“Brothel” was an interesting, fast-paced episode featuring some personal drama for Fin. He enlists the help of a past girlfriend/colleague to solve a case, later suspecting she’s a dirty cop. It was refreshing to have a case that put the spotlight on Fin, and to watch him mentally struggle with suspecting that his friend was the mole behind the leaks. I felt sad for him at the end when I saw his hope for rekindling their relationship flame out in his eyes.
Before I get into the case, I’d like to bring up the elephant in the room: Apparently everything is now back to normal with the SVU despite their huge "blow up" in “Part 33” (which aired last week). This didn't feel right. The timeline shows “Brothel” occurred only one day later (February 8) from “Part 33” (February 7), yet Benson and the detectives act like nothing has happened. NOTHING. I find it hard to believe there would be such a huge disagreement with work colleagues and not see any evidence on the next day that it occurred. There was no palpable tension remaining between them. There should have been some evidence of either the disagreement or that they’ve moved on, even if it was one line thrown in to bring some closure. It’s a missed opportunity to create an entire episode around the team arguing and then not continue to capitalize on it in the next episode. It's a gaping continuity hole.
Fin’s girlfriend from many years ago, Phoebe Baker, was wonderfully portrayed by Law & Order and SVU “repeat offender” Jennifer Esposito. She previously appeared in the excellent season 1 Munch-centric episode “Remorse”, plus two episodes of Law & Order (season 7 - “Good Girl” and season 17 – “In Vino Veritas”). She was perfectly believable in this role, playing someone who was willing to support Fin and the SVU, and then someone who was both insulted and hurt at Fin’s accusations.
This is not the first time in the Law & Order universe that a judge has been dirty, but it was still a bit of a surprise when we find that Judge Kofax (John Rothman), who has appeared in quite a few SVU episodes, is “helping” addicts by NOT helping them. His idea of help is far from it; it gets them in deeper with addiction and a life that can, and does, get them killed. Even though he’s driven to this action because of the death of his own daughter from addiction, it makes no sense he’d be driving girls back into the same environment that encourages their drug use. It was a head-scratcher to say the least. It was a nice touch bringing in Judge Barth (Jenna Stern), first putting her in a relationship with Kofax, and then helping to bring him down.
Rollins had her baby on (or about) January 18, but apparently she’s back to work on February 8, a 3 week maternity leave. (She was in court the day before in "Part 33", but I don’t think appearing as a witness in court would count as a return to work.) With Rollins already having a young child at home and now an infant, I was surprised she needed - or wanted - so little time away from work, considering she detached herself from Dr. Al during the same time.
While I am on the subject of Rollins, I get this sense that the writers are trying to make her appear insensitive to special victims or that the job is getting to her. Her comment that the SVU was “wasting their time” because the victim was a relapsed junkie/prostitute felt out of place for someone who routinely deals with special victims. If Rollins can’t muster a glimmer of care or concern for someone that was clearly brutalized, she has no place in the job. I have no issue with her raising the issue about the victim’s life circumstances, it was the coldness of her prefacing it as “wasting their time” as if she was ignoring the physical abuse the victim appeared to have suffered.
A tidbit of trivia: Next week’s episode, “Facing Demons” will be SVU’s 450th aired episode. I specify “aired” as, technically “Brothel” may have been the 450th filmed episode. The episode “Unstoppable” from Season 18 was produced but never aired. I don’t know the specific filming sequence for this season, but in my mind, “Brothel” could be the 450th as far as episodes filmed and produced, “Facing Demons” will be the 450th “aired.” It's my way of saying that I will never forget "Unstoppable", the episode we will likely never actually see.
Here is the recap:
A man arrives at a building and tells another man, Devon, waiting outside he is there to play. He gains entrance. At the door to the room, he tells another waiting man he is a friend of the house, and he is told to enjoy his night, and is allowed into the room. As music plays, a woman approaches the man and says he must he the world-famous Collum. She asks if he had trouble finding them. He says no and thanks her for getting back to him, adding that Corey mentioned they don’t always take referrals. She said the screening process is just for his first time. She checks to make sure he is not a cop, then welcomes him to the Doll House. As more women appear, she explains that it’s 55 for 15 minutes and an hour starts at 200; tips are between him and the girls. He picks Torie.
Later, Torie screams that it hurts and to stop it. The host woman tells the others to get Carlos, who enters the room. He sees Collum tied up on the bed and is quickly hit over the head with a bottle by Torie who takes his gun and points it at the host woman and runs upstairs to the roof. Devon gets to the roof and points a gun at her. She tells him she will be good but he says he is not asking again, telling her to put the gun on the ground. She continues to hold the gun on him, crying.
In the morning, Benson and Rollins walk down an alley and an officer states the victim is in her 20s, no ID, they thought it was a jumper but it looked like somebody roughed her up. Benson asks if she was sexually assaulted, and he replies she is half undressed, thumb marks on her biceps, bruises on her thighs – he made a judgment call. It is Torie’s body. Rollins sees cuts on the woman’s right hand, thinking defensive wounds, The officer states there was a handgun near the body, blood on the pistol grip. She fell/jumped from the roof of the building and the roof access door alarm was going off and there were a couple of bloody handprints up top. Benson tells him nobody goes in or out. As they walk away from the body, he says his partner has already secured the building.
A second officer approaches and says they will both want to see this. Inside the building, he explains to Benson and Rollins that when he got there, the front door was wide open. No one was home and whoever lived there left in a hurry. Benson and Rollins continue to walk through the apartment. Rollins sees a mess of toiletries, lingerie, and other items at the bathroom sink. Benson looks in another room and sees what looks like clothing and accessories for sex play. The bedroom looks similarly outfitted. Rollins suspects she knows what the vic was running from. When the other officer doesn’t understand what she means, Benson asks “First time in a brothel, fellas?” Benson and Rollins walk out of the apartment and the two officers give each other a look and follow them out.
Back at the SVU squad room, Benson says the Jane Doe looks like a sex worker who had jumped or fallen to her death. Fin wonders if she got pushed, saying she would not be the first hooker to get thrown off a roof. Benson thinks it could be as sexual assault or murder. Carisi says the prints identify her as Torie Meeks. Rollins says she was popped twice for heroin possession and once for breaking and entering. Carisi said she had heroin in her system, Rollins explaining after the b&e, she qualified for drug court, pleaded guilty and entered the program. Benson tells them to talk to whoever handled the case.
At Manhattan Treatment Court Part 43 on Friday, February 8, Judge Kofax is hearing a case for a Mr. Perillo, with his case manager Mr. Morris, as Carisi and Rollins arrive. He passes sentence and breaks for lunch. Carisi and Rollins stop the judge, who is there his one day a month at drug court. They explain about Torie’s death and he thought she was on the road to recovery. His case manager was just there with Mr. Perillo so they race off to catch him.
They speak with Morris who lost track of Torie a few months back and she went off the grid. She tried hard to save her. She has no next of kin; she was in foster care her whole life, drinking young and was sexually abused in one of the homes and was on the streets at 16. When Carisi thinks he is saying this is inevitable, Morris explains you can’t save them all.
Back at SVU, Rollins explains Torie’s relapse. Benson asks if they can track down who ran the brothel. Fin explains the building owner is a slumlord. All he can recall is the tenants offered to pay twice his asking fee. Carisi says they are waiting for ballistics on the gun and there was no usable DNA at the scene, no prints, nothing on the cameras. Rollins wonders if they are wasting their time, Torie was a relapsed junkie, turning tricks, high and on the run, saying she might have just jumped. Benson counters whether she jumped or was pushed, she was still brutalized and just left in the middle of the night. Fin questions or she knew how to get away, saying all they left was magazines, some junk, and a random shoe. Carisi looks at the shoe and says it is not random, it’s a $2500 Paretto. He’s dreamed of owning a pair of them for years, they are custom made. Benson says the store would have a record of who bought them.
At Paretto’s Custom Shoes at 329 East 84th Street on Saturday, February 9, Fin and Carisi speak with Mr. Paretto and when he balks at giving them information, Fin comments “I don’t know anything about cobbler/client confidentiality.” Paretto is able to match it to the correct mold.
Later, Fin and Carisi speak with Collum O’Connor who admits it is his shoe. They show him the photo of a dead Torie and he says they killed her. Fin says, “Time to take a ride, Cinderella.”
At the SVU in interrogation, Benson and Rollins speak with O’Connor who thought what happened was a game. He explained what he saw and thinks one of them threw her off the roof. He was tied up. They later untied him; they were in full panic. Rollins sounds as if they don’t believe his story, and he denies killing her. He explains he heard about the brothel one night when it was snowing and there were no cabs so he hit the bar. The guy next to him gave him the number for The Doll House. As the detectives leave the room. He asks if he can go. Rollins says sure, asking if they can have his wife pick him up.
Afterwards, Carisi asks that they believe the guy; Fin does. Rollins says TARU ran the number he called and it is a burner. Benson says Torie said she’d rather go to jail, he attacked her pimp and tried to escape; they may be looking at trafficking. Carisi wonders if Doll House is in the database, but Fin suggests they go to the source – he has a friend in Vice that may be able to help. Benson tells them to check it out.
