“Maternal Instincts” was a nightmare for Amanda Rollins. Her mother comes into town to help with the impending birth of Rollins’ baby. Rollins isn't aware that tagging along is her train wreck of a sister, Kim. Kim wastes no time getting herself, and Rollins, into trouble. Kim is working as an "escort" and robs a musical artist, Anton, of his money and his $50,000 flute. Making matters worse, there are signs that she drugged him, and, while he was under the influence, he raped one of his musical colleagues. Clearly, the woman he attacked was a victim. Viewers know that Kim definitely robbed Anton, so we can only assume that she drugged him too. There appears to be no hard evidence to prove that Anton was drugged, but all signs point in that direction. Sadly, this is another episode where we have possibly two special victims and we don’t see either of them get justice.
Instead, we get a deeper look into the dysfunctional Rollins family, with a mother, Beth Anne, who apparently loves to drink and a sister, Kim, who is on the run from a manslaughter charge. Let’s not forget the last time we saw Kim, she robbed Rollins of everything in her apartment, and this was after Kim set up Rollins for shooting her boyfriend there. So it is a complete mystery as to why Amanda Rollins would want to cover up in any way for her sister. It shows a lack of judgment on Rollins’ part. Not only has her sister robbed her in the past, but now Rollins is going to cover her sister’s tracks in what looks like another theft. Family is one thing, but one would think Rollins would have some sort of sense of self preservation. Here she is a single mother, already showing questionable judgment on the job in the past, plus possible trust issues with her boss, and her first instinct is to try to solve the family matter herself? If this was the first time Rollins tried to fix things on her own I would say they could try to blame her behavior on her pregnancy, but I doubt this is the case. Despite what Beth Anne Rollins thinks, Amanda is putting family first, and this is the one case where she shouldn't have.
To make matters worse, Kim has access to Rollins’ apartment and stabs her pimp there. If I were Rollins, I would find another place to live and never let her family inside that place. Kim’s case is still unresolved at the close of this episode, but Kim made it clear that she will use whatever dirt she can on her own sister in order to avoid much jail time. Hopefully, Rollins won’t buy into that kind of blackmail.
Benson began to show signs that she is becoming more comfortable in the leadership role, giving very clear directions and using an authoritative tone to her staff. Now that Rollins and Fin have kept vital information about a case from her, she may be less afraid to be firm with them in the future. I was glad that she called out Fin for not taking the Sergeant’s exam. He made his choice, now he has to learn to live with the repercussions. But strangely, when Kim, who is naturally over talkative, seems to want to spout off information, Benson tells Kim more than once to be silent. The tone was different than just reading a person their rights. Even Benson seemed to want to protect Rollins by having Kim shut up. Had Benson just read Kim her rights as she would for anyone else being arrested, it would have felt less like her trying to protect her detective.
Having Sergeant Mike Dodds joining the group is a welcome addition. He promises that what happens at SVU will stay at SVU, and I suppose only time will tell if he really means this. His father, Deputy Chief Dodds, seems to be keeping a close watch on SVU, and I still don’t know if it’s because he lacks confidence in them, or if he has a thing for Benson. Andy Karl fits in very well and I am looking forward to seeing more of him.
We saw no Rafael Barba in this episode, and instead got a fill in generic ADA. I would think that if Anton was a true international celebrity that they would bring out someone like Barba to handle the case. I don’t understand SVU sometimes – they give Raúl Esparza billing in the main credits and then don’t use him for the legal aspect of the show. It seems like such a waste,
This episode seemed a bit comedic to me. The whole flute thing started it but then I found myself laughing more at the Rollins family drama than taking it seriously. I am not sure if that was the intent. Regardless, the episode was well written and I enjoyed it.
Here is the recap:
Cast:
Mariska Hargitay – Lieutenant Olivia Benson
Ice-T – Detective Odafin “Fin” Tutuola
Kelli Giddish - Detective Amanda Rollins
Raúl Esparza - ADA Rafael Barba
Peter Scanavino - Detective Dominick “Sonny” Carisi, Jr.
Guest stars:
Peter Gallagher – Deputy Chief Dodds
Andy Karl – Sergeant Mike Dodds
Virginia Madsen – Beth Anne Rollins
Lindsay Pulsipher - Kim Rollins
Zach McGowan - Anton Krasnikov
Wass Stevens - Slice
Jason Cerbone - Counselor Lorenzo Desappio
Elizabeth A. Davis - Alessandra Bay
Tabitha Holbert – ADA Rose Caliay
Mary E. Hodges – Judge Anita Wright
Tony Campisi – Counselor Steve Roth
Kate Elizabeth Young – Melora
Bradley Dubow – Noah Porter Benson
The group, Bella Donne – women playing violins and a man with a flute, entertain the crowd.
At another time, at a baby show for Rollins, her mother Beth Anne laughs with Fin as Carisi approaches, gift in hand, and apologizes for being late. Beth Anne asks who is this charming young man, touching his arm. Carisi introduces himself and Beth Anne thanks him for coming and offers him Champagne, giving him a glass. Rollin points Carisi to where to put the gift. As her mother drinks her Champagne, Rollins tells her mother it is so early. Beth Anne looks at Fin and counters it is a special occasion, and she loves Champagne and those little bubbles. She tells Rollins don’t worry, she will have a diet cola after every glass, she promises. As her mother walks off, Rollins makes a face and comments “”cause that works.”
Benson is sitting at a table, holding Noah, and she tells Rollins’ mother that she thinks it is great that she came here to help Rollins with the baby. She replies that she knows she wouldn’t want to miss much work when there is a possibility of that Sergeant’s job. Benson looks surprised and when Rollins says, “mother!” , Beth Anne says that she told her that Benson was promoted to the Lieutenant’s job and that she was going to…Benson cuts her off and says Rollins would be great but the new Sergeant is coming tomorrow. Beth Anne comments maybe that is for the best, Rollins can focus on being a mother. Rollins and says “Yeah” while Benson looks slightly uncomfortable.
Meanwhile, the flautist from Bella Donne, saying his name is Mr. Smith and asks to be called Anton, sits at a bar having a drink and is approached by a woman with dark hair who says her name is Savannah. She works his way into getting into his room, and while he is asleep, she steals money out of his wallet and then takes his flute.
In the SVU break room, Fin is sitting at a table while Rollins stands nearby. Carisi walks in and says her mother seemed really nice. And Rollins, sounding slightly sarcastic, says, “Doesn’t she?” He adds that having her here must be a relief, and she mumbles in the same tone “Mmm hmm.” He asks if she liked the heated diaper wipes caddy that he got her, because his sister swears by it. Fin looks up at him with an odd face and Rollins says flatly, “That was you.”Rollins looks out and comments that must be their new Sergeant, and Carisi comments he is Dodds’ oldest son. Fin wonders how he got his job, and Rollins and Carisi give Fin a look.
In Benson’s office, Sergeant Mike Dodds introduces himself to Benson, saying he is privileged to meet her and his father speaks highly of her. She replies “You too” and that they are lucky to have him, and Deputy Chief Dodds comments he has plenty of experience in anti-crime in Crown Heights, and before that he was in special forces, signing up out of college after 9/11. Dodds adds he can’t tell her how proud he is of this kid. Sgt. Dodds thanks him, but says he is new to “Special Vics” and he has a lot to learn. Benson says it is a whole different world here. Rollins enters and apologizes for interrupting. Benson introduces her to Sgt. Dodds and then asks what is going on. Rollins informs them that Alessandra Bay, the lead violinist for the group “Bella Donne” was assaulted in her room at the Park Milano, and asks if it alright if she meets Fin and Carisi down there. Chief Dodds asks isn’t she on desk duty, and she says yes, but that it is a four star hotel. Benson tells Rollins that she and Sgt. Dodds should stay there and hold down the fort, but Chief Dodds tells her better yet, take the Mike with her. Sgt. Dodds comments “No time like the present.” Benson says, “Okay then” and moves out the door. Chief Dodds comments to hi s son to “ sink or swim.”
At the Park Milano Hotel on 90 West 56th Street on Tuesday, August 25, Carisi and Fin give Benson and Dodds the info that the vic is Alessandra Bay, the maid found her on the floor and hotel security called 911 and the EMTs are with her now. Fin says they are getting security footage and key card logs. Dodds jumps in and says the head of security here is an old friend of his dad’s and Fin can tell him they need that footage ASAP, and Fin stares and says it is taken care of. Dodds looks slightly intimidated and walks off with Benson. He tells her if the vic is conscious he can take the statement, and she explains they call it a disclosure and suggests they talk to her together, patting him on the back.
In the room, a very injured Alessandra Bay explains the attack and rape. She begins to cough as she talks and when Dodds suggests he get her a glass of water, Benson tells him not to because there could be DNA. Benson asks is she can describe this man, and Alessandra Bay says she knows him. It was Anton Krasnikov. He is touring with them. Benson looks at Dodds.
Later, Fin and Carisi knock on Anton’s hotel room door and call out his name. Anton opens the door and Fin identifies himself as NYPD, showing his badge. Anton says they got their fast, he just called 911; his flute is missing. Fin, surprised, ands “Your flute?” and Anton explains it is a $50,000 Miyazawa. He adds someone ransacked his room while he slept and his flute is gone. They see this as an opportunity and ask him to come down to the station and file a report.
At SVU in the interview room, Fin and Carisi tell Anton they put out an APB for his flute to pawn shops. He explains he performed that night with the group and took his flute back to the hotel. He had a nightcap at a bar with a “fan” named “Savannah” - he asks they not write down as he is married – that she came to his room. He had a drink from the mini bar and feel asleep and when he woke up, she and his flute was gone. He seems clueless about Alessandra’s assault. They continue to press him on the issue and Benson and Rollins observe from her office. Benson thinks he is using being a celebrity as an excuse and Rollins explains his apparently impeccable background and reputation. Benson asks Rollins if she remembers her first case here – the Italian diplomat. Rollins thinks if Anton was guilty he would be more guarded and his affect does not match the profile. Dodds walks in and says he may not fit the profile, and showing Rollins hotel footage, says that is Anton’s naked Russian ass pounding on Alessandra’s door at 2:30 in the morning. He stays 15 minutes then he wanders back out again, out of breath and still naked as a jaybird. He asks Benson if she wants to watch, and she holds up her hand and says no, she will take his word for it. Rollins comments he is completely out of it and knows that Alessandra is a victim, but Anton may be a victim too. Benson says they have to send him to the hospital to get swabs and have blood an urine as well. Dodds tells Benson he will secure the room and have CSU check for drug residue. Rollins adds prints, maybe off a glass she gave him, she needs to figure out who this fan was that he hooked up with. Benson tells Dodds to have his friend at security pull the footage from Anton’s floor. He says he is on it. Rollins comments that Anton wasn’t lying about the flute, it showed up in a Harlem pawn shop. Dodds says good, pawn shops have cameras and asks if they sent any footage. Rollins replies yes, she is opening the file now. Rollins looks at the screen, pauses, and then says it is buffering, she will look at it on her laptop. Benson gets a questioning look on her face.
Rollins sits back down at her desk and looks around. She then looks at the video and we see a woman at the pawn shop with the flute, and it is her sister Kim. She covers her mouth with her hand in shock. Rollins says out loud, “Oh, don’t do this to me Kim.” Rollins looks troubled.
Fin approaches her and she quickly closes her laptop when he asks her about the pawn shot footage. She says she couldn’t open the file and he seems skeptical and asks if she sent it to TARU. She gets evasive and Fin thinks Anton was drugged, adding that that girl “played his flute and stole his flute.” Rollins thinks he is not a victim, and he asks again about the video, and she insists there is nothing. He gets a quizzical look on his face and he asks if she is okay. She looks back and Dodds who is at his desk on the phone, and then explains she is just a little hungry and asks him to walk her to the break room.
In the break room, Rolllins shows Fin the pawn shop video of Kim and he asks if she knew Kim was in New York. She replies of course not, thinking this is why her mom kept talking about her, wanting them to all be together. Fin urges her to stay away, the last time she set Rollins up and now Kim will take her down for good, and says she has to tell Benson. Rollins states she can’t, especially with mini-Dodds hovering around, he will go straight to his daddy or IAB. Fin comments they will want to see the footage, and she knows he doesn’t get in trouble. She gets an angry face and barks for Fin to stall them. She adds her mother must know where she is, they have always been as thick as thieves. She will bring Kim in herself . Fin, looking reluctant, says alright.
Meanwhile, walking into Benson’s office, Dodds explains that his buddy at the hotel recognized Anton’s date. She is a working girl and Benson asks to see if they have footage from the bar. Fin walks in and states Rollins is doing facial recognition on the video from the pawn shop. Benson asks Fin if everything is okay with her, she seems off. Fin explains she hadn’t had lunch and he sent her to get a bite. Benson gives Fin a look, and Dodds asks about the footage, wondering if Anton can ID this girl. Fin explains there is some kind of tech glitch, it shouldn’t be long. Benson continues to stare at Fin, clearly wondering what is really going on. Dodds says they know she is a hooker, maybe if Anton comes clean on that, it will loosen him up, asking how long with the DNA take. Benson says it depends, then tells Dodds to tell Anton they already have it.
Meanwhile, Rollins races out of SVU and call her mother, who is staying in Rollins' apartment, telling her not to lie to her and asking here is Kim? She explains there is an APB out for Kim for robbing a john last night. He mother acts ignorant but Rollins forcefully tells her mother that either Kim meets her now or the cops will take her down, and Rollins says her mother wouldn’t want headlines in the paper about her daughter being a prostitute. She tells her to get Kim to show. Beth Anne says she will see what she can do to get a message to her. But when they hang up the call, Beth Anne is sitting in Rollins’ apartment and Kim is also there, paying with Rollins’ dog Frannie. She asks Kim if she is in trouble, but Kim thinks Rollins is just putting her down just to build herself up. Beth Anne says she sounds upset and she will have to talk to her.
Back at SVU, Dodds and Carisi confront Anton with a photo of him at Alessandra’s hotel room door, and he doesn’t recall any of this. He realizes that “Savannah” may have drugged him. It is him in the photo but would never rape. He asks if he needs to call a lawyer or his embassy, but Carisi tries to convince him to go to the ER to run some tests and he will have to tell him how he got in touch with the escort. When he says he doesn’t want his wife to find out, Dodds states they have enough to arrest him right now, and she will definitely find out about that, if he works with SVU, they will try to work with him.
Later, Dodds is showing Benson that Anton found the escort through Craigslist, paid cash, and used a fake name. Dodds says he called the number and booked an afternoon date with Savannah. When Benson looks surprised, Dodds asks that he hopes he didn’t overstep. Benson explains she is more interested in closing out the rape case than tracking down some escort. Dodds counters if they don’t find her, Anton could claim that NYPD ignored exculpatory evidence. Benson comments as a general note, she prefers to be kept in the loop. As she walks off, Dodds follows her and says his dad says he was there to take some of the pressure off her but if she is not comfortable delegating, he can respect that. She stops and gives a forced smile, saying it is day 1 so for the time being, to check in with each other.
