This is a set of reviews of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episodes. My general thoughts about that show are here. I’ll often do no more than make brief notes about an episode, although occasionally I’ll go deeper. Also, often there are dissenting main characters on almost any political issue, but you can usually tell what the general position of the show is. All the rest of the reviews are available by clicking on the l&osvu label at the bottom.
“Info Wars” Season 19. Wikipedia summary is: “The Special Victims Unit is called to a brutal crime scene after a violent protest in the city results in a controversial, right-wing female pundit (Rhea Seehorn) getting viciously sexually assaulted. However, with many people in the crowd during the protest, the squad has a hard time catching the victim's assailants. When the case is taken to trial, Barba and Benson fight with each other after struggling to keep their political opinions about the case quiet, which leaves the squad clashing over sides in the case and raises tension between the detectives and Barba.”
The title is taken from one of the web-sites associated with Alex Jones, although it’s not clear if the survivor is supposed to be a female version of Jones or is she’s supposed to be like Ann Coulter. She is at least more right-wing than left-wing and attracts people who I believe are supposed to mirror the Proud Boys (see this). She also attracts counter-protestors including Antifa. Although there is some dissent, for the most part the main characters don’t like her very much.
“Send in the Clowns” Season 19. Wikipedia summary is: “The Special Victims Unit is called in to investigate the disappearance of a teenage prodigy (Mallory Bechtel) during a spring break trip. The prime suspect is a butcher (Eric Tabach) who was seen leaving a club in a clown mask with the girl and she was last known to have been at his apartment. However, the case becomes extremely difficult to close. When the detectives try to find her body at a dump, they find that the dump has been emptied. Stone tries to get justice for the girl and lock up the butcher as the chances of the girl being alive become extremely slim. However, towards the end, the case takes a shocking twist and the detectives discover that the real culprit is someone they least suspected. Stone reveals to Benson that he moved to New York to take care of his sister who is mentally ill in a home upstate.”
At the beginning we are reminded that Finn’s son is gay. Also, while he’s Black, his husband is Latino. It’s not as significant as inter-racial relationships where one person is white, but it’s still inter-racial and what I would call multi-cultural- more multi-cultural than a German-American and an Irish-American. And there IS some conflict between Blacks on one hand and Latina/os and Chicana/os on the other hand.
“Service” Season 19.Wikipedia summary is: “When a female escort (Morgan Taylor Campbell) is found sexually assaulted and brutally beaten, the Special Victims Unit is called in to investigate. They soon discover that she was in a sleazy hotel with three soldiers from the military. However, the case becomes complicated when one soldier (Marquise Vilson) refuses to talk and another (Jack DiFalco) confesses to the crime, even though it is clear that he is lying. Eventually, when the real rapist is found and the DNA comes in, the case takes an extremely shocking twist and a huge sacrifice is made by one of the soldiers who has been hiding a secret from the world for a very long time. Meanwhile, Rollins' unprofessional work on the case leads to her revealing a secret from her recent romantic life, having taken the case too personally.”
One of the suspects, one of the two who is completely innocent, is a transgendered man in the US Army. He’s convinced to testify against his guilty colleague even though it will involve outing himself. Although it’s not critical of the military, it IS critical of Trump’s transphobic policy about transgendered people in the military. Also, the man is Black.
“Remember Me” and "Remember Me, Too” two parter. Season 19. Wikipedia summaries are:
“The Special Victims Unit is called in after a woman takes a man hostage, the incident being live streamed on a phone he left behind. While police search for the woman and the man, who now appears to be the woman's rapist, Benson enters the apartment where the two are located and is herself taken hostage. Benson then becomes a witness to unfolding events. The hostage situation takes a twist when Benson discovers that the man being held was actually a vicious pimp and kidnapper who abducted the woman a while ago and held her captive. As the hostage siege gets more dangerous, Benson tries to put it to a stop before lives are lost.”
“As the situation comes to a resolution, the Special Victims Unit investigates the chain of events which led to the hostage siege. After the detectives start doubting the kidnapping and hostage victim's testimony, an extremely dangerous criminal network is discovered by the Special Victims Unit, which is prepared to do anything needed for justice, leading to the squad investigating the criminal network. Whilst investigating, Stone's sister is abducted by the criminal network in an extremely brutal shooting at the psychiatric hospital where she lives. The detectives frantically search for her, ending tragically for Stone, his sister, and the detectives involved.”
(I often don’t read the wikipedia summaries but I read this one and it’s wrong about something. He wasn’t a pimp and he didn’t kidnap her. He was a “coyote” and helped some Mexican women get from Mexico to NYC)
This is kind of about immigration. First, there’s one moment when a detective makes it clear that SVU is not Immigration.
Second, there’s the role of the coyote. I have always gotten the impression that most or maybe all of those who, in exchange for money, help people cross the border are bad, and a political friend who is very familiar with the immigration issue has confirmed that for me. Although Joe Biden is pro-immigrant, when Trump, in the second debate, attacked coyotes, Biden didn’t say anything positive about them. But I wouldn’t be surprised if anti-immigrant people like to say that pro-immigrant people LIKE coyotes. Since they are bad, it would be good for the anti-immigrant argument. But Law & Order: SVU, a very pro-immigrant show, used this show to demonize coyotes (at no point is anything positive said about them). I doubt that many pro-immigrant people like coyotes and most of those who do probably just need to be educated briefly.
“Down Low In Hell’s Kitchen” Season 21. See this for an episode summary.
This is only sort of about homophobia. it turns out that the serial predator of closeted black gay men is closeted himself, and in other ways it’s a little muddled. But it features two scenes with the gay son of the Black detective and it seems that Benson’s supervisor is a gay black man. Which brings up the most substantial thing. It’s not the first time the show has focused on homophobia in the Black community. And although I get this mostly from this show, I get the impression that it IS a bigger problem in the Black community than it is in the white community. I think that might be because of the strength of homophobic churches, but I’m not real sure about that.
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