About Last Night…LAW & ORDER, LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT, DOCTOR ODYSSEY, and More

Let’s talk about Thursday night’s TV!

LAW & ORDER: I know SVU previously did a subplot about DNA collected from survivors’ rape kits being utilized to solve other crimes, but this worked a lot more effectively for me.

First of all, this may have been Mariska Hargitay’s best performance, franchise-wide, this year. Watching Olivia face off against Brady (dying to know how well the characters are supposed to know each other; “Jess”?!) and Nolan was just fantastic. Hargitay was also absolutely captivating when Olivia took the witness stand. Olivia was firm, enraged, and powerful. It also really made sense why she was this involved in the case, even so far removed from working with the survivor originally.

And, yeah, the case was messed up. Even before we got to the part where a survivor killed the man, it really felt like this was an SVU episode. AI in the dating app world would have been a fascinating story for that show to tell. (And, hey, the second night in a row a Wolf Entertainment show had subplots about that.) Then, once they knew what was going on, I’m glad there was some discomfort about how the evidence was found. Rape kits should never be utilized for anything other than finding the person who committed that crime, full stop.

It was also lovely to briefly see Rita again. We hadn’t seen her in years on SVU (and that last guest spot had some really uncomfortable moments with the character), but it made sense Olivia would call her here. It’s a shame Laura wouldn’t take the deal…hopefully sentencing will be light and she can get out soon. And, thankfully, at least rape kits won’t be weaponized this way in the future.



9-1-1: I’m sorry, but Bobby and Athena are the power couple of the YEAR. It was gorgeous and gut-wrenching watching them reconnect over the phone. And while we knew Athena would obviously save the day, I love that he set the groundwork for her…quite literally. (As someone who has driven on LA freeways, shutting them down like that would not have been easy.)

I also appreciate that Athena got her own form of closure. It was unconventional, it wasn’t for Dennis, but it was a release of her own grief and anger about the situation. 

CRIME SCENE KITCHEN: What is going on this season? EVERYONE got it wrong during the elimination bake round?! I get it, the clues are more difficult, but yikes, what a mess.

LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS: Okay, finally a really, really good episode; it’s the first episode I actually want to rewatch in a while.

The guest performances were great (and they actually got a bunch of solid actors…Brett Cullen, Jessica Tuck, and Johanna Braddy were fantastic), the heavy focus on the law/court element worked, especially since they were pursuing a judge, and there were actually a number of memorable/gorgeous visual beats. (The shot of Carisi in his office was so well done; Peter Scanavino was also an episode MVP.)

The case was messed up, obviously. But it was horrifying in a way that was (unfortunately) all too grounded and really worked. Our characters were appropriately invested—and appalled/supportive—and didn’t cross any inappropriate boundaries. It was compelling. Thank goodness.

(Do we think Mark Moses and Kevin Kane caught up while filming this to talk about their very first respective appearances on SVU when Kane’s character killed Moses’ character or…?)

DOCTOR ODYSSEY: Flower shop morgue?!? Oy. I think I actually read about that being a thing on cruises (also, potentially, when they start giving guests free frozen treats?), but it’s still horrifying.

I didn’t watch NIP/TUCK, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect from the episode. There were parts at the start that made me cringe, but the episode seemed to settle down midway through. Max being an absolute fanboy over the real “Ken,” after finding comfort in his exploits while he was sick…so sweet. (Of course it ended tragically, though.) At least Max got the moment at the end when he got to share with the man’s friends what they meant to him and his COVID recovery, too.

Poor Tristan, though. The stuff with his mother was absolutely emotionally brutal. (And what a hellish twist to be basically trapped on the boat while having to process everything.)

The Tristan/Avery/Max triangle hasn’t been working for me, and I don’t quite know if I believe they’ve killed it now; things seem to change every single episode. We’ll see, I guess.



FOUND: I mean, it absolutely hurts, but I appreciate that Margaret isn’t just forgiving Gabi for keeping this secret and the betrayal toward the team. It’s something that would be hard to get over, in general, but it’s complicated by the fact that Lacey is still missing. Maybe there can be healing when Lacey is home, but until then…

The case was also so, so tough. And that is where Margaret’s frustration over Gabi can really be a problem. She’s not just mad at Gabi, it impacted her ability to do her job in this episode. And then the press conference about a poor stolen Black baby became about Gabi being MIA and Sir. Thank goodness the baby was ultimately saved, for everyone’s sake.

A weird “perk” about watching this so early was I got to go into the moment between Sir and Gabi on the benches blind. I know it’s been used in promos excessively—and I do get it, it’s a great moment to showcase of their dynamic—but experiencing it within the episode, with no real warning, was fantastic. And a really great tool the writers used to get them back together without him immediately being captured.

(Loved the use of Joy Williams’ “Welcome Home” in the episode, too.)

GREY’S ANATOMY: Watching this Catherine storyline play out felt like watching a slo-mo crash—you knew things were going to end in a mess, but it was just a question of how bad it was going to be. The good news, for now, is that Catherine didn’t tragically die before Richard found out what was going on. The bad news? Richard’s pissed at Meredith.

On paper, I don’t blame him. This is his wife. He’s already lost two women he loved tragically. But Meredith also kept this secret as Catherine’s doctor. She didn’t do this maliciously. This wasn’t done in a joyful manner. It wasn’t even done for herself. But, man, Richard lashing out broke my heart.

Amelia talking about Derek? Oh, my heart. I am intrigued to see what the show is setting up with her going forward, though, because her successfully doing this surgery and now seemingly having a whole list of people who want to see could be something…or nothing.

Which shows did you watch last night?

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