if he will get her a warrant for Love’s office and studio, and he says, grudgingly – “yes”. She thanks him.

At Rikers Island Correctional Facility on Monday, November 28, Benson and Barba are there and Hype’s lawyer says they are not ready to plea to any charges that will force Hype to lie to a fictitious relationship with a transgender art student. Benson says they know it is not fictitious and so does Vincent. They have been searching is office and texts and emails but they already knew that. They lawyer asks if there is a point to the meeting or of they are really bored, and Barba says “Here’s the point, smartass” and plays back a recording of Hype and Cash discussing Eva, 2 days before she was attacked. It was from a hot mic. The lawyer tries to explain it away and says Love had nothing to do with it and Barba says that sounds like a conflict of interest. Barba would much rather bury the man responsible for killing Eva than the lawyer. He looks at Hype and says if he cooperates, he will reduce the murder charge to man 2 and he will do three years. The lawyer states they already discussed this. Benson asks why he doesn’t let his client talk, and the lawyer counters it is not Hype’s job to talk, it is his. Benson forcefully tells him to speak on Hype’s behalf for once. Benson looks at Hype and says Cash and Vincent told him that Eva would ruin his career and when she wouldn’t accept the money, they killed her. Hype says he knows what they did and Benson urges him to testify and get justice for Eva, asking doesn’t she deserve that? She asks him to do it for her, and Hype looks at his lawyer and says he can’t do this. Benson tells Hype not to look at him, this is his decision. She is giving him an opportunity and if he loses this case, it will be him doing 20 years, not Hampton or Vincent. They will be out free, making money on the music he wrote. The lawyer shakes his head and Hype says tersely that he ain’t no snitch, adding, “see you in court.” Hype gets up and leave, leaving Benson there stunned and Barba looking like he wanted to gloat.

In Supreme Court part 8 on Tuesday, November 29, Barba presents opening statement against Hype and that is constituted murder. The defense explains Hype’s up and coming career (Benson thinks it sounds like an advertisement). He states Cash was trying to take advantage of him, they fought, and Cash pulled a gun and Hype grabbed it and shot him in self defense. He adds it had nothing to do with love or a fictitious person named Eva, the comment distressing her parents who are sitting in the gallery. He thinks this was concocted by the prosecution.

Later, on the stand, Barba questions Hype about the contract and Hype states he thought it was a sweetheart deal at the time but didn’t read it close enough. When Barba asks why Hype read it two months later to re-examine it, Hype says nothing and Barba asks if was legal curiosity or boredom, and Hype asks what he means. When Barba gives him a hypothetical situation, Hype states he just wanted to make sure it made sense. When Barba said it was all about the contract, Hype said yeah. Barba comments it had nothing to do with Eva who had just died after being raped and beaten with a metal pipe. Hype looks at his lawyer and then says she had nothing to do with this. Barba presses him, asking can’t he just tell the truth – he shot the son of a bitch who raped and murdered the woman of his dreams on the order of Vincent Love, just because she was transgender. The lawyer objects and Barba withdraws the question, saying nothing further. Hype glares,

Later, The verdict is in: they jury finds Hype guilty on the charge of murder in the second degree. Hype looks stunned as the court officer cuffs him. As the judge thanks the jury, Vincent gets up to leave and he glares and Benson. Hype looks shocked as they take him away. His lawyer also looks to Benson who glares right back at him. She consoles Eva’s mother.

Outside the courthouse, Benson walks with Barba and she comments that three lives have been destroyed, all because some woman named Eva was born a boy. They both watch as people photograph Vincent as he moves to his car. Barba comments he just read Hype’s single has hit #1. Benson states that is all that really matters. As they walk off we fade to black.



All Content (Recaps, Review, Commentary) Copyright © allthingslawandorder.blogspot.com unless otherwise noted

Check out my blog home page for the latest Law & Order information, on All Things Law And Order.

Also, see my companion Law & Order site,These Are Their Stories.

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

I really was surprised at how much I did like this episode!
The acting was great, I thought it was much better written than the last transgender episode. It was nice to see the chemistry between the characters!
The characters seem to be more real this year and developing into themselves even more this year compared to last year, when sometimes they seemed to be sleepwalking through their lines! I love that Fin has bigger roles and more lines this year. And courtroom drama too in the episodes! I feel like somehow we are getting a bonus this year. :)

Unknown said...

@Chris - is it true that this is the last episode of this year and that there won't be a new one until January? If so, I don't mind because that means less breaks between episodes in the spring. Re the election - I'm right there with you. Thankfully I live in California, which always goes blue. Sorry to hear your home state Ohio went red this time. On the plus side, the Cavs (even though they beat my Warriors in the Finals) and the Indians did good and are doing good this year. If only the Browns could do the same ;)

Unknown said...

What did Eva take out of her purse in the bathroom?

XavierXAJ said...

some clean wipes or something

Chris Zimmer said...

@Ana - yes this was the last so until January...unless they change the schedule again! The election has half the country upset! My own state disappointed me. The Cavs and Indians were great but those Browns...yikes!!!

@roselynn - I agree with @xavierxaj - it looked like some sort of wet wipes.

Unknown said...

That's what I thought, but what is wrong with toilet paper? Is that a trans thing? Just trying to understand.

Mandy said...

I thought maybe the wipes were supposed to be for estrogen cream? I know people who use topical testosterone, so I assumed you could do estrogen the same way.

Anyway, I thought this episode was way better than the last couple. I still wish that SVU would spend more time doing things and less time pontificating about the writers' moral codes, but I appreciated that Fin actually got used in this episode, and Barba was more on form than he's been in a while. More please.

Anonymous said...

@Roselynn they looked like travel wipes to me and some people carry them for better cleansing. I personally like to carry them too!

@Chris If its any consolation Trump goes to trial on his fraud charges Nov 28th. Maybe he will be going to the slammer instead of the white house.


Unknown said...

I actually liked this episode. In that there was no Noah and no Tuckson. I called Eva out as the victim right away. She didn't pass to me. And I was very confused about whether Cash slept with her, too?

Anonymous said...

@Roselynn I believe she only had a relationship with Logan and Hype. Cash just did Loves dirty work.

Dchap said...

I enjoyed the ep, benson and Barba banter, still missing tucker but I felt the transgender issue was important to see. She hadA supportive family but how even the squad admitted to their own families not understanding the transgender and fin even admitting to his own confusion. Now we wait till January...ugh

Laurie F said...

I didn't care for this episode. I felt like a rehash of other stories SVU or even L&O has done on the transgender issue. This show is becoming such a disappointment. Law & Order and SVU used to be at the forefront of covering controversial issues but now they are just going through the motions. I am considering not watching any more. A shame that they postponed the Trump episode. That would have been something to talk about. This episode - not so much.

JSM said...

I did have a hard time getting into this episode & it was not due to the acting/writing but the shock of the the election results were still reverberating in my mind also! (I'm still rattled about it & live in TX which is always GOP except for the big cities which are usually more liberal/Blue! TG Dallas didn't let me down but the rest did...)
I loved some of the lines & seeing Finn be more actively involved! The banter/looks/eye contact between Benson & Barba ALWAYS draws my immediate attention! Love them together!
I met Mariska & most of the crew in October & LOVED all of them! They are all thinner & even more gracious/beautiful/handsome in person...
Thank you for all the hard work you put in for this great show, Chris! You're great...

Unknown said...

Late to the discussion as I tend to binge watch my shows on the weekend. (Hulu) Does anyone know how was this a "ripped from the headlines episode" or was the promo about the upcoming Donald Trump episode "unstoppable"?

sav0001 said...

According to online guides, theres 2 more episodes to go before the break. The last episode for this year is scheduled for December 7th.

Chris Zimmer said...

@sav0001 - at the end of the episode, right before Chicago PD began, they said that SVU would return after the beginning of the year

sav0001 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Chris Zimmer said...

@Unknown - I can't think of a specific case but it may be a ripped from the headlines story about the who issue of the transgender/public bathroom issue

Unknown said...

I wondered if someone could please help me find out what was the song that was playing in the background on Law and Order SVU season 18 episode 6. It was playing in the opening scene when the transsexual person was putting the necklace on. It sounds like T-PAIN on the chorus,but someone else was rapping too! PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU KNOW THE SONG!!! I'm going CRAZY trying to figure it out THANKS!

Cappi said...

I loved this episode as I do all of them. However, I loved the election results, also.I am so sorry I have to live in such a pathetic state as California.

Unknown said...

@Cappi You must not be LGBT, a minority, or a woman since you support Trump.

DaveJGA said...

Again Chris thanks for a great recap and review. I have to say that I fall in that camp that really didn't like this episode. I think the writers are phoning it in when it comes to the covering of all sides of the issue. For instance, when the squad used to have their discussions of all sides of the "issue of the week" it would be an interesting thoughtful perspective involving a number of the detectives and they would pretty accurately cover the issue. This episode seemed to lack that, even with Fin's thoughts on Trans issues. I was left wanting more.

Also I feel like this week's characters, while the acting was relatively solid, the characters weren't all that sympathetic. And I like rap, and I can deal with hip hop artists. I needed more from this episode. Hopefully next year they work on finishing the season out strong with better plots, more callbacks to prior seasons, and a more robust discussion of the issues that are driving these suspects and victims.

Unknown said...

"Fanatical idiots"? Very rich coming from a Trump supporter, Cappi. Ever heard of the expression - "those who live in glass houses, shouldn't throw stones"? It's as ancient as you (and no doubt your views) are.

Chris Zimmer said...

@La Na, @Cappi, @Roselynn Finch - I think that's enough commentary on that topic!

Loganberry said...

@Chris Zimmer, Thanks for your terrific review.I feel like I have watched the episode and I thoroughly enjoyed the hour spent. The story is good. I'll probably watch the episode on Youtube, but I feel like I've seen it already. Terrific work Chris!

Anonymous said...

I've only just got round to watching this episode. Chris, I completely agree with you that I couldn't get into it. The writers really should have devoted the intro into showing a glimpse of Eva as a person. I also felt there were yet again scenes where Olivia was on her soapbox (the ones with Barba and the transphobic mother) instead of investigating the case. By the way, wasn't Olivia's threat to arrest the mother an empty one?