Law & Order: SVU is supposed to be about sex crimes, so it’s understandable if you were confused or disappointed.
Technically, Law & Order: SVU Season 24 Episode 15 involved a rape, but this story was more about the tragic end of a love story, made doubly heartbreaking because of one person’s dementia.
This story was so beautiful that we’ll forgive them for going off-topic. It definitely wasn’t your typical SVU episode!
Pence Humphries’ insistence that he killed his wife presented Benson and Carisi with an unusual dilemma: proving the “perp” had given a false confession rather than trying to get one out of a reluctant killer.
Benson and Carisi teaming up on this underscored how big a hole Rollins left when she quit the unit. Carisi and Rollins should have been investigating this together, even if it gave Benson an emotional storyline that was somewhat out of the box for her.
Carisi had every reason to doubt Pence’s confession. The man’s dementia was advanced enough that he needed a full-time caregiver, and his taped admission of guilt acknowledged that he was losing his mind.
But this was more a homicide investigation than an SVU case; the only reason for Carisi to bring it to Benson’s attention was that he knew her. Otherwise, it seemed to fit Cosgrove and Shaw’s wheelhouse on Law & Order more than SVU’s.
Despite the seeming irrelevance of the case, this was a lovely story and a terrific vehicle for Bradley Whitlock. Pence’s heartbreak, confusion, and anger were as raw as they were realistic, making this one of the most emotional episodes in SVU’s long history.
He even got a comic moment when he suggested that Benson had the face of Jayne Mansfield — the late actress who happens to be Mariska Hargitay’s mother. Good one!
Throughout the hour, Pence used his dementia to try to leave the world on his terms. I’m not sure he ever believed he killed Winnie, especially after explaining why he purposely identified the wrong man after Kevin’s arrest.
I’d rather die in prison. The second the cell doors close, I won’t remember why I was there. That boy will remember everything. Some memories are worse than prison.
Pence
Undeterred, Benson got Kevin to confess, which was the case’s end. I’d think the defense would use Pence’s false confession to try to discredit the cops and weaken Kevin’s real one!
Solving the murder was secondary to the real story, which was how Pence struggled to accept the loss of his memories and that of his wife, the only person he felt truly understood him.
No matter how old he got, he never lost his social awkwardness and was truly lost without Winnie. In some ways, it was a blessing when he forgot she died or thought Benson was Winnie.
As for Benson, she admired Pence and Winnie’s long love story and lamented that she didn’t have one of her own. Bensler shippers may beg to differ, though — is Stabler as emotionally unavailable as Benson thinks?
I found the story sad for a different reason. I’m a sucker for generational dramas because they illustrate how time changes people, but they can be tragic when old age and illness destroy a person’s physical and mental health. That was what happened to Pence, leaving him with no control over anything except how he spent his last days.
At least he has Benson now, so he’s not totally alone. Did anyone else think he would pass away as she finished reading him the story he’d written as a boy?
Benson’s quest to find Winnie’s real killer dovetailed nicely with Fin’s attempt to get the truth out of Velasco.
I don’t know whether to be relieved that Velasco turned out not to be a killer or annoyed with this storyline.
While Benson and Fin are right that every murder deserves to be solved, is it worth all this effort? Velasco’s friend killed two people several decades ago; if he hadn’t, the cartel would have killed Velasco.
Is justice served by forcing Velasco to hunt down and arrest his friend now?
Benson: I feel bad for you, Velasco.
Velasco: Bad for me? Why?
Benson: You are 180 pounds of water in the body of a man. Whatever anyone wants you to be, you become.
I disagree that Velasco getting into a gangbanger’s head to get a confession out of him was terrible. He had orders to play dirty — has everyone forgotten that?
While Benson’s insistence that he stop being whatever others want him to be is good advice, his questionable interrogation techniques in one case don’t lead to the conclusion that he’s a psychological chameleon who is never authentic with anyone.
Velasco: You recorded me? Why aren’t you arresting her?
Churlish: For what?
Velasco: It’s a felony in New York to record someone without their permission.
Fin: Good thing we’re not in a courtroom, then.
Also, if he’s going to remain part of the squad, throwing Churlish into the mix seems like a horrible idea.
She and Velasco already hate each other.
And Churlish got the ball rolling on him having to betray the guy who saved his life by running to Benson with that tape.
Velasco won’t trust her, and Muncy probably won’t, either. (Where is Muncy, anyway?)
Fin and Benson probably will, but that creates a conflict between the new cops and the veterans, with lots of potential for problems!
What do you think, SVU fanatics? Is Churlish a solid addition to the team, or a disaster waiting to happen? What did you think of the dementia story? And am I the only one who misses Muncy?
Hit the big, blue SHOW COMMENTS button and let us know. And don’t forget you can watch Law & Order: SVU online if you’d like to see the episode again.
Law & Order: SVU airs on NBC on Thursdays at 9 PM EST / PST.
Jack Ori is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. His debut young adult novel, Reinventing Hannah, is available on Amazon. Follow him on Twitter.