"Law and Order" Diary

What a sick, twisted, interesting hour "SVU" produced--this past Thursday.

The episode--"Welcome to the Pedo Motel"--touched on something that many people think about. (The topic was also the topic of a Russell Banks novel a few years ago.) Here's the question. What kind of life should be possible for a convicted pedophile?

As Banks (I think) noted, the laws are so severe, the housing options are so limited, that many people convicted of this particular crime end up homeless, sleeping within the shadows of an overpass. SVU boldly observes that recidivism rates, in this context, are really quite low, much lower than people think. (Olivia Benson shrugs. "No one pays attention to that fact.")

At its best, SVU makes us aware of complexity. So, in the "Pedo Motel," there is one guy who clearly doesn't deserve the hardships that have been dumped on him. At the same time, there's another guy, a creep, who spends his evenings watching "Bad News Bears," and not for any healthy reason. (Leave it to SVU to trudge into that murky terrain.)

Anyway, the actual case in "Pedo Motel" is sensational and more than a little bit silly. A murder occurs; we think the killer may be a teenager. In fact, the killer is a crazed, possessive father, inventing a kind of "Romeo and Juliet" scenario for 2021.

Absurd? Sure. But the characters! The vigilante motorcycle gang. The suspiciously wealthy parole officer, in his mansion on Long Island. The outcast who fantasizes about his own curvy aunt (now deceased?).....

Nothing gets me hooked like SVU.

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