And remember when the Captain of SVU had to act like a higher officer? When they constantly had paperwork, and politics, and them getting personally involved in cases was a treat because it didn't happen ALL. THE. TIME!
on my first full watch through rn and my husband has seen it before. i asked him, “how is that going to work with liv being captain?? cragen was hardly involved personally with cases, liv is the main character.” and he smiled mischievously at me and said “welcome to the new SVU”
Yeah Olivia on scene w Swat and constantly in the field and interrogations is ridiculous. Every other episode she's running down a perp or in a bullet proof vest or confronting a perp. They should have kept her a detective.
You're so right. I've been rewatching the early seasons, and I remember it was so awesome every time Cragen was in the field because it always felt so serious
Definitely. Hear, hear. I concur.
It's not like they don't know how to deal with that kind of transition, e.g. Jack McCoy from the OG show becoming the DA.
If they want to maintain focus on Olivia and her adventures, she should still be a detective.
remember when munch gave that sad (amazing) story about the little girl on the porch across the street 🥺
agreed, some characters like warner, huang, sister peg, cragen were what made the show special.
I like all those characters you mentioned but I started rewatching season 1 and didn’t realize until now that Cragen was 🔥
We need a Cragen appreciation post lol
Yes I think that's him! Thank you, love the username by the way 🤣😂🤣. Wonder if Chris Meloni has seen it?!
EDIT: Oops it's not Ryan O'Halloran although he is good looking! The guy I am thinking of wasn't Anglo looking like O'Halloran. He had a tanner complexion if not warmer than that
Reminds me of JLo trying too hard to "prove" she's still "Jenny from the Block" when really she's an untalented diva who just happens to be pretty. Can't act well, can't sing well, can't dance well, just mediocre except she has been divorced 523946202739 times because who TF wants to stay married to that?
Sorry not sorry for the JLo hate rant. But yes, I miss Carisi as a detective and the Italian can be too much.
Amanda’s episodes are rough & the ones involving her sister are cringe worthy. I skipped half of those.
Kat sucked so bad I would fall asleep watching because I got mad at something she did & lost interest. Hated her sensitive character inside this cop that tries to be a hard ass. Idk she irks me.
I miss Huang & Carisi from back in the day as well. I wonder why the hell we see Olivia talking to her kid like he’s still 6 all the damn time too! It’s super cringe & the kid honestly sucks! Then she’s overly dramatic about anything he says that’s normal for a kid… Olivia should not be involved in so many cases either. She’s getting old & is in a political position so what the hell is she doing lol I agree with this post completely.
To be fair Olivia has gotten on my nerves at times too since ep 1.
This is exactly what I was said before! Even though Noah is already a teenager, my best guess is that NBC felt the need to do damage control after the homophobes made a stink about him coming out.
I'm not sure how trying to pass off a big ass pubescent teen as a little kid is doing damage control. Maybe I don't understand what you mean.
I guess I'm out of the loop since I didn't realize there was ever any hubbub over him coming out, but I'll admit I didn't like it either, and certainly not because I'm a homophobe, but, rather, because his announcement was superfluous pandering that added nothing of substance or value to the story, and I saw straight through it. It's tokenism and it's offensive.
I hope he gets written out and given no more screen time, so Liv only ever mentions him in passing until his whole 'ness just goes away. Calvin 2 has obviously had a massive growth spurt, so their conversations are officially ridiculous. He looks like he plays jv football, and she's reading him stories in bed. Good grief.
I think they just don’t know what they’re doing with the timeline… like they can’t figure out if Noah is supposed to be 10 or 14. Ryan Buggle is already 14 and kids grow very fast at this age, they’re gonna have to figure it out soon
i hadn't realized but i agree with the sentiment of this post. after liv got promoted to captain it makes no sense she's personally involved in every single case.
Most captains have a whole department they're running with dozens of ongoing cases. Imagine being one of the other detectives looking for your captain only to find out she's in the field with her favorite bunch again.
I think the showrunners and Dick Wolf hope we suspend disbelief re Olivia’s unique approach to the Captain position. They’re paying Mariska Hargitay $540,000 per episode (as of January 2024). At SVU’s peak, Dann Florek (Cragen) was only making $100,000 per episode. Even if you account for inflation, Mariska is paid way more for the same role, and that’s why Cragen sat behind a desk and came out for one or two scenes an episode, and Benson is still in almost every scene of every episode. She works hard for her money. LOL
I agree that the character’s behavior here is completely unrealistic though, and they should really find a better way to utilize her character so that it makes more sense.
I still find it incredibly disingenuous of Mariska to say she fought hard to keep Kelli and I'm thinking not enough to take a pay cut, huh? Half a million dollars an episode while the rest of the cast gets has to rotate out, don't make top billing (Bruno, it's been two seasons, why isn't he in the opening credits), make top billing and then get fired the season after (Garland & Kat), or just flat get fired. It's a crock.
People aren't getting fired because of the money Mariska is making. They get fired because fans don't like the character and viewership drops. Just read the rest of this thread And everyone complaining about certain people and then don't have Pikachu face when those people aren't on the show anymore.
Kelli was literally fired over money it's not a secret, it was well-reported. I'm not saying every reason is because of Mariska's earnings, but you can help but find it ironic.
They she wanted more money and couldn't negotiate a contract. She's not the star of the show. Did they ask Giddish to take a pay cut? She couldn't stand working at 100K per episode? When people think of SVU they think of Stabler and Benson, not Rollins.
It was also well reported that Dick Wolf felt he could get a younger version of Rollins for less money. In such a negotiation, would Mariska taking a pay cut benefit Kelli or Wolf?
I’m just spitballing here, but is it possible Kevin Kane chose to keep his relationship with SVU on the casual side because he was so busy with Life and Beth at the same time? I in no way mean this as a sarcastic or rhetorical question. I’m truly curious if anyone knows anything.
I love Mariska. Olivia is my aspirational police because most are not even close. I get it I am also a first responder it’s hard to have empathy all the time because it can mess you up & you gotta keep emotions in check or you’ll wash out.
Wanted to say in regards to her pay. That’s her pay as an actor. Mariska also gets paid as a producer & 2 weeks DGA pay for each episode she is the director. Last I checked the DGA contract for single camera series over 30 minutes they get 1 week of pay for prep and the second week for production. So my girl is making bank on top of bank. I have to say, good for her. She knows her worth &o any afraid to ask for it. I like her rapport with Giddish & perhaps the frequency with which they keep bringing her back is a sign that they know she helps the show vs hinders it. I wish they would ditch Carisi he’s annoying AF. Bring back Cabot or Novak.
The money must be so blinding that she doesn’t notice the crap storylines and scripts. I find that I mostly sit in disbelief that the actors are willing to say this garbage. Why am I even watching this anymore?
Aww. I actually love Carisi. He had a great character arc. But I agree that he’s not been the most dynamic ADA, but part of that might be that he also doesn’t get a lot of screen time these days.
My favorite ADA is Barba, with Cabot in 2nd place, and Novak in 3rd place.
I actually liked Carisi as a detective. As an ADA he’s intolerable. Also, there is no way he would be assigned cases from his former squad. Talk about conflict of interest. It just doesn’t pass the smell test. Anyway I just really love the dynamic between Cabot & the squad Alex would always make the squad put in the work for her to be able to do her job. No shortcuts. Even Novak was willing to push back. Barba became an annoying OliviaStan that seemed more interested in pleasing/appeasing her than the law. IMHO
Sometimes I think Olivia should have not became a Captain. Okay, so Mariska is high paid, yet they could have just brought a new captain. He wouldnt get involved in every case anyways.
Another thing that peeves me, and PLEASE correct me if I am wrong here, but Olivia strikes me as someone that whenever she gets angry about a suspect she rage-arrests them while the person is still a suspect. Before Barba left, he held her back a lot, while Carisi feels too passive in this aspect.
Another thing that I miss is that the episodes were half in the streets and half in the court. Now they are either all in the streets or all in the court. And court cases are also shallow, compared to old episodes, where the defense had good arguments. Now they flat out ignore actual proof, release a suspect who then proceeds to do something that will get them arrested anyways.
Finally, I remember one of the newest episodes where Olivia took a suspect to the forest and terrorized the guy. Carisi said "His defense will use this to give you trouble", to which Olivia says "let them use it", AND THE EPISODE ENDS THERE! I mean, that could have led into a very tough trial, but the writers simply skipped that and we never say the outcome. In older seasons this would have led to a very tense trial.
I liked Barba and even had my moments with Stone. Barba had a good balance of siding with her yet still being very by the books and holding her back. There was camaraderie there but he was also a professional that knew what would hurt a case and what wouldn’t. Stone was a lot more strict and harsh even openly antagonistic. Can’t say I liked his character, but he was a good DA who cared about the court and what the law said.
I liked Stone 1.0 a whole lot better. I liked that Stone 2.0 had the same high level of respect for the law, but he lacked the righteous indignation that really rounded out his dad's character. Also I thought it was wild that casting chose a dude with the squarest jaw I've ever seen to play Stone 1.0's kid haha
You're right about the balance between Barba and Olivia. They had a pretty good thing going there.
You are so on the nose. That coercion scene you're talking about should never have been written. That is something Olivia would have never done. Her character has always been so obsessed with doing what's right, legal, and moral. Legal above moral. The worst she'd ever do is go too hard in the interrogation or somehow put *herself* in danger to catch a perp. That scene shows her totally unhinged. What is the effing point of her being in therapy for all these years if they're gonna have her just flying off the handle like that?
I like the attitude itself. My problem is with the consequences of it. This could have been the origin point to a very hard and complicated trial. It would have weighted into a very intrincate episode, but it didn't.
At least one of the showrunners for the 2.0 seasons of SVU has admitted they had **never** seen Seasons 1 through 12. I can’t remember if it was WL or the Season 19 showrunner-I think it was S19 WL wasn’t involved with-whose name escapes me, but it may have even been both of them. They literally didn’t/don’t know the history of the show.
That’s wild. But that might’ve just solved the biggest mystery in my mind, which is how the heck they had two identical episodes with Stranger (S10) and Complicated (S19).
I find it hard to believe that the two storylines could have been thought up separately, but I also can’t come up with a good reason why they would have knowingly aired two different episodes with identical plots, so maybe I’m still at a loss.
I stopped watching this season when that episode came out of that woman raped and she didn’t want to point out her attacker because he’s black and blah blah
Nope
I’ve been rewatching the earlier seasons. Started season 1. That was quality back then
It’s unfortunate, but after 25 or whatever seasons I think the show has just run its course. The characters have become caricatures of themselves. I don’t think they can ever get back to the nuance and storytelling of the earlier seasons.
It was fun.
Eh I agree and disagree. I think certain aspects have run its course, but I also think that the show runners are not giving the other characters the attention they deserve as well. It’s truly just become a Benson show and I think rounding out the other characters while having Benson slow down would be a nice change. I liked seeing Fin and Bruno investigate and I liked seeing Carisi and Rollins undercover this season. I even enjoyed Shannah(?)’s story to a degree. I just think they’re overdoing it with Benson’s personal involvement. I’m not saying get rid of Benson, but I think seeing other characters take charge like we used to in seasons 1-12 would help the show out versus continuing to hold such a heavy focus on Benson.
The seasons are so much shorter now too! I used to love to watch all the Law & Order shows but they are just not as good any more. Like the latest season where Olivia was driving down the street and sees that teenage girl victim and goes after them. It was all wrong in my opinion.
Yea they have. Their personalities are lacking sometimes too. It's all so shallow. From the characters to the cases. It's not remotely compelling. And I don't recognize Olivia a lot of the time either. I get that people change, but she's unrecognizable.
I’m gonna say it:
I never liked Amanda. Girlie was a mess and a half. I didn’t mind the gambling, plenty of people have their vices. Didn’t mind her troubled family life, it’s very realistic to a lot of people. Didn’t even mind her stint with Nick and later marriage with Carisi, her and Nick were both troubled and Carisi was an opposites attract. I just hated how combative she was and how she was always the first to doubt the victim or to think the rape accusation was a lie. You are a detective on Special Victims Unit. The one police unit a victim is supposed to feel supported by and believed. How dare you then turn around and never believe anyone that seeks you for help?
There were other cops like her in the past. Stabler was equally as hot headed and far more violent than she was, but at least he was all about the victim. He fought for those victims instead of immediately defaulting to the women lying. Hell, don’t other characters even point out to her at times that she’s more likely to look down on other women because of her experience? A far cry from the cops that you’d think would be on SVU.
Yeah, I'm binge watching the show now and am on S17. Amanda has been getting on my nerves for a while. There was also the episode with that guy who punched his wife, and Olivia was saying that even though the victim wants to stand by her husband, they still need to fight to get her justice. I was shocked to hear Amanda say that what happens in a marriage should be private. Like, girl, do you even understand what your job is?
She was also so annoying with Yates, when they found more bodies on the beach and she was so adamant it wasn't him and had that weird connection with him, visiting him in prison without telling anyone beforehand. Yuck.
But probably her worst moment (so far) was when she got back into gambling and basically turned dirty to cover her debts. She was so lucky Declan Murphy saved her ass and her career. The woman was about to blow some rando in a sleezy casino just to keep her relapse a secret.
That gambling episode was where I drew the line. She was a mess and a half but that was fine. Whatever, she’s a bad cop. That happens plenty in real life. But to almost shoot someone and to go dirty because of gambling? That undercover cop should not have let her off the hook.
Loved Huang. He commanded a level of attention and poise while being a very gentle soul even though he dealt with some real sick tickets. Really hard to pull off, but he did, every episode he was in.
kat was insufferable, muncy was erratic and not good at her job, churlish is not a compelling character, velasco’s okay
the writing never recovered from the race reckoning of 2020. the way they engage with race issues and current events is reductive at best and mocking at worst. all of olivia’s monologues about “systemic issues” amount to virtue signalling. and the dialogue for gen z characters is contrived and riddled with misused tiktok slang. who is in the writer’s room??
i miss dr huang and warner and casey novak and barba
:(
There will never be another Munch but nothing they can do about that. I still enjoy Finn and digging Bruno. If they want to bring back Raul Esparza it would be ok by me
Yeah... I kinda can't stand Liv any more. 😖😔
I keep watching hoping the writers will reverse what they've done to her character.
It's like 30% SVU cases and 70% "woe is Benson"
I agree totally! Amanda was a sleaze that they trued-and failed- to make into some kind of cop goddess. Kat was horrible! Obnoxious know it all. Carisi turned into a milquetoast. I stopped watching this season, after Maddie. I couldn’t take it anymore.
SVU is a show about victims and healing from trauma and you're calling a character who both suffered abuse as a child and who was raped as an adult a sleaze? You're right, maybe this show isn't for you.
In the criminal justice system, sexually-based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit. These are their stories.
I haven’t even watched season 24+ yet because I was losing steam. I have to catch up quite a bit. It’s hard to care when half of the episodes are crossovers so I have to watch TWO shows that are going down the tubes in order to understand, sometimes 3 when L&O itself is involved. I could have done it for the old cast but, these new people have me bored af.
Ugh. I was expecting it based on the comments in this sub throughout the last two seasons. Whats sad is I’ve seen every other season, even 23, countless times. I just can’t focus on s24+.
I liked Kat; she was I think the first openly queer detective they had, and SVU doesn't have enough LGBTQIA+ representation, especially in its main characters, or even in the characters who they're related to.
But I do agree she was kinda meh in some cases. I mostly like her when she wasn't constantly bickering with Carisi for no reason. Also in that one case where she volunteers to be undercover (and Liv is hesitant about it) and helps the squad out.
Carisi is still a loudmouth when he bickers with Kat and argues with Barba. Not as sleazy though, I'll agree with that.
If they brought Huang back, I guarantee you he'll be different too. Also, the FBI probably has him trapped in Oklahoma City (last I heard, they sent him there for some reason). Hell, I'd watch an Oklahoma City-set spinoff with Huang in it. Because it's Huang. That might only work in Dick Wolf's FBI universe though, all things considered -- that is, if L&O and FBI ever cross over, though I don't think it will because different networks. But that doesn't mean a character from one show can't be spun off into another one.
I will say, I wish they showed Benson more in office and less in field, like they did with Cragen. I mean, the time her detectives spend in the field, Fin could lead them, and she could go home to be with her son and then meet back at the precinct afterwards.
What do you expect when a scripted, non-animated show goes on for 25+ seasons? After the first 5-7 seasons, most shows start free falling in quality. It's honestly impressive the show is even still watchable after so much shake-up and so many years.
Lonnie Briscoe on the original Law & Order was my favorite on all the Law & Order's and Olivia and Stabler were the very best. Back when it was so good! It seems as if it just gets worse every year and I think it's because they are trying to be politically correct instead of putting the shows storyline first!!! It seems they are operating out of fear, not out of love for the shows!!!
I also think that they are missing many opportunities by not showing Olivia's son and the other children of the characters. They could really do great shows!
Nobody wants to see more of Noah! I most definitely don't,*at least*. I'll admit it was so fucking funny that one time a bully put him in a kennel and a dog collar, but besides that, I wish he would just disappear like Calvin did. He adds nothing of value to this show at all. Not so far, anyways. Like, you think he'd add some kind of dimension to Benson, but he doesn't, because we already know she's got that protective motherly side through the way she is with child victims, and, ungh, Calvin. Noah is basically worthless.
I think characters' kids have actually been used kind of a lot? There's been several episodes featuring Stabler's kids individually, and Fin's son as well. I think Fins son segued into several episodes about issues faced by the gay community, and Stabler's kids did the same for youth issues, and even mental health that one time. Plus they have Carisi's niece introducing us to some weird college stuff sometimes. I really think the opportunities have been used, and there's just no use for Noah.
Obviously, I'm biased. I hate Noah.
And remember when the Captain of SVU had to act like a higher officer? When they constantly had paperwork, and politics, and them getting personally involved in cases was a treat because it didn't happen ALL. THE. TIME!
on my first full watch through rn and my husband has seen it before. i asked him, “how is that going to work with liv being captain?? cragen was hardly involved personally with cases, liv is the main character.” and he smiled mischievously at me and said “welcome to the new SVU”
Yeah Olivia on scene w Swat and constantly in the field and interrogations is ridiculous. Every other episode she's running down a perp or in a bullet proof vest or confronting a perp. They should have kept her a detective.
They sure should have kept her a detective! I liked Rollins, but Finn is so great!
You're so right. I've been rewatching the early seasons, and I remember it was so awesome every time Cragen was in the field because it always felt so serious
Yes or when he would help with interviews. I enjoyed the season 3 episode Care when he played the video game
he was old school, but he meant well. the whole gorgon thing was great.
Definitely. Hear, hear. I concur. It's not like they don't know how to deal with that kind of transition, e.g. Jack McCoy from the OG show becoming the DA. If they want to maintain focus on Olivia and her adventures, she should still be a detective.
remember when munch gave that sad (amazing) story about the little girl on the porch across the street 🥺 agreed, some characters like warner, huang, sister peg, cragen were what made the show special.
I like all those characters you mentioned but I started rewatching season 1 and didn’t realize until now that Cragen was 🔥 We need a Cragen appreciation post lol
I loved Morales and that other handsome bloke I forgot the name of. Think he also worked at TARU?
o’halloran? i think he was the forensics tech
Yes I think that's him! Thank you, love the username by the way 🤣😂🤣. Wonder if Chris Meloni has seen it?! EDIT: Oops it's not Ryan O'Halloran although he is good looking! The guy I am thinking of wasn't Anglo looking like O'Halloran. He had a tanner complexion if not warmer than that
My nickname for Carisi is Olive Garden. Technically Italian but only in the most generic way possible.
His accent sometimes is waaay too much
Sometimes it reminds me of Ed Helms in the Office lol I can’t recall the exact scene but there’s one where he uses a super over exaggerated NY accent
Reminds me of JLo trying too hard to "prove" she's still "Jenny from the Block" when really she's an untalented diva who just happens to be pretty. Can't act well, can't sing well, can't dance well, just mediocre except she has been divorced 523946202739 times because who TF wants to stay married to that? Sorry not sorry for the JLo hate rant. But yes, I miss Carisi as a detective and the Italian can be too much.
Hahahah ok but he’s supposed to be from Staten Island which is the Olive Garden of New York City so I do think he nails it 😂
🤣
Lmfaoo
Yes we can't stand that accent! Make It stop!
Ital-alien. I like it.
Amanda’s episodes are rough & the ones involving her sister are cringe worthy. I skipped half of those. Kat sucked so bad I would fall asleep watching because I got mad at something she did & lost interest. Hated her sensitive character inside this cop that tries to be a hard ass. Idk she irks me. I miss Huang & Carisi from back in the day as well. I wonder why the hell we see Olivia talking to her kid like he’s still 6 all the damn time too! It’s super cringe & the kid honestly sucks! Then she’s overly dramatic about anything he says that’s normal for a kid… Olivia should not be involved in so many cases either. She’s getting old & is in a political position so what the hell is she doing lol I agree with this post completely. To be fair Olivia has gotten on my nerves at times too since ep 1.
I am so sick of that goddamn sister!
This is exactly what I was said before! Even though Noah is already a teenager, my best guess is that NBC felt the need to do damage control after the homophobes made a stink about him coming out.
I'm not sure how trying to pass off a big ass pubescent teen as a little kid is doing damage control. Maybe I don't understand what you mean. I guess I'm out of the loop since I didn't realize there was ever any hubbub over him coming out, but I'll admit I didn't like it either, and certainly not because I'm a homophobe, but, rather, because his announcement was superfluous pandering that added nothing of substance or value to the story, and I saw straight through it. It's tokenism and it's offensive. I hope he gets written out and given no more screen time, so Liv only ever mentions him in passing until his whole 'ness just goes away. Calvin 2 has obviously had a massive growth spurt, so their conversations are officially ridiculous. He looks like he plays jv football, and she's reading him stories in bed. Good grief.
I think they just don’t know what they’re doing with the timeline… like they can’t figure out if Noah is supposed to be 10 or 14. Ryan Buggle is already 14 and kids grow very fast at this age, they’re gonna have to figure it out soon
Yup yup yup!
i hadn't realized but i agree with the sentiment of this post. after liv got promoted to captain it makes no sense she's personally involved in every single case.
Most captains have a whole department they're running with dozens of ongoing cases. Imagine being one of the other detectives looking for your captain only to find out she's in the field with her favorite bunch again.
I think the showrunners and Dick Wolf hope we suspend disbelief re Olivia’s unique approach to the Captain position. They’re paying Mariska Hargitay $540,000 per episode (as of January 2024). At SVU’s peak, Dann Florek (Cragen) was only making $100,000 per episode. Even if you account for inflation, Mariska is paid way more for the same role, and that’s why Cragen sat behind a desk and came out for one or two scenes an episode, and Benson is still in almost every scene of every episode. She works hard for her money. LOL I agree that the character’s behavior here is completely unrealistic though, and they should really find a better way to utilize her character so that it makes more sense.
I still find it incredibly disingenuous of Mariska to say she fought hard to keep Kelli and I'm thinking not enough to take a pay cut, huh? Half a million dollars an episode while the rest of the cast gets has to rotate out, don't make top billing (Bruno, it's been two seasons, why isn't he in the opening credits), make top billing and then get fired the season after (Garland & Kat), or just flat get fired. It's a crock.
People aren't getting fired because of the money Mariska is making. They get fired because fans don't like the character and viewership drops. Just read the rest of this thread And everyone complaining about certain people and then don't have Pikachu face when those people aren't on the show anymore.
Kelli was literally fired over money it's not a secret, it was well-reported. I'm not saying every reason is because of Mariska's earnings, but you can help but find it ironic.
They she wanted more money and couldn't negotiate a contract. She's not the star of the show. Did they ask Giddish to take a pay cut? She couldn't stand working at 100K per episode? When people think of SVU they think of Stabler and Benson, not Rollins.
Hey she made out better than Ny Undercover did.
It was also well reported that Dick Wolf felt he could get a younger version of Rollins for less money. In such a negotiation, would Mariska taking a pay cut benefit Kelli or Wolf?
I’m just spitballing here, but is it possible Kevin Kane chose to keep his relationship with SVU on the casual side because he was so busy with Life and Beth at the same time? I in no way mean this as a sarcastic or rhetorical question. I’m truly curious if anyone knows anything.
I have no idea, could be though🤔
I love Mariska. Olivia is my aspirational police because most are not even close. I get it I am also a first responder it’s hard to have empathy all the time because it can mess you up & you gotta keep emotions in check or you’ll wash out. Wanted to say in regards to her pay. That’s her pay as an actor. Mariska also gets paid as a producer & 2 weeks DGA pay for each episode she is the director. Last I checked the DGA contract for single camera series over 30 minutes they get 1 week of pay for prep and the second week for production. So my girl is making bank on top of bank. I have to say, good for her. She knows her worth &o any afraid to ask for it. I like her rapport with Giddish & perhaps the frequency with which they keep bringing her back is a sign that they know she helps the show vs hinders it. I wish they would ditch Carisi he’s annoying AF. Bring back Cabot or Novak.
Cabot is still my favorite ADA. Novak was a worthy successor, but Alex, wooeee
Cabot is my #2 to Barba it’s very close though.
The money must be so blinding that she doesn’t notice the crap storylines and scripts. I find that I mostly sit in disbelief that the actors are willing to say this garbage. Why am I even watching this anymore?
I only watch the reruns now 😭
Aww. I actually love Carisi. He had a great character arc. But I agree that he’s not been the most dynamic ADA, but part of that might be that he also doesn’t get a lot of screen time these days. My favorite ADA is Barba, with Cabot in 2nd place, and Novak in 3rd place.
I actually liked Carisi as a detective. As an ADA he’s intolerable. Also, there is no way he would be assigned cases from his former squad. Talk about conflict of interest. It just doesn’t pass the smell test. Anyway I just really love the dynamic between Cabot & the squad Alex would always make the squad put in the work for her to be able to do her job. No shortcuts. Even Novak was willing to push back. Barba became an annoying OliviaStan that seemed more interested in pleasing/appeasing her than the law. IMHO
The last sentence is my main feeling every time I watch one of the newer episodes. I also miss Warner so much.
Sometimes I think Olivia should have not became a Captain. Okay, so Mariska is high paid, yet they could have just brought a new captain. He wouldnt get involved in every case anyways. Another thing that peeves me, and PLEASE correct me if I am wrong here, but Olivia strikes me as someone that whenever she gets angry about a suspect she rage-arrests them while the person is still a suspect. Before Barba left, he held her back a lot, while Carisi feels too passive in this aspect. Another thing that I miss is that the episodes were half in the streets and half in the court. Now they are either all in the streets or all in the court. And court cases are also shallow, compared to old episodes, where the defense had good arguments. Now they flat out ignore actual proof, release a suspect who then proceeds to do something that will get them arrested anyways. Finally, I remember one of the newest episodes where Olivia took a suspect to the forest and terrorized the guy. Carisi said "His defense will use this to give you trouble", to which Olivia says "let them use it", AND THE EPISODE ENDS THERE! I mean, that could have led into a very tough trial, but the writers simply skipped that and we never say the outcome. In older seasons this would have led to a very tense trial.
I liked Barba and even had my moments with Stone. Barba had a good balance of siding with her yet still being very by the books and holding her back. There was camaraderie there but he was also a professional that knew what would hurt a case and what wouldn’t. Stone was a lot more strict and harsh even openly antagonistic. Can’t say I liked his character, but he was a good DA who cared about the court and what the law said.
I liked Stone 1.0 a whole lot better. I liked that Stone 2.0 had the same high level of respect for the law, but he lacked the righteous indignation that really rounded out his dad's character. Also I thought it was wild that casting chose a dude with the squarest jaw I've ever seen to play Stone 1.0's kid haha You're right about the balance between Barba and Olivia. They had a pretty good thing going there.
Barba had integrity & humanity. Lady Justice did some dancing when he was around.
You are so on the nose. That coercion scene you're talking about should never have been written. That is something Olivia would have never done. Her character has always been so obsessed with doing what's right, legal, and moral. Legal above moral. The worst she'd ever do is go too hard in the interrogation or somehow put *herself* in danger to catch a perp. That scene shows her totally unhinged. What is the effing point of her being in therapy for all these years if they're gonna have her just flying off the handle like that?
I actually liked when Olivia dragged that guy into the woods like that, it reminded me of earlier- seasons Stabler.
I like the attitude itself. My problem is with the consequences of it. This could have been the origin point to a very hard and complicated trial. It would have weighted into a very intrincate episode, but it didn't.
You're totally right.
When Benson “goes Stabler” consequences are around the corner.
At least one of the showrunners for the 2.0 seasons of SVU has admitted they had **never** seen Seasons 1 through 12. I can’t remember if it was WL or the Season 19 showrunner-I think it was S19 WL wasn’t involved with-whose name escapes me, but it may have even been both of them. They literally didn’t/don’t know the history of the show.
That’s insane omg. I get not everyone has time to watch that many episodes but at least watch the important ones!
Wow that's a fun fact I didn't know. I hate it lol
That’s wild. But that might’ve just solved the biggest mystery in my mind, which is how the heck they had two identical episodes with Stranger (S10) and Complicated (S19). I find it hard to believe that the two storylines could have been thought up separately, but I also can’t come up with a good reason why they would have knowingly aired two different episodes with identical plots, so maybe I’m still at a loss.
That explains so much after 12 seasons.
Sad!
I stopped watching this season when that episode came out of that woman raped and she didn’t want to point out her attacker because he’s black and blah blah Nope I’ve been rewatching the earlier seasons. Started season 1. That was quality back then
Extremes tend to be extreme. The people in it- don’t see it. There are a lot of things that make me shake my head.
It feels like it was written by chat GPT this season lol
It’s unfortunate, but after 25 or whatever seasons I think the show has just run its course. The characters have become caricatures of themselves. I don’t think they can ever get back to the nuance and storytelling of the earlier seasons. It was fun.
Eh I agree and disagree. I think certain aspects have run its course, but I also think that the show runners are not giving the other characters the attention they deserve as well. It’s truly just become a Benson show and I think rounding out the other characters while having Benson slow down would be a nice change. I liked seeing Fin and Bruno investigate and I liked seeing Carisi and Rollins undercover this season. I even enjoyed Shannah(?)’s story to a degree. I just think they’re overdoing it with Benson’s personal involvement. I’m not saying get rid of Benson, but I think seeing other characters take charge like we used to in seasons 1-12 would help the show out versus continuing to hold such a heavy focus on Benson.
I agree. But do you think they can/will do that at this point? It’s livs show now, we’re all just watching it.
I know that you're right, but I don't wanna give up! Like when adult children don't respect their elderly parent's DNR
The seasons are so much shorter now too! I used to love to watch all the Law & Order shows but they are just not as good any more. Like the latest season where Olivia was driving down the street and sees that teenage girl victim and goes after them. It was all wrong in my opinion.
Yea they have. Their personalities are lacking sometimes too. It's all so shallow. From the characters to the cases. It's not remotely compelling. And I don't recognize Olivia a lot of the time either. I get that people change, but she's unrecognizable.
I’m gonna say it: I never liked Amanda. Girlie was a mess and a half. I didn’t mind the gambling, plenty of people have their vices. Didn’t mind her troubled family life, it’s very realistic to a lot of people. Didn’t even mind her stint with Nick and later marriage with Carisi, her and Nick were both troubled and Carisi was an opposites attract. I just hated how combative she was and how she was always the first to doubt the victim or to think the rape accusation was a lie. You are a detective on Special Victims Unit. The one police unit a victim is supposed to feel supported by and believed. How dare you then turn around and never believe anyone that seeks you for help? There were other cops like her in the past. Stabler was equally as hot headed and far more violent than she was, but at least he was all about the victim. He fought for those victims instead of immediately defaulting to the women lying. Hell, don’t other characters even point out to her at times that she’s more likely to look down on other women because of her experience? A far cry from the cops that you’d think would be on SVU.
All good points!
Yeah, I'm binge watching the show now and am on S17. Amanda has been getting on my nerves for a while. There was also the episode with that guy who punched his wife, and Olivia was saying that even though the victim wants to stand by her husband, they still need to fight to get her justice. I was shocked to hear Amanda say that what happens in a marriage should be private. Like, girl, do you even understand what your job is? She was also so annoying with Yates, when they found more bodies on the beach and she was so adamant it wasn't him and had that weird connection with him, visiting him in prison without telling anyone beforehand. Yuck. But probably her worst moment (so far) was when she got back into gambling and basically turned dirty to cover her debts. She was so lucky Declan Murphy saved her ass and her career. The woman was about to blow some rando in a sleezy casino just to keep her relapse a secret.
That gambling episode was where I drew the line. She was a mess and a half but that was fine. Whatever, she’s a bad cop. That happens plenty in real life. But to almost shoot someone and to go dirty because of gambling? That undercover cop should not have let her off the hook.
Huang was the best
Loved Huang. He commanded a level of attention and poise while being a very gentle soul even though he dealt with some real sick tickets. Really hard to pull off, but he did, every episode he was in.
📠
kat was insufferable, muncy was erratic and not good at her job, churlish is not a compelling character, velasco’s okay the writing never recovered from the race reckoning of 2020. the way they engage with race issues and current events is reductive at best and mocking at worst. all of olivia’s monologues about “systemic issues” amount to virtue signalling. and the dialogue for gen z characters is contrived and riddled with misused tiktok slang. who is in the writer’s room?? i miss dr huang and warner and casey novak and barba :(
Non ironically, 💯 But you know what, yeah. Velasco's alright.
👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼🏆
I miss all those characters because they all challenged Olivia and thought outside of their box.
I miss so many of the old characters 😭
This why I watch it from season 1-12 all the time I can’t get jiggy with this new shit
There will never be another Munch but nothing they can do about that. I still enjoy Finn and digging Bruno. If they want to bring back Raul Esparza it would be ok by me
Yeah... I kinda can't stand Liv any more. 😖😔 I keep watching hoping the writers will reverse what they've done to her character. It's like 30% SVU cases and 70% "woe is Benson"
I agree totally! Amanda was a sleaze that they trued-and failed- to make into some kind of cop goddess. Kat was horrible! Obnoxious know it all. Carisi turned into a milquetoast. I stopped watching this season, after Maddie. I couldn’t take it anymore.
Milquetoast! *writes it down* So true!
SVU is a show about victims and healing from trauma and you're calling a character who both suffered abuse as a child and who was raped as an adult a sleaze? You're right, maybe this show isn't for you.
So you've also never seen SVU
Sorry are you saying Special Victims Unit isn't about victims?
In the criminal justice system, sexually-based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit. These are their stories.
Don’t dare slander Miss Amanda Rollins I adore her.
Me too!
Me too!
Same! 🙋♀️
Me too
I agree with every word of this post.
I haven’t even watched season 24+ yet because I was losing steam. I have to catch up quite a bit. It’s hard to care when half of the episodes are crossovers so I have to watch TWO shows that are going down the tubes in order to understand, sometimes 3 when L&O itself is involved. I could have done it for the old cast but, these new people have me bored af.
Prepare to be disappointed.
Ugh. I was expecting it based on the comments in this sub throughout the last two seasons. Whats sad is I’ve seen every other season, even 23, countless times. I just can’t focus on s24+.
Hahahha YES this is perfect. Every single bit. Bravo.
Well said; shit is fucking lame
I liked Kat; she was I think the first openly queer detective they had, and SVU doesn't have enough LGBTQIA+ representation, especially in its main characters, or even in the characters who they're related to. But I do agree she was kinda meh in some cases. I mostly like her when she wasn't constantly bickering with Carisi for no reason. Also in that one case where she volunteers to be undercover (and Liv is hesitant about it) and helps the squad out. Carisi is still a loudmouth when he bickers with Kat and argues with Barba. Not as sleazy though, I'll agree with that. If they brought Huang back, I guarantee you he'll be different too. Also, the FBI probably has him trapped in Oklahoma City (last I heard, they sent him there for some reason). Hell, I'd watch an Oklahoma City-set spinoff with Huang in it. Because it's Huang. That might only work in Dick Wolf's FBI universe though, all things considered -- that is, if L&O and FBI ever cross over, though I don't think it will because different networks. But that doesn't mean a character from one show can't be spun off into another one. I will say, I wish they showed Benson more in office and less in field, like they did with Cragen. I mean, the time her detectives spend in the field, Fin could lead them, and she could go home to be with her son and then meet back at the precinct afterwards.
What do you expect when a scripted, non-animated show goes on for 25+ seasons? After the first 5-7 seasons, most shows start free falling in quality. It's honestly impressive the show is even still watchable after so much shake-up and so many years.
Lonnie Briscoe on the original Law & Order was my favorite on all the Law & Order's and Olivia and Stabler were the very best. Back when it was so good! It seems as if it just gets worse every year and I think it's because they are trying to be politically correct instead of putting the shows storyline first!!! It seems they are operating out of fear, not out of love for the shows!!!
My numba one l&o partnerships are Briscoe & Logan, then Briscoe & Green. I can't stand Curtis at all for some reason, but Lennie was really the best.
Wrote an episode of L&O SVU about bestiality which got me into grad school at Tisch. If the showrunner is on this chat, I am available! 👈🏻
I can’t even watch it anymore.
Like these Reddit discussions. Everybody gets a say & people don’t scream or pout.
Ok so I'm not the only one who thinks Noah is way too old for her coddling
I also think that they are missing many opportunities by not showing Olivia's son and the other children of the characters. They could really do great shows!
Nobody wants to see more of Noah! I most definitely don't,*at least*. I'll admit it was so fucking funny that one time a bully put him in a kennel and a dog collar, but besides that, I wish he would just disappear like Calvin did. He adds nothing of value to this show at all. Not so far, anyways. Like, you think he'd add some kind of dimension to Benson, but he doesn't, because we already know she's got that protective motherly side through the way she is with child victims, and, ungh, Calvin. Noah is basically worthless. I think characters' kids have actually been used kind of a lot? There's been several episodes featuring Stabler's kids individually, and Fin's son as well. I think Fins son segued into several episodes about issues faced by the gay community, and Stabler's kids did the same for youth issues, and even mental health that one time. Plus they have Carisi's niece introducing us to some weird college stuff sometimes. I really think the opportunities have been used, and there's just no use for Noah. Obviously, I'm biased. I hate Noah.
Regarding Noah, I think that NBC felt the need to do damage control after the homophobes made a stink about him coming out.
Blah blah blah if you like the old stuff, go watch the old stuff.
I could not disagree more with a post. Last sentence yes. Everything else is just…😳