The article is below. One other thing it mentions is that it's a certainty that Michaela McManus will not return to Law & Order SVU (NBC), much to my delight. Here is the story, and feel free to join in the speculation.
Someone's going to die on the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit finale. But being the shameless scoop hounds we are, we're trying to solve the crime before it happens. We interrogated show runner Neal Baer for some clues.
Ready to put your detective skills to work? Here's what we've learned so far:
Someone's a Goner! This is the single tidbit of spoilery goodness we all know already! So who might not survive the season-10 finale? When we asked Neal if we'd be losing a series regular, he would only say this: "It's a castmember." Hmmm, does that mean it could be one of the less important players, like, say, forensics tech Ryan O'Halloren (Mike Doyle)?
SVUers Take the Case: Neal wouldn't confirm that the death is a sex-related crime, but he did tell us, "The detectives will be involved in solving the case." So will the investigation carry on into season 11? Is there any chance this character might return? "No, [the] death is permanent." But the emotional impact for the crew definitely carries into next year.
Munch Is Out? For some reason, Detective Munch's (Richard Belzer) name always comes up whenever the talk turns to SVU departures. Could it finally be time? Being the slick exec that he is, when asked if Munch were leaving, Neal played coy, saying, "I hope not. Well, we'll see." Doesn't sound like much of a denial or a confession, but come on, you wouldn't do that to us, would you, Neal? SVU just wouldn't be the same without the dynamic duo of Munch and Fin (Ice-T)!
SVU's A.D.A. Overload! Alex Cabot has been back for a few weeks now, and when we asked Neal about Stephanie March's future on SVU, he told us: "Stephanie is in the next-to-the-last episode; she's not in the last episode." So if her arc wraps just before the finale, could her body could be found at the end of that episode, leaving Benson and Stabler and the gang to solve their good friend's death in true finale form? We could be reaching, but it doesn't seem impossible!
Neal did say that you never know what the future holds. "About five years ago, she was gone! She was in witness protection and she got out, so life is unpredictable."
Neal did confirm that Michaela McManus won't be back on SVU, but also that the door is not entirely closed on that other A.D.A. we all love, Diane Neal's Casey Novak. "Well, she was disbarred for a year but as I said, life is unpredictable." We're not math whizzes, but if you carry the two and divide by the...hey, that year off would be wrapping up right about now!
Academy Award Winner X: One last thing, Neal mentioned another very special guest star coming up. We can't name names just yet, but he reveals that "an Oscar-winning performer is coming on in the next-to-the-last episode." Perhaps it's an Oscar winner hoping to get some Emmy consideration for playing the person who murders an SVU castmember? (We're just throwing that out there...)
This episode of Law & Order SVU (NBC) “Lead” was definitely worth the wait. The return of ADA Alexandra Cabot (Stephanie March) brought the fire back into the law side of the show. They never explained Cabot’s work when the character appeared in the short-lived series ‘Conviction”. They did touch on the fact that although she had been out of witness protection for a while, she just couldn’t bring herself to return calls to Benson and Stabler, the memories of her shooting apparently too great for her to reconnect with those two. Still, it is a little hard to believe that if she had been working for the DA’s office during her “Conviction” stint that they wouldn’t have bumped into each other in the courthouse area.
Alex brought back with her the “take no prisoners” approach to prosecution, but unlike the cold and unfeeling ADA Greyleck, Cabot didn’t seem to need to learn compassion, or when to dig deeper into a case. The fact that Greyleck never fit in was made evident by her last line in the episode – hopefully her last line with the series - “What the hell did you people do?” Her reference to “you people” was reflective of the fact that she never believed she was part of the team. Good riddance, I say.
I chuckled when Alex had to face Judge Petrovsky and was amused when the judge welcomed her back, with the added scolding for Alex not being prepared.
As far as the story, it was very well done. It was an interesting case and it managed to showcase all the main cast members – with the exception of ME Warner (Tamara Tunie). I also enjoy seeing the smarmy lawyer Lionel Granger, who was particularly nasty in this episode. He did, however, seem to show some unusual glee when he and Alex paired up at the end to trap the president of the toy company. This brings me to the issue of Pica., a disease where people try to eat items that are not food. I have a nephew that has Pica, and I was surprised that parent would let a disorder like that go on so long. I think it is something very easy for a parent to spot, since the child usually is stuffing anything and everything into their mouth. The parents should have discussed this with the doctor, or at least should not have allowed their kid to lick any paint off a toy, regardless of what is, or isn’t, in the paint.
All in all, a fantastic episode, and I hope this means that Alex Cabot will be here to stay for more than the six episode arc.
Here is the recap:
The episode opens with a jury reads a verdict of guilty on four counts if sexual abuse against a Dr. Gilbert Keppler (Lawrence Arancio), while families, mostly with young boys, and ADA Grayleck (Michaela McManus) look on. Gilbert tells the court he didn’t mean any harm to the young men. The defense attorney Lionel Granger (David Thornton) makes a motion to extend bail, and the judge allows it, but insists on an electronic device and be confined to his home until sentencing.
Outside the courthouse, ADA Greyleck, with Capt. Cragen (Dann Florek) and Detectives Elliot Stabler (Chris Meloni) and Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) at her side, makes a statement to the press, saying Keppler abused his position as a pediatrician. Granger steps up and informs them they should consider themselves served, they are being sued, claiming that Cragen and his detectives knew about the problems with Keppler long before they took action to stop them. As the press jumps all over the group, they leave the area, and Greyleck says, “What the hell did you people do?”
At the station, Stabler, Benson, and Cragen discuss the matter. Cragen says Granger is a sore loser, but Benson wonders if they did take too long to address Keppler. When they enter Cragen’s office, they are greeted by Tucker (Robert John Burke) from Internal Affairs. He is not happy with how they handled the case, and the Cragen wonders why One PP is taking the side of Gilbert and his “media whore” lawyer. He says Keppler’s last victim is on them. He says that a 14 year old kid walked in and told them he was being abused by his doctor but they waited three weeks to collar him. Stabler says they needed the time to build his case, and Tucker says they were dragging their ass. Stabler says they had no DNA because Keppler never raped his victims, and they didn’t want him lawyering up before they had enough to charge him. Tucker said Justin McTeague gave them enough information but Stabler argues that it was just Justin’s word and he had come in a year before claiming his math teacher abused him, and they brought the teacher, Kevin Sammers, in for questioning. Sammers had denied everything, but the detectives wouldn’t give him any details so he could tell them his alibi.
Now with Olivia being questioned, she tells Tucker that it is normal to hold back details. They interrogated Sammers for 18 hours, but when they have him the name of the abuser, Sammers was able to provide a solid alibi proving Justin was lying, and also that Sammers busted Justin for smoking weed outside the same day Justin claimed the abuse took place. Later, under questioning, Cragen tells Tucker that Sammers quit teaching over the problem. He also said if they arrested Keppler only on Justin’s say so the defense would attack Justin’s credibility. He told Benson and Stabler to find another victim, and it took them three weeks to find Bradley Hicks. Hicks had told them that Hick’s story of the abuse was the same as Justin’s so Cragen told them to arrest Keppler. When they went to arrest Keppler, he was doing a procedure on a young boy, Chuck Paisley. Tucker wonders why Paisley thought the procedure Keppler was doing was legit, and Stabler says the other boys thought it was legit as well, but he only came forward when he saw Keppler on TV. It made the case against Keppler a lock.
Later, Cragen tells the group that Tucker apologized but asked that they keep IAB in the loop and that anything else needs to go through Cragen. Munch (Richard Belzer) tells Cragen that while he was entertaining the “rat squad” that Fin (Ice-T) and him were working, they found that Keppler’s and his lawyer alleges that Denslow Hospital knew one year before they did that Keppler was abusing boys. They find this hard to believe, and Cragen tells them to go to the hospital and check it out.
At Denslow Medical Center, the attempt to talk to the hospital attorney Mr. Coldwell (Tim Ransom) but he won’t give them any information. He assures them nothing happened there and walks off. Stabler asks how you know when a lawyer is lying, and Benson says when his lips are moving. They believe he is covering, and they decide to go ask Keppler, but Stabler says they can’t go near him. Benson disagrees, saying that if the hospital committed a crime, then Keppler is a material witness.
When they get to the residence of Gilbert Keppler, Benson sees blood on the doorstep, and Stabler sees the door open. When they enter, they find Keppler’s dead body, next to a golf club, with blood spattered all over the room. Benson calls in the homicide, and Stabler calls Cragen, saying one PP and the press will be all over this.
Later, with police and forensics on the scene, ME Warner is held up with a crane collapse with six dead, and they think that waiting for Greyleck is delaying their entry back into the scene. They are shocked when they see Cragen walk up with Alexandra Cabot (Stephanie March). When Benson, stunned, says “Alex,” Cabot responds with “What have we got?”
At the scene, Stabler asks Cabot where Greyleck is, and she tells him the new administration called her back to the justice department. (Pause for loud cheering from viewers!) The DA let her leave immediately, and Coy asked her to fill in only an hour before. She apologizes for not calling them back, remembering that they were there when she was shot. Benson said they heard Valez died in prison and Conners was extradited to Ireland and Cabot has been out of witness protection for three years. The forensics guy calls them over, he tells them the nine gunshots didn’t kill him, it was “Big Betty” the golf club. The perp was a lousy shot, he missed eight times, likely running out of ammo. The perp also left a pair of gloves. Cabot thinks this was overkill, but Stabler speculates that Keppler knew his killer because they were let in to his home. The wonder if it was someone that he knew, maybe someone he abused or a family member of someone he abused. Cabot is going to ask Judge Moredock to unseal the files of the previous victims.
Stabler meets with Justin McTeague’s mother. She tells them she and Justin were at her sister’s on Staten Island at the time of the murder. They didn’t want Keppler dead, they wanted his money, seeing that they weren’t going to get anything from the hospital. She signed arbitration papers, an agreement not to sue the hospital, and that his head nurse, Lillian, also signed an agreement, and then she suddenly disappeared. Later, Munch approaches Lillian (Ann Dowd), and she wonders why they are asking her now about this. He says they never heard about her until now, and she says they must have erased the records. She looks around uncomfortably, worried she will be seen talking to him. Later, in the squad, she tells them they threatened to take away her job and pension. She identifies Coldwell as the man who made those threats. She felt she should have done more. She said that Keppler always had the nurse present when examining a female patient, but on one day she walked into a room and saw Keppler with Dale Overton, one of the boys from the trial and she saw him molest the boy. She brought the matter to HR, and Coldwell said Keppler would deny everything. She said Coldwell did believe her allegations, but would not think the jury would. When she threatened to come to SVU, Coldwell threatened to take away her job and health insurance, and her husband is sick. Watching from behind the window, Cabot comments to Cragen that Denslow Hospital didn’t care about the boys, just in protecting themselves. Cragen said Logan Coldwell was just the plumber, plugging the leaks. He wants to go after him for obstruction, but Cabot says that they can’t, since he was the hospital’s attorney, Keppler was also his client. He is not obligated to break privilege, but she can get him for obstruction for buying Lillian’s silence. She will have the arrest drawn up in the morning. Fin tells them so far the families seem to have alibis, the autopsy says Keppler died at about 1:00 AM and ME Warner found traces of gold plating in his head wounds. Benson says CSU got skin cells off the gloves, there was a lot of DNA with a lot of hits, only one of them who is not in jail Clive Lynwood - who has a registered hand gun.
Benson and Stabler go to the Lynwood residence, and Jeffrey (John Gallagher Jr.) answers the door. He says his dad and mom just went out, and they give him the warrant. He almost seems excited about it, asking if he can help. They ask to see his gun, and he shows them right away where it is. The box is empty, and Jeffrey seems surprised. When Stabler asks him the color of the gun, Jeffrey says it is gold and his dad says it is real. The Lynwoods enter, and Jeffrey’s father Clive (Fredric Lehne) asks where is his gun. They arrest Clive, as Jeffrey gets upset.
Later in interrogation, Lynwood’s lawyer Lorna Scarry (Mariette Hartley) is surprised to see Alex, who says she is “just a temp”. Lorna tells her client is innocent, and they tell her his DNA was on the gloves. She says his DNA was in the file from a bogus menacing charge, but Stabler says it was because he blew a 2.2 into the Breathalyzer. Lynwood says that the cop saw a knife in the car and upped the charges to menacing. Cabot wants to know how his DNA got in Keppler’s brownstone, and Lorna says she doesn't have to explain anything.
At arraignment, Scarry argues that the DNA is unreliable as it only matched a few DNA markers. Cabot argues that the court has never ruled against law enforcement in this issue. But Judge Petrovsky (Joanna Merlin) disagrees, saying they have been burned before, and charges are dismissed. After she orders a 10 minute recess, Petrovsky motions for Cabot to approach, telling her she is glad she is back, but try to show up prepared next time. Afterwards, Benson says she will try to find some other evidence.
Later, tech Ryan O'Halloran (Mike Doyle) tells them that he found a fingerprint on the casing, the perp was not wearing gloves when he loaded the gun. But the print is not in the system. He clarifies that the print left the corroded mark on the bullet because the persons body secreted lot of salt, so the person either eats a lot of salt, or works around it. Benson wonders if it could be from working in a fast food restaurant. Clive’s son was wearing a fast food uniform when they arrested Clive, and he would also share some of the DNA.
Back at the squad, they brought Jeffrey in after his work. He said it was fun riding in the police car. He has a drink with him, and when he asks to get rid of it, Benson takes it. Stabler talks with Jeffrey about his job, and why he is there, while we see forensics check out his prints. Jeffrey tells them his dad lets him put the bullets in the gun and takes him to the shooting range. He tells Stabler that his father keeps the bullets in the closet with his socks. Benson enters and tells Jeffrey he does not have to talk to them if he doesn’t want, and says he can get a lawyer, but he says he wants to talk to her because she is pretty. She asks if he knows a Dr. Keppler, and he says no, but he seems uncomfortable. Stabler says if he lies to them they have to punish him, and they don’t want to do that. He admits that he went to Keppler when he was little but he told his mom he wanted another doctor. When Benson asks why, he said they learned in school that no one is supposed to touch you “down there.” Keppler had rubbed him and said it was OK because he was a doctor. He saw him going to jail, so he knew Keppler had lied to him, so he took his dad’s gun and pointed it at him, saying he lied to him. He said Keppler tried to hit him with the golf club but it hit the gun, it went off, and shot Keppler in the knee. Then, he called him stupid, and that is a bad name that the bullies called him, so he got angry again and shot and shot and shot but none of the bullets hit him. Keppler called him an idiot, but there were no bullets left. So, he hit him with his father’s gun again and again and again but the gun got all red and slippery, so he hit him with the gold club and he didn’t call him names any more.
Cragen and Cabot are watching the interrogation from behind the window. Cragen asks her if she is at all concerned that he is slow, and she says that is the defense’s problem, not hers, and to arrest him. She then walks out to see Lionel Granger there with Jeffrey’s mother Virginia (Laura Leigh Hughes) Granger is going to represent Jeffrey, and Cabot is stunned as Granger represented Jeffrey’s abuser and sees a whopping conflict. Granger says the abuser is dead and he as a waiver from his estate. As they bring Jeffrey out, he tells his mother he told the truth. Granger says Jeffrey is an abuse victim and Cabot should talk to him and he will see he is a victim. She says if he believes that, he will allow their shrink to interview them. He agrees.
Later, talking to Huang (B.D. Wong), Huang asks Jeffrey if he has any nightmare about Keppler. Jeffrey says he sees Keppler as a monster. When Huang asks Jeffrey if he can read his identification Jeffrey asks if he is a doctor and he begins to get upset, trying to flee. Asking for his mom. He pushes Huang down, who hit his head. He yells Huang is a bad man and picked up a chair to hit him as Stabler tries to restrain him. Jeffrey continues to yell “doctors are bad” as Stabler continues to restrain him, Huang lying on the floor.
Later, Huang is being treated, and he says he didn’t black out and he feels fine, he won’t go to the hospital. He says he is OK. Huang tells Cabot something is really wrong with Jeffrey, thinking he is developmentally disabled. He can’t control his temper or emotions. Cabot said he still is competent to plan to kill Keppler, but Huang says he killed only because he was being called names. He is an eight year old in a man’s body. Cabot bluntly asks him if he is saying she can’t try him because he is retarded., and Huang reluctantly says no.
At trial, Jeffrey is on the stand. Granger asks about his interrogation, and he says they were mean. He said Stabler touched him on the shoulder and he got scared, and this is why he said he killed Keppler. Cabot cross examines him, asking him if he knows a boy named Chad Smith. He says he is a bully, but admits he beat Chad up after Chad called him a moron. When Cabot presses him hard, Jeffrey asks why she is being so mean but she says he lied. He shouts for her to stop yelling at him and he puts a pencil in his mouth, biting it off and eating it, which piques Huang’s interest. Judge Moredock calls for a recess.
In the Judge Moredock’s (John Cullum)chambers, Granger and Cabot argue with each other in front of the judge. Moredock tells Granger that Jeffrey has no business being on a witness stand, only a horse’s ass would ignore Jeffrey’s diminished capacity. Granger tells Moredock he is out of order, but Moredock says Granger is a disgrace, and if he doesn’t get his act in line, he’ll grant Cabot’s motion to have him removed and will report him to the disciplinary committee. When Granger leaves, he says Cabot is not blameless in this either, Jeffrey has the mind of a child, and that violating his rights is not justice. She counters that they are not in his constitutional law class anymore, this is the real world. He says it took guts for her to come back and he is glad she did, but she can’t forget why she became and ADA in the first place. The Cabot he remembers would not have considered railroading this man.
Later, In Huang’s office, she admitted to him she was out for blood. But he tells her he thinks he knows what is wrong with Jeffrey. Huang and Cabot got to talk to Mrs. Lynwood, and asks him when Jeffrey was a baby if he hit all his developmental milestones. She says yes, he was fine until he was five. He had a seizure and his brain swelled and they thought he was going to die. When he recovered he was not the same, and Dr. Keppler said it was a miracle that he survived. Keppler said the seizure was epilepsy. Huang said that Keppler missed Jeffrey’s Pica, a disorder where people eat objects other than food. She says that’s why they couldn’t stop making him put things in his mouth. Cabot asked if there is any chance they kept something that he used to put into his mouth, and she shows them his little toy cars. Jeffrey lad licked the paint off of them, saying it tasted like sweet and sour candy. Clive Lynwood enters, surprised Virginia let them in there. Virginia tells him to wake up about Jeffrey, he is developmentally delayed and will never be the perfect child. Huang tells him Jeffrey was not born that way, and he can prove it.
At Cabot’s office, Huang tells the Lynwoods and Grainer, that when he saw Jeffrey eat the pencil in court, he knew something was wrong and asked for a brain scan. He found that Jeffrey is missing brain matter from chronic lead poisoning, kids with Pica are at high risk. Studies have shown that kids with lead poisoning become violent as adults. Grainer asks if this excuses what Jeffrey did, and Huang tells him Jeffrey’s decision making center of his brain is badly damaged. Cabot says it explains why Jeffrey became so angry when Keppler called him names. Clive is angry that Keppler never tested his son, now saying that Keppler victimized his son twice.
Later, Jeffrey is still held in jail, with his father coming to visit. Clive is in tears, saying he is sorry he didn’t help Jeffrey enough. Jeffrey said it is OK, he did a bad thing. Granger asks if this means they are not going to trial, and Cabot says, “ Oh yes we are.”
At trial, Cabot has Michael Rowan on the stand, president of Rowan Toys, who says he was asked to appear as an expert witness on his product – toy mini-ice cream trucks. They haven’t used lead paint in toys since 1978. She asked why was it then that the NYPD found that they paint on the toys contained 50% lead? He gets upset, saying he was brought there under false pretenses. She says he lied to the whole world, he knowingly poisoned children over decades. She shows him emails with his Chinese manufacturers showing he has been poisoning kids with lead paint, and he flings them off, saying he is done answering her questions. Granger smirks, and Rowan asks if the defense was in on her little set up, and Moredock tells him to sit down, he is out of order. Rowan says the judge is out of order, along with his corrupt DA and his joke of a court. The judge tells the officers to remove the witness from the courtroom, and Stabler and Benson happily take over, saying they have it. They arrest Rowan for reckless endangerment. As they walk past Cabot, Rowan says he will have her ass for this. She says she already has his, and it’s on the record.
Later, Moredock finds Jeffrey not guilty by reasons of mental defect and per the plea agreement, he will surrender to the commissioner of health to be hospitalized until he is determined not to be a threat. Cabot tells the Lynwoods he will be evaluated in a month, and that Rowan Toys has agreed to support Jeffrey financially for the rest of his life. When Stabler questions whether Rowan Toys really voluntarily pledged this, Cabot says that after the feds recalled his toys, Rowan offered her the deal so she wouldn’t charge him, and after he signed, she said to shove it. Benson says “You really are back, aren’t you?” Cabot offers a happy face as we fade to black .
There is also an episode scheduled for March 10th titled ‘Lead,” but there is no information available as yet. NOTE: NBC later released the information for "Lead", and you can find it on my blog, here.
Law & Order SVU “Ballerina” Air Date March 17, 2009 EMMY AND GOLDEN GLOBE AWARD WINNER CAROL BURNETT GUEST-STARS ALONG WITH MATTHEW LILLARD
When Detectives Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Stabler (Christopher Meloni) arrive on the scene of a single murder, they discover two more dead bodies, those of Tisa Flores and Alejandro Reyes, in the apartment next door. They investigate Tisa’s past and find that she was working at a strip club owned by a former Rockette, Birdie Sulloway (Guest Star Carol Burnett). Birdie and her nephew Chet (Guest Star Matthew Lillard) try to assist with the investigation, but when the prime suspect for the three murders suddenly dies, the detectives discover a vigilante with a violent past. Show Cast: Chris Meloni, Mariska Hargitay, Dann Florek, Richard Belzer, Ice T, Tamara Tunie, Michaela McManus
This episode of Law & Order SVU (NBC) tells a very interesting story about a very difficult subject – transgendered children. It is a subject that most people likely don’t have real-life experience with, yet these circumstances do exist, often putting a great strain on families. The first 5-10 minutes of the episode had a few gratuitous scenes of scantily clad women included in it, probably in hopes of luring viewers to into an episode with a difficult theme. All the guest stars were well cast, especially the transgendered teen, Henry/Hailey, played by Bridger Zadina, and her guidance counselor Miss Blaine, played by Aisha Hinds.
Anybody home? (All photos from NBC) Where the episode misses greatly is with any scene that includes the stone-faced Kim Greyleck. I was hoping that we wouldn’t be seeing Michaela McManus any longer, but I suppose they had to throw one more episode with her in it before her character head off for a while, hopefully never to return. McManus’s inability to show any range of emotion has really hampered the show’s ability to have any decent courtroom scenes where the prosecution shines. In most episodes with Greyleck handling a case, it usually means that one of the guest stars will steal all the scenes. I swear in the scene with Greyleck and the detectives in the courthouse hall, that Benson wanted to just smack Greyleck across the face. Many times during the trial, McManus was unable to pull off any kind of emotional response that seemed real. Alex Kingston, playing the defense attorney, did a great job. While McManus was clearly a big part of the problem with Greyleck’s character, it also seems evident that they never wanted her character to be likeable, which frankly made any appearance almost intolerable to watch.
The story itself was very well written, but I have to admit that the first second I laid eyes on the guidance counselor Jackie Blaine I knew exactly where the story was headed. Still, it did not detract from the story at all, maybe because all the supporting actors all did very well in their roles. I felt very badly for Jackie and I was appalled that Greyleck seemed completely unmoved by Jackie’s background. I can only continue to hope that Michaela McManus won’t be on this show, or any other in the franchise, any time soon.
Here’s the recap:
After a fight erupts between two strippers, Misty (Heidi Marnhout) and Sapphire (DeQuina Moore) at the Sugar Pops strip club, Sapphire is leaving the club and hears a noise. She races to her car, and after she gets in, a man approaches her with blood trailing down his crotch, and he collapses onto her car. Later, at the hospital, Detectives Benson (Mariska Hargitay) Stabler (Chris Meloni) talk to the doctor about the victim, who is in a medically induced coma to help him recover from his injuries. The man’s scrotum had ruptured and he was also scratched and beaten in the head, a long fake fingernail found at the scene. It also appears the man had been the recipient of some oral sex before he was attacked. His wallet was found with no ID, just a picture of him with his son.
Capt. Don Cragen (Dann Florek) and Fin (Ice-T) discuss the fact that the man’s fingerprints aren’t in the system, and they are unable to release the man’s picture to the public, as he was a victim of a sex crime. Cragen assumes the attacker works at the strip club, so Fin and Munch (Richard Belzer) make the hard choice to visit the strip club. There, they speak to both Sapphire and to Misty who had their own fight the night before, and Misty adds that the club bouncer – Frankie, a very brutish looking woman – beat up a man at the club the previous night. In talking with Frankie, she points them in the direction of Psycho Sid, a creep who frequents the club area. Later, Benson and Stabler meet with the creepy Sid, who says he saw the victim in his tow truck in the back alley of the club.
Back at the club, Benson and Stabler and other police are examining the man’s tow truck, and inside is a bloody tire iron. The paperwork in the truck says the man’s name is Mark and he works for a repo company. When Fin and Munch go to Mark’s place of employment, they are told Mark works nights, and that he went to the club to repossess a Toyota from a woman named Molly. They follow the trail to Molly’s parent’s home, which are perplexed because Molly has a Mercedes-Benz, not a Toyota. They give the detectives Molly’s home address. When the detectives knock on the door, Molly answers, and it’s none other than Misty from the strip club.
Later at the squad in interrogation, Molly/Misty denies hurting Mark. She admits to the oral sex. She adds she is an anthropologist who studies people and their behaviors in their habitat, and she is writing a book called “Play Misty For You” which involves her having to work at the strip club to study the behaviors. When Molly moves to leave, Benson notices Molly seems to be wearing a wire of sorts, and they find she has a flash drive on her with recordings of her activities for the week, which include her interaction with Mark. They confiscate it, and later listen to the recording, which seems to indicate Molly left Mark without attacking him. (Was Frankie’s voice also heard?)
When they hear that Mark Van Kuren (Frank Grillo) is now out of his coma, Benson and Stabler head to the hospital. He seems to think his ex-wife Ellen (Wendy Makkena) is the only one having a reason to hurt him, as they are having a custody disagreement about their son, Henry, apparently Ellen was threatening to kill Mark. When Benson and Stabler head to Ellen’s home, she says she didn’t mean she’d literally kill him, that people having problems like that sometimes say things they don’t mean. She says their split is complicated as they have different ideas on how to raise their child. When Stabler asks is Henry is a handful, a girl comes down the stairs and corrects him, ‘It’s Hailey. My name’s Hailey. Henry is dead.” They discover that Mark and Ellen’s son Henry is transgender, and she is now going by the name of Hailey (Bridger Zadina). Ellen says Mark does not accept her son as being a girl and that Mark is in denial about the matter. Henry/Hailey is also going through puberty, and they were told Hailey will have to take hormone blockers to stop it, but Mark won’t allow it. Ellen indicates she was at work when the attack occurred, and when the detectives make note of her black eye, she says that she got it from Hailey when she found out she had been sneaking back into the home through a window at 2:00 AM and they got into it and Hailey punched her. When they ask where Hailey had been the night she crawled back in through the window, she said she was “striking a blow for her freedom.”
The enter Hailey’s room, and she seems embarrassed that she is topless, gets angry, and quickly puts on a bra. When they tell her about her father’s attack, she seems happy and indicates she wishes he were dead. But she says she was with a boy when she was out of the house that night. Her mother asks if she is gay, and she says her mom still doesn’t get it, she is a girl and is supposed to be out with boys.
Back at the squad, Dr. Huang (B.D.Wong) is explaining to Cragen that Hailey’s anatomy is irrelevant. Because of something that may have happened in utero, Hailey’s brain is wired like a female while she had the body of a male. Huang thinks that Mark being beaten in the crotch is symbolic. But Stabler adds that she also gave her mother a black eye, that it’s not much of a leap to attacking her dad. Cragen tells them to head over to the school and to verify her alibi, and Huang adds they should also check with the guidance counselor.
Later, at Lincoln Middle School, they speak to the guidance counselor Miss Blaine (Aisha Hinds), who tells them that Hailey has had a difficult time and faced some ridicule and was once ordered out of the girl’s bathroom by other girls and fought with some students. Some fights occurred, and now Hailey uses the gender-neutral bathroom. When the guidance counselor brings them to her office where Hailey is waiting, she is not pleased to see them. When they begin to question her about her alibi and tell her they will have to go through her email and cell phone records, Hailey is concerned and then blurts out that she was the one who tried to kill her dad.
Back at the station, Cragen is made aware that since there was no parent present and Hailey is a minor, the confession is inadmissible. They hope that when Hailey’s mother Ellen arrives she will waive Miranda and let them speak to Hailey. They have no such luck. But, they do get a warrant to search the home, and in doing so, Fin finds several boxes of hormones, both male and female: estrogen, testosterone, and leuprolide. Back at the squad, Huang tells them that the leuprolide is used for hormone blocking to stop puberty, but why would Hailey have testosterone, a male hormone? He also says that he found that several pharmaceutical warehouses were recently robbed, stealing drugs used to transition.
Later, with Hailey, Ellen, and an attorney in interrogation, they question Hailey about the hormones but the lawyer attempts to block the answers. They say they know she had to work with other people to pull off the robbery, and that a manifesto was left at one of the crime scenes, signed by the “Children of Ariel.” Ellen becomes upset and decides to start talking. She says Hailey said she was going to a support group, and, despite Hailey’s protest not to say anything, she says she dropped off Hailey once at a church in Chelsea.
Fin and Stabler head to the Good Shepherd Church, and meet a transgendered man named Blake (Daniela Sea), and Stabler brings up the robbery. When they say they found the stash in Hailey’s bedroom, he asks if she is OK, and that Hailey is just a friend. When Stabler tells Blake to “be a man” Blake gets upset and tells Stabler he doesn’t know what it is like, and the drugs are a lifeline. Stabler says that they are like “Robin Hood and Maid Marian, all wrapped into one.” When they tell him that they believe Hailey tried to kill her father, Blake seems stunned, and says Hailey was with them when the group raided the warehouse, she just showed up but didn’t go into the warehouse, he just told her to wait in the van. She was only stashing the drugs until it was safe to move them.
Back at the squad in interrogation, Stabler tells the lawyer, Ellen, and Hailey that she didn’t attack her dad, that she was at the robbery, that Blake told them. When Ellen questions why she said she hurt her dad, Hailey said she was afraid to get the others in trouble, and she would do anything for Blake. Later, Stabler tells her she is free to go, but she will have to come back and answer questions about the robbery. Hailey sees Blake being brought in, she says she didn’t tell them anything, and that she loves him. He says it is not her fault, and they take him away. She screams that she loves him. Mark arrives, and begins to chastise Ellen for her parenting. She refuses to discuss the matter there and she is going home. He says they are not going anywhere, Hailey is staying with him, and he tugs at her, but when he is told to let go, he apologizes and he loves her and her mother. Hailey asks him that if he loves them, why does he go to the strip club and screw trashy sluts? Stabler asks who told her about a stripper, and she says her guidance counselor, Miss Blaine, who she said Ellen told her. But Ellen said she didn’t know about that, either. Stabler wonders how Blaine knew?
Back with Jackie Blaine, she said that she did tell Hailey, and in retrospect it was inappropriate. Benson said she is right, because they never told Ellen about Mark and the stripper, and Stabler says she could have been there herself. He asks if she followed him to the club, and she moved to a closet and pulls out a bloody coat. She said she could not get his blood out. When Benson asks her why she did it, she said Hailey’s pain got to be more than she could bear, she just wanted to protect her.
Back at the squad, Benson asks ADA Greyleck (Michaela McManus) if she got enough of the story before Jackie lawyered up. She says that based on what the detectives were told and the bloody coat, there is her case, signed, sealed, and delivered. As Greyleck leaves, Hailey arrives and says she wants to take it back, that Miss Blaine never told her about the strippers, she doesn’t know where she heard it. When see sees Jackie Blaine being locked up, she runs over and apologizes, but Stabler holds her back. Blaine says it is OK. Hailey says she has ruined everyone’s lives. Benson sees that Hailey had blood running down her hand, and gets her to sit down. When Benson pulls up Hailey’s sleeve, she sees her wrists are cut. Benson calls for a bus, and Blaine calls out to Hailey. As Benson reaches for her pulse, Hailey looks faint and says she is cold.
Later, at the hospital, Hailey is recovering, and Benson talks with Ellen. Benson tells Ellen she can help her get a lawyer. But a voice comes from behind, saying that she never expected to hear Benson suggest legal representation. It is Miss Pond (Alex Kinston), Jackie Blaine’s lawyer, who says her client was concerned when she saw Hailey collapse. When Benson tells her she can go, Pond says she wants to see for herself. Benson tells Ellen to close the blinds to Hailey’s room, and tells Pond she has no business being there. But Pond says that the mental health of a key witness against her client is her business. But Benson said her client confessed, she’s guilty.
At the trial, Pond says that Jackie Blaine loves Hailey like a daughter and Hailey needed to be saved from her father’s abuse regarding her gender issue. Back to at the squad, Greyleck tells Benson and Stabler the case is in trouble, that Pond is making Blaine looked like the patron saint of abused children and the jury is buying it. She needs Hailey to testify against her. But Benson thinks Hailey is a mess, and Stabler thinks that Hailey could play into Pond’s hands if put on the stand. Greyleck shows them a picture with Mark and “Henry” and says that this man loves his son, the relationship may be mess up but they can’t tell them it’s not worth saving.
In Hailey’s room, she is looking at the same picture and says that her father carries it around with him like it is proof she is a boy. Her father loves Henry, and is ashamed of who she is. She tears the picture, and says she hated the truck that was in it – she asked for one present that year – Barbie. He father just screamed at her about that. Stabler says her father can’t let Henry go, Hailey says it is like he loves a ghost. When Stabler asks if she ever lost someone she loved, she mentioned her grandmother, and that she cried for weeks. He says that is how her dad feels about Henry. She asks what Stabler would do if his son came home in a dress – would he still love him? Stabler pauses before answering, and says he’d try to understand, but that it would probably be hard and that he would probably make a lot of mistakes but never stop loving him. He puts his arm around Hailey as she cries into his shoulder, and he consoles her.
Later at trial, Hailey is on the stand being questioned by Greyleck, she says never asked Blaine to hurt her father. She is mad at her dad, but Greyleck pressures her to answer the question if Hailey wanted Blaine to hurt her dad. She answers an empathic no, she didn’t want anyone to hurt him. Under cross, Pond asks about the bandages on her arm, and denies trying to kill herself. She says she was just upset, and Pond comments that this wasn’t the first time she was upset, wasn’t it? Hailey asks what she means, and Pond asks if she ever talked to Blaine about wanting to kill herself. Hailey admits she had mentioned that a few times, and Pond says it was 8 times in the last 5 months, and every time she gets upset at school she goes to see Miss Blaine. Pond continues to hammer her on the issue, and if she ever talked with Pond about her father. As Greyleck attempts a concerned look, Hailey says she does not remember. Pond moves to refresh her memory that, according to Miss Blaine’s notes, every single time she spoke to her, she said she wished her father was dead. Hailey admits that is true. When asked if she thinks Jackie Blaine cares about her, Hailey says she knows she does. She asks her if her father cares about her, and Hailey answers she does not know. Pond reiterates that she told Blaine she wanted her father dead, and now says she wouldn’t want anyone to hurt him, which is it? Hailey says she does not know.
On the stand, Pond is questioning Blaine, who says Hailey was upset that her father did not want her taking the hormone blockers. Blaine said Hailey was devastated. She looks to the jury and ask them what if they woke up in the body of the opposite sex but nothing else about you had changed, how trapped and desperate you would feel? That is how Hailey felt, and that’s when she knew she had to save Hailey, she didn’t want her father to kill the beautiful girl inside her. Under cross, Greyleck sarcastically comments that Blaine’s love for Hailey is very touching, but did she ever think she was getting too involved? Jackie said Ellen is a good mother but Blaine is a professional, trained to handle these issues. Greyleck presses if she gets involved in the issues of other students in the same way, does she get involved in their lives in the same extent? Blaine said Hailey is special. Greyleck asks if she counsels students who have been victims of rape, incest, drugs, etc. and Jackie says yes, but Hailey is different. Greyleck says she hasn’t tried to kill the parents of those other children, they must not be special enough to deserve her devotion. Blaine says she does not understand, she has no idea what we go through. Greyleck asks, “We?” and stares blankly. When Blaine sits in silence, Greyleck pulls back, with a half look of realization on her face. She asks, “Miss Blaine, have you even been known by another name?” Pond quickly objects, citing relevance, and the judge overrules. Miss Blaine answers yes, it was Harold Franklin. Hailey, in the gallery, looks stunned, and whispers, “What?” When Pond asks to confer with her client, the judge denies the request. Blaine says she needs to explain. She says she always knew she was a girl, but things were different back then, there were no pills, counselors, or support groups. One had to live as a woman for three years before a doctor would even consider doing surgery. It was hard, but she had no choice. She was leaving a bar, and three men grabbed her and they called her a freak. They dragged her into a vacant lot and pulled up her skirt and one of the took out a knife, and said he would make her a woman, and he cut her. Greyleck continues to stare blankly.
Outside the courtroom, Mark tells Greyleck he wants to stop this, the trial, everything. She says it’s too late, but he says he is the victim and he wants to drop the charges, but she says he can’t, it’s not up to him. He said none of this would have happened if he would have just listened to his daughter. He was just thinking of himself. But Greyleck says Blaine can’t get away with it, and says she is sorry. Stabler and Benson look on. When Mark leaves, she turns around and sees the detectives and says “Oh no, not you too.” When Stabler says that Mark has a point, she says not every person that has been a victim can have am automatic get out of jail free card when they go looking for retribution. When Benson says, “You’re new here, Kim” Greyleck says, ‘What, you’re gonna give me the SVU is gray speech?” Stabler gives her a smirk, and Benson gives her a look that she wants to bitchslap her, but hold back and says, “Some cases have no right answer.” When Greyleck thinks this mean they expect Blaine to walk, Stabler says no, just offer them a plea bargain. When the detectives walk off, Greyleck attempts a look like she is thinking about what they said.
Later, back in court, the judge says she understands the defendant wished to change her plea, and Jackie says that she does, she says she is guilty. The judge says that in accordance with the arrangements made with the district attorney’s office, she is sentenced to 8 years. After the bang of the gavel to adjourn, Hailey moves to talk to Jackie, and Jackie apologizes. Hailey says her dad says she can take the hormone blockers, and Blaine is glad for her. Hailey hugs her. Hailey tells Benson she wants to go home, and leaves with both her parents. Benson and Stabler look on, as we fade to black.
NBC has released information on another new February episode for Law & Order SVU titled “Transitions.” Here is the information:
Law & Order SVU “Transitions” Air Date February 17, 2009 WHEN A MAN IS FOUND BRUTALLY BEATEN AND BARELY ALIVE OUTSIDE A STRIP CLUB, HIS TRANSGENDER TEEN IS THE PRIME SUSPECT.
When a man is found badly beaten with no memory of what happened in a strip club parking lot, Detectives Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Elliot Stabler (Chris Meloni) are at a loss for evidence as a rainstorm washed away any clues. A fake fingernail embedded in the victim's back leads the detectives to believe that the attacker is female. Detective Benson and Stabler turn to the female dancers at the club for questioning, but a homeless man, Sid Gabbert (guest star Paul Lazar), points the detectives to the victim’s truck. Using evidence found in the truck, the detectives learn that the victim, Mark Van Kuren (guest star Frank Grillo), was sent to repossess the car of strip club dancer, Molly “Misty” Lambert (guest star Heidi Marnhout). After questioning “Misty,” Van Kuren awakes in the hospital with no memory, but brings the attention to his ex-wife Ellen (guest star Wendy Makkena) and their 13-year-old transgender son Henry (guest star Bridger Zadina). Also starring: Richard Belzer (Detective John Much), Dann Florek (Captain Donald Cragen), Ice-T (Detective Odafin Tutuola), Michaela McManus (A.D.A Kim Greylek), Tamara Tunie (Dr. Melinda Warner), and B.D. Wong (Dr. George Huang).
On February 6, NBC changed the air date for "Transitions" from February 10 to February 17.)
My recap and review of “ Transitions” can be found here.
Check out my blog home page for the latest Law & Order information, here.
NBC has released some episode information for the February 3, 2009 episode of Law & Order SVU titled “Snatched.” It looks like it has an interesting cast. Here is the info:
Law & Order SVU “Snatched”, Air date February 3, 2009 A YOUNG GIRL IS KIDNAPPED AND DETECTIVE ELLIOT STABLER (CHRISTOPHER MELONI) MUST WORK WITH EX-CONVICT, GENO PARNELL (GUEST STAR RON ELDARD), TO GET HER BACK.
When young girl Rosie Rinaldi (guest star Daisy Tahan) is kidnapped, the girl's mother, Liz Ranaldi (guest star Michelle Ray Smith) immediately points Detectives Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) in the direction of her ex-husband, Geno Parnell (guest star Ron Eldard), a recently paroled convict. When Parnell's alibi checks out, a fight erupts between Parker and Detectives Stabler and Odafin Tutola (Ice-T), which in turn unveils some knowledge on Parker's ex-wife. Parker admits Liz's father is Frank Hagar (guest star Dabney Coleman), a master thief with a lot of enemies. The detectives pay a visit to Hagar, but are surprised to find he has a severe case of Alzheimer's disease. With the help of Dr. George Huang (B.D. Wong), the detectives are able to put together a few clues to solve the case, but must pair up again with Parker in order to find Rosie. Also starring: Richard Belzer (Detective John Much), Dann Florek (Captain Donald Cragen), Ice-T (Detective Odafin Tutuola), Michaela McManus (A.D.A Kim Greylek), Tamara Tunie (Dr. Melinda Warner), and B.D. Wong (Dr. George Huang).
My recap and review of “ Snatched “ can be found here.
Check out my blog home page for the latest Law & Order information, here.
Let me get my review of the episode out of the way first, and the recap will follow. This episode was actually pretty good, maybe up until the last few minutes. What was good about it was that it made good use of the entire cast, with each of the top billed actors getting some face time. The episode opens with what appears to be the return of a missing person, but unfolds into a case of false identity and a case of kidnapping and abuse. But while many SVU episodes in the past that seem to be make these transitions in a disjointed fashion, this episode seemed to move smoothly through the slight twists and turns. The last few minutes seemed to take a corny turn, when they uncover that fact that the real missing person was murdered by her own sister. I found myself wondering why no body was ever found. Even though she was pushed into a chimney stack, wouldn’t a body have caused either a clog, or a problem with a furnace or whatever was at the bottom? If it was just a vent stack it would have clogged the vent, and I would think if it were a furnace below there would have been a smell from a burning body, no? I could be missing something here, after all maybe one can drop an elephant in one of those big chimneys and one would never know the difference. But why did it appear no one suspected family involvement before in Heather’s disappearance?
Somewhat obvious from the promo tease that NBC aired for this episode was the faked tense exchange between Benson and Stabler that had shippers thinking that maybe Benson was turning against some advances by Stabler. Experienced Law & Order franchise viewers know that you can never trust those NBC teases because they are never what they seem. Still, it was funny when, after the scene where Benson threatens Stabler with sexual harassment, that Cragen states that it seemed a little too real. I think that was wishful thinking on the part of the writers, because the ploy of “partner turned against partner” in the interrogation room is overused by the SVU people and can be spotted a mile away.
Despite a decent story and well-executed supporting roles, there was just something about the investigation process that just seemed a bit off. I think it had something to do with the fact that they were unable to identify Kristin’s true identity sooner. I know that not all families fingerprint their children now, but it seems to me that once her identity came into question that possibly they should have looked at other missing person cases matching her age in the country and not wait for a DNA match. Maybe there are just too many for them to do this visually, which I suppose indicates the sad and scary reality of the volume of child abductions. One thing is for sure, Munch's hunches about Nikki turned out to be heading in he right direction. They need to listen to him more often.
Sometimes the use of “repeat offenders” in the Law & Order franchise is a bit of a joke. Lindsay Crouse has just been used too many times in the franchise over the years. At one point she already played a judge who eventually dies from something her husband did to her (in the Law & Order episode “DNR”) so it is almost laughable to see her as a judge again. My wish is that once someone dies in the Law & Order universe that they stay that way for all the shows in the franchise.
I also find myself wondering why Tamara Tunie and B.D. Wong get billing in the opening credits when they are rarely used for more than maybe one or two short scenes with little dialog. Both are fine actors, but I guess I just don’t see what warrants the top billing. Sometime the TARU and CSU agent get more face time then Tamara and B.D. One good thing - we got very little of the wooden Michaela McManus as ADA Greyleck didn't have much to offer.
OK, enough of my nitpicking. Here’s the recap:
At an apartment where a family gathering seems to be taking place, the doorbell rings for what they think is a pizza delivery, and Mrs. Hallander (Tess Harper) goes to answer it. But rather than the pizza man, there is a young woman at the door who seems surprised that she is not recognized. She says, “It’s me.” When the daughter Erica (Kate Baldwin) sees a tattoo on the girl’s wrist, she states that it is Heather, her sister, and the mother’s daughter. Mom looks shocked.
Later, SVU detectives Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Elliot Stabler (Chris Meloni) arrive and are told that Heather Hallander (Ellen Woglom) disappeared when she was 14. It initially looked like a runaway situation but that turned out not to be the case, she had been living as a sex slave during the time she was gone.
Heather's parents say that Heather didn't give them any details about where she had been. The detectives try to start a dialog with her as she stays behind a locked door. Nikki (Natalia Payne), who is Heather's sister - “The screw up middle child, not the sainted older one” - tells Benson and Stabler that she blames herself for her sister's disappearance, probably because she called her “Heifer” and not Heather. This gets Heather to open the door, who said she doesn’t blame Nikki. Benson comments that Heather already showered, and Nikki angrily states she did, three times, and there’s no hot water left.
Heather tells Benson and Stabler that a man, who she had to call “daddy”, kept her in a concrete room and that when he got drunk and forgot to put the padlock on the door she ran away. She came out from a basement and ran until she couldn’t run anymore, so she doesn’t seem to know where she had been held. She said he sexually assaulted her yesterday. Stabler sees clothes on the floor, and when she tells them those were the clothes she wore yesterday, he moves to examine them. But there is no underwear as he wouldn’t let he wear any. Later, while she is being examined by the doctors, she recounts her abduction and that she woke up on a concrete floor, in a pitch black room. There was a mattress there, and there was a combination lock on the door. The man abused her and threatened her with starvation. There was no water except the occasion garden hose the man lowered down to her.
Heather takes the detectives to the area where she says she ran through from after she escaped to try to help them try to find the location where she was held. She recalls a funeral home at the end of the block, but there isn’t one when the go to check the location. She seems very tense and stressed, and they try to calm her. She wants to go home, so they take her back. Benson tells Heather she has a Vitamin D deficiency from lack of sunlight. Suddenly, the press – The Ledger - arrives with cameras and questions, and Stabler, annoyed, goes after the cameraman when he continues to snap photos. The cameraman falls back and breaks his camera as he hits the ground. Back at the squad, Captain Cragen (Dann Florek) tells Stabler they have to pay for the camera, and the Ledger wants disciplinary actions taken against him. Fin (Ice-T) enters and says Heather's sister Erica arrived at the squad, and she is angry that Heather's photo is on the front page news. She says they are worse than the missing person’s detective who only called once a month to see if they had heard from her. She had to start her own website to ask for tips. She said she was at the apartment the day it happened, and ran right past her as she left. Erica regrets not going after her and she leaves.
It seems their trip out with Heather is off, she’s seen the paper since her other sister Nikki slipped her a copy. Munch (Richard Belzer) wants to bring “the brat sister” in for a sit down. Since Nikki was sent to go after Heather after Heather ran out, Munch thinks she may have seen Nikki get in the van, and she seems to be acting guilty. Benson says that is no DNA on the rape kit but they found semen on Heather's clothes and will work up a DNA profile of the captor. Munch tells them he just got a tip - “divine intervention”.
Later, Fin and Munch work the tip, which came from a priest at St. Francis Cathedral who recognized Heather's picture in the paper. He says that she has been at Mass the last four Sundays, accompanied by a middle aged man. The man is not on their membership rolls.
In Heather’s room, Benson asks Heather if her captor took her outside of cell and she says no. When asked if she has been at St. Francis Cathedral. Heather says that she doesn't know what Benson is talking about. Benson says that she doesn't believe her, and that someone recognized her at the church. Heather gets upset and tells Benson to leave.
Back at the squad, Dr. Huang (B.D. Wong) talks about Heather’s situation but there is some skepticism from the group - maybe it was a boyfriend who took her, and Munch states that sunscreens are causing vitamin D deficiencies as well. Huang tells the group that it is possible that Heather's captor established complete control over her. Heather may be suffering from extreme Stockholm Syndrome. Benson thinks Heather might be willing to do anything to protect her captor. Benson gets a phone call, and says that Heather slit her wrists.
At the hospital, Benson finds that Heather is alive but she has lost a lot of blood. The next day, Benson visits Heather and apologizes to her for previously upsetting her. Heather says that she is afraid of being a burden to her family. When Benson tells her she can get better with counseling and by helping to bring justice to he abuser, she agrees to cooperate.
Elsewhere in the hospital, Stabler asks Heather's doctor if he noticed anything odd with Heather. He tells him that when he ran the blood check he found that her parents are not biologically related to Heather.
Later at the squad, the detectives chew over this new piece of information. Benson said Heather’s parents says she was not adopted. Munch says this leaves one possibility – that Heather is not really Heather. He overlays a current photo with one taken before her abduction and notes that certain facial features does not match. When they zoom in on the tattoo, they find they are mirror images and not a match. They suspect Heather is a con artist and Heather may have tried to kill herself when she thought she would be found out. Benson decides to go talk to her.
At the hospital, Benson brought ‘Heather” her clarinet, but Heather says she doesn’t think she remembers how to play. When Benson questions her about the tattoo, Heather says that she got the tattoo at a parlor. Benson informs her that the real story is that Nikki's boyfriend got a tattoo machine on eBay and convinced the real Heather to get a tattoo. Benson tells her they will run a comparison of the DNA from the real Heather's toothbrush to see if it matches the DNA from her rape kit. The fake Heather caves and admits that she wanted a real family and saw that she chose the Hallanders because she resembled Heather. Benson is outraged and tears into the fake Heather.
Later, as Elliot talks to the family, Erica calls the fake Heather “a rancid bitch” and they are clearly upset. Nikki says she had some suspicions. Stabler tells them they do not know the girl’s real identity. Stabler tells them she got some information about the real Heather from the internet, and more information from heather’s own room when she stayed there. The family tells Stabler that they want her arrested. He tells them they believe the fake is an”EDP” – an emotionally disturbed person.
Later, at arraignment as “Jane Doe”, the judge asks the fake Heather for her real name, and she refuses. Bail is set for $20,000. While the fake Heather is being taken away to Bellevue for psychiatric evaluation, Erica makes an outburst and asks her to tell her where the real Heather is. Erica can’t control herself so the judge has her removed.
Back at the squad, Erika tells ADA Greyleck (Michaela McManus) that she knows the fake Heather knows where the real one is. But Munch shows her what they found – all the information on Heather can be accessed by the public on an internet missing person database. He assumes the fake Heather looked for a person that matches her in the New York area, found more information on the family website, and copied the tattoo from the internet photo. Erica seems crushed that she may have been the person to give the fake all the information she needed to pull off the con.
As Stabler tells Erica they are taking over Heather’s case, Benson is on a call. She says she found where the fake Heather got her tattoo – at Tito’s Tats. Benson suspects that man could have been abusing the fake Heather. The tattoo was paid for with a credit card owned by a man named Carl Vasko (Peter Lewis). They go to Carl's house and say they have a warrant for his arrest. He tries to run, and Stabler yells out “Got a runner!” Fin is there at another exit door to stop him with a punch, saying “We got a dropper”. Meanwhile, Benson enters Vasko's basement and finds a locked room that matches the description that the fake Heather gave.
While the detectives allow Vasko to pace in interrogation, ME Warner (Tamara Tunie) enters and tells them Carl's DNA matches the semen found on the fake Heather’s dress. They got Vasko’s DNA from the blood that Fin got on him when he punched Vasko. Warner says the fake Heather’s real name is Kristin Vuslik from Ohio. Kristin's mother Marcy reported Kristin missing 6 years ago, and she suspected her former husband – Carl Vuslik of kidnapping her. The photo Warner has shows that Carl Vuslik is none other than Carl Vasko, and he is Kristin's father. Benson assumes Carl kept Kristin in his basement and repeatedly raped her.
In interrogation, they confront him with all the information. He has nothing good to say about his ex-wife Marcy, and says she got custody of Kristin because she filled everyone’s heads with lies about him. During the questioning, it seems that Stabler and Benson are creating some phony hostility between themselves. Stabler asks Benson if she is going to let the man talk or will she keep up with the smart ass remarks. She says “screw you.” Stabler shouts, “Let the man tell his story!” When Benson goes silent, Carl continues that Marcy was raising Kristin to be a shrew like her and she couldn’t let that happen, and she’d be better off with him. He had to hide her. When Benson begins to question him about raping Kristin, he says she’s a good girl now and wouldn’t say anything bad about him. He said she had the power to leave at any time. The tattoo was his idea, she showed him a picture and she wanted him to have it for good luck. Benson said she needed it to pass herself off as another person and she ran to a family of complete strangers. She calls Vasko a disgusting piece of filth. He demands to see Kristin. Benson says she’d like to see him castrated with a rusty steak knife and that neither are going to happen but they can both dream. Stabler tells Benson that she needs a sick day because obviously she is on the rag. He touches her arm and she pulls it away in anger. She says, “Touch me again and I’ll sue you for sexual harassment” and she walks out.
Outside the room, Cragen tells Benson “That was a little too convincing.” She says, “It was brilliant. Elliot’s gonna sucker a full confession out of that idiot. “ When Cragen asks her what she’s planning on doing, she says Kristin’s 72-hour pysch hold is going to be up and she wants to get the Hallanders to drop the charges before she gets transferred to the tombs. But Cragen says he checked, Kristin is already on her way there. Munch and Fin went to talk to the Hallanders, and Greyleck is tracking down Judge Andrews at a black tie event. She tells Cragen that after seeing that basement, she can’t let the girl sit in a cell all night.
At the Manhattan Detention Complex, Benson meets with Kristin and tells her she is working to get her out of there and the nightmare is over. But Kristin is not sure there is any good in the world. All she wanted was to be with a real family. Benson says it will get better. Kristin says Carl gave her more freedom last year, but threatened that if she ran, he would find and kill her. She didn’t turn him in because the Hallanders thought she was their daughter. Kristin tells Benson her mom died 3 years ago, and Benson tells her Carl lied to her about that. Kristin is later released and reunites with her real mom.
Back at the squad, Munch relays the good news that Carl was denied bail at the arraignment. Benson tells them that Kristin is going home to Ohio with her mom, and places a call to tell them about Carl. But she looks a little surprised when she asks for Marcy, and then asks, “when is she due back?” It seems Kristin told her mother she needed to talk to someone before she left. The Hallanders are the only people she knows. Marcy and Kristin’s flight home leaves in an hour and she never came back.
Benson and Stabler go to the Hallander home, but Kristin is not there and Mrs. Hallander says she has not been there. Erica asks her mom what she is talking about, she saw her leave the house with Nikki. She said no, Nikki was in her room, she couldn’t have heard was Kristin said to them. When Benson calls her on her lie, Mrs. Hallander says Kristin came there to say Nikki had said some bad things to her. When pressured by Erica and Benson, Mrs. Hallander says Nikki supposedly said she knew she wasn’t her sister and she’d better leave before the same things happened to her that happened to the real Heather. When Erica is shocked that this may mean Nikki killed Heather, she also realizes her mother knew. Mrs. Hallander admits she didn’t know until later but she didn’t want to do anything because she didn’t want to loose two daughters. Benson tells Mrs. Hallander that if Nikki does anything to harm Kristin she will be charged as an accessory to that murder as well. She says she doesn’t know when Nikki took her, and when Stabler asks if she knows where Nikki killed Heather, she must know something, because we are taken to 679 West 49th Street.
At this location, on the roof, Nikki is trying to get Kristin to climb a chimney ladder to see where Heather was killed. Nikki says she wanted her to see the view, but Kristin says that Nikki forced her to come there. Nikki says that Kristin came there of her own free will. Erica argues with her about Heather, and Nikki insists it was an accident. But Erica says they know the truth and that she must have pushed Heather into the chimney stack. Nikki says Heather caught her doing drugs and was going to tell her parents. Kristin climbs down the ladder, and they ask Nikki to come down but she climbs higher up. But, Erica says she does not want to lose her too, and she climbs down. She tells Kristin that the police gave up on looking for Heather a long time ago, and asks “Why did you pick us?” and she is lead away as they fade to black.
“Stranger” Two Minute Replay
“Stranger” Clip
Teaser for ‘Stranger”
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Episode information for the Law & Order franchise is only trickling in lately. There is no detailed information for any new episodes for Law & Order for January 2009 and I will publish it as soon as I can get my hands on it. A few weeks ago, I published information on a new SVU episode titled “Stranger” and now we have information on another new SVU episode, “Hothouse”, set to air on January 13, which I have listed below. So here is what January is looking like so far for Law & Order SVU:
Law & Order SVU “Stranger” Air Date January 6, 2009
DETECTIVES ELLIOT STABLER (CHRIS MELONI) AND OLIVIA BENSON’S (MARISKA HARGITAY) SUSPICIONS ARISE WHEN A TEENAGED “JANE DOE” (Guest Star ELLEN WOGLOM) TAKES ON TWO IDENTITIES.
Heather Hallander (guest star Ellen Woglom) miraculously returns home after being reported missing over four years ago. Unrecognizable to her family, Heather tells Detectives Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) of the cement cell where she spent the past four years as a sex slave and of her fortunate escape. Heather’s sister, Erica Hallander (Kate Baldwin), is relieved to see her long-lost sister after launching a website asking for search tips, but, Nikki Hallander (Natalia Payne), Heather’s other sister, seems annoyed with her return. In search of the mystery kidnapper, Benson and Stabler drive Heather around town to help stir up any memories of her abduction. When Heather’s answers don’t seem to match up, the detectives find revealing evidence that make them question Heather’s kidnapping and true identity. Also starring Dann Florek, Richard Belzer, Ice-T, Michaela McManus, B.D. Wong, and Tamara Tunie.
My recap and review of “Stranger “ can be found here.
Law & Order SVU “Hothouse” Air Date January 13, 2009
WHEN A CHILD PRODIGY WITH A DOUBLE LIFE IS FOUND MURDERED, DETECTIVE OLIVIA BENSON (MARISKA HARGITAY) POSES AS A MADAME TO UNCOVER THE TRUTH.
When the body of a fourteen year-old girl is found floating in the Hudson River, Detectives Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Elliot Stabler (Chris Meloni) think she was smuggled into the country by sex traffickers. In an effort to identify the body, Detective Benson goes undercover as a Madame and busts sex trafficker Alik (Guest Star Misha Kuznetsov). When Alik makes a deal with ADA Kim Greylek (Michaela McManus) he identifies the body as Elsa Lychkoff. To the detectives’ surprise, Elsa wasn’t a prostitute, but a child prodigy. Prying more into the victim’s secret life, the detectives investigate her elite boarding school and her roommate Jennifer Banks (guest star Sarah Hyland), who in turn, leads them to compulsive gambler, Joseph Lychkoff (guest star George Tasudis), Elsa’s father. When the motive of Joseph seems obvious as to why he would kill his daughter, Detective Odafin Tutuola (Ice-T) discovers some new evidence that could change the entire case. Also starring: Richard Belzer (Detective John Much), Dann Florek (Captain Donald Cragen), Ice-T (Detective Odafin Tutuola), Michaela McManus (A.D.A Kim Greylek), Tamara Tunie (Dr. Melinda Warner), and B.D. Wong (Dr. George Huang).
My recap and review of “Hothouse “ can be found here.
Check out my blog home page for the latest Law & Order information, here.
Today, my review is first and then the recap. This is one kind of SVU episode that we won’t be seeing any more, if/when Law & Order SVU moves to a 9:00 PM time slot in the fall to make room for Leno’s 10PM show. The subject matter was dark and disturbing, as were the many video images shown as part of the evidence. This is to be expected for a show that is about special victims, but it does make me wonder how much they will have to sanitize SVU next season because of an earlier time slot.
I’m not quite sure how I felt about this episode. It was just OK. I thought that the case itself was interesting and at least it actually involved special victims, but the focus on replaying all the videos of the assaults was overkill. I also wondered as I was writing the recap how I was going to get around all the references to porn so my advertising wouldn’t show up with wacky offbeat ads. I try to keep my content clean to attract good sponsors, but this episode made it hard to avoid certain negative words.
The episode seemed off balance at times. When Stabler had zero concern for one of the victims by confronting the husband with graphic video of his wife’s assault, it seemed very out of character, even for him. He seemed to think that he knew better than Olivia on how to handle the matter. Sadly, it was Olivia who bore the brunt of Stabler opening this can of worms when she got slapped for later trying to help fix Stabler’s mess. But, the real oddity was the dolphin video. I mean really, did we need that? I wonder how Mariska and her Joyful Heart Foundation, which has used dolphins for therapies for victims, felt about that. And, can someone explain just how exactly Olivia got access to Moredock’s private server to get the video to begin with? They seemed to imply she got the emails from a former clerk he had fired, but I don’t quite get how she got access to his server.
What I also though could have been used by the defense is when Lutz raised something more than an objection in the courtroom when they showed the video of one of his attacks. If anything, could that not have proved for the defense that he indeed had a problem with becoming aroused by this type of video. I wondered, since he admitted he was going through therapy, that his lawyer didn’t ask him, under cross, if this is exactly why he needs rehab.
I found it amusing when Fin called out Benson and Stabler for being a prude and choirboy, respectively. But a good line in the courtroom where the defendant was raising something other than an objection was wasted on the deadpan Greyleck.
On the upside, Michael Trucco did a great job of playing Lutz, and he was particularly creepy at the end as he yelled out to the victims.
OK, enough of my commentary; here’s the recap. The video clips and the two minute replay are at the end of the recap. NBC doesn’t keep them up very long so catch them while you can.
A woman is in the park walking with her kids, and their dog starts running off with one of the kids in tow. The woman foolishly leaves her other child alone in the stroller. (My note here – what kind of idiot would leave their kid unattended in a stroller these days?) When she hears the baby cry out, she sees a woman standing over the stroller. When she approaches, she sees the woman is in an overcoat, wearing only a bra and panties underneath, blood trailing down her leg.
SVU Detectives Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Elliot Stabler (Chris Meloni) are called to the hospital to investigate what appears to be a sexual assault on Kelly Sun (Kelly Hu). She is highly agitated, telling them she has to be in Korea by Friday. But that day is Friday, and they tell her she’s lost track of time. She has no recollection.
Later, Olivia talks to Kelly alone. She tells her that her bruises are from her attackers knees. Kelly is upset because she can’t recall the event, but Benson tells her that she was probably drugged with GHB. Kelly is upset with herself, saying it is like someone took control of her body. She does recall that morning she was getting ready for her trip to Korea, and she ran into someone she knew - Riley - while she was out. They both work for the same publisher. He had written a book about biking in Indonesia and he had never been there, and Kelly thought that was unethical so she reported him to the publisher and he was fired.
Stabler and Benson are talking with Riley as he is biking, and he wasn’t angry with Kelly for reporting him as it got people to read his book. Red-herring Riley also said Kelly got a free round trip ticket to Korea by working as a courier for Pakidala. When the detectives meet with man in charge at Pakidala, he says that Kelly was moving uncut diamonds to Korea. He also says the jewelers will have his ass because a bling ring has hit them before, and they thought she’d fly safely under the radar. But, he wonders where are the diamonds?
Back at the hospital, Kelly admits having the diamonds and recalls going to the airport with them but can’t remember much else. The detectives watch the surveillance video from the airport and see Kelly getting her boarding pass, and then going to the layover lounge. A man is sitting with her, and they have a few drinks. Their view is blocked for a moment so they can’t see if the man drugged her drink. Later, Kelly and the mystery man go into a taxi and leaving the airport without her luggage. They decide to trace where the taxi was headed.
It leads them to the home of Eric Lutz (Michael Trucco). They show Eric a picture of him and Kelly entering a cab, and he says that he met her that day but denies hurting her. Eric says that Kelly consented to sex and when he woke up she was gone. Elliot finds Kelly's bag in his apartment, still sealed. When Benson starts to pressure him, he says maybe he should call his lawyer. But Stabler says they are done and leaves.
Back at ADA Greyleck’s (Michaela McManus) office, they find the (red herring) uncut diamonds are still in the bag, but she tells them that is not enough to prove that Eric stole it. Since Kelly hasn’t claimed rape and Eric says the sex was consensual, they can’t even get Lutz for that. But Elliot had just received information from ME Warner that Kelly was not drugged. Benson fells strongly that Lutz raped her.
When Benson and Stabler go to the hospital to see Kelly, Lutz is there and they pull him away from her. He says he is just checking to make sure she was OK. She says she doesn’t recognize Lutz, but after they show her a picture of her with Lutz, she throws a vase at him, says he raped her, and that they should arrest him. Lutz appears puzzled at her reaction and Stabler walks him out of the room.
At the squad, they question Lutz who denies raping her. They verified that his flight got grounded but hers wasn’t. He indicates Kelly left with him willingly. At the hospital, Benson is talking with Kelly, watching the video of her and Lutz, and doesn’t quite believe what she is seeing, why didn’t she fight back. Lutz tells Stabler she was “totally into me.” Stabler thinks he went to see her at the hospital to see how much she remembered. But Fin (Ice-T) enters and tells Stabler and Lutz that they found blood that is the same type as Kelly’s on Lutz’s sheets. He says that he knew that Kelly was having her period and that it “'wasn't a deal breaker.”
ME Warner (Tamara Tunie) says that Kelly was menstruating, and Stabler is annoyed that yet again Kelly hasn’t given them important information. Warner adds that Kelly might have been drugged with scopolamine; under the influence of that drug, the victim stays conscious, but is controllable. She says that the victims usually don't remember what happened.
At Lutz’s apartment, they are searching for the drug but he denies even knowing what it is. TARU Tech Morales (Joel de la Fuente) finds that Eric has a huge collection of rape porn on his computer, and that he has an encrypted partition on his hard drive – a hidden drive on his computer. He accesses it and shows Benson and Stabler videos of Eric raping several women, including Kelly. Olivia states that Lutz is a serial rapist.
At the squad, Benson tells Kelly that they have video of her being raped by Lutz, and she says she wants to see it. Separately, Stabler tells Lutz they have evidence of him raping the women. He claims says that he was just being rough and the women consented, it was just role playing. Lutz’s lawyer (Christine Ebersole) enters and tells Stabler that the interview is over and they leave. While doing so, they attorney runs into Greyleck, and says “Kim Greyleck, from the beltway to the Big Apple.” She tells Greyleck the judge will laugh the case out of the courtroom. Stabler says, with sarcasm, that it’s always nice to see lawyers getting along. When the lawyer and Lutz leave, Greyleck tells Stabler that Lutz's lawyer right, the evidence is not sufficient. When Kelly walks up to them and is upset Lutz is being released, she is told they need time to build a case, When Kelly walks away, Greyleck, Stabler and Benson discuss the matter. They need to identify the other women in the videos. This may prove difficult as the women may not even know that they were raped.
Dr. Huang (B.D. Wong) reviews the information with the detectives, telling them Lutz is a classic serial rapist. Huang says the scopolamine prevents them from fighting back. Benson and Greyleck disagree on how to best identify the other victims, Greyleck not convinced these women were raped. Fin enters and says they found date and time stamps on the videos, and it helped them to tie these dates to Lutz activity with “Exquisite Express, ”an online escort service. Fin enters the description of victim #2 into a recommendation database. They find that the website recommends a woman named Denise, who looks like their victim.
Later, at a restaurant, Stabler meets with Denise. He shows her a picture of Lutz, and she says he’s just your average sicko. He was” into the act” but had “troubles on his end.”
Back at the squad, Morales tells them that he was able to get more information on his cell phone wi-fi tracking. One location was near a gym called ‘The Fitness Factor” where he could have dosed the victim. Morales emailed them a photo and they matched it to one of their members, Laurel Andrews (Christy Pusz).
Benson and Stabler head to Andrews’ apartment. She doesn't remember any assault. She seems highly agitated, saying she doesn’t remember Lutz. Her husband arrives and Benson says they are leaving. Afterwards, Benson tells Stabler that she doesn't want to ruin Laurel's memory of having a happy life. She says right now the woman is not a victim. They try for victim #4, but they still can’t locate her. Greyleck wants them to use Andrews, and when Benson balks, Greyleck barks to changer her mind and convince her. Benson still resists and Stabler thinks Benson is enabling Lutz. Benson wants to put a tail on Lutz. When Benson walks off, Greyleck tells Stabler they can’t just let Lutz walk.
On his own, Stabler goes to Laurel's house and meets with her husband. Elliot shows him a video of Eric raping his wife, and says that Laurel doesn't remember the assault. Laurel enters, sees the video, and is horrified. Back at the squad, Benson is clearly angry at Stabler for showing Andrews the video. They disagree on what was best for Laurel. Benson thinks she could have protected her from the damage, but Stabler disagrees, saying she should know that better than anyone.
Benson goes back to meet with Laurel at her home, who tells Benson she doesn't want to talk to her. Benson tells her that she herself was sexually assaulted a few months ago. Anger didn’t help her get over it, admitting it happened and putting the man who was responsible behind bars and getting counseling is what allowed her to move on. She will never be over it, but she can live with it now and has her life back. Laurel remembers meeting with Lutz at a juice bar at the gym. She woke up at home and found her legs bruised. She started to remember bits and pieces, and says that Eric raped her and she couldn’t face it. Benson says she needs her to testify against Lutz. Later, Benson and Stabler arrest Lutz.
In court, he is arraigned for two counts of rape in the first degree and pleads not guilty. Greyleck convinces Judge Moredock (John Cullum) to set a high bail because Eric might leave town. The defense attorney makes a motion to sever the cases as it implies a pattern and is highly prejudicial. He denies her request to sever. She changes Lutz’s plea to not guilty due to a mental disease or defect because his is addicted to porn. The judge allows it. And the victims in the gallery seem stunned.
At the squad, Benson is unhappy with the turn of events. Benson thinks there is a connection between porn and rape and Fin disagrees. When Stabler chimes in, Fin tells him “lighten up, choirboy”, that you don’t need to be a perv to enjoy it. Clearly they all disagree on the subject. Greyleck hopes the jury isn’t swayed by Lutz’s expert witness.
At trial, Lutz’s lawyer calls in Dr. Crossway. She testifies that the chemical response to these images can alter a person's mind and be addictive. This dependency might have driven Lutz. Under cross, Greyleck cites some studies which say that when porn is easily available, fewer rapes occur. But Greyleck cuts the doctor’s response short, and on redirect, Crossway adds it is like alcohol, and like an alcoholic, Lutz needs rehab, not prison.
On the stand, Lutz says it ruined him life, and he is addicted to it. He tried to stop, but it was like going through withdrawal. He thought that the women that he was with were consenting and that they were into it. He apologizes and says he is in therapy. Greyleck cross examines him, and asks if he watched so much porn because he wasn't good in the sack. She asks many questions about what he liked to watch. He says there are no strings attached with just watching. She says it’s the fight that turns him on. Greyleck plays one of the videos that the detectives found on his PC, and the victim leaves the courtroom, upset. Lutz asks her to turn it off, and she thinks he is getting turned on. He Greyleck asks if Eric likes when women struggle. Lutz stands up and yells to turn if off. But she notices that Lutz has raised something more than an objection, and makes note of it to the courtroom.
Back at the squad, Stabler says that Greyleck told him that Lutz is “going down” because he “popped up in court” today. But Benson is not happy about it, saying Greyleck put Laurel Andrews through this for nothing. She shows him a video of a dolphin looking as if it were having sex with a woman. It was on Judge Mordock’s file server along with other suggestive images. Someone may be gunning for Mordock. If it comes out, it could trigger a mistrial.
Confronting Mordock he tells Greyleck he is skeptical this information came to the detectives via anonymous email. He thinks it’s from the idiot law clerk he filed last year. He said they were goofy pictures on his private email. She tells him it jeopardizes the case, and he says that he has to recuse himself and declare a mistrial.
Back at the squad, Laurel approaches Benson and slaps her. Laurel is angry for the mistrial, and for Benson making her remember, and that she won't testify again. When Stabler asks Benson if she is OK, she says no.
Later, while Benson is revisiting all the information, Cpt. Cragen (Dann Florek) tells her to go home. But she refuses, she’s to try to find another angle in the case. She finds that Lutz has a receipt from Tiffany's for $18,000, but can't figure out what he bought. She then finds a photo of one of the victims wearing an engagement ring and thinks that Lutz was going to marry one of the women in his videos. She approaches Lutz outside his apartment and shows him the photo of the woman with the engagement ring and asks if he was going to marry her. He tells her she is trying to intimidate her and she is harassing him. He says she won’t get away with this, and snaps per picture. She says he just loves taking pictures of women and walks off. As she walks off, Lutz gets on his cell phone. Benson walks to a van, and Morales is inside. She asks Morales if Lutz took the bait. Morales says that Lutz made a phone call and his is tracing her name and address.
