Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (TV Series) Parasites (2001) User Reviews

Good episode however

[marysammons-42220 · 7/10 · 4 September 2020]

When Benson and Stabler go to George Burton's house and Irina(who was pretending to be Ava) comes to the door they look so shocked. Like nobody could be a twin. Elliot HAS twins, yes fraternal but come on. This isn't the only episode this happens. Wildlife is another when they see the sister of a dead girl and looked totally dumbfounded and Fin says "dead girl walking" then when she says what happened to my sister they look like they've never heard of twins or siblings who look almost identical. It's a stupid ploy for a dramatic cut to a commercial I guess.

Anyway, the episode is pretty good. But the twist of the sister taking the other's place is obvious even before it's revealed. Been done a hundred times in movies and tv. Milli Avital gives a good performance. They must have liked her in the pilot to have her come back three more times.

Clever script, but the plot makes no sense

[JurijFedorov · 7/10 · 13 July 2022]

A twin sister sees her sister get killed. In reality the pimp was after her. She buries her sister and assumes her identity even taking her husband and raising her daughter. Now the killer thinks she's dead so she's safe. All this to raise enough money to free her younger sister, a third sister here, from prostitution. Finally at the end it's revealed that she buried the body and didn't go to the police because she feared the murderer. An older Romanian diplomat.

The twists and turns are clever and it's a lot of hidden stuff being revealed by smart detective work. But most of this makes no logical sense. Why wouldn't she go to the police? Her twin sister was molested and murdered. She saw the murderer. It's not a random person to her. It's her identical twin sister. She should have gone to the police or killed the man. Just doing nothing? This is nonsense. And then the third sister is the same thing. She is just held "captive" as a prostitute? Again, this is nonsense. Just call the cops. When you have 1 single person doing stupid stuff to make the plot make sense it's silly, but maybe explainable. But here time and time again we see people who just refused to call the police even after having all the evidence they needed to solve this case and put the bad guys in prison. This plot could maybe work in Pakistan or Somalia where you have big men leading whole areas and you can't always count on the cops. Then this evil gang could be the rulers of the area and you had to follow their prostitution empire to keep alive. In New York with millions and millions of people being afraid of 1 single old diplomat tracking you down is just imagined fear. Hell, you can even get a gun and solve the issue that way as this is an older man acting alone. He can't do anything if you have protection. Maybe they could have created a Romanian gang here with a ton of evil men controlling women. Young tattooed guys who have a deal with the NY mafia so that they can recapture any woman who escapes. But then you have a story too big for one episode.

It's fun enough to explore this craziness, but you really feel like they could have done this better. The emotional aspect is also hazy. Her fake husband just leaves her. So she's all alone. Again, what about the daughter? The twists are all we have. There is no big emotional conclusion.

Mirror image

[TheLittleSongbird · 6/10 · 23 April 2020]

Really wanted to like "Parasites" when first watching it. On re-watches, my thoughts are pretty much the same. Though actually on second thought it is marginally better than on first watch, when first getting into 'Law and Order: Special Victims Unit' some years ago. On first watch, it didn't really stand out. On re-watch there were actually three things in particular that elevated it, though it is an episode that needs more than one viewing in order to fully understand it.

Almost all the previous episodes were good to outstanding, the only slight disappointment being "Asunder". The second half of Season 2 was especially excellent, to me these are the episodes from "Abuse" to the last episode "Scourge" ("Countdown" being a major standout). After a string of tense and emotional episodes, "Parasites" felt in comparison on the bland and ordinary side somewhat but lifted by the great last fifteen-twenty minutes.

"Parasites" does have a lot of good things, despite how all of the above sounds. Have made it sound like it is a bad episode, but it really isn't. It is a slick-looking episode as always for the show and most of the 'Law and Order' franchise. The scoring is haunting and not too overwhelming or empthatic, the theme tune even over twenty years on has yet to grate. There are some thoughtful moments in the script and enough intrigues. The case is also intriguing and suitably intricate, though people may need to suspend disbelief on first watch with the premise not being the easiest one to swallow.

The acting is all great from all the regulars, regardless of how much screen time they get. Three things elevate "Parasites" to a greater level. Mili Avital's deeply felt performance is one, though Michele Pawk also evokes chills. There is a very emotional, tear-jerking scene in the interrogation room. What really lifted the episode especially was the big twist, which left me completely floored (although it is an example of why the episode needs to be watched more than once).

For all those strengths, "Parasites" also felt a bit lacking. Considering that the premise sounded initially quite hard-hitting, it could have done with more tension and emotion. Which it had in one scene in particular but overall they were too far and between. Would have liked more little character moments within the team. They solve the case cleverly and professionally and the relationships all make sense, but other episodes (including the rest of the episodes filling the second half of Season 2) did them with more spark. After such great development for Munch and Fin in "Manhunt", the episode underuses both. Stabler and Olivia carry the case really well and have always loved their chemistry.

Would also have liked a tighter pace as the first portions are on the dull side and it's not always easy to follow later on. Did appreciate highly the storytelling's intricacy though, despite all that sounded.

Concluding, decent but Season 2 did better. 6/10

Seems far fetched

[mershumpip · 1/10 · 17 November 2019]

All I could think once it was revealed that the sister switched places with her murdered sister was how did she fool the husband? She couldn't have known every detail of their life to pull that off. The sisters weren't that close.