Law & Order: SVU Season 24 Episode 18 Review: Bubble Wrap
What the heck, SVU?
This bizarre story about a rapist who his uber-wealthy mother was enabling was fascinating, but why did it veer off into a conflict entirely about Connie's lunacy?
Law & Order: SVU Season 24 Episode 18 could have been a fascinating story about money, power, and rape, but instead, it went off track somewhere in the middle, with the rapist turning out to be his mother's victim while his own victim was dead.
This isn't the first time Law & Order: SVU has featured a mother with an unhealthy attachment to her son. However, the way this one was done left something to be desired.
This series has long been a fan favorite because it centers on survivors. But this time, it missed the mark badly.
Yes, many rapists are victims themselves, but this story didn't exactly make a point about that either. It was just... there. Martin's mother sexually abused him, but that barely got a mention!
And poor Mona's experience was practically forgotten. Carisi mentioned once or twice that they needed to remember her rape, but that wasn't what this story was about.
Connie murdered Mona to stop her from "stealing" Martin from her. It wasn't even that she was trying to shut her up so that she couldn't tell the world that Martin had raped her -- it was that he had consensual sex with her before this.
Carisi: Don't forget he is a rapist.
Benson: I'm not making excuses for him, but he's also a victim. We need to remember that and treat him like one.
Benson said she wasn't making excuses for Martin's rape of Mona, but her focus was on proving that Connie had poisoned both Martin and Mona and trying to get her to see how she'd ruined her son.
This is beyond frustrating for those of us who turn to SVU because it supports survivors. This one focused far too much on making the rapist sympathetic.
And why wasn't a police psychiatrist involved? At the very least, Dr. Huang, Dr. Olivette, or a new police psychiatrist should have interviewed Martin to determine how much he understood about what he had done and why it was wrong.
If SVU insisted on having a story about a rapist who was also a victim, the least they could do is treat Martin's mental health issues with the respect this series usually gives to people with psychiatric illnesses.
Instead, we had half an hour of Benson trying to get Connie and convince her that she was nothing but a narcissist.
It's a shame the story didn't go in a more worthwhile direction. Not only was the messaging off on this one, but it was a waste of a great villain.
Connie was desperate to protect her son, had unlimited resources to pay off witnesses and accusers, and subtly threatened Benson's job with some of her comments.
If the story had been about her seeming untouchability and determination to enable her son's rapes at all costs, it would have led to riveting drama between her and Benson.
Has SVU done power vs. justice stories before? Of course. But it's a theme that never gets old and would resonate with many viewers in today's political climate.
That's the drama we needed, not this silliness.
Connie was close enough to an organized crime boss -- Carisi even suggested that most construction company owners were mob-related. So this also would have been a perfect opportunity for a crossover with Law & Order: Organized Crime.
Instead, Benson turned into Connie and Martin's therapist. I know she tends to act more like a social worker than a cop, but come on!
The legal aspects of this case were also somewhat confusing.
Carisi first said he could indict but didn't think he could secure a conviction. That seemed strange; if he has strong enough evidence to convince a grand jury that a crime was committed, why is the evidence so weak that the regular jury would acquit?
But then, after the arraignment, he worried about securing an indictment. That made no sense whatsoever -- doesn't he need the indictment before any arraignment?
Something felt lost in translation here.
Although this story was highly problematic, it was well-acted. Connie and Martin's relationship was creepy; she seemed like a jealous wife, not a mother, and Martin both begged her for space and turned to her for help and comfort whenever things went wrong.
Connie's responses every time Martin stood up for himself were scary.
And one of the most disturbing aspects of the scenario was that Martin's decision to rape Mona when she said No to sex mirrored the way Connie treated him whenever he tried to separate himself from her insistence that they spend all their free time together.
The story worked as a character study of two sick, twisted individuals. But that wasn't enough to carry the hour; it needed a few tweaks that it didn't receive.
Your turn, Law & Order fanatics. Did you enjoy this episode, or did you agree that it focused too much on the rapist's issues and not enough on the heinous crime he committed?
Hit the big, blue SHOW COMMENTS button and let us know!
Law & Order: SVU doesn't return until April 27. Don't forget you can watch Law & Order: SVU online whenever you'd like.
Law & Order: SVU airs on NBC on Thursdays at 9 PM EST / PST.