26 replies to this topic

[Arjumand]

When a promising singer, Mischa Green, is attacked by her hip-hop star boyfriend, the detectives and ADA Barba work to build a case. Despite Detective Benson's efforts, Green refuses to aid in the prosecution and continues to put herself in harm's way. As the case spirals into a media frenzy, Mischa and those close to her pay the ultimate price.

After last week's engrossing episode, this was kinda dull to me. Especially with the really obvious Rihanna/Chris Brown connection - to be honest, I don't even care anymore, so I'm kinda surprised to see it still be relevant.

The most offensive thing for me in this episode, was that the SVU peeps actually gave Perez Hilton airtime - he's scum.

I liked Munch as the stand-in Captain, though. And Finn was awesome as usual. In fact, everyone was pretty much on their A-game, except the case was so bleurgh to me. Guys, don't get caught up in the celebrity circus. All that shit has become so ubiquitous nowadays, it really doesn't need to be in SVU too. Though I suppose this is SVU's version of a very special episode, or something.

I love the title though, dripping with irony. It would have been wonderful as soundtrack to the last part, much better than whatever tiny fake Rihanna was singing.

[Rockville]

I liked Munch as the stand-in Captain, though. And Finn was awesome as usual. In fact, everyone was pretty much on their A-game

Agreed--best thing about the episode. Great to see the ensemble shine, especially the old hands.

We can only hope someone out there gets the messages about dating violence and sexism and celebrity/hero worship; it was pretty heavy-handed but also unfortunately realistic.

[Spartan Girl]

Saw the ending coming the minute the little girl was singing in the opening.

Battered women's syndrome is one thing, but to cover for a murderer who killed your friend/mentor and to look the family in the face and lie to them about what happened is just mind-boggling. So as much as it pains me to admit it, I didn't have a lot of sympathy left for the victim at the end.

Olivia's grim resignation at the end was perfect: "We wait for the inevitable."

[psychoticstate]

Battered women's syndrome is one thing, but to cover for a murderer who killed your friend/mentor and to look the family in the face and lie to them about what happened is just mind-boggling. So as much as it pains me to admit it, I didn't have a lot of sympathy left for the victim at the end.

Spartan Girl, this is exactly how I felt. I hate to say that I actually was verbally calling Misha a dumb bitch. I would never say that anyone deserves to be beaten or killed but come on, girl! If your friend/mentor is killed by your abusive POS "boyfriend" because he was trying to protect you, how on earth could you go back to the POS? I had tons of sympathy for Brass, who lost his life for NOTHING since Misha went back to Chris Brown wanna-be anyhow and then ended up dead, but absolutely none for Misha.

I think it would have been more understandable if Chris Brown wanna-be had been the one who found Misha and made her a star (of course she would have had to have been discovered as a teen but still).

I was more floored by the three or so people in the recording studio that stood around and looked away while Chris Brown wanna-be was beating her up. Really?

And Misha was 19? Um, okay.

[TD3000]

The episode seemed to fly by to me, which maybe spoke to the relative dullness of this storyline. I coulda swore that the Chris Brown character got killed in the previews, so I was expecting Mischa to kill him in the end. It's typical Law & Order ripping from headlines (sort of an old story, but sort of new too since Brown and Rihanna just recently got back together), but I half-wonder if someone's hoping that the real Rihanna will get the message and get out of the relationship before something really bad happens. I love Munch being around. It seemed like SVU was trying to go with this back-and-forth deal of Munch and Cragen alternating episodes as the man in charge, but Munch was gone for extended periods of time.

[tany1819]

I was more floored by the three or so people in the recording studio that stood around and looked away while Chris Brown wanna-be was beating her up. Really?

Yep. I couldn't get past this at all. After that scene nothing about this felt remotely believable.

[fastiller]

Sue Simmons! I hope she becomes NYC-based TV shows "go-to" news reader.

[Bunny LaJoya]

I think it's totally believeable.
I think a lot of women have been harrassed/hurt/abused by men and most people don't do anything about it.

I half-wonder if someone's hoping that the real Rihanna will get the message and get out of the relationship before something really bad happens.

I kind of felt like this whole episode was the SVU writers desperate for Rihanna to get the message, too. It sounds funny, but it obviously couldn't have been more heavy-handed, or specific, or absolutely about her.

[misterbfd]

Chris Brown/Caleb Bryant.

But I love how the writers covered their asses way early in the episode by having Munch announce: "These two should go on a double-date with Chris Brown and Rhianna".

[The Wild Sow]

It's typical Law & Order ripping from headlines (sort of an old story, but sort of new too since Brown and Rihanna just recently got back together)

Huh, Mischa went from Rihanna to Natalie Wood -- damn, if they'd waited a couple more weeks he could have shot her through a closed bathroom door in mistake for a burglar (on a boat?!) Not just ripped from the headlines; ripped from ALL the headlines!

And don't they listen to Munch at all? He out and out told them that the more they harass Chrisaleb the more they push RiMischa toward him, so what do they do? Get Jay-Brass involved, and go running their dumb asses down to the party (where RiMischa invited him!) to harass him some more! Now, if Mischanna wanted to get back together with the guy, she could have, and should have, gone to court and gotten the restraining order lifted so he could come to the party openly.

Yes, of course he would have eventually hit her again, but probably not that night, and she'd hopefully smarten up the next time, or the time after that (maybe.) But the innocent party (Brass!) would still be alive. Stupid cops!

[cmm226]

I come away from this episode with 3 words: "what an idiot." I too have no sympathy for Mischa. If she was willing to lie for a bf who killed her mentor and champion right in front of her, then there's no helping her.

Let her do what she wants, and deal with her own consequences.

[kraft]

Classic domestc violence scenario...Ilove you...I assault you....I repent...I give you presents...I love you...I assault you...

A high percentage of domestic violence victims end up dead. Remember Nicole Brown Simpson?

[TD3000]

The most offensive thing for me in this episode, was that the SVU peeps actually gave Perez Hilton airtime - he's scum.

Also, Wendy Williams, who has her fair share of detractors, was on there too.

Chris Brown/Caleb Bryant.

Maybe a coincidence, but Caleb Bryant doesn't sound all that far away from Kobe Bryant (SVU actually did make a reference to that case several years ago).

[catlover79]

Easily the best part of the ep was MUNCH!!! It's about freakin' time they gave Richard Belzer something to do.

Also, there were some pretty impressive guest stars - like Charles Malik Whitfield as the mentor, "Brass" - every time I see him I remember him as Otis Williams in the Temptations miniseries!! I would have liked to see a bit more of Dave Navarro (from the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the ex-Mr. Carmen Electra) as the engineer.

Looks like it will be a rerun next week (no previews were shown during the end credits).

[txhorns79]

But I love how the writers covered their asses way early in the episode by having Munch announce: "These two should go on a double-date with Chris Brown and Rhianna".

I don't think that was really meant as "ass covering," given they said that the abusive boyfriend and his victim were on par with them. I mean, it isn't as though anyone from the show has tried to deny what the basis for the plotline of this episode was.

Yep. I couldn't get past this at all. After that scene nothing about this felt remotely believable.

I don't know about this. I think there are people that are such sycophants to celebs and other prominent people that they will turn a blind eye to awful behavior if they think that saying something will threaten their access to that person.

[psychoticstate]

I think there are people that are such sycophants to celebs and other prominent people that they will turn a blind eye to awful behavior if they think that saying something will threaten their access to that person.

Maybe so but I think it's horrible that basic human instinct didn't kick one for one of these people to jump up and try to help someone that was having the crap kicked out of her five feet in front of them. I think it would have made more (twisted) sense if the abuse was happening in the next room, where the witnesses could hear it but not see it.

I wish the writers had chosen to have Misha testify against Chris Brown wanna-be after Brass was killed and then he got to her before she got on the stand. I think that would have made more sense but JMO.

[Bunny LaJoya]

A high percentage of domestic violence victims end up dead. Remember Nicole Brown Simpson?

Reeva Steenkamp.... Have certainly been thinking about Nicole a lot since this shooting occurred.

[vinyl]

I don't know about this. I think there are people that are such sycophants to celebs and other prominent people that they will turn a blind eye to awful behavior if they think that saying something will threaten their access to that person.

I think some of these people want to continue to work in the studio, so that's why they don't say anything, so they keep their jobs. It's truly awful, but it happens.

[minamurray78]

Except for the L&O staff and the mentor guy, every other character in this episode disgusted me. Well, I guess I can give Misha a pass for being too young and otherwise sorrounded by a pack of wolves who clearly didn't have her best interest at heart at all.Gross.
Once her mentor was dead, there was noone else left who actually cared enough about her to try and make her see.
And that other girl, flirting with Caleb at the begining, and having her nails done while talking to Amaro, when she went all "I know when to keep my mouth shut", ugh, no words. She didn't give a shit that Caleb beat the crap out of a woman, if it meant she could be the next girlfriend.
Gross, gross, gross.

Edited by minamurray78, Mar 1, 2013 @ 9:14 PM.

[tvallthetime]

Were those the best actors they could find to play popstars? Such horrible acting.

[LizDC]

I was amused by Mariska's line delivery when Olivia was trying to convince Misha to testify agsinst Caleb. It sounded like Mariska thought she was in some kind of "Godfather" type movie when she leaned in close to Misha and said about Brass, "He had a little boy." If anyone has it on their DVR, go back and listen to it - it's strange.

[MorbidPet]

Saw the episode today, got it yesterday but I was actually dreading to see it which is really unusal for me since I love SVU.02. Anywho didn't hate it as much as I thought I would actually even though it did have too little of Fin/Rollins bad ass partnership.

I too agree the guest actors - except Tambor though, love Tambor - fell flat. But then I thought about it and, with the risk of sounding snobbish, doesn't rap artists/R&B/bling bling artists come across like this in real life too? I mean I've seen interviews with Rihanna and Lil Kim and can't recall his name now but I just caught myself thinking then that not much brain there just attitude. They might be brilliant on stage, I won't take that away from any of 'em, but they do seem stuck up in real life. I've loved Faith Evans music for a long time but then I saw her on tv and was geesh. Okay I'm going to go change my screen name to Ms Sniffy now.
This of course does't excuse getting bad actors for this ep if they were in fact bad and not just playing bad. I wish at least Micha could have been portrayed with some more heart & brain.

Now looking forward to seeing Cassidy again next ep. I'm so hoping he's 'the thing' and not Barba as it feels like they're hinting to more and more every ep he's in. I'm 'eww' just thinking about the possibility of that. Eww.

[Enigma13]

Maybe so but I think it's horrible that basic human instinct didn't kick one for one of these people to jump up and try to help someone that was having the crap kicked out of her five feet in front of them.

Yeah, I think my problem with this episode was that they took the Chris Brown/Rihanna thing and amped it up too much, to the point where Caleb was saying ridiculously stereotypical awful things like "get me my Jew". If the initial assault had happened in private it would have worked a lot better. Same with the nightclub shooting - I absolutely don't buy that out of a dozen or more eyewitnesses, nobody would say that they'd seen CB shoot Brass. Like, not even the nightclub staff, who have nothing to lose from pissing off CB? I also think it would have worked better if the storyline wasn't so compressed - if they'd shown it escalate over the span of a few months and not five days or whatever it was.

Olivia and Barba were walking super close together in that scene where they went and got coffee.

Oh, and no mention of Rollins' recent Crazy Sister issues? I'm pretty sure we'd seen her in those clothes before even though they supposedly got stolen by Kim - or at least that adorable polka dot top that I want for myself. (I know, supreme nitpick.)

[jcbrown]

I keep thinking that I didn't watch this week's epi yet and then I come here and remember it's just that it was completely forgettable. The crazy sister episode was so good--come on SVU writers, more of that and less of this poorly ripped from the headlines stuff.

[Kel Varnsen]

so I was expecting Mischa to kill him in the end.

SVU writers have totally ruined me for a straight up ending, because I was totally expecting Mischa to be setting him up (especially when she asked him about the text) and was going to shoot him in revenge for Brass, and set it up so that it was a self defence/battered spouse thing.

[The Wild Sow]

SVU writers have totally ruined me for a straight up ending, because I was totally expecting Mischa to be setting him up (especially when she asked him about the text) and was going to shoot him in revenge for Brass, and set it up so that it was a self defence/battered spouse thing.

Meh, too close to what Kim did to what's-his-face last week! But I was also hoping he'd be the one tossed off the boat. Tall skinny young guy like him, got to have negative buoyancy!

[coffeeforme2]

Would really, really love to know what Munch said to that lawyer to make him storm out of his office that way....