Motherly Love
- Episode aired Feb 8, 2017
- TV-14
- 47m
A teenage boy uses a rifle to save his mother from her attacker, only to learn the target was someone he knows.A teenage boy uses a rifle to save his mother from her attacker, only to learn the target was someone he knows.A teenage boy uses a rifle to save his mother from her attacker, only to learn the target was someone he knows.
- Detective Odafin 'Fin' Tutuola
- (as Ice T)
- Ethan Miller
- (as Gage Polchlopek)
Storyline
Did you know
- Trivia400th episode of the series.
- GoofsIt is implied throughout this episode that Luke had done something wrong, including the offer of immunity. Luke believed his mother was being raped by an intruder. No such immunity would be needed, as deadly force would be justified in this situation, even in New York. There is nothing that Luke did that required immunity.
- Quotes
Olivia Benson: Dr. Keller, the night of the shooting, you were upstairs here in your bedroom, in your nightgown. Trey was downstairs in the family room and nobody else was in the house?
Dr. Nicole Keller: That's correct.
Amanda Rollins: And he didn't try and sneak up here into your room?
Dr. Nicole Keller: I'm sorry, lieutenant. I... I think it's best if you and your colleague here leave. I'm sensing some underlying hostility and it's making me very uncomfortable.
Olivia Benson: Yeah? And the naked selfies of you and Trey are making me very uncomfortable.
On rewatch, "Motherly Love" struck me as every bit as very well done as before, though considering that it was an intended milestone episode there was potential for it to be even better. Would actually go as far to say that it fared even better this time. As far as Season 18 goes, "Motherly Love" is one of the better episodes overall and by far the best one up to this point of the season. Which is saying a lot, as only three of the previous episodes impressed me, while the others were average at best (half were below), and neither blew me away still.
There are lots of things that "Motherly Love" excelled at. The production values are typically slick with the right amount of grit, nothing is too fancy or too gimmicky. Nor is anything too static, drab or garish. The music is not too constant or emotionally manipulative, meanig not over-emphasising the emotion to make one think that's how we should be feeling. The direction has alertness and breathing space.
It is thoughtfully scripted and has some great lines from particularly Fin and Barba, such as the one regarding the dirty socks. The story is very intriguing and has a real creepiness to it, particularly when things become more complex. The acting is very good, with the standout being the knockout guest turn of Sarah Winter (the standout performance on first viewing). Such an unsettling presence. Raul Esparza continues to be a breath of fresh air and Delaney Williams is wonderfully pompous as every prosecution witness' worst nightmare.
As said though, "Motherly Love" could have been even better than it turned out. Was not surprised by the truth at all, the title alone promising a much bigger twist than what was provided.
Luke also came over as rather whiny at times, which made it not particularly easy to root for his situation.
Overall, very good. 8/10.
- TheLittleSongbird
- Oct 27, 2022