This week’s episode was good albeit overly predictable.
Law and Order: SVU “A Story Of More Woe”
Season 20, Episode 13
Airdate: 1/31/2019
BY: JACOB POLITTE
Staff Writer
“A Story Of More Woe” wasn’t exactly the most unpredictable episode SVU has ever aired. It was enjoyable to watch, but nothing about the case was a surprise to me.
I can’t believe that after all of these cases, Benson continues to be in disbelief at some of the crimes she investigates. At the risk of sounding insensitive, I’d argue that there was nothing special about this particular one. A pair of children, Brittney and Laura, lose their father in an apparent murder. It becomes progressively more clear that their next-door neighbor, Greg, is the mastermind behind the murder, with him brainwashing the two girls to commit the crime.
I’ve commented on this before, but it’s also amazing how often that Benson forgets basic policies and procedure at her job. She has been on the force since 1992, so she should know better than to question the minors without a guardian’s consent even if that guardian is a suspect. Olivia Margaret Benson, you are better than this.
The most interesting aspect of the episode had nothing to do with the case. Detective Rollins finally had her baby, Billie, in this episode, and she kicked Billie’s father to the curb, finally coming to the realization that she doesn’t love him. I’ve made it known in past reviews how little I care for “Dr. Al,” and I was pretty happy with Rollins’ choice to cut him off.
The long-running friendship between Rollins and Carisi may have taken a big step forward into becoming something more this week. Carisi was with Rollins when she went into labor and took her to the hospital. She insists that he stays with her even when Dr. Al shows up and proposes to her. Ultimately, she turns him down even though he paid for one of the nicest hospital rooms I’ve ever seen and did everything in his power to convince her that he’s changed.
While this episode seemingly closed the loop on Dr. Al’s character, I don’t think we’ve seen the last of him. This is SVU after all; I can see Dr. Al losing his marbles and going after Rollins and her children. But he could also just be a recurring character, popping in from time to time to visit his child.
I personally don’t mind either way if Rollins and Carisi become a romantic item. If they choose to go down that route, I don’t think it would be the worst thing in the world. Rollins and Carisi have great chemistry together and genuinely seem to like each other. That being said, they have been building up this pairing as a possible romantic one for many seasons now, and it’s time to either pull the trigger on it or to holster the gun.
While Rollins herself will still make dumb decisions from time to time, I’m glad that it appears Rollins has become more emotionally mature. There were quite a few seasons where Rollins was perhaps the biggest troublemaker in the squad. I still vividly remember the episode from the show’s fifthteen season surrounding Rollins’ gambling addiction, “Gambler’s Fallacy,” where her consistently bad judgement lead to an innocent person getting raped and probably should have led to Rollins’ termination. Looking back on that episode now, it’s remarkable how much more respectable Rollins is now. She’s making better life decisions. That’s a good thing.
