Thursday, May 24, 2012

'Law & Order: SVU' Finale Review - 13.23 Rhodium Nights

        In the newest episode of NBC's Law & Order: SVU, an underage escort is found dead at a wild bachelor party attended by many high-profile people of the city. In their efforts to question a leader in the New York escort world, Benson and Amaro encounter former SVU detective Brian Cassidy, who's been working undercover. With his help, the detectives dig deeper into a vicious power struggle between the two top escort businesses, but a shocking event threatens to destroy the life of one SVU squad member.


Below is a list of all of the major plot points - and my thoughts - that happened during the finale.
  • Overall this was a wonderful concluding episode to the thirteenth season. The case was captivating especially with how it impacted Olivia, Nick and Cragen.
  • I think it was a fantastic idea to end the episode with a cliffhanger because there is so much story that the show could delve from this case that if it was given a swift resolution, then it wouldn't have left as great an impression.
  • I will spend the whole summer trying to think of how Maggie, the governor and Carissa are all connected.
  • Dean Winters returned as his season one character Brian Cassidy in this episode and it was interesting to see how twelve years on the force has changed him. He definitely knows something that will ultimately make an impact on this case.
  • Although they only had one brief scene, it was nice to see some of the fallout from Nick and Maria's argument from a few episodes ago. I am anxiously awaiting the full blown ramifications.
  • It felt a little weird when Olivia mentioned Haden. However, I'm happy to see that that relationship will be vital to the overarching story and not just a separate past four episode arc that is subsequently forgotten about.
  • That was one perfectly chilling final scene. Is Cragen being threatened by one of the escort businesses or by the upper police brass with personal connections to this case?