"Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" Identity (2005)

User Rating:

8.7/10   

Director:

Rick Wallace

Writers:

Dawn DeNoon (writer) and
Lisa Marie Petersen (writer)

TV Series:

"Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (1999)

Original Air Date:

18 January 2005 (Season 6, Episode 12)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

Plot:

When a murdered gang member is linked to a sexual assault, Benson and Stabler find neither the alleged victim nor the alleged killer to be who they think.

Plot Keywords:

Detective John Munch | Nun | Detective | Victim | Rape

Cast

Christopher Meloni	...	Detective Elliot Stabler
Mariska Hargitay	...	Detective Olivia Benson
Richard Belzer	...	Detective John Munch
Diane Neal	...	A.D.A. Casey Novak
Ice-T	...	Detective Odafin "Fin" Tutuola
B.D. Wong	...	Dr. George Huang (credit only)
Dann Florek	...	Captain Donald Cragen
Mary Stuart Masterson	...	Dr. Rebecca Hendrix
Peter Firth	...	Dr. Preston Blair
Reiley McClendon	...	Logan Stanton / Lindsay Stanton
Hillary B. Smith	...	Mrs. Stanton
John Bolger	...	Mr. Stanton
Tamara Tunie	...	Dr. Melinda Warner
Charlayne Woodard	...	Sister Peg
Denise Ramirez	...	Claudia Hernandez

Company:

Wolf Films

Trivia:

Loosely based on the true story of David Reimer, a Canadian man who was raised as a girl after a botched surgical procedure and on the advice from a therapist, Dr. John Money.

Quotes:

Detective Olivia Benson: Do you realize that disseminating pornography to a minor is a felony?
Dr. Preston Blair: I showed them art books.
Elliot Stabler: Doc, I saw the art in your office, and even I was uncomfortable at how many phalluses were on display.
Dr. Preston Blair: That's because you're a bourgeois American, completely uptight about sex. It's what screws up your children and turns them into sex offenders.
Elliot Stabler: You lost me at "bourgeois".

Now this was one awesome episode

It's amazing how episodes in the "Law and Order" series manage to start with one crime and then follow different threads to end up with lots of details and often a confusing issue. I really enjoy watching it. In this case, a man fell down off a building, hit a car and died. Due to injuries found in his genital region, the "SVU" squad was called in to investigate who had apparently pushed him off the building and why.

From there, discovery of fresh graffiti on the building leads them to a rebellious teenager, Logan, who denies all responsibility for either crime, even when his DNA is found at the crime scene. To make things harder, his twin sister Lindsay confirms he was at their home all night.

Things start to get even more complicated. I won't say too much, just ask that you watch the episode! It was very clever. I suspected one of the "twists" regarding Lindsay and Logan as I was familiar with the true story it was based on. Reiley McClendon's acting was stunningly, believably good.

And the ending...what an ending. I loved it. It was so clever. And really makes you think. The episode was a little sad. But so well done, and I can't recommend it highly enough.