I’ll make this simple. I disliked this episode. Almost all of it.
What I liked:
While I believe it would not be appropriate for Carisi’s first trial to be that of a celebrity, and I think his career as an ADA has progressed abnormally fast, I do think his move to the DA’s office is a good one for the character’s development. This role suits Peter Scanavino very well. But that’s all I liked with this episode.
What I disliked or questioned:
Is it really that easy to hang posters and a huge billboard in the city with no one noticing or questioning it while it’s happening?
It was too much of a coincidence that it was Benson - the SVU captain - who saw the artwork, understood the meaning, and decided to check into its origin. What a nice change of pace it would have been if it was Fin or Rollins or even someone not associated with SVU to make the discovery and connection. Of course it had to be Benson. I cringed during the shoehorned-in Noah scene; his presence was completely unnecessary. (I’ve made it clear in the past that I don’t care for the superfluous Noah scenes so my feelings shouldn’t surprise anyone.)
I think I've raised this issue in the past: should Benson be connecting people with defense lawyers, especially for a crime that has nothing to do with the SVU? She's not a social worker, she’s an SVU Captain. At least when the problem developed on the SVU doorstep, Benson was aware she brought it on herself. I suspect Benson will never learn to steer clear of situations that are outside her purview; she has a need to be the fixer or a hero.
I know there are many rape cases that are “he said/she said” but this one didn’t have one scintilla of evidence. The only thing in favor of Monica was the police report that was tossed by “do-nothing Donnie”. If this police report was the only shred of evidence they had, it would have helped had we seen the officer testify to its existence and later destruction. It would have also been interesting to see how Counselor Barth would tear apart that testimony. Yes, I know this episode is only about 40 minutes long and they can't include everything, but it's their choice of what they include and exclude that sometimes bewilders me.
The victim would have been far more sympathetic and the case more compelling if the victim was black (and the rapist could have been white). I don't think Law & Order SVU does a very good job in showing crimes committed against women of color, and this would have been a good opportunity to do so.
Of course, Benson had to be the one to push Carisi in the right direction in order to get the win. I wonder why it couldn’t have been one of his own peers or his boss? It’s a rhetorical question, I already know the answer.
I’m surprised, with how savvy Counselor Barth is and considering she had been a judge, that she allowed her client to testify, no matter how much he may have insisted.
It was predictable that Carisi would win. No suspense here.
I have no words on that ending. No wait, I do have words. That billboard with Benson and Carisi as angels was saccharine and laughable. Besides, we all know that Benson is not an angel but a saint and she should have a halo (wink). It must be so easy to get a billboard put up and paid for in New York, especially when one appears to be a starving artist that has to work in a strip club for money. Who paid for that billboard?
Side notes:
When Carisi asks Fin why he’s at the strip club, Fin comments they are short on male detectives. (Are there no other male law enforcement staff at the 16th precinct?) Later, Fin, while questioning someone about the sexual assault who complains about being surrounded by women, Fin commiserates, mentioning he has Rollins and a female captain. On the latter situation, I understand Fin made those comments to get the guy he was questioning to open up, but considering his comment to Carisi earlier, I think Fin may truly be feeling a little outnumbered.
One of the guest stars, Orfeh, is married to Law & Order SVU’s Andy Karl (who played the deceased Mike Dodds).
The episode was directed by Mariska Hargitay. Her skills have improved quite a bit since her first directorial outing and she did a fine job here.
Here is the recap:
Monica Russo paints in her home studio. Her boyfriend arrives with some food. He compliments her painting. She passes on the food has to leave to go to work as she is late and wants the tip money. She says the place is jumping and is kind of fun. She gets her bike and leaves, grabbing a scarf before she exits.
Monica is working the pole at a strip club. She gets off the stage and Arianna tells her there is a pot of whales in the back. She also hears from the manager, Jared, that Markeevious is looking for her and he has that hungry look. She walks up to Markeevious who tells the girl on his lap he is making a substitution. He asks Monica if she is ready for the VIP room. He doesn’t want her and Arianna like the last time, he thinks Monica is more than enough. She leads him to the room.
Later, Monica leaves the club with a blank stare on her face. She says she is just tired. As she leaves the club, she sees her bike, still hooked onto a pole, but the front tire is missing. She throws something at the bike in anger and swears.
Later, at a police station, an officer tells Monica that is all he needs right now. She asks the officer what happens next, and he sighs and says an investigation. She nods and he says dryly that he will call her. Dejected, she leaves. Sometime later in her studio, she is on the phone, telling the person on the other end of the call that she came in before Christmas, telling them her name. At yet another later date, in her studio working on a canvas with frustration, she tells the person on the phone that she’s left a dozen messages, giving her name again. And again later, she is working on her art, on the phone, getting even more aggravated, then tells the person on the other end of the phone to never mind, and she hangs up. Her boyfriend, who is there with her, comments that is has been over a month. Monica says, “Screw this. And them.” Soon after, she is outside with her boyfriend, spreading paste on a poster on a wall with a wide paint brush. She comments they thought they could crush her, but she will burn them to the ground. He agrees, saying to burn that house down, burn it to the ground.
What is likely the next morning, Noah is on a scooter on the sidewalk and Benson tells him to slow down. He stops and Benson notices something on the wall; it’s posters of a bike with what looks like an angel with its eyes covered behind it, along with the words “a bad dream?” Noah sees another group of posters with an image of a police officer with a pig face, and the caption “Do nothing Donnie asked what I was wearing.” There is yet another group of posters and Noah asks if this is a movie. Benson looks at them and says it is certainly not a kids movie. The third group of images has a devil, spearing an angel, which is captioned “Shut up you angel whore.” Noah is stunned and points out in surprise another sight to Benson, telling her to look up there. It is a huge billboard on the wall of a woman dressed like a Wonder Woman-like person, shooting fire at a strip club, with the caption “On December 10th I was raped. I told my boss, I told NYPD. They tried to shut me up. But silence makes me louder. Benson tells Noah to run ahead, she will catch up.
Benson tells Rollins she is walking down 10th Avenue with Noah – Rollins, looking at an image of the billboard, says there is a lot of anger there; rape and a strip club, certainly credible. Kat comments it says she went to NYPD in December, saying she will check. Fin adds that it must have been the local precinct. Rollins states something happened to her. Benson quietly replies yeah. Kat informs them there were two rape reports files in Manhattan South on that date; one was a DV and the other one was SVU’s. Benson observes that neither of them was her. Benson thinks this is an outcry, and tells Fin and Kat to check local strip clubs and instructs Rollins to check the billboard company. She adds that whoever she is, they’ll want to find her.
At Hook, Line & Stripper at 771 10th Avenue on Wednesday, January 8, Fin and Kat show the image on the poster to Toni, who appears to be a manager at the club, and she doesn’t know her. She adds their dancers are safe as there are cameras everywhere. She admits not inside the VIP room but she has her bird dogs. She explains that means she posts a bouncer outside the private rooms and a girl just has to holler and they will be in the door. Another woman is heard saying that is a bunch of BS and she storms in from another room, calling out to Toni and saying that TJ keeps playing that old-school white boy crap. She looks at Fin and then says she is sorry. Toni asks to give them a minute, and the woman realizes Fin and Kat are cops, saying they are here about the billboard. She says all she knows is she doesn’t work here, adding Toni takes care of them, not like some place she can name. Toni comments like the woman’s last club, Topaz, who says their VIP room is more like act sexy and try not to get raped.
