stunt_muppet

Once again it's too damn late.

Once again, I am running behind on my writing, my drawing, and my commenting. Oh, and I've been unproductive and lazy in school, albeit not lazy enough to actually jeapordize my grade.

And Literary Magazine makes me hate myself and want to ceremoniously set fire to everything I've ever written.

And...well, and I have kind of an entertaining story from this evening. But that comes later.

In the meanwhile, SVU recap! Wherein I mostly blather on and on about the series in general and occasionally remember that I'm talking about an episode. :)

I feel productive.


SVU producer-folk, you are hereby forgiven for Burned. Forever. Because only you guys could blast one of my favorite ships to smithereens and make me thank you for it.

First, I must lodge my customary complaint: John was never even ON SCREEN in this episode. And Fin had one line. wtf. I’ll let you off on it this time because the episode was very good, but if it hadn’t been, there would have been angry letters en route to your central office. Just so you know.

Also, this doesn’t just stem from my irrational love for John Munch and Fin Tutuola; there’s one scene in particular that I think would really have benefited from their presence. (And it’s been almost a month since I’ve had a new Munchism to quote.) But more on that later.

First up, Mr. Cary Elwes, who like every other girl my age I first came to know as Westley. (Don’t feel bad, Cary. It’s not just you. I still freak out every time I watch Criminal Minds and realize that Mandy Patinkin isn’t wearing a wig or talking in a fake Spanish accent.) It’s funny how you never really appreciate how good these people are until you watch them do something else. And he was really, really good in this episode. The scene where Truex watches his daughter give her testimony is quite a tearjerker. When he admitted that, even though he was going to try to get her off, he thought his daughter had killed her mother, I really felt for him – because what do you do in a situation like that? Excellent scene.

Another Nerd Point: Amyl nitrate? Further research is required. I kind of wish they’d explained what it was more adequately. Truex’s doubts didn’t seem at all unfounded since neither he nor we knew precisely what they were doing to his daughter – was it a “truth drug”? Some kind of hallucinogen? A variant of a hallucinogen, which would presumably cause flashbacks? And if testimony under amyl nitrate is inadmissible in court (which further complicates the issue of what exactly it is and what it does to people), how is it enough for the state to drop the charges? Hmm.

I was a fan of how complicated Truex was. At first, when I realized that he was a mob lawyer, I suspected the worst; I figured once he came out of his coma he’d turn on the detectives. Frankly, since I knew Stabler was going to be accused of police brutality in this episode, I thought Truex was going to be the one to do the accusing. After Daughter Truex smashed her hand through a window, I figured that a harassment charge at the very least was forthcoming. But no. He wasn’t played as a one-dimensional antagonist to the detectives but as a protective/concerned dad. His harsh reaction to the detectives when they insisted that his daughter be tried for murder was understandable – she is his daughter, after all. And I liked the fact that he eventually caved and allowed them to put Daughter Truex on amyl nitrate for a witness statement; he didn’t refuse just to spite Stabler. I liked him more than I thought I would.

Now, the “pharm party”. When the kids started describing that, I promptly lost any sympathy I might have had for any of them, particularly the boyfriend. I’m sorry. You’re stupid. Darwin gives you five years max; Stabler was just chlorinating the gene pool as far as I’m concerned. Honestly, you’re popping Ritalin and Oxycodone for fun and then you’re going to mouth off to the NYPD about how “at least we’re not doing crack or heroin”? Actually, I still had some sympathy in reserve for DT (I wish I could remember her name), because she did, after all, watch her boyfriend rape and kill her mother.

About the boyfriend. I didn’t suspect him at the outset; he seemed at least concerned enough about Mommy Truex’s death. He didn’t seem like a killer, while DT, with her prescription drugs and mommy issues, wasn’t coming off too well. I suppose that was the point, really, and it does lend an extra wrinkle to the case that I hadn’t thought about until I started to write this review. See, if DT didn’t remember what she’d done while she was on all those drugs, it’s pretty likely that her boyfriend didn’t either. A scuzz he may have been, but a rapist and a murderer? Probably not. That doesn’t make him any less guilty, but it does complicate his death a bit – he gets killed while trying to escape charges for something he doesn’t even know he did.

Of course, that consideration goes straight out the window once Boyfriend starts running from Stabler and then throws punches at him once he’s cornered. Point one, Boyfriend: Running away from police officers is like having a sign on your back saying “I’m guilty!”. Point two: It is really rather stupid to get into a fistfight with someone whose biceps are about the size of your face. If they were trying to play up the ambiguity of Boyfriend’s guilt, that fistfight kind of killed it for me. He’d have no reason to resist arrest if he had no idea what he’d done.

Which brings me to Stabler’s-in-trouble-omg!

This plotline was amazing. I was pretty sure that Stabler wouldn’t actually be suspended; we’d have heard something by now if Chris was leaving the show. But I was still very worried for him. Every other time that Elliot’s had to deal with his anger issues, it’s been far away from the public eye; this time, there were witnesses, but all they saw was Elliot punching the kid – they didn’t know that Boyfriend had resisted arrest, or that he was a suspect in a rape and murder. My worry only grew worse once I saw that newscast. I actually hit mute when they started showing it – I couldn’t listen to them calling Elliot a killer cop. (Am I freakishly attached to these characters? I do believe I am.) But even watching it was rather painful, because it made Elliot look real guilty. Even if he wasn’t suspended, you know the moment that footage rolls that his life’s going to be a living hell for the next few months anyway.

This is where both my typical Munch-and-Fin-related whining comes in and where my counterpoint emerges. Bear with me for a moment.

I, personally, would have liked to see everybody testifying for Elliot’s innocence instead of just Olivia. Yes, I realize that Olivia’s his partner and so would give the most pertinent testimony. And, in all probability, Fin, John, Cragen et al wouldn’t tell us anything that Liv hadn’t already. But they did testify, and I’d like to see how they’re reacting to all this, especially since Fin and John are the only two who *don’t* have a “reaction shot”. Obviously, they’re still going to defend Elliot, but I’d like to see specifically what they say.

Also, out of the entire L&O franchise, the SVU team is the only one that has ever seemed close-knit – hell, it’s the only one that’s ever seemed any kind of knit. I don’t think that this is a weakness in any particular show; it’s just a feature unique to SVU. The detectives work together. They know each other. They have, on occasion, confided in one another. And I like that dynamic. It’s a nice change from the desperately lonely folk who inhabit the rest of the franchise. The point is, it would have been nice to see the entire team sticking up for Elliot.

HOWEVER, and that’s in big bold letters for a reason, this episode did give some of the background characters, specifically Melinda Warner and George Huang (mostly Warner) a chance to shine. I have my issues with some of Huang’s dialogue, and granted, he didn’t have much to do besides his actual job, but hey. He got some nice lines in with Daughter Truex. Also, I love how absolutely nothing shocks, disturbs, or bothers Huang. Ever.

Also, I’ve become a Melinda Warner fan. I’m glad that she’s in the credits for this season. Her scene during the autopsy, when she announces that the cause of death is homicide, was wonderful. She’s well aware of what it means when she says that. She knows that she’s just charged Elliot with police brutality/excessive force/whatever they’re calling it now. And she’s hating herself for it, but the autopsy doesn’t lie. Also, I love how she went to visit Elliot after the paper came out – and how she apologized, even though she hadn’t done anything wrong. And how she leaps at the chance to clear Elliot. Not only does this flesh out Warner and make her something more than just The ME, it also underscores the closeness that I mentioned earlier. I would not mind seeing more scenes like this.

On another note, I find it a bit strange that Liv was unequivocally defending Elliot’s actions in this episode, whereas in Burned she was only too quick to remind him about his “history of violence”. I don’t think that’s a problem, though, since Burned officially Doesn’t Count.

Happy though I am that Elliot’s remaining on the force, I have to say that I’m not feeling too optimistic about his future right now. The charges against him may have been dropped, but to the news and the press, he’s still a killer cop. And that’s not going to go away. I’m interested to see how that will develop, but I’m also still worried for Elliot. These next few episodes will not be easy for him. I am here to dispense hugs if they should be needed, by the way.

Am I the only person who actually likes the Elliot-Kathy arc that’s going on now? Because whenever I check other people’s reviews/rants, I’m hearing general displeasure with it – comments along the lines of “Would they let this story die already?” or “So are you divorced or not? Make up your damn mind!”. I like it. Actually, I like it a lot. For starters, why have we all suddenly decided that we don’t like Elliot? I know I whine about how he and Liv have all the screen time, but, um, Chris and Mariska are first billed. That’s kind of going to happen. And I fail to understand why you’d watch a show if you hate the first two people in the credits. I like Olivia, and I like Elliot. I don’t care if they’re center stage so long as they’re center stage in a good story. And so long as Munch and Fin get more than a SINGLE DAMN EPISODE per season.

Furthermore, I object to the “just divorce her and move on” attitude that I’ve been seeing recently. Why would he do that? Let’s look at Elliot as a character for a minute. He’d been married to Kathy since…well, since forever. He defines himself in relation to her and his children. He says as much in the very first episode. How could he just walk away from a marriage like that, a marriage and a family that’s been his whole life? The answer, of course, is that he can’t – look at how long it took him to sign the divorce papers. Why is it so cowardly or melodramatic (I have heard both accusations) that he doesn’t want to face the fact that his life’s coming apart?

Also, I have heard far too many rants about how “I don’t care about these people’s lives, I just care about the cases”. In that case, I point you to the original Law & Order – the only solid, non-peripheral character development I can think of there is Aftershock (I’m sure there’s more, but I haven’t seen it). We’re left to figure out most of it on our own. Fine and dandy. Actually, I like it better that way (witness my adverse reaction to Connie trying to get Jack to angst in the most recent episode). But SVU’s not quite the same; while we’re on the subject, neither is CI. SVU’s always been a little bit more about the characters than TOS has, and while the focus on character has increased recently, all you have to do is watch the first episode to see the difference. Both Elliot and John have a substantial amount of character development and backstory-building in that episode, although I suspect some of John’s dialogue was mostly to familiarize him to those of us who hadn’t seen Homicide: Life on the Street. So, in conclusion, SVU =/= L&O: TOS. Deal.

Sorry. I’ve wanted to vent about that for a while.

Now that I’ve spent entirely too long on that topic, I suppose I should talk about what actually happens in the episode. For some reason, these past few weeks have been full of beautiful ending scenes that make me choke up; this one’s just been added to the list. First Good Part was Kathy’s dialogue when she first opens the door: “I saw you on the news…I knew you didn’t kill that kid”. I was glad to hear that coming from her. I was worried that she’d be suspicious or defensive, or that she’d assume the worst of Elliot. But she wasn’t and she didn’t. And I was glad for that. I was glad that she still knew him sell enough and cared about him enough not to suspect him.

And yes, Elliot’s dialogue about “what’s important to [him]” danced dangerously on the edge of cliché. The good thing was that it never actually went there. It still sounded like something a human being might say. And I can’t think of too many good alternatives for that dialogue that get the same point across, so there you go.

Once again, I am in love with the last shot and last line of this episode. Of course, I get wibbly and sad whenever Elliot does, so…yeah. His “I want to come home” just made my little heart break. He seemed so lost when he said it. And really, how could you not let him come back after he said that? I don’t care how overdone people say it is – I love it when Elliot’s vulnerable (in part because Chris is so darn good at it). I love it when he gets to stop being the tough cop for a while, when he gets to show that he still needs a hugsupport.

I realize that I should be angry, since I’ve shipped Elliot and Olivia since I started watching SVU and, if Kathy takes him back (which I really, really hope she does), I will no longer be able to write, read, or even contemplate E/O without feeling like a homewrecker. But this scene played out so sweetly and sincerely that, by the time the credits started to roll, I wanted desperately for Kathy to just open the door and invite him back in. I didn’t even start to think sad thoughts about my ship until the news started to come on.

…Four-and-a-half damn pages. About a hundred words longer than my Miami recap. I really do need a life.



Next up will probably be CSI, then Psych (yes, I watched new Psych instead of new L&O. That’s because L&O is playing *all day* on TNT. Psych isn’t). I should probably recap Monk and House too, since I hadn’t seen that particular episode of Monk and only part of that episode of House. Oh, and maybe at some point I should do my homework. And maybe I’ll even go outside, so I can stop killing my eyes dead with this computer screen.