First things first, I’d like to comment on the elephant in the room: Mike Tyson on Law & Order SVU.
Controversy is not new to the Law & Order brand of shows. Law & Order SVU “Monster’s Legacy” hit the hot button the minute the casting of former boxing champ Mike Tyson was announced. The issue: should Tyson, a convicted rapist, be a guest star on a TV show that focuses on victims of various sex crimes? The disgust and outcry was swift and loud, some finding the casting of Tyson on SVU as being “especially heinous.” One woman started a petition requesting they reconsider casting Tyson. Tyson, who served his time for his rape conviction, rebutted, saying "I didn't rape nobody or do anything like that, and this lady wasn't there to know if I did or not. I don't trip on that stuff. I'm not trying to get rich and famous; I'm just trying to feed my family. Why should they care? Since I'm clean and sober five years, I haven't broken any laws or did any crimes. I'm just trying to live my life." NBC moved the episode air date from February 13 to February 6, reportedly so the episode would not air on the eve of One Billion Rising, a global event supporting rape and abuse survivors.
My take on the episode itself: it was fantastic and it’s truly a pity that some chose not to watch. Despite Mike Tyson’s presence and his just-adequate performance (which detracted from any sympathy that viewers may have felt for Reggie Rhodes) this may be the best episode of Law & Order SVU so far this season. The stabbing sequence in the opening scene was painful to watch and for a brief moment it actually made me physically uncomfortable. The person stabbed was a victim of a misconception about his activities with the boys he coached, but the attack eventually exposed more than one child abuser and the long-term effects on their victims. The story was well crafted, moved quickly, and juggled with ease both the SVU case of the child abuser and Benson/Ellis getting a stay of execution for Reggie.
Andre Braugher simply becomes Bayard Ellis on the screen. I’ve seen Andre in many shows over the years and he has the amazing ability to make viewers forget that he is playing a part. (Just a few weeks ago he was perfectly credible as captain of a nuclear-armed submarine.) It was a nice closing of the loop when Ellis and Benson made their peace as it related to Benson’s relationship with David Haden. (In my opinion, Harry Connick Jr. was a worse casting blunder than Mike Tyson, but I digress.) Mariska and Andre have great chemistry playing work colleagues on different sides of the legal system. (Sorry shippers, I'm not advocating a romantic relationship for Benson/Ellis here.)
Ed Asner was extremely creepy as the crotchety old pervert who preys on young boys who don’t have father figures. The whole cast was great but it was especially nice to see Dann Florek back as the much missed voice of reason for the SVU squad.
With more frequency, we hear of old convictions being overturned for various reasons (usually due to re-examining DNA evidence). In the case of Reggie Rhodes, he knows he murdered someone but prosecutorial misconduct put Reggie in a death penalty situation. This episode raises questions about how the death penalty is applied, and whether there are the proper checks and balances in place before someone is sentenced to death. In Reggie’s case, he got his stay, and maybe a new trial. But he shouldn’t get a free pass for murder.
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:
Andre Braugher - Bayard Ellis
Ed Asner – Martin Schultz
Mike Tyson - Reggie Rhodes
Enid Graham – Marnie Lathrop
Peter Scanavino - Johnny Dubcek
Jack Dimich – Alexei Belyakov
Carmen Roman – Judge Nancy Rosario
Elaine Hyman - Olga Dubcek
Eve Plumb - Angela Brooks
Chris Sullivan – Eddy’s Father
Daria Hardeman – Kassandra Smith
Alok Tewari – Counselor Amiri
Marissa Matrone – Judge Maria Ana DeFeceo
Michael O’Hara – CO Foster
Rick Zahn – Hal Harper
Dawn Yanek – Reporter
Tyler Dean Flores – Pablo
Helen Anker – Vera
Andrew M. Chamberlain – Eddie
Andrew Harvey - Ryan
In a school gym, a coach helps a young boy work out a cramp by massaging his leg, videotaping it. A janitor watches and then walks in on them, and the coach yells at him, asking if that can’t wait and the janitor says he will come back.
Later, the coach is walking out to his car in a parking garage and as he opens his trunk, someone comes from behind and violently and repeatedly stabs him as he bends the coach over in the trunk. The assailant walks off as the coach collapses and screams in pain.
Sometime later, Amaro is already on the scene as Benson arrives, in a red dress, and Amaro is stunned, saying “Wow…Whoa….Oh-livia! It’s a little early for Valentine’s Day.” She explains “he and I” weren’t ready for the whole Valentine’s Day thing – and Amaro said she went for the casual pre-dinner thing. He apologizes for pulling her out, and then points out Alexei Belyakov, the injured boys gymnastics coach, who was stabbed with an ice pick and he bled a lot. He was lucky the EMTs got there quick. Benson asks why this is their case, seeing where the blood stain is coming from, then adds because he was stabbed in a bad place. Amaro quips both of them. Benson asks if CSU can get prints on the weapon, but Amaro says it will have to wait until the coach gets out of surgery,
Afterwards, Benson and Amaro question Alexei, who is out of surgery. He did not see the attacker as he came from behind. Amaro asks if he is sure it was a man, and Alexei is positive, he had on work gloves, boots, and some kind of coverall. Benson feels an attack like this could be revenge, and Amaro adds maybe something form his personal life. Alexei replies he is happily married and has good relations with all of his ex-wives – three of them. He says he is a romantic, and when Amaro asks if he has been romantic with someone he shouldn’t have, Alexei says he learned that lesson 4 years ago. A student’s father accused him of being involved with his wife. Amaro asks if he was, and Alexei does not answer. Amaro asks if was he who attacked him, and Alexei says no, he tried to ruin him; in the divorce trial he accused him of molesting his son – and she accused him. He was threatened last year by the parents of Eddy, a student last year whom he had to cut, telling his parents he could not spin straw into gold. The father came in and threw furniture around.
At the home of Eddy Galtin, his father tells Fin that the Russians are all liars, he says Alexi played them, when he wanted their money he said his son had Olympic potential and charged a fortune for private lessons. Meanwhile, Amaro speaks with Eddy with his mother present. Eddy does not want to talk about Coach Alexei but Amaro presses about the private sessions. Eddy says he would practice on the bars and help with his stretching. He says the coach was not “That way” with him, saying he does not know if he was that way with other kids in private sessions. Meanwhile, Eddy’s father tells Fin he heard Alexei was “hands on” and says a guy at the guy said Eddy was better off he was away from the coach. It was a young lanky guy in a jumpsuit that probably worked maintenance.
Back at SVU, Rollins and Fin have John Dubcek in interrogation and Rollins reads off his length arrest record but says there is nothing in the last 5 years. He says he is straightening himself out. Rollins says Alexei almost bled out and he could have killed him. When Dubcek plays dumb, Fin and Rollins continue to press and he admits that he lives with his mom and she is sick. When Rollins continues to hammer him, Dubcek says what Alexei does he wouldn’t try with him, and Rollins asks him what he does to who? He squirms uncomfortably,
With Benson and Amaro back at the hospital, Alexei says the janitor is psycho, and when Benson asks why he would say those things, Alexei says it is because he is a janitor and idiot. He admits to taping his sessions for the benefits of the students. When Benson asks who does taping the rubdown benefit, Alexei says himself; he started taping everything after he was accused to show he has nothing to hide.
Back at SVU, Fin, Rollins and Amaro are watching the videos and Benson is on the phone. Cragen asks if anybody learned anything, and Fin says yes, 90 hours of tape and so far is only crime is boring him to death. Benson says they talked to a lot of his students, former and current, and nobody likes him but nobody called him a predator. Cragen thinks the owe the coach an apology, but Rollins says Dubcek believes what he told them. Amaro wonders if it was misconstrued – and Fin finishes by saying “and stabbed the guy in the testicles? Something set him off.” Cragen says he has one last chance to tell them what; he has been arraigned and he is on his way to Riker’s now.
As the transport arrives at Rikers, the officers open the rear door of the vehicle and see that Dubcek is trying to strangle another passenger with a chain. They restrain Dubcek and pull the injured man out of the vehicle.
As they take Dubcek away, he yells it was not his fault, he told them not to put him in with that. Fin and Rollins, who had arrived at Rikers, hear that Dubcek went nuts and tried to kill the inmate next to him. Rollins asks what he was saying about not being put in “with that” and the officer says he did not want to be put in the truck with the now injured prisoner who was a pedophile who was arraigned for touching boy scouts. He tells Rollins he will have to talk to Dubcek at arraignment.
At arraignment, the judge remands Dubcek back to Rikers. As he is being taken away, he tells his mother he is sorry. Fin comments to Rollins that they are not getting him for a while, and Rollins says in Johnny’s mind, he went off on two pedophiles. He wonders if his mother will know why. In the hall, they speak with Johnny’s mother who says Johnny has not been in any trouble since he was a teenager. His father died when he was 10, but a few years later, in their neighborhood house in Clinton, a coach took an interest in Johnny. He managed to get Johnny in to the open air camp upstate. Johnny did not like it there and Coach Schultz said Johnny was homesick. When Johnny got home from camp, he was not the same and she couldn’t even drag him to Clinton.
Back at SVU, Rollins and Fin return and Rollins explains they spoke with Johnny and admitted all he saw was Coach Alexei helping a student stretch. Cragen thinks he overreacted, asking if Johnny has a history f being assaulted. Fin says the mom said something went on one summer with the camp coach. Benson says they’ve seen this before, someone is sexually abused and the manage to function until there is a trigger – he sees Coach Alexei touch a boy and it sets him off. Amaro adds then he is chained to a pedophile, thinking it set off PTSD. Cragen says that is something Johnny’s defense can bring up and he will be sure the DA passes that along. As Cragen walks off, Benson tells him to hold on, asking if that is it, wondering about the camp coach? Rollins says Martin Schultz worked in a Clinton neighborhood house and in the summers he ran Open Air Camp in the Adirondacks and took inner city kids there. Cragen asks if Dubcek accused him or if this is all inference. Fin replies that Dubcek was pretty shut down – and Cragen concludes that was a no. Cragen adds if Schultz had a record, the detectives would have told him. Fin says “like Father Geoghan or Sandusky?” Fin adds that even when people try to come forward it gets hushed up. Cragen replies that it could be a misunderstanding like Coach Alexei. Benson suggests they see if Schultz is still working with kids.
At the home of Martin Schultz, Benson and Amaro question him about Dubcek. He recalls Johnny as a big Mets fan who wore the same ratty orange t-shirt every day to camp and the kids teased him. Benson explains he assaulted a couple men and he is going away for a long time. Schultz asks what he can do and Amaro says they are trying to understand the boy who became the man. Schultz says Johnny could have gone either way, the kid had potential. Benson explains Johnny’s mother said he was a straight A student until he went to camp there. Schultz asks if they mind going inside as the cold is affecting his joints. Inside, he serves them hot chocolate. When Benson asks him if Johnny confided about anyone abusing him at camp, Schultz tells them to stop right where they are. He knows these days everyone has to ask these questions but he does not tolerate deviants. If he had seen a counselor looked sideways at a kid he would have knocked them on their ass and put them in a bus before he knew what hit him. When Amaro calls him Mr. Schultz, Schultz tells him to call him Martin, Mr. Schultz is his father. Benson asks if the kids called him Martin, he says yes, they have enough authority figures in his life. When Benson says he is their friend, Martin adds counselor, coach, and surrogate father. He tries to change their lives and he wishes he could have done more for Johnny and some of the other kids he could not save – fatherless kids. He adds try your might, you can never fill that hole, and he looks squarely at Benson and asks her isn’t that right? Benson looks surprised and says “Excuse me?” He replies “It’s all right honey, you’ve done good. You could have gone the other way too, hmm?” He continues to stare at her as he drinks his hot chocolate.
