All photos by NBCUniversal
Law & Order SVU has pulled out another fantastic episode with “Home Invasions.” In the process of telling a story of a home invasion with apparent hate crime overtones, the episode revealed a back story for Detective Amanda Rollins, exposing her own troubles which quickly invaded her job. It’s not the first time in the Law & Order Universe that a detective’s gambling problem was exposed; Ed Greene (Jesse L. Martin, Law & Order) from the 2-7 had his gambling problem come out in a case that ultimately ended his career. In “Home Invasions”, Captain Cragen, while not pleased with Rollins’ revelation, is there to support her in getting her life – and her career - back on track. This story line finally brings some much needed dimension to Rollins.
I am not quite sure why, but I suspected almost from the onset of the episode that Emmy was going to be involved in the home invasion and murder of her parents. Still, the writers did a great job of weaving in all the pieces and ultimately exposing Emmy’s secret and what lengths her friends would do to protect her. The writing has dramatically improved this season; it is clear that there is much thought being given to creating scenarios and dialog that utilizes the best of the regular cast. (Munch was MIA again, but at least we got a good dose of Cragen.)
I know I've ask this before and I will ask it again - does anyone in New York actually look to see who is at their door before they open it? I can only wonder as to how many deaths in the fictional Law & Order world would have been avoided if people would just look before opening...
Here is the recap
Cast:
Mariska Hargitay – Detective Olivia Benson
Ice-T – Detective Odafin “Fin” Tutuola
Richard Belzer – Sergeant John Munch
Dann Florek – Captain Don Cragen
Kelli Giddish - Detective Amanda Rollins
Danny Pino - Detective Nick Amaro
Guest stars:
Esai Morales – Jimmy Vasquez
Jake T. Austin - Rob Fisher
Tommy Flanagan - Murphy
Elizabeth Rodriguez _ Carmen Vasquez
Lauren Kelly – Emmy Eckhouse
Danny Mastrogiorgio – Rob’s father
Delaney Williams – Murphy’s lawyer
Alan Davidson - McCort
Isiah Whitlock. Jr. – police captain
Cady Huffman – Joan’s work partner
Betsy Aidem – Doctor
Alex Manette – Sidney Eckhouse
Eric Kappenberg – Anthony Parker
Dawn Evans – Joan Eckhouse
Miriam Morales – CSU Tech
While the Eckhouse family watches a basketball game, Sidney Eckhouse makes his daughter sit and watch the game and orders his wife Joan to answer the door. They think it is their Chinese food being delivered, but Joan opens the door and find a masked gunman, who shoots her twice and then enters the house.
At SVU, Captain Cragen tells Detectives Amaro and Rollins to hold off on leaving for their dinner break, they got a shooting in Yorkville with two fatalities confirmed. When Rollins questions why it is for SVU, Cragen tells her the shooting took place at the home of Joan Eckhouse, Chief Counsel for the New York Gay Right Coalition, and he will have Benson and Fin meet them there.
Detective Benson arrives on the scene and sees CSU at work. She comments on the messy crime scene and asks what happened. Amaro explains the a delivery guy found them, there was no sign of forced entry or sign of robbery. The intruder walked past the wife, Joan, and kills her and before they can react, he moved to the husband, Sidney, and their daughter on the couch. The daughter, Emmy, 14, is in surgery at St. Michaels’ with a bullet in her head. The CSU Tech shows them a bullet in the wall that she found, and they are looking for the others. She tells them it is a mess and good luck in reconstructing what went down. Benson sees the bullet has a full metal jacket, and Amaro says it is from a Winchester 357 sig. The word “Queer” is sprayed all over the walls, and Benson says she has seen her share of hate crimes, but the execution of a whole family is extreme.
Outside, a man races up to Fin and Rollins and asks if everyone is OK. He says he is Rob Fisher, and he is there with his father who introduces himself. Rollins says Emmy is at the hospital, and then Rob asks if dad if he is happy now, it is all his fault.
Later, Rob tells Benson and Amaro that Emmy was supposed to come over but his dad made him cancel, adding that if she had not been grounded she would not have been shot. She comes over all the time and his father thought she was distracting him. They have been together 8 months. He told his father they were not sleeping together and he even got Emmy to take the abstinence pledge, but his father could not let it go.
Fin and Rollins speak with Rob’s father about the Eckhouses. He knew Sidney better, Joan was always working, calling her a real crusader. He and Sidney were on the same page regarding Emmy; they are kids and it was too intense. They had curfews and ground rules emailed, adding it is all part of being a dad. He had to lock him in when he had to go out and walk the dog. He said there was a squad car parked outside the Eckhouse residence about a month ago for at least an hour. He didn’t ask Sidney about it, saying it was not his business.
