"Street Revenge"

Guest Star Michael Rispoli

This week on Law & Order SVU, the show opens on the cops fending off a mike from an in the face sensationalist news reporter demanding justice from the ‘West Soho Rapist’.  Turns out the criminal has been terrorizing the entire neighborhood.  Captain Cragen has to hold a community conference.  He tells the crowd, “Exercise caution, and avoid going out alone.”  The camera shows increased police presence on the streets, flyers on every lamp post; numbers are painted on roof tops in large type for easier identification.  It’s an all out coordinated effort.  Yet, another girl is attacked while walking alone in a dark alley.  But wait, what’s this?  A vigilante superhero stops the rapist in his tracks.  Cue the theme music.

Meanwhile Detective Nick Amaro (Danny Pino) and Amanda Rollins (Kelli Giddish) are interviewing the victim.  “His voice sounded white.  The rescuer is wearing a crazy get-up, like some superhero.  Whoever he is, he really is a hero.  He saved me.” Interjected into each scene is shots of the sensationalist news reporter inciting the public and blaming the police for the continued crimes (6 incidents so far).  He actually gets communication from the perp and reads it on air.

This is not a summary of the episode; it is a recap of the five best moments of the show.  Here’s the countdown to the Five Best Moments of the Show.

#5 Best Moment of the Show.  A spit fire city employee stonewalls Amaro and Rollin’s investigation of the metro card used by the perp.  Rollins tells her its police business, so she has to help them.  She snaps back, “Excuse me, but all I have to do is stay black and die.”  Priceless and to the point.  That is until Amaro charms her into jelly.  She proceeds to look up the info and comments on his suggested Indian heritage.  She’s obviously bitten.

#4 Best Moment of the Show.    The metro card leads Detective Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Oadafin Tutuola (Ice-T) to a young man with a black eye and broken nose.  He’s obviously the perp.  He tries to take down Benson, who slaps him down like a little girl.

#3 Best Moment of the Show.    Amaro is tailing his wife who he sees having a glass of wine at an outdoor café with Jason, her buddy from Afghanistan.  The next time Amaro sits down with his wife he tries to get her to spill the beans, but she evades and tells him lies.  It’s confirmed.  He knows she has something to hide.  The next day Amaro waits for Jason at his place in Philly.  He knocks out Jason with one punch, and tells him, “Stay away from my wife.”

#2 Best Moment of the Show.   Rollins goes undercover with other female police officers trying to lure the perp to attack.  Turns out two vigilantes were laying a trap for the perp, but was taken down in the attempt.  The female was attacked.  The perp had big fat scissors as weapon.  One keeps calling the other, “Fantastica”.

Why won’t these amateurs leave the crime fighting to the professionals?

Finally, the #1 Best Moment of the Show.   Speaking of cheating - Henry, the guy the cops like for the crime has been fooling around with every women that works for him at the restaurant he owns.  Meanwhile, Amaro’s wife, who Amaro thinks has been cheating on him, marches into the squad room to confront him over punching out her friend Jason.  She finally fesses up and says she’s been seeing a psychiatrist.  She’s been hiding the ‘shrink’ from him because she thinks he only wants things to be perfect and can’t handle her not being perfect.  Turns out she’s not having an affair after all.  That’s a stunning reversal.  Now Amaro feels like the schmuck that he is.  He was wrong.

In the end, it turns out Stuart, the guy who works at the comic book store and moonlights as The Justice League, has a double life, ala Walter Mitty.  Turns out it was him preying on the women all the time.  As the cops take him away, he verbalizes everything Amaro is feeling.  “All I wanted was for her to see me as a hero.”

Next week on Law & Order SVU, a sperm donor preys on his biological daughter.

"Valentines Day"

Gues Star Chloe Sevigny

This week on Law & Order SVU, the show opens on a businessman checking in at the airport in Hong Kong.  He sits down and takes out his laptop to video chat with his wife.  She’s at home in New York City.  Next thing he knows there is a home invasion.  A masked gun man tells him, via video chat, that if he calls the police, his wife is dead.  His wife, Christine Hartwell (Chloe Sevigny) is raped right in front of him, on video chat.  The next scene, Detective Nick Amaro (Danny Pino) and Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) does the run through.  By the time the cops show up, the wife is gone.  All that is left is the crime scene.  Cue the theme music.

This is not a summary of the episode; it is a recap of the five best moments of the show.  Here’s the countdown to the Five Best Moments of the Show.

#5 Best Moment of the Show.  By the time the cops get to the airport to meet the husband, Boyd Hartwell, from Hong Kong, Boyd is already on the phone with Christine about a ransom.  She made him promise, "No cops", or they will kill her.  He tries to make a run for it, but of course the cops catch him.  They play the cell phone conversation.  There’s a drop off place and an ask for $250,000.

#4 Best Moment of the Show.  Amaro’s wife shows up in the squad room, dressed to the nines.  Amaro lets out an audible, “Oh shit!”  It turns out they had a date for Valentine’s Day.  He goes out to greet her, “Did you forget?  I’m home for a week and already you’re taking me for granted.”  He says, “Never”.  But we know otherwise.

#3 Best Moment of the Show.  The drop is made.  The place is crawling with undercover cops.  Next thing we know, a blonde woman comes in for the pick up.  The cops move in.  It turns out, it’s the wife!  It’s Christine Hartwell.  “Please just let me give them the money.  They’ll kill me.  Please.”  What?!?

#2 Best Moment of the Show.  

Christine has quite the tale to tell.  She describes three black males who assault her.  Fin and Rollins trace her cell phone to a health food store clerk who says he’s Christine’s dealer.  He supplies her with all the drugs she wants.  She even has a regular delivery man, Kevin Fahey, who brings it to her house.  The cops take the delivery man into the station.  It turns out he’s been having an affair with Christine.  Kevin says it was all Christine’s idea to go to a loft her husband’s partner owns.  It turns out the partner has a thing on the side with Christine.  It turns out his partner has a motion sensor camera hooked up.  It turns out the camera caught Christine and her supposed kidnapper on videotape.  It turns out Christine was not a victim after all.  Boyd is shown the video tape, but he still stand by his wife.  Despite all this mounting evidence, Christine still maintains her innocence.  Finally, it starts to go bad for Christine, but she has a plan.  During the break, she corners a male juror in the stairwell.  We don’t know what happened, but back in the courtroom we find she’s done her job.  The jury is hopelessly deadlocked, 11:1.  The judge declares a mistrial.  She’s going to get away with it!

Finally, the #1 Best Moment of the Show.   We see Amaro tailing his wife who knocks on the door of a townhouse.  Another man answers the door.  His wife goes into the house.  It’s obvious she’s having an affair with the man.  This is not a happy ending for an episode titled, “Valentine’s Day”.

Next week on Law & Order SVU, a vigilante squad who calls themselves, The Justice League, take justice into their own hands.  The cops want them to stop.