The season 22 finale of Law & Order SVU “Wolves In Sheep’s Clothing” delivered some surprises to viewers that helped prop up a relatively dull case. It’s the personal stories that made this episode enjoyable and provided an excellent ending to this short season. The episode finishes on an uplifting note – something that we all needed after the last tumultuous year (in reality). The cast, writers, production crew, and everyone who was involved in delivering each episode this past season deserve our deepest thanks for giving us all something to cry about, laugh with, cheer on, and reflect upon. I know that every episode was done with the utmost care and with appreciation for those fans that watch every week. There isn’t anything else like it on network television that can compare to this dedicated group of people!
Here’s a quick recap of what happened in this episode, with my comments:
The SVU gets involved when a tenant of the Holt Tower complains that she thinks one of the female tenants is using her apartment for prostitution. Long story short – she’s not a prostitute, but a woman who is being trafficked for sex in exchange for living in a lovely apartment. She’s not the only one – we find that the person who lived in the apartment before her was also used for the same purpose. The SVU investigates and find that Dr. Catalina Machado, the founder of “Proud Life,” is the mastermind behind the scheme. She thinks she’s gotten these women out of danger and gave them the opportunity to have a home and to be safe. Clearly she’s misguided. Her lawyer offers up the involvement of the Deputy Mayor, a former HUD Secretary, three congressmen and senators for starters. Hopefully this wolf in sheep’s clothing – and those that have participated in the scheme in various ways – all will pay the price.
Deputy Chief Garland is facing pressure from his Chief (who is a major jerk, by the way) and other colleagues for his deposition in the Jayvon Brown case in which he spoke of institutional racism within the NYPD. They turn their back on him, both literally and figuratively. He’s showing physical signs of the stress. He gets a dressing down during a Comstat hearing, and gets a warning from his father (who is retired but with friends in the NYPD) that the “old guard” may be coming for him. I fully expected Garland to keel over during the episode (he didn’t). At least he is taking a few days off so a doctor can run some tests. It’s a perfect set up for this high-pressure situation to continue to affect him into the next season.
Carisi has been asked to officiate at Fin and Phoebe’s wedding ceremony and this brings out some negativity with his girlfriend Nicole. She thinks marriage is designed to transfer ownership of the woman from the father to the husband. Carisi explains to Benson he told Nicole that by his age, he thought he’d be married and have kids. It seems this discussion with Nicole went downhill from there. Yes, we knew that relationship would be doomed.
The most interesting and meaningful segments of this episode were near the last quarter hour. Fin and Phoebe’s wedding celebration turns into a non-wedding celebration as they decide not to get married that day. They are not breaking up, but know they have a good thing going, and, as Fin says, “Why let the government spoil it?” They decide to go ahead with the party. This opens up all kinds of possibilities for Fin and Phoebe next season.
But it’s what happened at the end of the episode that was the most talked about: THE KISS. Carisi reads to Rollins what he originally was going to say when he officiated at the wedding: that Fin and Phoebe will always have each other’s backs and if they had to, they would take a bullet for each other, and a bond like that never goes away. Rollins looks at Carisi with longing affection and then gets teary-eyed. When Carisi wipes her tears, she looks at him and then moves in and kisses him – and he returns it with a bit more passion. HOORAY – it’s about time! This relationship is perfect for the both of them now. If they take it further, this would bring Rollins much stability in her love and family life, and Carisi would get a wife and kids – an instant family – that he so desires. And it would be a family in which he is already very comfortable. Personally, I’m not much of a Rollins/Carisi “shipper” but I think that moving these two together in a more intimate relationship is the best way to go at this point for both of their characters and their lives.
Benson also looks on at all the happiness around her and she and Stabler discuss how Fin an Phoebe met. Benson explains Phoebe is a cop and Fin’s first partner. Benson and Stabler share a “look” and then Benson makes a toast to him “To partners” as the view pulls away and the episode fades to black. I suspect fans expected more here (as we saw with Rollins and Carisi) but the story of Benson and Stabler isn’t ready for that at this point in time. There are still more seasons of SVU and Organized Crime and stories to be told. Who knows what will happen in the future?
26 comments:
I agree with you 100% Chris,I thought this episode was beautifully done!
Respectfully disagree about Rollisi. They are so toxic to one another. She constantly disrespects his career decisions and he got jealous over her hooking up with a bartender couple seasons back. Not to mention Carisi cheated on his girlfriend in order for this ship to happen. No thanks. Rollins had way better romantic chemistry with Khaldun and wish they went that route instead
I know not everyone likes Amanda and Sonny together but the writers did a good job with writing that scene. As Kelli Giddish pointed out "Their relationship is precious " and it was done very well. And given the nature of their jobs (SVU) its nice that the show gave the two of them happiness for a change. Although just because they are together doesn't mean there can't be any "problems" arise later on. But nice to end this year on a positive note. BTW I am a huge Rollisi fan. But I think there is enough storylines out there for SVU doesn't have to worry about "Moonlighting Curse".
For the EO fans, I think its too soon for them to go deeper. Especially after Kathy's death. But I think with Organized Crime, more will play out and develop.
Also - I feel so bad for the Chief. I think there is some foreshadowing. Heart broke for him.
I would like the Carisi-Rollins on-off situation to finally turn into an old-fashioned marriage (Carisi being an old-fashioned Italian family guy, as we've seen.) Good arrangement for both of them, good for her virtually fatherless kids, and good for us fans who would like to see happy relationships here and there.
As was pointed out earlier, so many of the characters on L&O series (and other crime dramas as well) seem to be detached - no family that we ever see or learn about, and no lasting relationships. Wouldn't hurt to throw in an occasional 'normal' love-and-marriage story arc into the mix.
Bye Bye SVU. I do not want to see Rollins and Carisi. Period. I’m done the this show.
I knew THE KISS would bring out the Rollisi lovers and haters. I never liked how they tried to put these two characters together and create sexual tension or something like it when there was zero romantic chemistry between these two. It has come to a point that they have to do SOMETHING with them and I don't mind that they went this route. Just because they did this doesn't mean they will be happy together. Rollins is a train wreck and Carisi has high expectations for a family life. They can either make it a great pairing or they can make them implode in dramatic fashion. I agree that this was well written and it felt very natural. To the unknown 2-part commenter, I agree with you on how they framed the whole thing with Nicole, I don't think anyone thought she was right for Carisi to start. It felt too staged or forced. Benson and Stabler - they will milk this for all they can and probably will never get them "together" until one or both of those series ends.
I feel sorry for Garland. This is some nasty stuff his colleagues and his boss are doing to him. I too thought he was going to have a heart attack.
Fin and Phoebe - why couldn't they just get married? I wonder if Jennifer Esposito doesn't want to commit to this character for the long term.
Nice finale - we needed a feel good ending. Ditto to thanking everyone with the show. Yeah I bitch every week about it but I still watch every week!
To be honest, I was a huge rollisi shipper but then got over it over the years. Amanda said it herself that she isn't into nice guys. Between nick, capt Murphy and others, she couldn't get it together. Sonny is a bit of a traditional family man and Rollins is a bit of a mess. Dont mean any disrespect but it is true. Not sure if they would be a match. Also, nothing wrong with dating a woman with kids, however im sure he would like to have his own as well. Would she be willing? I wonder if this will work out. I was shaking when I saw them kiss, but when the emotions settle and reality hits, will it work in the long run?
Fin said that he doesn't want the government to mess up his good thing. I think a lot of people have that attitude towards marriage. I disagree, I think it will only mess things up if you allow it to. Also if he dies on the job, the government is not recognizing a girlfriend. I wish they married but to each their own. Still happy for them both.
Olivia and Elliot. Who knows what will happen there. They are just teasing us at this point.
I do wish if Fin Does get married, Munch will show up
I think the ending is appropriate considering how difficult it was to make a series with the limitations of a pandemic. Honestly, this season the Rollisi affair was either finalized or ended forever and they stayed together. Well there. It does not matter if the
the girlfriend was white, black, or yellow, but she deserved a clearer ending for everyone.
The matter of Olivia and Elliot is more complicated, if I met a man like him, he would start out as he has serious psychological problems and Olivia needs a support, not a burden.
Fin is true to form, period.
I hope they get more out of Chief Garland next year, I love his character and he has so much more to deliver than Dodds. 2022 is going to shine.
As for the case, it was brief since more than anything the subject was Fin's marriage.
The actual crime-of-the-week reminded me of an early episode about a judge who would recommend to the prisoner review board to give or deny parole to certain convicts, depending on "favors granted: by wives/girlfriends.
It makes me they purposely held off on the wedding for the chance of John Munch to be there whenever they do have it
makes me wonder if they*
Not only Munch, but Cragin and Eileen should be at Fin's wedding.
Being jealous over someone you love rejecting you and sleeping with someone else is toxic??!
I guess everyone in the world is toxic then.
Uhh damn, here we go with the black and white again. She's not a main character so her arc isn't important. If it was fin with a white woman, fin's story would be more important. I don't understand why everything is made racial.
Not a shipper, but practically and logistically Rollins and Carisi make sense. I feel since the show became more Olivia focused a lot of secondary/tertiary characters were left un-utilized which is why I'm not surprised Carisi's "I have a black girlfriend" girlfriend didn't have much longevity. The writing room feels often like there's no central theme outside of now Elliot needs to show up.
Regardless, the noteworthy absence of Cragen, Munch et al always makes me think there wasn't any great blood when those characters left.
Did anyone else see that kiss between Carisi and Rollins as a harbinger of doom? I have a feeling we will see more of the Rollins relatives, and they will create a lot of conflict for Carisi and Rollins next season. So expect to see fewer investigations that are written and developed well, but you'll have more personal personal problems between Carisi and Rollins to make up for it
Yet another stupid opener and a real waste of Saverio Guerra. The audience knows that women in that situation are very desperate, you don't need to spell it out for us. We aren't as stupid as the writers.
Terry Serpico cast as a corrupt officer, I'm shocked. At least he got some good scenery chewing this time (though the "Are you woke?" line was really cringeworthy). The case was perfectly fine, but if they really wanted to go full circle for the season and end the Jayvon issue for good, they should have brought back the unsub from the season opener.
Fin and Phoebe's whole "we're getting married...just kidding!" thing was so damn dumb and pointless. It amounted to the same as if they had went through with it, so they should've just done that.
Making Carisi and Rollins a couple (if that is indeed what they're doing and not just a drunken one-time mistake) is probably a really bad idea. The only L&O pair I ever felt would've been a good fit for each other were Goren and Novak, who didn't regularly work together.
Not a fan of Carisi and Rollins being together. I think Amanda's relationships have been pretty toxic and Carisi is too much of a good guy. The most interesting part of the episode to me was Garland and dealing with the top NYPD brass. I can't wait to see where that leads. The only other thing that interested me (no it was not Fin's 'marriage') but Benson and Stable 'reconnecting' at the end. Outside of that, this was a pretty dull and dry episode that I really didn't care for.
On another note, I kinda wish Carisi didn't leave the NYPD. I'm not a fan of him being a ADA. It doesn't seem to be a good fit to me. Oh, well...here's to next season. Take care everyone for now. :)
Isn't this like the third time SVU has had Terry Serpico playing a bad cop? I wish they wouldn't recycle actors so often, especially whilst previous seasons are still being syndicated.
Other than that, it was a nice episode in the end. All the crime was inferred, so we didn't actually see people being hurt. A nice relief at the end of a difficult year. I hope Rollins is good to Carisi, he deserves happiness.
@JSlayerUK - Terry Serpico is definitely a "repeat offender". He's been on SVU 3 other times, Law & Order Criminal Intent 2 times, and Law & Order 2 times!
Do you think Chief Garland is potentially involved in the Proud Lives scandal? I think his comment to Olivia at the end of episode might be him trying to provide some kind of potential cover for his involvement in Proud Lives.
Even though they allude to the fact that the "old boys" don't like him for his involvement, the way Garland reacted surprised to Olivia, mentioning that Dr. Catalina Machado might be the ring leader of the operation made me suspicious. The way he reacted astounded to the discovery SVU made when they sent in the confidential informant to talk with Dr. Catalina could have been because he was worried that he is at risk of being discovered as a part of the operation.
I did feel some corniness in some of the scenes, especially Fin and Phoebe's "wedding" but that's nothing unusual in this show. Usually gets a chuckle out of me.
Rollins and Carisi's moment has been a long time coming. They have definitely been laying the groundwork for their relationship for a long time. I personally don't mind it. Rollin's needs a man in her life, and Carisi has been by her side for a while now. They revealed that Carisi's relationship with his girlfriend is strained, and he is clearly fond of Rollins. Carisi probably wouldn't mind Rollin's daughter, as he mentioned he wanted children. However, he might want kids of his own, and if they the writers plan on working more on their relationship, this could be a potential issue that they would need to work on.
All in all, an interesting episode, lots of potential for the next season. Can't wait!
Does anyone know what the location is where Fin and Phoebe's "wedding" was held? It was such a cool spot and I'd love to know where in NYC that is.
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