About Last Night…9-1-1, LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT, MATLOCK, and More

Let’s talk about Thursday night’s TV!

9-1-1: A real body?! NO THANKS.

But, really, I thought seeing the corpse might be the most traumatizing thing that kids witnessed in this episode. (Even though that haunted house was creepy.) And then Denny happened. Oh my God, Denny.

First of all, Aisha Hinds and Tracie Thoms were incredible as Hen and Karen were fighting to keep their child alive. Watching them was actually painful, but it was so well done. It was also just lovely/gutting to see how the team rallied around them to do everything they could to save Denny, while also acknowledging they weren’t going to be able to get Hen to leave his side. Second, thank goodness they did not do long-term damage to that child. That family deserves peace for the next decade, at least.

(Also, who else laughed at, uh, C.A.R.E.?! So many childhood memories came roaring back with that homage to D.A.R.E.)

LAW & ORDER: There were really good conversations with Riley and Shaw and then Nolan and Sam about this case; it was a really nice touch. Riley opening up about his wife’s miscarriage, and acknowledging while he understood the importance of choice and science, that loss wasn’t just cells made sense. (And of course you can be pro-choice and still mourn a pregnancy you wanted to keep.) On the flip side, Nolan and Sam’s conversation about the complexities of deciding who gets a say on when life is over/should end was fascinating. On paper, it was loaded enough…and then Nolan’s absolute agony made sense by the time the episode ended: His father’s in a coma, seemingly long-term. In hindsight, it should have been obvious he had a personal tie to a case like this, but I initially just read it as the series showcasing different POVs. I’m so curious when (or if) this comes back up again.



GHOSTS: Oh my God, Patience’s power?! Nope, nope, nope. (I mean, fun to watch. But absolutely nightmare fuel for Sam and Jay, plus the other ghosts.) And so funny Frank thought it was Sam throwing a temper tantrum about his new girlfriend. (How?! And also with mess she’d have to clean up?!) I do really hope we get to see Frank back sporadically; Sam deserves to have that extra bit of family in her life.

[For more on the episode, here’s what showrunners Joe Port and Joe Wiseman shared.]



LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT: Okay, a major improvement over last week. The opening wasn’t needlessly graphic and was several minutes shorter. The case made sense. The second-strongest episode of the season, so far.

But.

Here’s the thing: I am so grateful we finally saw a bit of personal life. The problem is, what they opted to showcase made no sense for this case.

Carisi—and Peter Scanavino—has long deserved better from the show. He’s largely been ADACop for his tenure as their ADA, which feels unfair to the character and the audience. (The latter, specifically, because it means we don’t get to see the court element the way we used to.) And Carisi absolutely should be triggered by the world/cases; there’s no world in which he wouldn’t be scared for his daughters and son.

But this was a case, specifically, about teens. The second victim and her attackers were 12/13. That is Noah’s age. That’s not to say Olivia had to lose control or spiral or anything like that. But how was his name (or the fact she has a son) not mentioned at all while she was talking to Curry about her teen son (!) and his hiding his sexual activity? How was he not brought up during the conversations with Carisi, who is unquestionably her friend/came to her for parenting advice?

This was an instance where the boys and the influences they listened to in their lives were the crux of the case. Even if the show didn’t want to actively showcase Olivia worrying about what Noah was up to while she was at work, I’m just wildly baffled that he was entirely ignored/wiped from this episode, especially in the scene with Curry as she talked about what her son was hiding from her. (Though: More of Curry/Benson, please and thanks.) This isn’t trying to shoehorn Noah, or Olivia being a parent, into a random case. You don’t even need the actor to be there. A single line would have done…something? Anything? Instead, it just felt like his absence strips Olivia of any personality beyond being a helper; she’s being a friend to Carisi and arguably Curry by listening, but offering up nothing in terms of her own experience or fears. I just don’t get it.

And, in the end, it just left me frustrated with how they handled this. This wasn’t Carisi being specifically triggered by this case; he was reacting to the world at large and his encounter with a creep pre-case. If it was going to be a general thing, I really wish they had done this storyline with Carisi freaking out about what might be in store for his daughters at a different point in the season. Not to mention, it actually would have been interesting if they played with this a little later, as he was a little deeper into, apparently, being a quasi-single—in terms of being physically there, day-to-day; obviously, Amanda is still actively a part of her kids’ lives—father.

(Which leads me to: Carisi’s breakdown might have had more impact if NBC hadn’t absolutely scrambled the air order, too. This airing after episode 3—which aired as 2; this was 4 airing as 4—would have at least quasi-felt like build-up. After having the squad feel balanced in the premiere, it has been wildly out of whack since. Is that writing? Or made significantly worse/more apparent because any attempt to build things up got messed up? I don’t know. That being said, it’s also ridiculous/borderline inexcusable they didn’t just cut the few seconds where they did an exposition dump about Rollins’ new job after we just saw these characters very aware of it/working with her last week; they could have easily have picked up with Olivia telling Carisi she appreciated the coffee and going from there. It would have been a cute mention if it aired before Rollins came back! Instead, it screeched everything to a halt and reminded people the episodes were airing out of order.)



MATLOCK: Kathy. Freaking. Bates.

It should come as no surprise Bates can act. (Hello, look at her awards history.) But the first time I watched the episode, I was absolutely gobsmacked by her performance as Matty delivered her closing argument, detailing how she subverted her own dreams because of workplace harassment.  I was just emotionally devastated, gutted, teary, totally thrown. It has been a scene I’ve thought about for almost two months. It’s impactful even upon rewatch. What a moment. Easily going to be one of my top 5 favorite scenes I’ve watched of the year.

It’s also fascinating, because even as I was absolutely blown away by the performance and the moment, I was also thinking about how this was helping Matty with her long-con, too. She was proving herself to her colleagues, while also being open about a part of her life. (MATLOCK showrunner Jennie Snyder Urman did confirm the story was true, though. I suspected as much, especially given how much Matty was clearly impacted by it, but I’m really glad she said as much.)

Loved meeting Billy’s family, though. And, this is so silly, but hadn’t occurred to me, really, until this episode: It cannot be easy trying to be sneaky—like Matty often has to be—in a building filled with glass walls?!

[For more on the episode, here’s what Urman shared.]



DOCTOR ODYSSEY: I expected/hoped for more from this episode. It may have hurt that this aired after 9-1-1, which was so incredible and utilized the theme well. Alas.

CRIME SCENE KITCHEN: Ugh, I feel awful for the duo who made the wrong final dessert after realizing belatedly what the correct dish was. I think it has to be worse to know you’re wrong but don’t have the time to fix it versus be blindsided by the correct answer?

ELSBETH: There were cute moments, but it was a lot more uneven than the premiere. Loved to see Wagner being a nerd and being an important part of actually closing the case. Elsbeth being hit on was very cute, but I do wish it had happened in another episode…there was already so much going on, both with the episode, and the case itself. (And the Chicago mess was looming over her head, too.) But, one day, it would be nice if she actually did get a bit of (wanted) affection/attention.

GREY’S ANATOMY: The interns trying to treat an employee without insurance reminded me of the intern group trying to treat (bartender) Joe in season 2. He wasn’t an employee, obviously, but the parallels made me smile.

I’ve been hit/miss on Schmitt over the years, but I’m really glad it seems like he’s getting a dream peds residency. (And that his new love interest is a widow, not a cheater.) Hopefully, they can actually give him a happy ending. On the flip side, I really, really, really wish Link/Jo’s twin pregnancy was compelling to me in any capacity, though.

Hey, and in case the show didn’t make it super clear: Please vote. It’s important.



FOUND: Okay, it was wild Lacey forgot about Gabi’s Sir confession, but I’m also glad she remembered by the end of the episode. That poor woman didn’t need any more secrets/potential trauma popping out at her at a later point.

Sir leaving a letter for Gabi to be delivered via Trent, while also insulting Trent, was wild. (I was absolutely worried Sir would attack him, though.)

Also, uh, that end scene with Zeke…on a scale from 1-10, how worried should I/we be? (I’m at a 12 right now, but.)

Which shows did you watch last night?

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