About Last Night…LAW & ORDER, LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT, and LAW & ORDER: ORGANIZED CRIME

Let’s talk about Thursday night’s TV!

LAW & ORDER: The laugh I laughed when it was revealed Eva is actually an AI… (They did nothing wrong/funny, it’s just…sigh. It was a day. Timely!)

But that verdict should make people uncomfortable! This isn’t just a deepfake; it’s a deepfake where the video showed the person using their non-dominant hand to shoot a gun. There was inconclusive proof that it was real. And yet it still led to a conviction? That’s scary as hell.

I assume this case/verdict will not come back up, but…I would not hate it if it did.



LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT: I spent the first two-thirds of the episode thinking this hour felt at least better paced/balanced than the premiere, even with some weird hiccups. I was, frankly, relieved to be able to do a relatively short write-up here. And then it took a sharp turn.

Of course SVU is a fictional world. We see headlines acknowledging that actual justice for real-life survivors of sexual assault isn’t that common and cops are rarely as caring as Olivia and co. are. (Not to mention countless people, many of whom are viewers, live through this experience every day.) This is an aspirational show, not a non-fiction depiction of the process.

But…what?

In a clumsy attempt* to acknowledge that non-white people are very, very, very frequently mistreated by police and the court system—which is a billion percent a VERY real problem—they somehow stumbled both into a White Savior storyline and borderline rape apology/attempted redemption of a rapist. This wasn’t a situation where their survivor worried bias within the system led her to misidentify a man she thinks she saw. She was confident in her ID. There was DNA proof. This was not the right case/circumstance to try and dig into this storyline.

Like, there was an interesting element in play of Olivia having to quasi-examine if she was pushing a survivor too hard for her own selfish reasons. Explore that. We’ve seen time and time again the cops insist survivors talk to them, testify, etc. That isn’t always the best approach for recovery in real life. Examine that cost.

Instead, we got…this? I honestly don’t even know what to say.

*The show has deeply, deeply, deeply struggled with how to handle police reform and Black Lives Matter over the past few seasons. The season 22 attempt felt half-hearted—and had its own serious issues—and since then it’s mostly been swept under the rug. If you cannot handle a topic correctly and respectfully, I’d argue it’s better to not take it on and make things worse. Please. (And, of note, other Wolf Ent shows have handled this topic much better. Ditto other procedurals. It can be done, even within the confines of this genre.)



Since it got messy, I guess we should get into a few other issues…

• Maybe this is my fault for actually looking at the time cards, but the trial was on January 25. As in a week after the events that happened in the season premiere. So…there was the rape/flash mob, search for suspects, squadroom got torn up, newly found evidence, and then the trial in…under a week? Even in TV time—in which I hand wave away a lot—that doesn’t make sense.
• On paper, I like the idea of having Olivia contend with a longer-arcing case, but, unfortunately, so far, this isn’t working for me. This isn’t a cold case. This isn’t them having a suspect they can’t just nail down and are tracking. This is a missing kid who is out there being tortured until ?? And isn’t part of the purpose of having a squad so you can work multiple cases, if needed? (Also, after Maddie’s mom freaked out in front of a ton of reporters at the news conference, wouldn’t she be a top priority for McGrath and the media?)
• (Mariska Hargitay is playing Olivia’s grief and trauma well, but given how much Liv’s throwing into work, is she, uh, seeing Noah? Is she going to get a single moment of peace until this is resolved? Because…)
• I do appreciate they brought back Josh Cooke’s Agent Clay from “I Thought You Were on My Side,” but I’m also kind of baffled it was for a single scene. (So far.) At least he seemingly did pass on the behavior profile the feds worked up that he promised early in the episode…a much better working relationship than the last go-round.
• As much as I am very pro-not shooting people, especially teens (we know that does not end well in that squad), how the heck did they get ambushed at the station? Not to mention the destruction of the squadroom included the kids actively destroying their work, which could put other survivors’ cases at risk?! (Like, forget backup for a second, why not shut down the whole freaking building to prevent anything from leaving the premises?)
• Are the CSU techs who missed the bathing suit liner all men, too, or…?
• One of the least important complaints, but given OC made multiple attempts at continuity within the same universe in its premiere, it would have been nice to have a nanosecond of SVU doing the same—even if it was as simple as seeing Elliot was a recent call or his message was unopened.
• On the bright side, we didn’t get Olivia doing a Dana Scully-like voice-over at the start/end of this episode.

LAW & ORDER: ORGANIZED CRIME: Oh, I loved this episode. (It also made me cry a few times, but we’ll get to that in a minute.)

One of the true magical mysteries of OC is that very frequently they nail their guest casting, which really helps fill out the world in a believable way. On top of the (always great) Dean Norris, we also got Abubakr Ali as the absolutely charming Officer Bashir. And, man, you really needed Bashir to shine in this hour given how much of the work dynamic depended on his quasi-partnership with Elliot. (I know we probably can’t keep anyone else, but I do hope he pops up a bunch this season.)

But, frankly, the core of this episode was Elliot Stabler and His No Good Very Bad Day(s). (To be fair, that is basically any day that ends in “y” for him at this point.)

As much as we know the world has been beating up on Elliot, we really see it in this episode. We see him taking a moment in the car before going into work and home—likely the only moments he has to himself without the responsibility of being The Caretaker or The Protector/Super Cop. I say this repeatedly, but Chris Meloni is just incredible at portraying microexpressions, and the exhaustion, grief, and trauma play out on Elliot’s face before he has to get himself prepped to be around others and put the mask of being “fine” on.

But as with any kind of cumulative toll, the cracks in his facade start to appear. The most obvious, and arguably the most noteworthy, is in the scene with Warner. Yes, it’s been almost three years since Kathy died, but Elliot spent the first few months wading through mountains of grief, guilt, and extreme PTSD. He’s spent (seemingly?) over a year undercover as other people between being Eddie Ashes and this latest gig. He spent months undercover as himself. For as much time has passed, much of it has either been spent running away or dealing with an immediate crisis. It is extremely difficult to process grief and trauma when you’re simply trying to survive.

So it’s natural** that when faced with a reminder of a bomb, he briefly disassociates. This is, frankly, everything I would have liked to have seen at the end of last season instead of the wildly misguided/dead-end Ghost!Kathy subplot. Once again Elliot is cracking under the stress of everything (oh, Bernie), but rather than a quick shot of his dead wife in interrogation (?!), him slipping his ring back on (?!?), and Olivia kindly suggesting he should deal with his trauma (none of which amounted to anything by the end of the season), this time we get him processing he’s been triggered and Warner clocking that something is wrong.



At first, Elliot denies it, but when she’s done with her assessment of the evidence, he hugs her. As much as Elliot was running away from the Olivia of it all when he quit SVU, she wasn’t the only person he left for a decade. Elliot probably could have escaped from that morgue and pretended everything was fine; Warner is caring, but she’s not going to force him to talk. Instead, he takes the moment to appreciate what he still has and to thank her for reaching out after Kathy’s death***. He’s cognizant his behavior in the past might have been hurtful and he apologizes. While a portion of the moment is about his trauma, it’s equally about him doing the work to mend what was once an important relationship in his life. (The history+continuity+fantastic acting+Elliot trying to make amends/process his trauma? Oh, yeah, I cried.)

**And even if his recovery had been under perfect, loving circumstances, grief and trauma are not linear; this is something he will live with for the rest of his life. This isn’t just the death of a long-term spouse, this was a murder that was committed specifically to hurt him. (Not to mention if Elliot had actually let Kathy go any of the times he arguably should have, there’s a very real chance they’d both be alive and happy, separately. It’s a lot to live with, guilt-wise.)

And then there’s the fascinating addition of Randall, who knows every single button to push in his younger brother—but is also very much a question mark himself. Elliot shows remarkable restraint in their initial call (though it’s clearly costing him a lot) and then in their car ride to Elliot’s home. And rather than use the easy, quasi-meaningless target at his disposal—yeah, Randall’s his brother, but it’s clear they don’t talk much, so a fight leading to an estrangement would not massively hurt Elliot right now, especially if he was going to be short-sighted in his anger—he took the jabs. There were occasion light remarks back, but he handled everything, well, like an adult.

It’s not like there’s a magical happy ending for the hour: The case is still in progress. Stabler and Bell almost get blown up. Elliot still needs that beat in the car—at 3 AM!—before he faces what awaits him at home. But there’s growth. We’re seeing him find ways to handle everything.

• ***I cannot tell you how overjoyed I am about this episode’s continuity. It would have been impressive enough if the writers had just watched the first three seasons of OC like it certainly appears they did. (Hey, they remembered Jet is an artist!) But this episode also referenced SVU episodes, including my beloved “Swing” and season 22’s “Trick Rolled.” This is the show existing in a world where the other stuff happened? I don’t want to jinx it, but please, please, please continue. This is the first regime since Ilene Chaiken where it feels like the writers and showrunner actually know their history and all of these characters. (I liked a lot of what Sean Jablonski did, but the focus was more on the present and new backstory versus digging into what we knew.)
• My goodness, the opening sequence of them swapping back and forth between the two prayers was powerful. And Bernie’s devastation at not remembering the correct words was portrayed absolutely masterfully by Ellen Burstyn.
• Dr. AI made up a whole simulation saying if Elliot had done nothing people wouldn’t have died in the premiere? Okay, ouch, rude. Just add to the guilt, why don’t you? (Yes, I know his name, but this is what he will be called when he pours salt on a wound.)
• Reyes, if you’re going to sleep in your car, you should probably just go inside and sleep in the bunk in the prisoner holding room? You’re not being super stealth either way. (About anything.)
• Considering there has been no consistent pronunciation of Jet’s last name, the team debate about how to say it correctly made me laugh out loud.
• “I’m glad you’re in therapy.” “Go to Hell.”
• (In all seriousness, it’s incredible both of these men are trying to break away from the rigid box of “what makes a man” their father placed them in. We know what Joseph Stabler Sr. thought about showing emotion. I’m sure there will be ebbs and flows, but they’re at least trying very hard to not be him.)
• Norris and Burstyn are incredible actors, but I was still a little cautious when their reunion started. This is a deeply meaningful relationship for the show, even if it is new to us as viewers, and to have it rest entirely on the shoulders of two guest stars is a bit of a gamble. (Again, they’re incredible. But it would have made sense if Elliot walked in to see what state his mom was in.) But my God they knocked it out of the park. Norris and Burstyn’s faces dropping when Bernie didn’t understand why Elliot would have said she needed Randall—as he was forced to contend with the reality of his mom’s situation and she was once again reminded of something she forgot—was a gut-punch and brilliant acting showcase.
• (Still sticking my head in the sand re: Bernie. Join me here, won’t you?!)
• So, uh, Elliot, your brother’s wife was named Angela and you had your own grief-induced Angela situationship? Buddy…
• I am fascinated by Randall’s relationship with the family, though. It’s been a while since he and Elliot spoke. It’s clearly been a bit of time since he communicated with Bernie. But he saw Eli in Colorado? Without Elliot knowing? (Which means Eli pointedly did not tell his father, either.) I’m so fascinated by this, because Eli was born after Randall moved to Florida. It’s very possible they’ve only met a handful of times, if that, given Eli spent much of his youth in Europe. Why is Randall reaching out to Eli? And is he the only kid he’s been in contact with?
• Speaking of kids: Elliot cuddling Bashir’s toddler was absolutely precious. Elliot keeps collecting quasi-kids (Bashir, in this case), and I love it.
• Also: Beyond me being a mess at the scene, I loved having Warner back. I hope the show utilizes Tamara Tunie again soon.
• What an action sequence at the end! (Of course it’s another bomb. Poor Elliot.) But, man, Stabler and Bell are absolutely badass.
• Worth saying again: I loved this episode.

[For more on the episode, here’s what Tunie shared about that emotional reunion.]

Which shows did you watch last night?

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