One move that SVU seems to pull quite frequently as part of its regular MO is to have its A story, the story that's advertised, run for around 35-40 minutes before a surprising B story that is tangentially related to the first comes in to fill the rest of the time. This often can make for a fulfilling episode - certainly it was a good decision in the previous episode "Selfish."
Here, though, it takes away from a compelling and true-to-life seeming story for something that is goofy and over the top. They could have done a lot more with the A story of a girl refusing to name her attacker, which could be one of two boys she'd been linked to. Less is often more. Instead, we get a ridiculous and cheesy B story about a corrupt judge. The climactic scene with Stabler, Huang, and the guest ADA du jour putting on a fake trial to ensnare the judge *was* well done, but ultimately I think the episode would have been better sticking with the A story to the end. Save the over the top stuff for another episode when you've got such a strong and true-seeming A story.
Here, though, it takes away from a compelling and true-to-life seeming story for something that is goofy and over the top. They could have done a lot more with the A story of a girl refusing to name her attacker, which could be one of two boys she'd been linked to. Less is often more. Instead, we get a ridiculous and cheesy B story about a corrupt judge. The climactic scene with Stabler, Huang, and the guest ADA du jour putting on a fake trial to ensnare the judge *was* well done, but ultimately I think the episode would have been better sticking with the A story to the end. Save the over the top stuff for another episode when you've got such a strong and true-seeming A story.