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If behind every successful woman is a man who tried to stop her, Law & Order: SVU‘s Olivia Benson must be the most successful woman in the universe.
The long list of dudes who’ve tried — and failed!— to take down Benson grows even longer in SVU‘s Season 20 finale, when Rob Miller literally guns for the lieutenant after she suspects him of murdering a teenage girl. Of course he doesn’t succeed in eliminating Benson, but his trial does have one heck of a disruptive outcome: Peter Stone, who reveals he’s kind of into Olivia, announces that he has to leave because he’s “lost perspective” when it comes to the tough-but-fair lieutenant. (Stone’s departure isn’t a huge shock: After SVU was renewed in March, Philip Winchester, who plays the assistant district attorney, announced his plans to exit the procedural ahead of next season.)
But before we get to the ADA’s fraught farewell, a quick recap of the hour:
Olivia, still rattled from Miller showing up at the restaurant where she and Noah were eating, is incensed when she learns that the Feds have dropped the charges against Miller. She runs to Nikki Staines’ apartment, where the lawyer is consoling her daughter: Their dog was poisoned, and Nikki is convinced that Miller did it. Olivia says they need Nikki to testify against him, or at least tell them what was on her phone that might link Miller to the underage sex parties that they’d been investigating, but she refuses and angrily orders Liv to leave.
The case o’ the week interrupts: A naked teenage girl washes up in the Hudson, and from the state of her body, it appears that she was dropped from the sky. Cause of death? Poisoned drugs, and she had sex with a couple of guys before she died. Through the girl’s highly specialized contacts, they track down her parents… and Miller happens to be their family attorney.
As the unit gets closer to being able to connect Miller to the girl’s death, Miller goes as far as to interfere with Noah, making Liv think that her son has been kidnapped. (Turns out, he’s actually safe with Rollins at the station.) The bearded bully confronts Benson outside Noah’s school, warning her that she needs to drop the case if she wants to make life easier for herself.
Liv assembles her team and they realize that there’s not enough evidence to link Miller to the sex parties and the dead girl. Peter Stone is the loudest voice saying they can’t pursue a case. “He’s going to get away with all of this,” Liv tearfully tells him in her office after disclosing Miller’s threats. So Stone secretly meet with Thorne, saying that they’re going to put Miller behind bars by breaking “a couple of rules.”
Through some shady moves, Stone gets a judge to issue a warrant for Miller’s arrest. “You caught the fish, now let me cook it,” the ADA tells a very worried Liv. As the trial unfolds, Stone appears to offer proof that Miller bought the drugs that killed the girl. But then Miller’s lawyer surprises everyone by calling Nikki to the stand and dismantling Stone’s case by getting her to admit that she and the ADA tried to frame Miller. But then Stone uses Nikki’s admission as proof that she was so scared of Miller that she felt she had no other option than to try to make him look guilty.
“Haven’t you learned by now that people who screw with me typically don’t have happy endings?” Miller asks Olivia as he waits by her car that night, subtly threatening her. Olivia beats it to a bar to meet Staines and rips into her for breaking the law, learning in the process that Stone was the mastermind behind the plan. “You could both be disbarred for this,” Liv says, livid. “Sometimes the law is just not good enough,” Nikki counters, “and a threat to my child’s safety is one of those times.” Benson maintains that she is not part of what they’ve cooked up. “Yeah, you are,” Nikki counters.
The jury finds Miller guilty of the teen girl’s death. But when Stone meets up with her outside the courthouse, Liv is really mad. She thanks him, but angrily tells him that she didn’t ask him to do what he did. “I hope you find someone like that again,” he says, adding that “you became more important to me than the case I was trying, and that is not me, Liv.”
Near tears, Stone tells her he has to move on. “I have to go, or risk getting blinded again,” he says, clasping her hands before turning and walking away.
Now it’s your turn. Grade the episode via the poll below, then hit the comments with your thoughts!
That final scene was horrible. Badly written, blank stares, over the top delivery…
Did he run over someone’s pet to get that kind of an exit?
Haha. It wasn’t any worse that Elizabeth Rohm’s Infamous exit from the mothership.
But yeah it was very awkward.
I get why people found Southerlyn so jarring, but as a gay person that was watching it at the time, it made perfect sense. During the season there had been several episodes relating to gay marriage/gay victims and McCoy tended to undermine them using their sexuality to win the case, with Southerlyn disagreeing at every turn.
Well, THIS gay person sees that aspect of her exit as VERY tacked-on by being a desperate attempt at a SHOCKING! exit. And it doesn’t work.
If you’re looking for quality writing on a show like this, well…
whoohoo…more svu!
this was very unoriginal. Almost A.D.A left because they somehow broke the law if I remember correctly.
almost ADA? what does that mean? did you not take away anything from all these years that the law isn’t perfect?
They’re really running through AFAs, aren’t they? Whose next up?
Oops… I meant ADA’s. Why doesn’t this site have an edit button?
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That was a weird episode.. Peter loved or was so blinded as he said with Liv so much he broke the law? say what? Weird exit weird ending meh on we go!
Wasn’t Barba literally saying the same thing before he sacrificed himself for Benson. I wonder who is going to be next season’s sacrificial lamb (or ADA)? The court room scene must have been concocted in the Twilight Zone because it had no ounce of realism to it at all. The judge should have declared a mistrial, once they admitted they tried to frame Miller. They must be paying minimum wages to these writers or Michael Chernuchin had his worst idea ever.
Rule #1 of SVU: Benson can never be with a man for long because she’s a feminist icon.
She’s married to her job. God help her when she reaches mandatory retirement age. They’ll carry her out of her office kicking and screaming.
If they do decide to bring someone back to fill the ADA role, I’d rather it be Diane Neal (Casey Novak) at this point; it’s been by far the longest since we’ve last heard from her. Not since Season 13, the one with both her and Stephanie March (Alex Cabot) and both were just kind of dropped by the end. And Cabot returned for a one-off last year where she’d moved onto something outside the DA’s office again. (To be fair that episode was so bad that it would’ve been better not happening, but given that it did…) Plus, bringing back Cabot has become so overdone, now. I also liked Raul Esparza as Rafael Barba, but given how his exit played out on-screen it’d be much too soon.
All things considered, though, it wouldn’t surprise me if we get another Season 12 treatment; that one had no regular ADA.
As a long time Dick series fan…writing and any further development seems rather stagnant, derivative and frankly regurgitative.
His new FBI series picks up the pace; but still very much the same formula and feel. Good or bad depending on what you as a viewers expectations are i suppose. Police procedurals (imho); needs more creativity beyond headlines and more characters and it’s development. When you only have the same main cast handful…pretty finite and monotonous over time.
At least FBI is rotating out characters before they become part of the decor.
The dramedy The Rookie…lots of supporting cast, not scared to trying new things, more out door scenes, etc.
Dick production is like confined to a set for 10+ seasons…which is probably fine for some.
…love/hate towards these types of shows.
Filler shows if you’re bored. Kind of like watching the news headlines with the usual Dick spin.
WHY was Phillip fired? He was terrific and I’m really sick of the episodes that revolve around Olivia and her kid.
Benson character needs to retire and go be with her kid. That character development is long in the tooth. She was great in the beginning. Phillip shouldve stayed.
There’s is no SVU without Olivia Benson.
However, I’m also tired of ADAs using her as an excuse to quit. Make no mistake Stone didn’t need sacrifice himself for her. He’s never going to confess to what he didn’t because then Miller would be released. However it was out of character because Stone used to be the opposite of her.
I think it’s time SVU had a female ADA. I too miss the days of Cabot and Novak.
ADAs are using her as an excuse to quit? I don’t think they are using her, the writers (and /or producers) are using those ADA characters to make Benson look overly sympathetic to the viewers. In fact, in some episodes they have wandered into the realm of absurdity to push their agenda. “Zero Tolerance” is a perfect example. Benson giving orders to arrest a federal officer and then it goes to trial that Stone for some reason has to prosecute. If there was an ounce of reality here, Dodds (Benson’s superior) would have countermanded her order and probably suspended her, and the Judge would have just thrown the case out. Benson use to be a great character in the early years, but they have changed the format. The show now focuses on the private and professional lives of Benson and the Special Victim’s crime investigation becomes secondary.
I couldn’t agree more. How many more times is there going to be a threat to Noah that will take up the whole show. That is not why I watch.
Yes. Their personal lives should be incidental
When the investigation of a “special victim” takes a backseat to a personal conflict of one of the SVU members, the the show becomes more of a soap opera.
This show has the worst writing on network television yet it keeps getting renewed. They repeat stories left and right. Barba left the same exact way. Committed a crime, had feelings for Olivia, potentially disbarred & awkward goodbye outside the courthouse. They don’t even try anymore. They cancelled the wrong Law & Order when they got rid of the mothership. Besides, sex crimes every week gets old.
Soooooo….you clearly don’t care for this show…and yet you watch it. Perhaps you actually enjoy it more than you thought?
He like most of us, really enjoyed the first few seasons of SVU, it was a top-notch show. But these last few have been an almost total focus on the private and professional life of Olivia Benson or some skewed plot lines on social and political issues. The best seasons of SVU were about the investigation, but now they have reduced the cast to a bare minimum and the investigation is secondary to whatever Benson does. The reason I believe Joe and others (beside myself) still watch it is because we hope to see the same kind of quality from seasons past.
I think the Noah disappearing thing has gotten a little old. I watch these shows for the cases and not for the back stories. They do not interest me. Just my opinion, I know not everyone feels the same way.
Terrible finale.
I was sad how it ended…but, at the same time I loved it!
What Fantasy Land did this courtroom scene come from? Do the writers (and producers) expect us to swallow everything that they write, no matter how unbelievable it is? I am sorry but this showed no common sense. First the federal charges are thrown out, but Stone is allowed to used the recording of Dodds and Miller. The biggest blunder is the judge not calling a mistrial when both Stone and Nikki admit to trying to frame Miller.
Stone was not a good fit from the beginning, and even leaving this way he really doesn’t exhibit any passion. He’s very stoic and he tries, but I’m really glad he’s gone. That’s 2 ADA’s that led us to think Liv would become romantically linked, but I’m glad she didn’t with either one. Now what? Now if you could bring Harry Connick Jr. back, that would be ok by me. They were quite the hot couple!!
Ugh. That derailed what otherwise looked to be a really neat thing going with it rotating between Cabot, Cutter, and Novak – all because Warren “Snuff” Leight decided it needed to start getting soapy on us. BTW, he’s BAAAAACK for next year…!
Speaking of which, I suspect that he’s the real reason why Winchester’s out the door. Raul Esparza finally decided to move on, well after Leight had initially departed, but in his exit he stated that Leight leaving prompted him to think about leaving as well. Along those same lines, Winchester and Chernuchin have been tied to each other ever since Chicago Justice’s one season, which Chernuchin show-ran. Chernuchin peacing out here makes it not-so-surprising that Winchester’s doing the same. (All things considered though, with regards to Winchester – good riddance.)
This show never fails to deliver! Excellent on current issues, honestly the best show on television! Marisa Hargitay along with the entire cast never fails to deliver! Dealing with issues that are clear and present danger.
I hated to see Stone leave, I also hated it when Barba left. 21 years! You don’t get there by not being top rate!
Congratulations
I beg to differ. The ratings have steadily decline over the years, the cast has been reduced to a are minimum, and the writing has become so substandard and unbelievable, it’s a wonder it hasn’t been cancelled. And this is coming from an SVU fan. I think there is a problem at the top, why do they keep rotating in new executive producers? IMO, the last couple of years have been more about quantity, then quality.
I didn’t like the court room scene, too far from reality… Also, too similar to the way Barba left some seasons ago. It was TOO similar, I wish they would have been a little more creative. This season was fantastic, Im sorry they ended it this way!! Hope they surprise us and Stone stays in s 21!
I’m a dedicated SVU fan, but this season’s finale was so confusing. Fortunately, I recorded it and that allowed to replay it a couple of times to figure out the set up. In all of the years that I have watched the entire franchise, I have never had to work this hard to figure out the how’s and why’s. After replaying the episode, I finally did get what the two attorney’s did but it took some figuring. Because I am such a fan, I now get it and am not against the plot, I just wish it was not so convoluted.
I agree! It was so convoluted and it wouldn’t take a law student to know it wouldn’t work. It has a good beginning premise, but the sequence of events that follow is asking the viewers to take a lot for granted. The writers also leave a lot unanswered. Most of us know the judge should have called it a mistrial at the end. If there was anything obvious with this episode, IMO, they must have done it on a shoe string budget.
Ok, I have a lot of opinions about the finale, but more importantly THEY NEVER FOLLOWED UP ON THE MEMO
My question about that memo is where did it originate from? Was that a memo sent down to Dodds from his superiors, telling him to give Benson an ultimatum. Either to straighten up and fly right or she will be terminated because of her past record and of late, breaking protocol. Or is it a memo that Dodds came up with himself, where department heads need to act more responsible (in general)?
IMO, I think Benson should dismissed because of the numerous deaths, she has been responsible for, and also for the numerous failed prosecutions, because she hounded the last two previous ADAs into many premature prosecutions with hardly any direct evidence. In “Zero Tolerance”, she ordered a federal officer arrested and had Stone prosecute him and in “Mea Culpa” she arrested Stone for rape, even thought Stone didn’t even know if he did it or not, and the victim wasn’t even sure, herself also.
Does every ADA who gets assigned to SVU end up going batty? I used to like Stone but he just seemed unhinged here. Bad ending and a really unbelievable trial scene.
This show has become quite boring over the last few episodes, especially, the last two ones… those were really weird. The stories didn’t make much sense. Have the writers lost inspiration? Really disappointed, guys! I’m rethinking whether I should continue watching next season.
If you, myself and many others have noticed that, don’t you think the producers could see that also? So I put almost all the blame on the producers, even the executive producers for putting out such a low quality of show.
shut ur mouths i love this show i would never watch it again if there was no benson she is what makes the show without her is like gunsmoke with no matt dillon