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Policing the Police

 After twenty-plus seasons, "Law and Order: SVU" is still semi-consistently gripping. It's a great comfort to my family that new episodes are happening basically every week, even in the midst of Covid. 

(Marc and I--and my mom--are all really puzzled by the show's treatment of face-masks. I'm sure much ink has been spilled on this topic. The directors seem to want to have their cake and eat it, too: We care about face-masks! But we want you to see Mariska's stunning face in every scene! I'm reminded of the issues around Bane, and Bane's costume, in "The Dark Knight Rises.")

A standout in the current season was the opener, which took on both Covid and the Central Park Birder disaster. (Why not?) Olivia Benson feels she handled the Central Park issue just fine: She listened to the problem, noted that one of the two characters had had prior arrests, and acted accordingly. But, later, a superior coolly points out that Olivia investigated *just* the background of an African-American man; she didn't think to look into the life of the white lady making the complaint. The superior isn't wrong.

(Face-masks pop in and out. Discussions about secret Covid sex parties surface. A photo of Ruth Bader Ginsburg gets some subtle screentime....)

Another episode I liked very much (Marc disagreed) was one that concerned three versions of a single story. An assault seems to occur; the victim and predator later meet, again, on shaky ground. In one of the stories, the predator seems to have really reflected on his bad actions. (But when do we know if a person is truthful?) In another story, a shocking post-assault seduction occurs. In a third story, the victim discovers that her past trauma has colored *every part* of her life--not just the parts connected to the predator.

This is a bit overly schematic, but I liked the twists, and I'm fond of the writers' use of detail. For example, one victim turns on her faux-repentant predator when she notices the predator plagiarizing from an "impact statement" in front of some restorative-justice authorities. ("If he could plagiarize so glibly....has he really learned anything?") And I love the persistent attention to technology: role-playing, video blogs, "American Idol"-type media presentations....

We just really enjoy this show.

P.S. Three cheers for the Annabella Sciorra story! I wondered if she became involved in part because of her specific interest in justice--an interest that may have grown out of her Harvey Weinstein ordeal.
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