We’ve got some catching up to do.
By: Jacob Politte, Online Editor
***SPOILERS BELOW***
Hello everyone. The SVU recaps have been absent from The Montage for a few weeks, as there has been so much going on, including a recent staff trip to the College Media Association conference in Washington D.C.
So, in order to fully catch up to where we are in the season, what I am choosing to do is briefly give my thoughts on the last four SVU episodes. You can find those thoughts below.
Law & Order SVU: “The Burden Of Our Choices”
Season 21, Episode 4
Airdate: 10/17/19
This hour was SVU at its worst. While abortion is definitely a topic that should be discussed on this show, “The Burden Of Our Choices” came off as extremely preachy. Ironically, the episode centered around the daughter of a religious family who gets pregnant. She runs away to New York City, and it soon comes out that the baby’s father is the girl’s stepfather.
This episode portrays the parents and their supporters as radical and incompentent, and spends a considerable amount of time absolutely burying the state of Ohio six feet under. Abortion is such a tricky thing to talk about on this show; I’m a man and thus I really should have no say in the matter. This hour goes above and beyond, however, to make the pro-life movement the bad guys. That’s a little too off-putting for me; some of the best people I know are pro-life and that doesn’t make them a bad person.
An interesting deleted scene reveals the true nature of Benson’s abortion comments from last season: Benson had a pregnancy scare in college and wasn’t sure what to do with a possible child. It turned out she wasn’t pregnant, so it became a moot point until she brought it up again last year. This scene really should not have been deleted from the episode.
Also in this episode, Officer Kat Tamin (the undercover officer from the season premiere) officially joins the squad. I like Tamin a lot, and while she’s annoyingly portrayed as a tremendous overachiever, the squad (and the show itself) definitely needed some fresh blood.
Law & Order SVU: “At Midnight in Manhattan”
Season 21, Episode 5
Airdate: 10/24/19
Out-of-the-box episodes of SVU are my favorite. This hour is a refreshing remix of the typical SVU formula; right as the SVU team is about to head home for the night, three important cases drop right into their laps. The squad splits up (surprisingly the newbie Tamin is allowed to go to a crime scene solo), and tries to solve their cases.
This episode really is not realistic given the timeframe (there is no way that any of these investigations, from the arrests to the arrangements could happen in just over a day), but it does provide some excellent interactions and some beautiful scenery.
In particular, Rollins and Carisi have a heated exchange, and it’s very clear that something is building between them. What that is exactly, is not yet known. Rollins feels abandoned by Carisi’s move to the District Attorney’s Office, and chooses to blame the lack of progress in the investigation on him. That is unbelievably childish on her part, but the interaction read to me like Rollins had developed romantic feelings for Carisi. Now that they aren’t working together at the NYPD, the possibility of a romantic relationship between the two has definitely increased.
Law & Order SVU: “Murder at a Bad Address”
Season 21, Episode 6
Airdate: 10/31/19
This entire hour is a “Throwback Thursday.” Numerous faces from over the years pop up, including ME Melinda Warner (Tamara Tunie) and Benson’s half-brother Simon (Michael Weston).
Simon dies in this hour, but it’s unrelated to the case: it turns out that he has overdosed after being clean for six years. He runs into Benson and Noah, makes lunch plans with them, and then skips out on lunch. Benson makes a particularly nasty phone call to Simon, and it might be the last phone call he ever heard. The circumstances of his death are left open to interpretation, but Benson is left feeling pretty guilty over the ordeal.
The case itself also features from familiar faces who have been on SVU before, albeit playing different roles. Wentworth Miller, who played Detective Nate Kendall in Season 11, returns to play ADA Isaiah Holmes. Guillermo Diaz, who plays Carlos in this episode, played Omar Pena in the Season 13 episode “Justice Denied,” which I think is arguably an all-time great SVU episode. Overall, the episode was an outstanding hour, with a good case and solid writing.
Law & Order SVU: “Counselor, It’s Chinatown”
Season 21, Episode 7
Airdate: 11/7/19
This hour was a mess. The string operation, Operation Dragon Slay, was pretty complex (or maybe I was just tired while viewing it), but there were some problems with how the case was handled. Carisi still acts like a cop even though he is no longer a cop; he should not have been involved with the sting operation at all, except to prosecute the perpetrators. Not to mention the fact that SVU should probably not have been handling the case after the other crimes (like extortion and money laundering) started popping up.
The truth is I really don’t want to talk much about this hour. It’s not bad, but all in all, it’s not going on my list of re-watchable SVU episodes.
