This week on Law & Order: SVU, when a 13-year-old girl is hesitant to say who impregnated her, the detectives believe she may have been raped.
Their investigation leads them to the sons of a powerful political couple and their housekeeper.
Ripped from the Headlines
It’s pretty obvious which real-life couple Andrew and Kathleen Raines are supposed to represent, especially when you consider that the housekeeper and/or her son may know more than they’re letting on. (Side note: Kyle MacLachlan, who plays the politician, should be familiar to SVU viewers, as he played a doctor seeking revenge for his son’s death several seasons ago.)
It’s disappointing Andrew and Kathleen don’t get as much screen time as I, and I’m sure other viewers, would like. The episode moves too slowly for my liking and ends too abruptly. Yes, the detectives uncover clues as they go along, and you can see the writing on the wall (that the housekeeper’s son is the illegitimate child of the politician and the housekeeper), but I want to see more of the fallout between the couple. Maybe that’s because the Schwarzenegger scandal was so shocking. Is it weird to say that it feels like the episode doesn’t do the real-life story justice?
Daddy Issues
I don’t know why the episode doesn’t just focus on the couple. Oh, wait, because it’s not a true SVU episode if there isn’t a rape and/or murder. Silly me. But the girl getting pregnant seems insignificant.
Yeah, she was impregnated by the Raines’ son (Tripp), and yeah, the housekeeper’s son (Arturo) was the one who ended up killing him out of jealousy (he just wants his dad to love him!) and rage (how dare you tell my friend, the girl YOU impregnated, to get an abortion?!) He’s been carrying the knowledge of being the bastard son on his shoulders for a while since his mother couldn’t bear to tell him the truth. Poor kid.
Are the newbies fitting in?
It’s episode 3 and here’s what we know so far about the new detectives:
Nada.
OK, that’s not necessarily true. We know Amaro speaks Spanish! So he MUST go along with Olivia to speak to a Hispanic victim. How ever did the detectives communicate with Spanish speakers before Amaro arrived?
And Rollins? Is she a detective or a researcher? All she’s good for so far is being savvy at the computer and digging up files. Are my expectations too high? I guess I’m giving Amaro a hard time though, because we do see that he’s a bit of a smooth-talker and slightly more calm than Olivia when someone is resisting a request, as in this episode when he successfully convinces a floral shop employee to show them who ordered the flowers that were in the pregnant girl’s room.
Tune in to Law and Order: SVU next week to see if we learn any more about these newbs … and for another grisly case, of course.
Esther Gim
Contributing Writer
(Image courtesy of NBC)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
