Friday, January 18, 2019

Law & Order SVU “Dear Ben” Recap & Review


Fans know they will be tuning in to a great episode of Law & Order SVU when they see that Jean de Segonzac is directing. Written by Julie Martin and Matt Klypka,   “Dear Ben” did not disappoint.  The SVU was faced with what first appeared to be the resurrection of a serial rapist – “The Infinity Rapist” - connected to 22 prior unsolved cases stretching back to 1981. In the course of the investigation, Peter Stone discovers these cases haunted his father, Ben, who was EADA at the time of the last rape in 1994. While unraveling the current case, Peter Stone comes to the realization that his father was consumed by the serial cases, and he likely perceived there was a threat to his family. Peter suspects his father was absent at times because of this; eventually Peter appears to forgive Ben for it.

As they work the case, they find that not only is an unhinged, obsessed copycat responsible for rape #23, the ensuing media coverage struck a nerve with the real Infinity rapist. It triggers him to rape a woman who wrote 3 books about him (and is working on a fourth), and to also attack her husband.  He makes it crystal clear that this was the real 23rd incident. While Peter has taken charge of the legal side of the case, it’s Carisi, using some of his own knowledge of the law,  who is doggedly following through on old evidence and finding the new.  This was a nice way to weave in recent stories about criminals being caught when law enforcement taps into DNA information and familial connections using genealogy web sites.

The episode had a good balance of screen time for all the lead characters, possibly only short-changing Rollins due to her pregnancy. I was pleased to see Carisi and Fin have meaningful segments while investigating. This serious episode also featured one light moment with Fin when he looked disgusted at being asked to cuff a suspect that he knew was just in the bathroom. I suppose Fin was more worried that the guy hadn’t washed his hands than if a possible rapist was going to attempt to flee.

The only annoying part of this episode is what I call a Noah sandwich: a scene at the start of the episode and a scene at the end focusing on Noah. I fully understand that it was likely to reinforce the whole father/son theme with Peter Stone and Ben, but it grated on me nonetheless. Noah is not the perfect child; he has a bad attitude and Benson is still trying to find a way to address it.  Magically, playing baseball with Stone suddenly brings out a perfect, happy, well-adjusted child. But all it takes is one line of dialog to create controversy and/or put a character in a bad light. In this episode, it was Benson’s comment to Stone about Noah that “maybe he [Noah] just needs some masculine energy.” This is a perplexing statement, especially coming from Benson. Benson strikes me as a woman who would never think that every problem can be fixed by a man’s touch or mere presence. There already was “masculine energy” with Tucker, and Tucker and Noah seemed to click.  Benson and Tucker seemed an odd but workable match…until they weren’t.  But is lack of “masculine energy” really the issue with Noah? Noah is being asked by a friend about who is his father, and he is naturally curious. Benson not wanting to tell him the whole truth is understandable, but maybe she needs a more substantial answer for him other than the standard “maybe when you’re older” routine. She should at least give him an answer that he can give to his friends to divert or shut down the discussion, something on the lines of “I don’t know my dad but I know he loved me. I know my mother (Benson) loves me, and this is all that matters.” If Noah’s behavioral problems still continue – the whole issue with his dad could only be a part of it - Noah and Benson may need the help of a doctor or child psychologist to fully understand the extent of Noah’s problem. He is the child of an addict, and that alone can mean all kinds of developmental and/or behavioral problems for him. Just like Tucker, Stone may be able to patch a void in Noah’s life but that may only be a band-aid.

There is another possibility: Noah behavior is normal and Benson’s comment about needing “masculine energy” is transference; she may think SHE needs a man in her life to  make everything better.

Considering the victims at the beginning of the episodes were chosen in part because of lax security by the tenants, it surprises me that Benson frequently doesn’t screen her visitors before they arrive at her apartment door. In this episode it was Peter Stone who arrives unannounced, but this has happened with others in previous episodes. How are these people getting so far into her building without first being cleared? I can’t think of any multi-tenant buildings that don’t require some sort of procedure allowing residents to screen their visitors before giving them access inside. In Benson’s line of work and her previous experience with people like William Lewis and Noah’s nutty grandmother, I don’t understand why she’s not more careful who arrives at her front door.

Update January 22, 2019 - a deleted scene has been added after the recap




Here is the recap:

At a local park, Stone pitches a ball to Noah, giving him tips as he pitches. Noah swings and hit the ball as Benson stands behind him, watching. Noah swings and hits the ball, Stone and Benson cheering him on as he runs the bases. Stone tells Benson she has a good kid there, and Benson says “You should see him at dinner time, or bedtime, or homework time,” Stone comments that all kids go through phases - he’s told – and Benson laughs and give him a look. She comments that whatever Noah is going through now, she’s a little over it. She sighs and adds that “maybe he just needs some masculine energy.” Noah reaches them and they congratulate him on his home run, and Noah says “Thanks coach.” Stone asks if he wants to do it again, and Noah agrees. As they move off to continue, Benson watches, a smile on her face which slowly fades.

April and Gavin Baker arrive home to their apartment building and find the entrance door propped open and Gavin says he will call the super in the morning. A woman in another apartment walks out with her dog and a large bag, putting a piece of paper in the door lock to keep it unlocked. She walks down the street, the silhouette of a figure watching her as she leaves and then moves to the apartment, going through the propped open door.

Inside, April is attacked by someone who throws her onto the bed. She screams for Gavin as the attacker brings out a knife. But Gavin does not respond; he’s on the kitchen floor, bound and laying with a stack of plates on his back, unable to move.

Later, SVU is on the scene outside the building and Benson hears what happened from April as April is being taken to an ambulance. She describes what she recalls about her attacker. He told her to be quiet and if she screamed he would kill Gavin. Meanwhile, Fin is talking to Gavin, who explains he was at the kitchen sink and he felt a knife at the back of his neck. They just got home from the holidays; the building door was propped open and he thought there was something off about their door knob. The attacker’s voice was low, creepy;  he said to lay on the floor and he tied him up and stacked plates on his back. He said if he moved he’d hear. He said April was dead. Fin walks off and Benson tells him that April said the attack happened around midnight and she managed to free herself – untie herself – 3 hours later. Fin says the husband said the son of a bitch stacked plates on his back, and Benson comments while he was raping her, the attacker could hear if her husband moved. Benson moves to go inside.

Carisi, crouching over broken plates on the floor, points to the door latch and said whoever did this disassembled the door latch and jury-rigged it back together so no one would notice. Fin suspects the perp staked out the place while they were out of town, and Benson thinks they are looking at a pro. Carisi suggests maybe worse. He leads them into another room and Benson gets a shocked look on her face. Fin asks if this is for real. There are markings on the wall; an infinity symbol with 23 under it, and the letters NYPD with zero under it. Benson comments about surveilling the apartment, breaking the door lock, stacking plates…Carisi says he did not want to believe it either, asking how long has it been. Benson replies 25 years, mentioning “The Infinity Rapist.”

Back at SVU, Benson and the detectives discuss what they know so far. Benson states Infinity’s last rape was January 2, 1994; she was a rookie in the five-five [55th Precinct] and everyone in the five boroughs knew about that case. Rollins comments not so much in Georgia, asking how many rapes he was good for. Carisi replies it was 22, from 1981 to 1994; the guy targeted couples. He’d case the place, open the door or window and lie in wait and break in a second time. Fin adds the attacker would tie up the boyfriend and stack plates on their back, saying if he heard a rattle, the woman was dead. Carisi explains he took trophies – small personal items – and after the fifth rape he started leaving messages: Infinity 5, NYPD zero. Benson comments if it is him, he has been out of commission for two decades, which makes him middle-aged or older. Rollins asks if they alert Crimestoppers, and Benson explains that no, until they know what they are dealing with, One PP wants to keep it on the DL. Fin gets a message and tells the others that no DNA on April’s rape kit; CSU found two hairs on a bed that were not a match to the Baker’s and no match in CODIS. Benson instructs him to check that DNA against old evidence and have Stone do some digging.

At the Office of the District Attorney at 1 Hogan Place on Thursday, January 3, Carisi and Stone are in the file area and Carisi fills in Stone. George points them to a huge wall of files on the case and says there are over a dozen of them and says he will get a dolly. Carisi pulls out a folder and comments to Stone that he never told him his father was on this case. Stone is surprised and Carisi shows him the sign out log. Stone explains he didn’t know; he was in school and they never talked about his cases.



Meanwhile, Benson leads April into the interview room. Benson asks if April saw an older man watching her or the building and she replies no. She asks if there was anything else she recalls him saying, and April said he told her to shut up, and put his hand over her mouth, like he didn’t want her to make a sound. Nothing has gone missing; they had cash in the desk and her jewelry box was untouched. Benson comments it would be something personal, and April replies no. But then April recalls she couldn’t find her hairbrush, asking if that matters. Benson, trying to hide her own reaction, says it might.


Later, in Stone’s office, as Carisi moves a file box, Stone comments he had no idea how haunted his father was about this case. Carisi adds that a lot of people in law enforcement lost sleep over this guy. He was like the Zodiac or Son of Sam. Stone says the notations on one file in his father’s handwriting were dated 2017. Carisi observes that was a year before Ben died. Sandwiched in a file, Stone sees a photo of him and his dad, both with baseball mitts, playing catch. He shows it to Carisi, who asks how old he was there. Stone says he was 7. Carisi wonders how it got in the case file, but Stone doesn’t know.

Back at SVU, Benson comments to Fin that they have unmarked cars on the Baker’s block and they are monitoring their calls. Fin says nothing so far, this guy was and continues to be, a ghost. Carisi walks in with Stone and comments it’s not a ghost, it’s a copycat, they went over the old case files and Ben Stone was the ADA in the case. Benson says she didn’t realize that. Carisi states whoever attacked the Bakers was not Infinity. The signature - the reconnaissance, the plates – was all in the papers and three books. Stone adds what wasn’t made public and was consistent with each victim was that he forced the victims to pretend they were enjoying the assault – loudly. Rollins assumes for the tied up husband to hear. Benson comments this guy made April keep quiet. Rollins comments he has a lot of fans on line and Fin wonders if someone got tired of fantasizing and made it real. Stone comments it was 25 years to the date of the last rape, marking the anniversary. Rollins looks at Infinity’s Wikipedia page and informs them it was last updated two hours before the Baker assault. Benson asks who, and Rollins says the name was “Real Infinity 23”. Benson tells them to have TARU track down the address.

Carisi and Fin approach the Patton residence at 74 Pulaski Street in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn on Thursday, January 3. Carisi explains that Karl Patton posted on all the Infinity messages board and fan clubs, saying he is obsessed. Fin comments he’s a sick freak. Carisi knocks on the door, Fin announces NYPD, and an angry woman answers and barks, “What?” When they ask for Karl Patton, she comments it is her little brother and whatever they think he did, he probably did. Fin asks where is he, and the woman nods for them to come in. She yells for Karl and he doesn’t answer, and she points to another area, saying he is probably in his work room. They enter the room and there is Infinity information all over the walls. Fin tells Carisi he was right, this guy is obsessed, and Carisi thinks they found the copycat,  seeing a picture of Gavin and April on the wall. They hear a toilet flush and Karl enters the room, and seeing them, asks what is this. When Fin asks that he is Karl Patton, Karl says they can call him Infinity. Carisi says he is under arrest, and as Karl turns to be cuffed, he wonders what took them so long. Fin looks disgusted (as he just came out of the bathroom) and says he isn’t cuffing this guy, and Carisi does the honors.


Later, Karl is in interrogation with Fin and Carisi. Karl seems flip about the whole thing, then says he’s been waiting for this moment for 25 years and wants to savor it. Fin says he is done, and he and Carisi move to leave. Karl is shocked and says he wants to confess. He explains he stalked April and raped her and put plates on the husband’s back, saying it is his signature. Of course, Fin isn’t buying this, scoffing and questioning it is HIS signature. Benson is watching with Stone and wonders if Karl is laying out an insanity defense. Stone thinks he is not doing a bad job. Benson comments he can’t be Infinity as Patton wasn’t born until a year after the first rape. She adds he is an unemployed computer programmer who has been obsessed with Infinity since he was a teenager. Stone asks if they know if is good for April and Gavin, and Benson explains he planned it to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Infinity’s last rape. The DNA found on the hairs in the Baker’s bedroom is a match and CSU found April’s brush in his workroom, which was a treasure trove of Infinity’s paraphernalia. It included a letter which she had the lab make a copy of. She shows it to Stone; apparently it is from the real Infinity – to Peter’s father Ben.


At arraignment court part 4 on Friday, January 4, the judge reads the singular charges against Karl who challenges it should be 23 counts. Karl’s lawyer says Karl pleads not guilty. Stone argues remand, saying this was premeditated and an homage to the real Infinity’s last rape, down to the date and time. Karl gets irate and shouts he IS the real Infinity. The judge tells Karl that is enough. The judge agrees to remand. Karl laughs as they lead him away.

Afterward, in the hall, Claire Newbury approaches Stone and introduces herself, saying she interviewed his father years ago. She’s written three books on Infinity. Stone apologizes that he never read them, and tries to make a quick exit. She follows after him, saying he must be interested in his father’s cases, his “white whale.” He asks if there is something he can help her with, and she explains she is writing her fourth book and she’s already set up an interview with Karl and his mental state must be fascinating in its own, weird way. Stone continues to walk off and says he will take her word for it. She was hoping to interview Stone, wondering what is was like growing up with a father obsessed with a psychopath he couldn’t bring to justice. Stone reiterates he and his father never discussed his cases; he wouldn’t have anything to tell her. She gives him her card, adding maybe he will change his mind. He takes it and steps into the elevator, saying he won’t. Her smile turns flat.


Later, Stone and Carisi walk into a restaurant and Stone asks if the letter they found was authenticated. Carisi explains that handwriting analysis matches those received by the NYPD. Karl got it on a criminal memorabilia black market. A dealer bought it from a detective working the Infinity case in the 80s. Stone says Infinity wrote about him, and shows Carisi a line that say “your son throws the ball like he was born for it.” It was written in June 1988,  Peter would have been 7. Carisi is surprised Infinity staked out Stone’s little league games, and then recalls the photo in the file, wondering if Infinity took it. Stone recalls his father sent him and his sister to Montana to live with his Aunt Carolyn that summer. His father dropped them off and said he’d be back soon. Three months later, not a word, his aunt had to put them on a plane so they wouldn’t miss school. He always resented him for that. Carisi thinks his father was trying to protect him. Stone looks up to the TV and sees Claire Newbury interviewing Karl in jail. She mentions if Infinity were still alive he’d be in his 60s by now, if not 70s – an old man. Karl says this is why they need a new Infinity; he’s Infinity now.


At the apartment of Claire Newbury at 217 East 78st Street on Friday, January 4, Fin and Carisi arrive on the scene and are told by an officer it is Claire and her husband Leo. She was raped and Leo had the plates stacked on his back. He is having chest pains. Carisi comments Claire was just on the news. The officer tells them to go upstairs. They see a notation on the wall saying “ME” underscored twice, the Infinity symbol, and 23, with NYPD zero. Fin wonders if it is another copycat, but Carisi wonders if they just baited the real Infinity out of retirement.

At SVU, Claire tells Fin and Carisi she is positive it was him. He told her “I’m alive you bitch.” He must have followed them in from the street; Leo had his key in the front door and the attacker was just there, in his ski mask, gloves and a knife. She wanted to fight but Leo said they should do whatever he wanted, they didn’t want to die. He put the knife to Leo’s throat and had him tie him up and stack the plates, everything the way she researched and exactly how she knew he would behave. He took her into the bedroom and tied her up and raped her. He told her to moan like she was enjoying it. She said he was an old man and had old man breath. She becomes upset, saying her husband is still in hospital and is too old for this, adding SHE is too old for this. She sobs and says he comes back and worries that he WILL come back. Stone is observing with Benson and angrily comments he wants the son of a bitch. Benson informs him they have every available officer working overtime and they are pulling street cams and security cams on the upper east side. CSU is going over the house with a fine-tooth comb and they are waiting on the rape kit. Despite him being careful, Benson brings up advancements in DNA technology…Stone cuts her off and asks about the letters. The letter that they found at Patton’s had no DNA and there is nothing else on evidence. Stone wonders if there are other letters out there they don’t know about. Benson recalls Patton got the letter from a dealer on the lower east side, they can start there.


At Arterial Curiosity Shop at 181 Broome Street on Saturday, January 5, Fin and Carisi are at the shop and question the owner about Karl. They say he is guilty of trafficking stolen NYPD merchandise. He tries to argue it was 30 years ago but Carisi continues to pressure him and he and Fin asks for everything Infinity. The owner cooperates.

Back at SVU, Stone and Benson discuss that the lab did pull DNA from saliva on a stamp on a letter in the memorabilia for 1983. The bad news is there are no hits in CODIS. Stone says he is starting to understand how his father felt. Carisi races in and states they did get a familial hit on the DNA from the stamp from a genealogy site, learnmylineage.com. He got a close female relative with a Brooklyn address who she gave the site permission to contact her if they got any matches. Now Carisi is asking for permission. Benson quickly tells him to go and run with it.


Fin and Carisi arrive at the apartment of Amy Gardner at 260 South 2nd Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn on Sunday, January 6. They explain the hit on the genealogy site and they need to talk to her about her male relatives. She looks concerned and invites them in.  They discuss the DNA match. She says both of her parents are dead, she has no cousins or brothers and her sister lives in San Francisco. They explain it is an older male. She mentions Uncle Edgar, her mom’s big brother who is 68. He lived in New York, he was a cable repair man and worked until a few year ago when his wife died. He got married in 1994 and says he is the sweetest man in the world. She asks what do they think he did, and when they ask for his address, she balks and doesn’t think she should. She asks if what they are doing is legal, and Fin says they will talk to her uncle whether she gives them his address or not. She begins to write down the address and says they are making a mistake. Carisi tells Fin to go and that he will stay. She is surprised Carisi is not going with Fin, and Carisi just says he needs to wait here, apologizing…she realizes it is to make sure she doesn’t call her uncle.


At the home of Edgar Noone at 501 West 21st Street on Sunday, January 6, Fin is there with Benson and he explains Edgar is not there. The super said he went on a bodega run about an hour ago. He is sure this is the right address. Benson sees an old man approaching with bags of groceries. Fin approaches him while Benson loops around to approach from behind. Fin identifies himself and Benson tells him to put his groceries down and to put his hands where they can see them. Other police arrive as Benson says he has to come with them and Fin cuffs him and moves him into a car.

Back at Amy’s, Carisi gets a call confirming the arrest. He tells Amy her uncle is in custody. She asks what did he do, and Carisi asks if she remembers the Infinity rapist from the 80s and 90s. She does. Carisi comments that her uncle’s age and the timing of the assaults, plus the DNA…she shakes her head and says no, she doesn’t believe it. She says she is getting him a lawyer, she knows how this works. Carisi states that is her right, he is entitled to a defense. Carisi leaves.


At SVU, Edgar is having his mouth swabbed for DNA and Fin tells the CSU tech to rush it. He asks now what happens and Benson says they wait for the DNA match and arrest him for 23 rapes. He denies being Infinity. When Benson says they are confident, and mentions Edgar being calm. Fin and Benson mention all the evidence, and Edgar says Infinity is too smart. They bring up him coming out of retirement to rape Claire, and Edgar says maybe Infinity didn’t want the world to think he was dead. Fin says now he gets to go to prison for life. There is a knock on the door and Benson brings in Stone and defense attorney Roger Kressler. Edgar comments that Stone is Ben’s son, and Stone says yes, why does he ask? Roger says no more questions. Stone and Edgar glare at each other.

Later, in the ADA’s office hall, Carisi mentions the DNA information and says that is only enough for one rape, they can’t prove he is Infinity. Carisi admits there are no trophies and they are going through his financials and maybe he has a storage unit somewhere. His niece thinks he is a sweet uncle. Carisi used his name on the profile and did not identify himself as a cop on the website and says there is legal precedent in California and Florida. Stone says not in New York, which is what the defense will argue. Stone’s secretary brings in a motion to exclude Noone’s DNA but Carisi says on this one the law is on their side. Stone hopes a judge thinks so.


At motions court part 11 on Tuesday, January 8, they argue about the obtaining of the familiar DNA. Roger says it was a private web site and did not agree for law enforcement access. Stone argues exigent circumstances and that to allow him to escape would but the city in danger. Stone argues they had a positive voice ID from the last victim but Roger thinks that is also tainted. The judge agrees, saying that as all the evidence is fruit of the poisonous tree, she grants the motion to dismiss. Stone continues to argue but it falls on deaf ears, but says the evidence does not support the pending indictment and she is putting the case over for a new indictment. She tells Noone he is free to go. Stone and Carisi show their frustration and Noone looks happy. He tells Stone his father would have done better.


Carisi meets with Amy on the riverfront. She called him, realizing DNA doesn’t lie. She recalls her uncle and asks how is this possible. He asks if there is anything else she can tell him about her uncle. She said he stayed with them for a few months when she was six and he would wake up in the middle of the night, saying he can’t listen, make it stop. His parents were alcoholics and were always fighting and some nights her grandfather would lock Edgar and his mother in a room and tell them not to make a sound. She said that her grandfather did horrible things to her grandmother, she thinks he raped her. Carisi thinks he made Amy’s mother and Edgar  listen. She nods.

Later, Stone comments to Carisi that his father was tortured by a man who was tortured by his own father. Carisi thinks it may be too little too late, but Stone thinks maybe not. Noone sent over a dozen “Dear Ben” letters that were taunting and full of detail. Carisi asks if he wanted to be caught, and Stone wonders if he wanted to confess – to Ben Stone. He saw him as a father figure, even sent him a father’s day card. Carisi thinks they have to find a way to get Edgar back into the interrogation room.

Edgar paces in SVU interrogation as Fin and Carisi explains to Benson they arrested him for driving with a suspended license. He has not asked for a lawyer. Benson asks that he will talk to them, and Stone says he will talk to his father.

In interrogation, Stone reads back one of the letters to Ben that Edgar while Benson is there. Stone mentions how his father studied the letters, commenting about what they now know about the traumatic childhood and hearing his mother being raped. This catches Edgar’s interest and Stone implies his father knew this, and brings up the father’s day card. Benson shows him the card and Edgar is surprised Ben kept it. Edgar looks happy. Stone mentioned the idiot sent a card that had golf clubs on the front and his father did not play golf. This upsets Edgar, saying Infinity couldn’t not have known. Edgar gets more upset, saying Ben cared more about Infinity than his own son. Benson shouts that he cares about justice. They continue to work on Edgar and he shouts he knows, but Edgar said he would wait outside the DA’s office until the light went out. Some nights he wouldn’t get in his car until after midnight. It was himself that Stone cared about, not Peter. He shouts it was him that Ben loved.

As they lead Edgar out of interrogation in cuffs, Benson comments to Stone that Edgar will spend the rest of his life in prison. She tells Stone his father would be proud. Stone found a note in the files about Peter playing ball when he was in junior high. His father never showed. He hit a homer in the last inning. He could tell his father wanted to talk but Peter was so angry he went to his room. He recalls the disappointment in his father. He saw another note from the next day saying he hopes his son will forgive him someday. They never talked about that game, it was September 1993. It turns out Infinity had struck again the night before. As Stone moves to leave, Benson whispers his name to call him back, saying it is time to forgive him. He nods and says “yeah” as he walks out.


Back at home, Benson thanks Lucy, who is already out the door, and closes the door. Noah asks why she is home early, and she comments she wanted to spend a little time together. Noah says he wants Lucy. She sighs and tells him we all get in a bad mood sometimes and that’s okay. Sometimes it is not about Lucy or olives or homework, it means we’re upset about something else. She asks what is wrong but he says nothing. She presses and he finally says it's Jeremy, he asks where his dad is and he says he is in heaven. Benson says that is right, and Noah asks if he loved him. Benson says of course he did, very, very much. She adds someday when he gets older she is going to tell him all about him. For right now, it is just “team you and me.” She adds she feels so very lucky to be on that team. Noah says, “Me too.” She kisses him and hugs him. There is a knock on the door and she opens to find it is Stone. She asks if it is something about the case, and he said he is not there to talk to her. Noah is excited to see him and calls out “Coach!”  Stone says he thought he and Noah could play a game of catch. Noah ask Benson if he can, and Benson says sure he can. Noah grabs his mitt and races off, Benson telling him to grab his coat. As they leave, she tells Stone “Thank you…thank you” as we fade to black.


Cast:
Mariska Hargitay - Lieutenant Olivia Benson
Ice-T - Sergeant Odafin “Fin” Tutuola
Kelli Giddish - Detective Amanda Rollins
Peter Scanavino - Detective Dominick “Sonny” Carisi, Jr.
Philip Winchester – ADA Peter Stone

Guest stars:
Jude Ciccolella - Edgar Noone
Rebecca Creskoff - Claire Newbury
Elizabeth Stahlmann - Amy Gardner
Ned Eisenberg - Roger Kressler
Michael Mastro – Judge Serani
Eden Malyn - April Baker
Jake O'Connor - Gavin Baker
Steve Rosen - Public Defender Guthrie
John Raymond Barker – Karl Patton
Carol Ann Bell – Mae Patton
Steven Marcus – Mike Vernon
Barbara Miluski – Judge Lisa Peck
Sarah Ellen Stephens – Selena Gaines
Sinem Nejla Gulturk – Teresa Graf
Mark Demayo – George
Lauren Noble – Carmen
Dewey Wynn – CSU Tech
Ryan Buggle – Noah Benson


Deleted Scene with Peter Scanavino and Kelli Giddish




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11 comments:

Laurie F said...

If you take away the Noah stuff, this was an excellent episode. It was a case that gave a lot of focus on Stone but Carisi fans should be happy that he was front and center on this case in many scenes. I wish we could get episodes like this every week. When they started talking about the possible age of the serial rapist, it was obvious that Jude Ciccolella would be the perp, seeing him in the pictures released before the episode. That's okay. It was an interesting story getting to that point.

This story for Peter Stone that was connected to his dad made more sense that that horrible story line with his sister last season.

The Noah stuff was cringe-worthy. That line about "masculine energy" was so weird. Why not just say Noah may need a father figure? What the heck is masculine energy? Strange.

Chris, I see your point on the issue with people coming up to Benson's apartment and not being buzzed in first. I can't believe any place in NYC would be that lax.

Sharon said...

If you remember on 'That Girl,' ' The Odd Couple,' and 'Seinfeld,' there was a lot of casual dropping in to apartments, too.

SVUFAN#1 said...

First off, Carisi and Finn screen time is always great to see. Finn in particular always provides a nice comedic aspect, even if it's just his expressions. I also really liked how Benson's maternal side came out in this episode, Its easy to forget she's a mom alot of the time. Just the whole scene with her trying to talk to Noah about his father was really touching, and also relatable to any parent who can't tell their child the whole truth about something. It's a tough issue, and it will be interesting to see how Olivia addresses it. Also, SO happy that they brought back a character from some of the old episodes, the devious defense attorney Roger Kressler. He was always one of those attorneys who made me cringe. We need to bring back more characters from the "good old days". I liked the plot for the most part, but I'd honestly say I liked "Plastic" better. All the same, it was a decent episode, although very predictable in some ways. Also, so happy that with this episode and the next episode they are doing episodes that are not "ripped from the headlines". I like to see the writer's creativity!

Domenico said...

Simply a great episode. I’ve been very critical of this seasson because I really want the show to make it to an historic 21st season and feel the writers have been pretty much out to lunch so far. They got it right this time with no gimmicks or cheesy melodrama. The story was engaging, the direction was superb (especially the brisk pacing), the acting was on point and we finally get an episode wihere Carisi gets more screen time (deservedly so). Even the short subplot with Noah didn’t bother me and Noah always bothers me. My favorite episode of the season thus far. Loved it!

Na said...

It was good episode. Didn't like the Noah stituation. Send him to boarding school. Tried of whining kid. I don't like Peter get involved with Olivia and Noah drama stituation. It seems that Olivia get control her whiny kid .Please don't put Olivia and Peter together.

Chris Zimmer said...

@Sharon Polikoff I recall all those three shows. For me, I don't mind casual drop ins. My issue is building security. I don't recall the security procedures on That Girl or Odd Couple (it's been way too long since I've seen those shows), but I do recall on Seinfeld that visitors had to buzz Jerry in order to come up. In fact, I think they even did an episode about Jerry not letting someone in the main door because he didn't know them. (I turned out they were a tenant, if I recall correctly.)

Babi said...

I didn't understand that because the promo of this episode said "ripped from the headlines" and I couldn't relate with any crime.

Unknown said...

I believe it's related to how the Golden State Killer was found, via familial DNA.

Chris Zimmer said...

A deleted scene has been added after the recap featuring Peter Scanavino and Kelli Giddish.

Unknown said...

Ok, I think the whole “masculine energy” was just meant as like um boy time. My nephew loves his sisters and aunts but when any my kid’s friend’s dads or neighbors are around, he is a completely different kid. He gets super excited and listens very well. As for the comment that Noah is the child of an addict, really?? Yes, mental health issues and addiction are seen passed down through families. But to assume, he will automatically be an addict because of it, is not only wrong but ignorant. Every person is the US would be an addict if that was the case, cause every person has an addict somewhere is their family if not multiple. I don’t care for the Noah story lines either, but those are horrible reasons to list as the problems with it.

Fabric Fanatics said...

It has been sometime I have not seen the courtroom. Sometimes I forgot Stone is the lawyer. I miss Barba :(