A previous reviewer said that Ella's step-mother told Detectives Munch and Finn that Ella's parents divorced when Ella was eight. That is inaccurate. Ella's step-mother told the two detectives that Ella's parents divorced when Ella was a baby. Eight - baby - they sort of rhyme, so I suppose the mistake is sort of understandable, even though I had no trouble understanding it myself. I was watching a DVR recording of this episode and rewound this scene and verified that the step-mother clearly (to my ears) said "baby", not "eight". The difference is significant. If Ella's parents had divorced when she was eight, she would have been old enough to have memories of her father. Since she was a baby at the time of the divorce, she would have no such memories since the divorced mother forbade contact between the father and Ella. Both Ella and her slimeball father claimed they did not know each other when they "met" after her 18th birthday. If the divorce had taken place when Ella was eight, they would have known each other to some extent and the plot line that they didn't know each other would have been false. I thought the reviewer's mistake should be noted so that her claim of an inconsistency is debunked.
6 Reviews
As sick as this is, I'm sure it happens all the time
ldsgurly12 January 2007
Warning: Spoilers
This is a sick story. Can you believe that a father would cheat on his second wife... with his own daughter??? yuck! I've heard of stepfathers raping their stepdaughters.. but this is a full blooded father and daughter relationship. Then, no only does the father act irresponsibly by getting his own daughter pregnant, but then he helps her to kill the baby. The first time there isn't enough evidence to convict her, and she is dumb enough to DO IT AGAIN! Before the end of the whole thing, he even tried for a third baby... probably to kill. So it's a daddy/daughter serial baby killer pair. But no matter how sick it is, I'm sure it happens. What do others think about this?
Inconsistencies
marysammons-4222030 March 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Baby is found in the trash. Detectives track it to a college student who apparently has a bad habit of killing/trying to kill her babies that are a product of incest with her father. She tells Benson she never knew who he was and her mother hated him and her for being his. Of course this plays on the tired refrain poor Benson was a product of rape and never knew her father. However, when Munch and Fin talked to the girl's father and stepmother it's stated he and the girl's mother divorced when Ella was 8.
Father and daughter
TheLittleSongbird29 April 2021
Am slowly working my way through writing reviews for all the episodes of 'Law and Order, 'Special Victims Unit' and 'Criminal Intent' with a long way to go. Some may know already how much admiration there is from me for anything that tackles difficult and controversial themes and issues. That for "Taboo" is absolutely no exception to this, but could have gone either way of being disturbing and compelling or too weird and sleazy.
For my tastes on the most part, "Taboo" sadly was in the latter category. Didn't hate it as such and it is not quite one of the worst episodes of Season 7, but it is towards the lesser end in my view (another case of my rating conflicting with the rating here) and could have handled its subject a lot more tactfully. Granted it is not an easy subject to make tasteful as the truth really does make one squirm on paper, but the execution not only felt cheap it also made the mistakes of not being very interesting or realistic.
"Taboo" does have good things. The photography and such as usual are fully professional, the slickness still remaining. The music is used sparingly and is haunting and non-overwrought when it is used, and it's mainly used when a crucial revelation or plot development is revealed. There is some suitably cotrolled yet tense direction when necessary.
Can't fault the performances all round, with Mariska Hargitay and Schuyler Fisk, both with the lion's share of the material, being particularly good. Zeljko Ivanek also makes one suitably uneasy. Some of the dialogue is thought-provoking. The part where Huang is on the stand was enjoyable, Novak sure was enjoying herself there. Also liked when Olivia was finally called out by another character who isn't a team member, love Olivia as a character but this was a part where she needed to be put in her place by somebody.
It is a shame though that the story has next to no surprises and goes well overboard on the creepiness and sleaziness to an exploitative degree. Also really disliked Fisk's character, the one one should feel some sympathy towards. For somebody meant to be very smart she comes over as pretty idiotic, being for example one of the few supporting characters on 'Special Victims Unit' to shoot themselves in the foot this badly more than once. The story also felt choppy and near incomplete, with wide gaps.
While loving Olivia as a character here, this is not one of her most likeable or relatable appearances. Actually found her almost manipulative, like for example when tricking to get to the truth by lying herself which would have been enough to throw the case out of court if discovered. Other parts of the dialogue doesn't feel as tight and again it could have explored the issue from all sides rather than villifying what felt like half the characters. There is some sloppy continuity here, regarding the relationship between Olivia and her now dead mother which sadly makes her relating to the victim difficult with empathise with as well, when told things different to what was already established.
Summarising, not a bad episode but far from great. 5/10.
For my tastes on the most part, "Taboo" sadly was in the latter category. Didn't hate it as such and it is not quite one of the worst episodes of Season 7, but it is towards the lesser end in my view (another case of my rating conflicting with the rating here) and could have handled its subject a lot more tactfully. Granted it is not an easy subject to make tasteful as the truth really does make one squirm on paper, but the execution not only felt cheap it also made the mistakes of not being very interesting or realistic.
"Taboo" does have good things. The photography and such as usual are fully professional, the slickness still remaining. The music is used sparingly and is haunting and non-overwrought when it is used, and it's mainly used when a crucial revelation or plot development is revealed. There is some suitably cotrolled yet tense direction when necessary.
Can't fault the performances all round, with Mariska Hargitay and Schuyler Fisk, both with the lion's share of the material, being particularly good. Zeljko Ivanek also makes one suitably uneasy. Some of the dialogue is thought-provoking. The part where Huang is on the stand was enjoyable, Novak sure was enjoying herself there. Also liked when Olivia was finally called out by another character who isn't a team member, love Olivia as a character but this was a part where she needed to be put in her place by somebody.
It is a shame though that the story has next to no surprises and goes well overboard on the creepiness and sleaziness to an exploitative degree. Also really disliked Fisk's character, the one one should feel some sympathy towards. For somebody meant to be very smart she comes over as pretty idiotic, being for example one of the few supporting characters on 'Special Victims Unit' to shoot themselves in the foot this badly more than once. The story also felt choppy and near incomplete, with wide gaps.
While loving Olivia as a character here, this is not one of her most likeable or relatable appearances. Actually found her almost manipulative, like for example when tricking to get to the truth by lying herself which would have been enough to throw the case out of court if discovered. Other parts of the dialogue doesn't feel as tight and again it could have explored the issue from all sides rather than villifying what felt like half the characters. There is some sloppy continuity here, regarding the relationship between Olivia and her now dead mother which sadly makes her relating to the victim difficult with empathise with as well, when told things different to what was already established.
Summarising, not a bad episode but far from great. 5/10.
Too Weird for my taste
bkoganbing18 November 2013
This SVU story has to go down as being one of the weirdest and one of the worst ever done. What is usually a plot premise for a happy ending is one that ends bad with no signs of improving for the people involved.
Schuyler Fisk plays a young girl who after years of living with a mother who was not too forthcoming with love reunites with her dad, Zeljo Ivanek who is an attorney and a political candidate in New Jersey.
SVU gets involved when a dead newborn is found in the trash. It's Fisk's, but Ivanek is also the father and grandfather.
Given her background this case is exceedingly hard on Mariska Hargitay. But incest is not a crime. And Fisk is 18 and it was mutual consent.
Romantic love between father and daughter. I'll never hear the Mills Brothers sing Daddy's Little Girl again with the same feeling. This episode was way too weird.
Schuyler Fisk plays a young girl who after years of living with a mother who was not too forthcoming with love reunites with her dad, Zeljo Ivanek who is an attorney and a political candidate in New Jersey.
SVU gets involved when a dead newborn is found in the trash. It's Fisk's, but Ivanek is also the father and grandfather.
Given her background this case is exceedingly hard on Mariska Hargitay. But incest is not a crime. And Fisk is 18 and it was mutual consent.
Romantic love between father and daughter. I'll never hear the Mills Brothers sing Daddy's Little Girl again with the same feeling. This episode was way too weird.
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