Stone asks Benson to investigate a sexual assault from his past that he feels guilt and uncertainty about; Rollins considers a proposal from Al.Stone asks Benson to investigate a sexual assault from his past that he feels guilt and uncertainty about; Rollins considers a proposal from Al.Stone asks Benson to investigate a sexual assault from his past that he feels guilt and uncertainty about; Rollins considers a proposal from Al.
- Sergeant Odafin 'Fin' Tutuola
- (as Ice T)
- Arraignment Judge Anita Wright
- (as Mary Hodges)
- Borough Commander Ray Bryant
- (as Cedric D. Cannon)
- Bartender
- (as Nathaniel Floyd Peart)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- Trivia"Mea culpa" is Latin for "through my fault", and is used as an acknowledgment of having done wrong.
- Goofs7:55 Caption shows the Drag Bunt Bar's address as 219 East 52nd Street. However as Fin and Stone are talking to Reggie, the bar windows show that vehicles are traveling on East 52nd Street in both directions. East 52nd Street in Manhattan is a one way street.
- Quotes
Reggie Gregg: Stone is gonna go to prison?
Olivia Benson: Well, Sarah Kent tells a... convincing story.
Reggie Gregg: And that's enough?
Olivia Benson: It is. It could be different, if... if somebody, if... you know, you, said that she consented.
Reggie Gregg: You want me to commit perjury?
Olivia Benson: Come on. I know that you guys cover for each other. Right, all those road trips, what the wife and the girlfriend don't know... I mean, all you have to do is to say that you heard Sarah consent before you left the hotel room. And that way, Peter would have a fighting chance.
Reggie Gregg: You think?
Olivia Benson: Unfortunately, in this day and age, without your fib... he's gonna lose. Think of all the ballplayers that have covered for you over your entire career.
Reggie Gregg: Yeah. Yeah, sure.
Olivia Benson: Great.
Reggie Gregg: Yeah, why the hell not? You know, if it gets him off the hook.
Olivia Benson: Great. Thanks. That is a start. Now all we have to do is wait for the test.
Reggie Gregg: What test?
Olivia Benson: The DNA test. Let's just hope that Peter Stone is not the father of Sarah's daughter. Although, the timing is spot-on. Her husband couldn't get her pregnant.
Reggie Gregg: You know.
Olivia Benson: I know what a guy who's willing to commit perjury in a rape case thinks about women. Peter Stone passed out, didn't he?
Reggie Gregg: No, no, no, no, no. No. She was all over me. I did not rape her.
Olivia Benson: She was so drunk, she didn't know what was going on. What do you call that?
"Mea Culpa" doesn't quite work. As far as the first half of Season 20 goes, this is one of the weaker episodes. There are a few of the usual strengths, but also some faults that have been issues for a few seasons as well as Stone still not being a well written character. "Mea Culpa" is not an awful episode and has its good things, but it also could have been so much better than it turned out and is one of the lesser episodes of Season 20 in general. To be seen for 'Special Victims Unit' complest sake, but not an awful lot more. It certainly does very little, if anything, to change my negative feelings on Stone.
There are good things here. The production values as ever are slick and with the right amount of muted grit, the photography doesn't try to do anything too fancy or gimmicky while not being claustrophobic and keeping things simple. The music doesn't overbear with the theme tune still memorable.
Peter Scanivino does a great job making Carisi's material work and makes the absolute most of it. Mariska Hargitay is also commanding.
However, too much of the SVU are underused. Excepting Olivia, who is used too prominently and is not much different than how she has been for a few seasons. Carisi has the best and most interesting material by far but deserved a good deal more material than he got. Especially considering that this is a milestone episode for him (his 100th).
Furthermore, "Mea Culpa" felt like an attempt to make Stone interesting, but it fails in this aspect. The episode doesn't build on him and basically reiterates what we already know about him, so he is still very under developed. Phillip Winchester is bland and looks like he's walking through the role. The main issue is that the story just didn't grab me. The episode goes at a dull pace throughout, the truth is never really in doubt, it is very contrived and far too reliant on silly coincidences. The script has too much soap opera.
Overall, rather lacklustre. 4/10.
- TheLittleSongbird
- May 25, 2023