‘Law & Order: SVU’ 24×13 Review: “Intersection”

Law & Order: SVU 24×13 “Intersection” is mostly strong but suffers, in every aspect of the storytelling, from a complete lack of subtlety. It starts with something that’s been a complaint for years — overdoing it on the showing the actual crime, as if anyone wanted or needed that. Ever — and then just, somehow, gets less subtle from there. Whether it’s heavy-handed lines that both overdo it on telling us about Olivia’s reckoning with that EO scene and…really don’t tell us anything with any consistency at all, or way too much armchair psychology, the episode just feels about as understated as being smashed into by a pickup truck instead of a semi.

Which, ok. If the goal was to give us the same feeling as the victims of all those forced car crashes, that’s a great success! But if not? Here’s some advice for the future: Show, don’t tell. And hilariously enough (joke’s on us with this one), since “Intersection” didn’t have multiple unrelated storylines and a message of some case being “more significant” than the rape cases that SVU is actually supposed to focus on, it’s still, somehow, a better viewing experience than its immediate predecessors.

So, on that note…

We asked for continuity, and we got…this?

So, Mariska Hargitay never sets a toe out of line…and yet, even she can’t quite make the majority of Olivia’s very obvious, heavy-handed comments about relationships completely make sense here. Throughout much of Law & Order: SVU 24×13, Liv seems about as exhausted and frustrated with the EO of it all as we are. Understandably, she’s likely pretty mixed up about things, probably beating up on herself a bit for not being ready to go there yet despite having had her “moment,” so to speak. So, it’s natural for at least some part of her to be feeling just a little bit hopeless.

Which, quite frankly, same. Because, honestly, are these two ever going to have a conversation about those 10 years? Or, how about…is this man ever going to get the verbal punch in the throat he deserves for any of it? While we’re at it, is promotion ever going to stop being all about the bait and switch? And what about Olivia? Will she ever stop being hurt and abandoned, constantly traumatized for the sake of showing how “badass” and “Strong™” she is? Welp. At this point, our answers to all of the above are “lulz no.”

Good God, though. Many of the overly-obvious references just…distract from the good parts of the episode. And they don’t work. Captain Benson can not possibly be so desperate to talk it out that she can’t manage to book a therapy appointment, but can drop hammers about “sometimes, though, it’s just…hard to make a U-turn” to someone like Detective Bruno, who’s barely more than a stranger to her. Not to mention, without much of a catalyst, she changes her tune by the end of the episode. Instead of Doomsday!Liv, it’s “sometimes, things just work out.” And then, it’s “so, you have time to win her back.”

What changed her mind? Seeing a victim get her engagement ring back? Ok then. Solving a case, as if that’s not a thing she does all the time? Sure, Liv. Or, is it that she’s just so broken up about how she ended things and wants it to work out but is just a confused mess on all of it? To be fair, that last option is the most likely. But dumping a bunch of lines on frustrated viewers, seemingly out of nowhere, doesn’t do enough.

Furthermore, let’s be very clear: There is no “time to win her back” when it comes to EO. Rather, that time is running out, and everyone’s patience is wearing thin. The man has been back for a couple years now, and this “slow” burn has been fizzling its way through time since 1999. Absolutely zero of us are going to live forever, and acting like we can just drag this on for all eternity has got to be some kind of cruel joke.

Folks are, understandably, fed up. And, if Olivia Benson happens to be one of the people who are fed up, so be it. Sure, there’s at least some kind of continuity here. The elephant in the room is, in fact, in the room again. However, no thanks on the way this particular elephant is smashing his way into the conversation.

Fin’s stray puppy.

Easily, the best part of Law & Order: SVU 24×13 is seeing Detective Bruno working on earning his spot on Captain Benson’s squad. It’s not at all easy, especially after he makes the mistake of trying to sit at Rollins’ old desk, but Bruno just kind of…shows up and does the work. Maybe it’s because the squad has already worked with him, but he’s simply a good fit. There’s an almost immediate sense of him being part of the team when everyone’s joking around in the bullpen, and he provides valuable insight throughout the case. He even manages to impress Liv at one point, which is a huge win in and of itself.

Part of this character’s introduction works not because of the character himself but because of what goes on around him. Take, for example, Liv and Fin, bickering in the Captain’s office, which provides some much-needed comedic effect. (“You got to keep one!” has to be one of the funniest lines ever — not because the words themselves are particularly great but because Ice-T just really plays up Fin’s tantrum. Sorry, not sorry, that’s the only word we’ve got for it.) Then, there’s the way Liv is just constantly giving him a hard time — the silent treatment in the car, the line about holding his hand. It’s a nice throwback to the terrible mood then-Detective Benson was in when she initially lost Stabler. And any time we to see Hargitay deliver on Olivia’s bitchier side, we’re completely here for it.

Kevin Kane also gets some great dialogue in “Intersection,” which really (aside from being entertaining) manages to open up his characterization beyond what we already saw in the BX9 arc. Unfortunately, that’s not to say that Bruno’s initiation doesn’t still suffer from the same lack of subtlety the rest of the episode does. We get it already. Life is random. And, oh yes. Your whole thing with your ex-wife is totally a big hammer to pound us over the head with when it comes to the EO of it all. Fabs!

Show us. Don’t tell us.

“Sometimes, we think we know someone, but we don’t.”

There’s so much going on with Muncy and Velasco in “Intersection,” and it’s all…something. Some of it is something good, while the rest probably deserves a side-eye. Or two. In perpetuity. In the first place, their whole interaction by the vending machine is delicious. (And no, I’m not talking about the cashews. I’m more of a candy bar, pastry, or chips kind of girl myself. As if anyone cares.) There’s a real chemistry there, and both Octavio Pisano and Molly Burnett really play up that element. Later, the emotional work really lands because we’ve already seen all the “fun” elements to their dynamic.

Velasco’s attempts to get Muncy to open up about her grief over Captain Duarte are simultaneously excellent work and…Eh. Ridiculous, actually. It starts off very well, with Joe telling Grace that it’s ok to cry if she needs to and her pushing back. It’s very much “I’m fine,” as per the usual response we get when strong characters, especially strong female characters, are exactly the opposite. But the way it’s played, particularly with Muncy going back to the flirty stuff from before — but this time with a sarcastic edge — is just great. And it’s also worth pointing out that this gives some vibes on the level of every other great male/female partnership pairing on television.

He’s worried; she claims to be fine and lashes out. Lather, rinse, repeat…and we fall for it every time!

The second time they have the conversation, where Muncy is pissed at Duarte for starting smoking again and calls him a prick, is also good. Because it does show her starting to process things and open up, even if only through her anger. It just gets to be too much in their next conversation on the subject, when Velasco starts throwing out lines about covering pain with anger. We didn’t need to be whacked over the head with that notion. The actors had already more than shown what was happening, and viewers don’t need to be spoon-fed. So, that starts going into the “over-telling and dropping anvils instead of actually showing” territory that plagues other aspects of the episode, rather than just continuing on a good path.

The most bizarre bit in the Velasco territory comes from…whatever got started in the last episode with Churlish giving Benson that recording. It strains credulity that Liv would be at that level of trust with Grace at this point, no matter how much she clearly wants to be a good mentor for her. And if we get really nitpicky here, it seems a little bit…unprofessional for an NYPD Captain to have someone she’s barely had on her squad a few months in on some sort of secret with her about a slightly more experienced part of the team. Just for fun (annoyance), there are also more lines about wondering whether or not we can really trust people. Partners, specifically.

That’s yet another way too obvious reference, and in this case, it’s out of line. The trust is already back. She already knows she knows this dude quite well. Come on. Also, it just doesn’t make sense to do this type of story with Velasco now. It would’ve worked last season when he kept telling stories and nobody quite knew what to make of them. But now? That ship has sailed.

More on Law & Order: SVU 24×13 “Intersection”

• Liv’s bucket hat is a crime. I said what I said. On the flip side, I’d like that pastel/rainbow puffy coat of Emma’s.
• “Sometimes, things just work out” in the opener with Emma and Josh just before…that. Big yikes! Also, at the risk of being repetitive AF here: Stop telling us, and actually do the work of showing us that things can work out!
• Guess the trend of overdoing it on the attacks didn’t die with the change in showrunners after all. Probably shouldn’t be surprised, considering.
• “You shouldn’t let Benson see you do that.” “Who do you think taught me how to do it?” Her. And this was a sweet little throwback.
• “Why? So you can hold me?” Word on the street is folks don’t hold each other in this universe.
• Red flags are a joke now? Ok.
• “Divide and conquer? Or do you need me to hold your hand.” She.
• Also, Captain, you can hold my hand any. time.
• “What’s wrong with people?” I ask myself this constantly.
• “I’m convinced the world peaked in 1999. The whole Y2K thing? The world ended, all right. Just taking the scenic route.” My dude has a point.
• We need to talk about Olivia Benson, in all black, with the coffee, and the coat with the zippers…but not that hat.
• His gobs are who and what?
• “In case you haven’t noticed, human beings are nothing more than homicidal monkeys with zero respect for this planet or each other.”
• A man? Not returning calls when things get difficult? Hm.
• “And you refuse to let whoever did this…hurt you more than that.” That’s a lot to take in, Liv. A lot.
• “I’ll tell you this: If he does? He wasn’t the right partner for you in the first place.” Correct…but if this is a reference to certain trauma, conversations we’ve yet to see, and a bald man…the rage.
• “It’s all the same amount of crappy and good.” 1) Same. 2) …this show?
• “Any emotion is better than none.” Yes? But I honestly wouldn’t mind having none for a minute.
• “That’s about as useful as the two pieces of celery they put on the plate with the buffalo wings.” Give Ice the lead in a sitcom. Now.
• The wife is fine with an affair but doesn’t want to be lied to. Ahhh, a woman as a plot device. So original.
• “Guys, he’s a used car salesman. If he’s breathing, he’s lying.” She really owns every scene, huh?
• “…maybe you cover everything with anger because you don’t want to deal with how deep the sadness goes.” Ok, Dr. Joe.
• …and maybe I feel attacked by that one.
• “He kept telling me to calm down.” “Yeah, like that works.” Men, learn from Muncy’s sarcasm. I beg.
• I do not care how many times I see it: The Olivia Benson “empathy face,” if you will, can end worlds.
• “Sorry I didn’t get back to you last week.” “After the way I messed things up, I wouldn’t have either.” That is…not the couple viewers care about having this exact exchange. Thanks for the “this is an obvious reference” sledgehammer, though!
• Imagine thinking Olivia Benson wouldn’t just…one-woman “Badass™” her way through a hostage negotiation. Be real.
• “You can never apologize, can you?” *stares in Elliot Stabler*
• “Love works in mysterious ways.” Derogatory.
• “Never say never.” Ok then get on it already.
• “I’m the idiot who pushed her away.” Stabler’s ears burning, yet again.
• The heartbreak from Burnett when Muncy hears that clip, though…Excellent work from her in this episode.
• Ok but…you gave your baby detective that recording, had her bring it to you as a test to make sure she and her partner weren’t too close like you and Baldy used to be (let’s be real: that’s what happened here), and now…one-woman IAB? Ok, Liv. See how that goes, not asking for help. Yet. Again.
• She’s terrifying AF when she makes those threats promises about what will happen if Muncy talks, though.

Thoughts on Law & Order: SVU 24×13 “Intersection”? Leave us a comment!

Law & Order: SVU airs Thursdays at 9/8c on NBC. The series will return on February 16.