Here is the discussion topic for Law & Order “Economics of Shame” which aired on Thursday, October 31, 2024. Please feel free to add any feedback you have about this episode in the comments!
Note: episode photos were released late, so I'm posting them below.
Photos by: Virginia Sherwood/NBC
Can someone explain why this was an SVU case?
ReplyDeleteHi Laurie F- I think the reason for SVU's involvement was the means by which the perp went about the extortion. I'm guessing if he had used some other means, like he knows her journalism degree is fake or something better than I'm coming up w at the moment lol, that it would hv gone to another unit. That he used explicit photos of her, and filmed her having sex without her consent in order to extort her is the reason her case went to SVU. This is what I think though. Not entirely sure how this would play out irl
DeleteYes, I did notice the involvement of Liv. Definitely feels like the part where they took some 'creative liberty' w the story. I don't think the SVU captain shows up on the scene irl (maybe they would) but I can see them notifying SVU since it seems as tho they were aware of the sextortion at that pt. I noticed too, the initial officer trying to talk her down, and couldn't help but laugh to myself at the setup where the uni is inept and needs SVU to step in and do it better. Common trope on these shows. I will say tho- he was, by his brevity, much better than the cop in an earlier Neal Baer ep. In this one it was a pregnant woman considering suicide because a rape had led to her pregnancy (turned out it was all a scam). He talks to her in this staggered cadence while reading off his intervening words from a book. Even telling her, in this same "I don't mean anything I'm saying right now" voice, "I care about you". This is not the 1st time Benson has saved a suicidal person from an unqualified crisis interventionist lol. But this scene from S26 was preferable for me in terms of the very brief role of the uni trying to talk her down. I think irl the police often are not trained to handle these mental health emergencies so that part feels true to life. I was also caught up w how well Kelsey was balancing on the edge. And that pulling her down went without incident for her or Olivia's back. My mind focuses on the wrong things sometimes.
5 eps in and I still didn't know the name of the new cop (Det Kate Silva). I had to look it up. She is definitely getting the Velasco treatment- in the credits, not on the show. Meanwhile, Aime Donna Kelly is getting the Bruno treatment. In the show (far more so than Bruno was last season as a matter of fact) but still appearing as a guest star. Hopefully Det Silva's story unfolds some more over the course of the season and especially since we should be getting the full 20-smthg episodes this year. I do feel, tho, like Aime should hv been made main cast this season and Juliana Martinez put as recurring cast, just considering how each character has been utilized so far.
Sorry this was so long (hides face).
PS - and why would they call SVU to handle someone who was thinking of jumping off a building. Is that now considered a special victim? Did I miss something here? It's getting tiresome that Benson has to solve every problem. They haven't given the new detective much screen time so far and I just can't connect with her in any way. The character is bland in my opinion, but that could be by design. Can't draw too much attention away from Benson, can we?
ReplyDeleteThis was definitely an improvement from the last episode. The story was much easier to follow and the acting was better here, too. Of note was how they handled the addition of the other victims. I feel like sometimes in crime shows the reveal of more and more victims in the same story can make it feel like it's losing focus. Here I think the additional cases helped to bring the story into focus and build the case against the perp. It also gave a few examples of how very different people could find themselves in the same situation.
ReplyDeleteI found myself trying hard to see the width of the ledge Kelsey was on. I'm always amazed in these stories that they can move around so much on a seemingly narrow edge and not tip over. Dark humor but I think just trying to climb up on to that thing I'd be a goner. In Forrest Gump Jenny was drunk and stumbling all over the edge, didn't tip over. Plot protection is an incredible thing.
I was surprised that the paper she worked for was so accepting of her explanation that she was doing this undercover for an investigative story. Wouldn't she have had to clear that w at least one person at the paper before proceeding? Would her sending out nudes pics as part of this 'investigation' meet company ethics? I guess they were just glad to be able to own the bragging rights for uncovering the story.