This was one of those episodes that left me with mixed feelings. The subject matter was more far-reaching than their normal “one victim per episode” routine, which kept it interesting. The downside:
once the case greatly expanded from the original “Operation Dragon Slay”, it should have been escalated to a higher authority. It didn't make sense for SVU to take the lead. With evidence of international human trafficking, sex slavery, extortion, money laundering, and rich people with deep connections, the Feds should have been consulted before going to court or cutting a deal, which would have prevented any surprises for Carisi or Hadid. I can understand Carisi's naïveté, but if the Changs were as high-profile as Hadid indicated, I don’t understand why she didn’t cover all her bases before walking into the courtroom with Carisi.
It's fine that Carisi is still very involved with the SVU but was it really necessary that he participate in the surveillance of the spa at the beginning of the episode? He had no business chasing down one of the women – Mei Mei – as she attempted to flee; he's not a detective any longer. Worse yet, he used bad judgment by trying to climb up the fire escape, causing her to attempt another way to flee, only to slip and and then dangle over the railing. Had he just waited at the bottom, she would have either had to come down to the street, go up, or go back inside, ultimately trapping her at some point anyway. If the task force had prepared for this take down correctly, they would have planned for having some runners and had officers planted at, or very close to, any exit from the building (including fire escapes). Sloppy police work.
Somewhat predictable was poor Lily getting an intimidating message before she’s set to testify. Her request to use the bathroom marked her for certain death, either by someone waiting in there for her, or by her somehow doing it to herself. I don’t know what the protocol is here, but I’m somewhat surprised that Kat didn’t at least walk into the bathroom with her, considering Lily just got a phone message right before asking to use the facilities.
The DA throws a wrench into Carisi’s case by cutting a deal behind his – and Hadid’s – back. We don’t know if Jack McCoy is still the DA or not, but I can’t believe he would have cut a deal with the Feds, at least not without looping in the Bureau Chief who was in charge of the case. Carisi is obviously pissed that his case was blocked right at the goal line, but clearly Hadid was also less than thrilled she wasn’t given a heads up that the Feds were given the case. Who knows, maybe the DA – whoever he or she is – doesn’t trust or like Hadid? Again, had either of them recognized the magnitude of who and what they were dealing with before they walked into the arraignment, they would have saved themselves the embarrassment.
I was a little confused at the end of the episode when Carisi mentioned that Mrs. Chang agreed to pay off Mei Mei’s debt. Was that part of the original agreement he made with her and is that agreement no longer valid once the case was suspended and given to the Feds? How can he be sure that Mrs. Chang will keep up her end of that deal – or had it already happened before Carisi got to the arraignment?
I was amused during the scene where Benson mentions the languages of which Kat has some knowledge. As I was rolling my eyes at the coincidence that she just so happened to have the exact skills they needed, I said “Of course she does” right as Fin was saying the same thing. It's as if the writers knew the fans would be thinking the same thing.
Here is the recap:
Mei Mei Li speaks on the phone with a man who tells her to speak in English as she must practice. She tells him she misses him. He suggests she come to San Francisco, saying it is beautiful. He says he will send her a ticket. But another woman enters Mei Mei’s room, telling her they must go. A man comes in an orders her to go, and Mei Mei explains to her caller that she has to go, she must teach, and she says goodbye and hangs up the phone and leaves the room.
Outside the building across the street at a table for POW/MIAs,Fin takes a photograph of her and the other girl and man and says they are heading south, toward division. He continues to photograph them. They are out shopping and Rollins, walking her dog, photographs them as they walk around. Later, the two women are on a park bench and the man tells them they should go. One asks for 10 more minutes and he sits down on the bench as Kat is there, posing as a jogger, also taking photographs.
Back at the SVU, Benson welcomes everyone to operation Dragon Slay and Sergeant Joe Chin from the Human Trafficking Task Force. Sgt. Chin says the focus is massage parlors that are fronts for sex slavery and debt servitude; undocumented women are being forced to pay off their families’ debts to smugglers. Benson explains that SVU has been tasked with investigating the Sweet Joy relax spa down on Eldridge. Carisi asks how long they have had them under watch, and Fin replies this one a week; the girls are let out one hour a day, always escorted by Charlie Hu. He’s illegal with ties to Chinatown gangs. Rollins adds they estimate that off-menu extras bring the spa about $50K in cash weekly. Kat says the women keep the bare minimum for food and the rest they turn over to the spa’s mamasan, Evelyn Lee, Korean-Chinese. Carisi comments that she is the manager, wondering who they lease the space from. As Benson shakes her head no, Rollins replies not yet, the buildings and spas are hidden behind a web of offshore LLCs. Chin explains the UCs will pose as clients, the goal is to arrest the johns and management, flip them, and follow the money and they get the owners. Benson states emphatically that they do not arrest the girls; if they talk, great, if not, they offer them immigration, legal, and medical assistance and take them to social services.
At the Sweet Joy Relax Spa on 35 Eldridge Street on Thursday, October 10, Fin poses as a customer while Benson and Carisi listen in the nearby surveillance van, and when the woman says the right words, Benson says that’s it and radios to all units “game on.” They move in and begin to make arrests, and when Rollins tells one girl she does not have to be scared, the girl runs. Rollins radios they have a runner and she is going out the window. Carisi runs out of the van and Benson steps out behind him. Carisi orders one officer to put his gun down as he races to try to catch the girl. He leaps up onto the ladder for the fire escape and climbs up. As the girl tries to escape, she slips her grip on the fire escape and hangs over the edge. He instructs her to grab onto another bar and as she does so, he holds on to her and pulls her back onto the fire escape. Benson, waiting by the van, breathes a sigh of relief.
Afterward, Fin arrests Evelyn Lee who protests the arrest. Kat and Rollins attend to the girls. Carisi speaks with Chin, who tells him a Chinese proverb says if you save a life, you are responsible for that life.
At the SVU, Benson tells Carisi that they arrested four johns who all claim they were getting a massage. Carisi adds that is tough to prove otherwise, and asks who else? Chin mentions Charlie Hu, bodyguard’s last muscle was carrying a .45. Carisi comments they can work with that. Fin says mamasan Evelyn Lee is hanging tough. Carisi comments that there is no surprise there, and, walking up to the observation window from another interrogation room where Evelyn Lee waits, wonders about the women waiting in the squad room. Benson explains they are waiting on a translator for those that don’t speak English and Kat and Rollins are with two who speak some English. She adds that Kat states she’s not fluent but she does have some Cantonese, Mandarin, and Hokkien. Fin states dryly, “Course she does.”
At Corlears Hook Park on Thursday, October 10, Rollins speaks with Mei Mei who says she worked there the last 4 years at different spas. She denies the girls give sex. She says she works hard every day and owes money to mamasan and she is paying for her brother who is in San Francisco. She told him she teaches Chinese to kids and he can’t know.
