“Hell’s Kitchen”, directed by Monica Raymund, featured a story that combined sex crimes in the restaurant business with the recent sexual assault accusations that surfaced during the Supreme Court confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh. Despite being a bit predictable, the episode was enjoyable, with crisp dialog and location shots that provided some spice for a story that was light on action. Everyone had screen time and played a part in the investigation, striking the right balance between lead characters. I am not sure if it was Monica’s direction or the writing - or neither of those things - but Mariska seemed energized in this episode, especially in the scene with Stone outside the courthouse. It’s the first time in a long time I haven’t been annoyed with Benson.
Stone, on the other hand, rubbed me the wrong way. This does not mean I don’t like Philip Winchester; on the contrary, I think he’s a great match for the show. But Stone is making rookie mistakes. It was obvious when he promised the current victim that the other three victims would not back out of their support that something would put that promise in jeopardy. He should have known better; the complaints by those women weren't prosecuted and would likely be challenged as prior bad acts. I’m also tiring of Stone bringing the murder of his sister into the mix with every opportunity. It’s bad enough the writers killed her in order to give Stone a story. They should close the loop on that story line and move on. Likewise, let’s move away from Stone and his baseball skills. It’s time to build the character of Peter Stone based on the legal work he’s done in the past or legal work he’s doing NOW. We need to like and respect Peter Stone as a prosecutor. We need to see his own passion as a prosecutor. At this point in time, he’s still being driven by what Benson thinks is important.
I was amused when Fin sipped the expensive wine and said it tastes like warm apple juice. And while I am on the subject of food tastes, I have a suggestion for Benson: if you want your child to try black olives, introduce them into a food you know your child enjoys…like pizza! You’ll have a better chance for success.
Here is the recap:
A chef, Andrew Liebowitz, prepares a fancy meal and gets irate when he calls for service and no one picks it up. He continues to get upset and decides to deliver a meal to the table himself when the manager tells him about two special diners who are waiting. He welcomes the diners, Brian Matthews and Niraj Patel, to "Far Rockaway by Andrew." They have been enjoying the food. He asks if they can hang out a bit after dinner and when they agree. Andrew says the waitress, Kayla will show them to their private room.
Meanwhile, at Benson’s home, Noah questions what Benson gave to him to eat (they are olives). She wants him to eat new things and he wants pizza. She suggests he try them and he spits them out, pushing his plate away and demanding pizza.
Afterwards, Kayla drinks some tequila while she is working at the bar section, the bartender saying there are big tips at the bar and the bedroom. She says no more tequila of she may end up taking Marco home. Brian and Niraj are there and when she delivers their drinks, they ask for her to sit down. When she says there is no chair Niraj says Brian would be fine if she sat on his face. Brian asks her to run his card and when she reaches for it, he pulls her onto his lap. She tells them this is not that kind of club and she walks off. The female restaurant manager asks if she is okay, and Kayla says yes, it’s half the gig. The manager adds it is the story of her life.
Later, two police officers hear a call for help and a man telling a woman to get out of his car. They intervene and find the woman in the back seat, her blouse opened. Sometime later, Fin and Carisi arrive on the scene. The two officers explain her name is Kayla Morgan; they walked by just as the Uber driver was climbing on top of her in the back seat. The driver, Michael Boykin, claims he tried to end the ride, saying Kayla refused to exit the vehicle. They add that Michael says she seemed wasted and he tried to help her out of the car but she started wailing on him. She did not say he tried to rape her, but her shirt was ripped like someone tore it open. She put up a fight and busted the driver’s lip, and he wants to file assault charges. Fin suggests they take them both back to SVU.
At SVU with Benson and Rollins, Kayla doesn’t recall much of what happened, thinking she passed out. Benson tries to get her to recall before she got into the Uber, but she doesn’t. Meanwhile, Fin and Carisi speak with Michael who denies doing anything, saying he is the victim. He did not tear her blouse and says he will give them his DNA or take a lie detector. He was on the phone with his wife. He thought something was off with Kayla, she was staring into space like a zombie and he tried to shake her out of it. She went off on him like a lunatic. Back with Benson and Rollins, Kayla stands up and says this is a waste of everybody’s time. Benson comments that she knows this is difficult but they are almost done, if she can give her one more minute. Rollins asks if she recalls how her shirt got ripped. Kayla admits she had a lot to drink, but she doesn’t know where, it is fuzzy. Rollins explains this is normal, victims don’t remember all the details of their assault. Kayla gets upset and insists she is not a victim. Benson states quietly that she thinks maybe she was. Kayla says the Uber guy didn’t do anything, and asks if he is pressing charges. Benson does not think so. Kayla says okay, great, she’s leaving. She storms out of the room.
Afterward, Carisi comments they checked Boykin’s phone and confirm he was on the phone with his wife. They explain she got picked up at Far Rockaway by Andrew, a high-end seafood joint. Carisi said he took a date there once, it set him back a couple hundred bucks. Rollins asks if it was worth it, and he says every cent. Benson tells them to cut Boykin loose and check it out.
At Far Rockaway Restaurant on Saturday, October 27, they speak with the female manager who explains Kayla works there. The kitchen closes at one. One of the servers, Marco, has a thing for her. They speak with Marco who suspects she was raped as he knows what SVU means. They hear about her working an “after party” and that management likes to keep the guests boozed up and happy. They then speak with the bartender. He admits he had some drinks with her and then mentioned the two TV execs who got handsy with her. They left at 2:30-2:45. The last he saw her was about 3 when she went to the wine cellar, Andrew needed her for something.
