“Agent Provocateur” was one of those rare episodes that bordered on dark comedy. It begins with a very serious case of a teenager who was drugged and raped. As the story progressed, the victim changed her story so many times, and she was so infatuated with the movie star, it was hard to feel any sympathy for her. The episode took direct aim at low-life gossip web sites and publications (one in particular), but also took a swipe at self-absorbed media stars and their obsessive fandom. Unfortunately, while social media is bringing stars and their fans together, it also ramped up the frenzy for gossip rags to dig up even more damaging dirt. In this case, LMZ was just as slimy as its real-life counterpart and it was amusing how SVU and Barba used LMZ Lennie’s bravado against him to gain an edge in this case.
The story closely followed the old standard Law & Order SVU formula, which felt very comfortable. But, despite the constant change in the detective’s focus for a suspect, the episode was predictable. With Skye’s corny insistence on being truthful early in the episode, he should have just been holding up a sign which said “guilty.” Luckily, we had Barba in “full sassy” mode, which brought the right amount of levity to a case. It seemed almost every time Barba was in a scene, he had some cheeky comment to make. (He would make Lennie Briscoe proud.) I really enjoy when Raúl Esparza is in an episode as he can really light up the screen with his delivery. Fin and Carisi going undercover in jail was also amusing; Peter Scanavino can do crazy very well.
Lately I’ve been enjoying the staging of scenes and related camera work. The on location shots added much visual interest and much realism to the story. The scenes inside the art gallery were very simple yet very creative, especially immediately playing back the arrest on screen for the detectives as they walked out of the gallery.
Here is the recap:
Cast:
Mariska Hargitay – Sergeant Olivia Benson
Ice-T – Detective Odafin “Fin” Tutuola
Kelli Giddish - Detective Amanda Rollins
Danny Pino - Detective Nick Amaro
Raúl Esparza - ADA Rafael Barba
Peter Scanavino - Detective Dominick Carisi, Jr.
Guest stars:
Shiloh Fernandez – Scott Russo
Patti LuPone – Lydia Lebasi
John Pankow - Lenny Simmons
Madison Grace - Madison Baker
Jeremy Jordan - Skye Adderson
Jack Noseworthy - Matt Baker
Jolly Abraham – Doctor
Carolyn Baeumler - Ivy Baker
Joel Brady - Officer Nolan
Kareem Savinon = Turrentine
Steohen Bradbury – Judge Colin McNamara
Teresa Moore - Catalina Soren
Joselin Reyes – EMT #1
Carsey Walker, Jr. – LMZ Guy #2
Eric Meyers – LMZ Guy #2
A well dressed Madison Baker gets into a cab, and once she’s in, she takes off her coat showing a revealing dress. She takes a swig of booze and pretties her makeup. Next, we see her laying unconscious on a bed and then being stuffed into a suitcase and left in an alley. The perp who leaves her there partially unzips the suitcase so Madison is visible,
Soon afterwards Officer Nolan finds her and, calls for EMTs. She is rushed to the hospital and she is revived. Madison wakes up to Benson hovering over her, with Amaro in the room. She does not know where she is at or what happened to her.
Madison does not recall being in the suitcase. She last recalls coming into the city to see “Wicked” and meet a girlfriend (whom she did not meet). She got into a cab and was coming from her uncle’s on the upper west side. She is reluctant to give their names as she does not want to get them in trouble. Her mom is in Atlantic city with some girlfriends. Madison is afraid her mother will be mad.
Meanwhile, Fin and Carisi are on the scene with Officer Nolan, who says the anonymous 911 call came in at 3AM from the pay phone. Fin thinks that somebody wanted this found. The officer continues to say he responded and found her unconscious in a half-open suitcase. Carisi comments that the suitcase looks tourist-shop generic and asks if he called CSU yet. The officer replies 4 times already. Fin tells him when they get here, have them run it for DNA and prints; maybe they will get lucky. The officer guesses the girl is underage, she OD’d while partying at a club and they dumped her. Carisi comments “bright lights, big city, right?” Fin asks the officer if he canvassed and if there are witnesses, and the officer said it was late, a cold night and the windows were closed, nobody saw or heard anything. Fin states they are near the tunnels and they will check traffic cam footage. Fin’s phone rings; it is Benson. She is at the hospital, and tells Fin the last thing Madison remembers is leaving her uncle’s apartment and now he is not picking up the phone. She tells Fin to find out why he hasn’t noticed his niece is missing. Fin says they are headed over there.
Back with Madison in the hospital, Benson asks if she told her uncle where she was going by herself, and Madison says he got her the tickets. She explains she got in the cab and the cabbie locked the doors and was driving like a lunatic. He was middle eastern maybe, she doesn’t recall, she was trying to text her friend because she was freaked out. She realizes she doesn’t have her phone and Benson explains when they found her, she had no purse or clothes. Madison only now remembers the driver pulled over and climbed into the back and made her take some pills. After that she doesn’t know. When Benson brings up the rape kit, Madison seems reluctant.
At the apartment of Matt Baker on Monday, January 5, Fin and Carisi find Matt who still thinks Madison is asleep in her room. They find she is not there. The last time he saw her was at 6 but she had a friend who was dying to see the play. The tickets were still in her room, They explain where she is and asks where he was last night. He said he was at a “meat market” and when he got back at about 1AM her backpack was there and the door was closed. When Fin asks if he can verify that, Matt goes to his room where another man is asleep in his bed. Matt says he screwed up and begged them no to tell his sister. He doesn’t know about a boyfriend, but she is on her phone all the time. Fin asks him to wake up his friend.
Back at SVU, the detectives discuss Madison’s lies with Benson. Benson says the tox screen shows alcohol, ambien, and xanax in her system and the rape kit did not turn up DNA but found condom lubricant. Fin wonders if it was a hookup turned bad. Benson tells Carisi to check her social media Amaro informs them Madison was texting constantly from the upper west to the Howell Hotel in Tribeca, where her cell goes dead at 2AM. Carisi sees an Instagram post yesterday afternoon with a photo of actor/painter/philosopher Scott Russo holding a sign which says “see you tonight.” Amaro sees Scott is in town this week at the EdgeFest film festival at the Howell Hotel. Carisi says he would love to take a run at the Renaissance Man. Benson suggests they get Madison’s side of the story first. Fin adds Madison’s mom just got to the hospital. Benson says to keep her OUT of the conversation.
At the hospital, Benson and Amaro are there with Madison and her mother who tells them she is staying in the room. Her mother is shocked when Scott Russo’s name comes up but says her daughter is obsessed with him. Madison explains that they DM’d each other on Twitter but she denies he did anything. She did go to his hotel and there was a party at the bar and Scott said he could get her on the guest list. He got her a drink but blacked out and remembers waking up in the hospital. Her mother wants Scott arrested.
At the Howell Hotel on Monday, January 5, Fin and Carisi arrive to hear Scott attempting to play a sitar with another musician accompanying him. Fin flashes his badge. Fin asks Scott if he knows a girl named Madison Baker, and when Scott says who, Carisi shows him a photo of Madison, saying she is the 15 year old girl that he was trading selfies with yesterday. Scott excuses the other musician. Scott says she was a fan; she texted him and he responded. He asks if flirting is a crime. Fin asks if he saw her last night, and Scott replies that celebrity, fantasy, and expectations are all part of his art project. He picks up a camera and begins to video Fin and Carisi. While Scott sets the camera on a small tripod, Fin asks Scott if he saw her last night or not, Scott says he met her. Carisi asks if he got her drinks, and Scott replies they were giving drinks away for free; that’s not on him. He admits that, after Caspian Sea, that’s his fan base – young girls. There are a bunch of them in the lobby right now, and some of them always manage to slip under the velvet rope. Carisi says nobody is looking to hang him here, they get it; Madison’s hot and a guy could make a bad choice. Scott counters “A guy… not Scott Russo.” He chuckles and asks why, what is she saying? Fin asks Scott to tell his side, what happened? Fin states Scott met Madison and they had a couple drinks, he brought her up to his room, something like that? Scott says they had some drinks and they talked; he left her in the booth. Carisi asks what time was that, and Scott states he doesn’t wear a watch. He adds that people saw him go – industry people, hipsters. He clicks his fingers and then says Skye Adderson, his co-star, can vouch for him. A woman walks into the room and asks Scott if everything is alright. Scott replies they are cool, and he introduces Lydia, his manager. He tells her to tell the detectives she was at the party last night. Lydia says she was there, then asks what is going on. Fin replies they are just asking about a girl that Scott took a selfie with last night. Lydia counters that Scott took a lot of selfies with waiters, press, fans – he’s a star. Carisi explains this fan is 15 and Scott was sexting with her and she had a rough night. Scott tells Lydia he just talked to her, that’s all. Lydia explains that Scott has a lot of cyber-stalkers and overwrought admirers, but whatever this is, he had nothing to do with it. Fin counters then she won’t mind answering a couple questions. Scott decides to film it as Lydia asks the detectives to email her the questions, hands them her card, and says “thanks fellas” as she guides them out the door.
As they walk down the hall, Carisi asks Fin if he likes Scott for this, adding that he thinks Scott is a self absorbed psycho. Fin says Scott stated he left her in the bar, and points to the camera and suggests they go to the tape.
