I’m on the fence about this episode. It provided some depth for Kat Tamin and gave Jamie Gray Hyder a nice feature story. But there were some parts along the way that really irked me.
The open before the credits was unusually long – 6 minutes 30 seconds by my clock. I don’t care much for what I call filler scenes but I can’t complain about the opening cameo with the beloved Raúl Esparza. It was great to see him and hear that Barba has landed a job doing something with election fraud. But why on earth must this show take cheap shots against Midwest America every chance it gets? Barba’s excuse for growing a beard is that he is in Iowa, he has to blend in, saying this with what sounded like disdain in his voice. I guess no one in New York or on the east coast grows beards or that Iowans can’t deal with clean-shaven people? I am growing very tired of how Law & Order SVU continues to perpetuate stereotypes about the Midwest. Barba also wishes Benson a happy birthday, early. (One web site has Benson’s birthday as February 7, 1968 but I can’t find the source confirming that date.)
Back to the open. Kat is preparing for a boxing match. She sees something that doesn’t feel right involving a teen boxer in training, Cami, and the adult trainer, Romeo. Romeo sets Kat up with bad advice and as a result, Kat loses her qualifying match with Esperanza Morales. I’m not a fan of boxing, but the open nicely established an outside interest for Kat and showed the support she is getting from her colleagues (except Benson, who couldn’t make the match because Noah).
It doesn’t take long before Kat wonders if she is seeing perps everywhere, and confers with Benson. With their collective intuition telling them something is off, they do some investigating, eventually bringing the whole team into the process, even though there hasn’t been any complaint. Things get complicated when Esperanza argues with Romeo about the alleged sexual abuse with Cami and decks him, and he hits his head as he falls to the floor and is rushed to the hospital. While Benson and Rollins are questioning Esperanza about this, Kat enters and delivers a message from Esperanza’s father suggesting she get a lawyer. This horrifies Benson and she lectures Kat about her error. It surprises me that Kat made such a rookie cop mistake, but it gets worse.
The next thing we know, Romeo is dead as a result of the assault. This is where we take an odd turn – it’s now murder, yet the SVU and Carisi are intent on helping clear Esperanza’s name, likely driven by Kat’s connection to Esperanza. Benson had lectured Kat earlier that her old captain used to warn her that if you are too close to a case, you are not helping the victim. Of course, Benson is Captain now and she can dish out the platitudes, but whenever it suits her, she throws them out the window. As a result, the SVU jumps into digging up whatever they can to help Kat’s friend who is charged with murder. At one point, Benson even asks Esperanza if she can call someone for her before her arraignment. Benson is now all in.
Kat is a loose cannon, and gets in trouble when she talks to Esperanza, without her lawyer, while she is in Rikers, after specifically being told not to do so. Now Benson has her on a short leash.
I found it funny that Kat was making legal suggestions and assumptions to Carisi like Carisi used to do to Barba, Carisi getting a taste of his own medicine. Carisi was highly agitated talking with Kat and maybe now he will understand how Barba felt. While we’re on the subject of Carisi, it was nice of him to bring Benson some soup made by his mother, forcing her to take it, maybe because his mother’s soup is some sort of magic elixir to fix Benson’s melancholy over Tucker’s death.
One comment was very un-Benson-like: when Kat comments that Carisi gets “stuck” and Benson says, “that’s all men, actually.” What the heck does THAT mean and what other biases does Benson have about men that we don’t know about?
The scene where Esperanza goes into a rage while speaking to her father was well done by Manni L. Perez. At least Esperanza gets some justice for the abuse she and her sister experienced and their father is arrested. Unfortunately, Romeo was assaulted and later died in the process, maybe because SVU handled the case poorly from the start.
Here is the recap:
Benson is on a video call with Rafael Barba. She comments that he has grown a beard, and he explains he is in Iowa and is trying to blend in. She laughs and tells him good luck and asks why he is there. Barba explains it is election fraud and that they are living is a dystopian nightmare and then says enough about him. He asks Benson how is she, and Benson says “ Hmmmm.” Barba says he heard about Tucker, and Benson tells him it’s been rough and there has been a lot of loss lately and time has been flying by. He states he is back out to the primary and suggests dinner, on him. She comments she’d like that. He adds before he goes…happy birthday. She chuckles and says he is early, but he smiles and says he wanted to be the first. He asks her to give his regards to the squad, and Noah. Benson ends the call and closes her laptop and looks away in thought.
She walks into the squad room and tells them all that Barba sends his regards. Rollins asks how he is doing, and Benson replies he is in Iowa, tilting and windmills. Benson asks where is Kat, and Fin explains he let her out early so she could warm up for her boxing match, reminding her they are all going. Benson looks stunned and says she totally forgot, she has an appointment. When Fin asks about it, Rollins tells him to let it go. Rollins suggests Benson meet her after, and Benson explains she can’t, Noah has a rehearsal but to wish Kat good luck from her. Benson leaves. Fin tells Rollins that Benson just needs time, she’ll be okay.
At Romeo’s Boxing Club at 548 West 176th Street on Monday, January 27, Kat enters the boxing club gym and she comments to Esperanza, who is sparring, telling her she needs to save some of that for the ring. she is taking her down. Esperanza retorts that Kat’s cop intimidation tactics are useless, she will bury her. Kat asks if Romeo is around, and Esperanza says he is in his office, wondering if Kat is backing out. Kat says Esperanza should be ready to catch her hands and the two women in the ring go back to sparring. Kat tries to open the door of Romeo Solis’ office and it is locked. She knocks, calling out if he has a minute. The door opens and Cami walks out. Kat says hello to her and Cami says “hey” and quickly moves off. Kat looks at her suspiciously and enters the office and sees Romeo fixing up his sweat pants. Kat comments his door was locked and Romeo acts surprised and says Cami did that, Cami pulled her left shoulder and he had to pop in back in for her. Kat looks around and he tells her to focus and reminds her if she wins the night, the golden gloves are within reach. She nods. He adds he forgot to tell her that Val is going to be in her corner tonight. Kat questions this and she says she was banking on him. He explains so is Esperanza, stating she is 19 and Kat is bigger and will be fine. She asks if that is it for her pre-fight pep talk. Romeo says he shouldn’t be telling her this but Esperanza has a weak left hook and suggests Kat hit her with a couple body jabs – he demonstrates – and says they follow up with an overhand right and make it hard for her to counter and Esperanza would be done. He says Kat didn’t get none of that from him. He walks off but Kat seems to think something is off.
