“Dearly Beloved” is one of those unmemorable, predictable SVU episodes. It was like a bread sandwich; there was no filling and it was visually uninteresting. Ice-T and Philip Winchester were missing in this episode, so even the bread in the bread sandwich was thin.
The story involves a doctor who turns out to be a “psycho” therapist - or is it a psycho-“the rapist”? In this case, both. At first it appears we are dealing with a woman who is a deranged liar and stalker, but hey, this is SVU, it’s a foregone conclusion the doctor would be using his practice to prey on his female patients. Maybe the story would have been more interesting had the doctor been innocent?
The episode also served as a vehicle to remind us – like we need reminding? – that Benson is a child of rape. Benson explains she once overheard her mother say “How could I love someone that was conceived by a monster” - the same words the victim had used. This gives Benson the chance to give the victim advice about what to do about her pregnancy. While I can’t technically disagree with what Benson said – that it's not the baby’s fault – I am not sure it was appropriate for Benson to offer an opinion on this matter. It seemed like Benson was piling on the guilt at the end when she said the victim's baby is innocent and deserves to be unconditionally loved. The victim already needed therapy before her assault, and now that she has a new therapist, Benson should have just encouraged the victim to get help from her therapist to help her make the decision.
I give this episode a solid "meh" rating.
Here is the recap:
Dr. Joshua Hensley is getting ready for his wedding and his phone keeps ringing. But he is not taking any patient phone calls. In another room, his wife-to-be Lana is also getting ready. Later, Lana walks down the aisle and the ceremony begins. But when time comes to “speak now or forever hold your peace,” a woman stands up and says she does. She says she has good reason, saying that Josh raped her.
Later, Benson and Carisi approach the church, and the priest tells them he didn’t know what else to do. Benson assures him he did the right thing by calling them. The priest explains everyone is inside and it’s not pretty. Inside the church, the priest points out the wedding party and Kitty Bennett, the woman who voiced the objection. Benson introduces herself and Kitty says she is so sorry, she was just trying to help. Another woman asks with sarcasm if she has ever heard of a phone. Carisi introduces himself to the groom and Carisi suggest they go someplace to straighten this out. The groom says he is not leaving his wife. Another man says she is not his wife yet. Carisi gives the groom some advice, suggesting he does not want to be there. As the groom walks away, he calls out to his wife Lana, saying that he loves her while she cries nearby. Benson suggests to Kitty they go someplace where they can talk, and Kitty calls out to Lana, saying one day she will thank her for this. A woman pushes Kitty and Benson tells the woman to back up. As they walk away, Kitty tells Benson she just wanted somebody to know, and Benson replies that now everyone does.
Benson and Rollins speak with Kitty. Kitty explains Josh was her therapist and went to see him three months ago when her mother passed away on December 11. She wanted somebody to talk to. It was her first time going to therapy. She got there after work, about 6:15. There were a lot of other doctors that worked in the medical suite but the receptionist was not there, she may have gone home. He was nice and professional at first, and she gave him her history, She missed her mom so much she started to cry. That’s when he sat on the couch next to her and asked if he could give her a hug, saying it was normal. Benson says it is not. He gave her a hug and stroked her hair. She knew it was inappropriate but was afraid to challenge him. That’s when he pushed her back, put his hand up her skirt and pulled down her underwear. That is when she told him to stop but he didn’t listen and he forced himself inside of her. She lay there like a rag doll when he finished.
Meanwhile, Carisi speaks with Josh who is outraged. He has no idea who Kitty is. He denies raping her. He says she ruined the best day of his life.
Benson asks Kitty if she told anyone about the rape. Kitty explains no, she was too ashamed and thought that nobody would believe her. The next day she called in sick at the ad agency where she works and missed so much time because of this they’ve let her go. Benson says she is sorry. Rollins asks if she’s had any contact with Dr. Hensley after he sexually assaulted her, Benson adding it’s okay if she did. Kitty shakes her head no. Rollins questions how she knew he was getting married today? Kitty explains it was Instagram; she started to look at his photos, admitting it’s crazy. Benson states it’s normal to be curious after something like this happens. Kitty says she never thought the police would be getting involved. Benson counters that she did want people to know that he raped her. Kitty replies that she guesses she wants him to be punished and to be humiliated like she was.
Josh, upset, tells Carisi he needs to talk to Lana to make sure she is okay. Carisi says she is not okay and everybody is gone. Rollins walks into the room and tells Josh that Kitty states she is a patient of his and she came to see him in December when her mom died. He says that never happened. Carisi explains how they will search his office and Josh suggests they go now as there is no file or billing record. Rollins asks him to help them understand why she is accusing him, but he wishes he knew. Rollins suggests it was a fling but he says he never cheated on Lana. He says this will destroy him and they have to help him.
Back at the SVU, Benson tells Rollins and Carisi that Kitty is showing typical signs of a rape victim and Carisi says Josh says he never saw her in his life. Rollins says Kitty’s story checks out as far as the Instagram. Carisi says they can confirm the appointment when the medical office opens on Monday.
At Chelsea Medical Group at 297 8th Avenue on Monday, March 18, Carisi and Rollins speak with the receptionist who is reluctant to show them the appointment book, citing HIPAA. Carisi says they don’t need to see medical records, so it’s good. The receptionist buys that reason and says there is no appointment for 6:15 that day. Carisi notices the appointment book is written in pencil and is told the appointment could be erased of the patient canceled or changes the date. As they walk off, Rollins asks if Carisi saw the name of the next appointment, and Carisi comments it was Hannah Berkowitz, and he got the phone number too. Rollins wonders if Kitty was there, Hannah saw her leave.
At A Toe Above The Rest Ballet Studio at 97 West 19th Street on Monday, March 18, Carisi and Rollins speak with Hannah who explains she was a no-show that day. Rollins asks if Josh was ever inappropriate with her, and Hannah says she is gay, she came out two years ago, and the doctor helped her with her sexuality. They explain one of his female patients had an issue, and Hannah asks if that was Kitty Bennett. She explains that Kitty stalked her on Instagram. Hannah left a comment on one of the doctor’s photos and Kitty followed her after that, then came the private messages. Kitty kept asking her to meet for coffee to talk trash about Josh. She did not meet with her. But she made the mistake of replying to her first message and Kitty took that as an invitation to write her every day for a month and she finally had to block her, saying that chick is straight up psycho.
