Reviews

Look.. I love Scrubs. I have for a long time. But after not watching it forever, and commencing a huge rewatch, getting to season six and having forgotten that Elizabeth Banks shows up to ruin everything was such a bummer. And then this episode. When she gets extra points for being one of the most horrible women to ever show up on a screen. That kind of lie isn't only horrible, but doesn't even make sense on top of everything. The whole Dr. Cox/Jordan stuff which is definitely heart string pulling and is one of the softer sides of the gruesome twosome, and a good showing, but also the other extra players making various fun side remarks, it's a good episode built on an entirely awful premise. And getting to the end of the episode to spring it on everyone is even worse. But it is deeply vile and worse that it has to be unexplained by "surprise" later. Can't stand her. Deeply can't stand her.

So I don't even want to touch on the actual storyline of this episode. It's actually really well done, the episode in its entirety, which is not a super common thing for SVU anymore. But this one is really good. The story, the progression, everything is solid. Even Noah being a brat is handled well. And that's where, at the very end, they collapse it with Olivia's endless, senseless, need to lie to her kid. It doesn't relate to story at all, but Noah is old enough now, that she can't not tell him the truth anymore. No matter what Olivia's rules are with giving her own son tech access, it would only take one afternoon with a friend's phone for him to find out EVERYTHING about his father. And in the land of L&O one Google search of his own name would bring up every piece of news coverage about Johnny D, his trial, his death, Noah, Ellie, literally everything. Bensons "vendetta" was brought up in trial. So the news stories would have covered that too. But for him to ask if his dad is in "heaven" and if he loves him, and for her to say "yes" and "of course he loved you, so much" is straight up lies. That the kid hasn't read about it yet, is the show pretending as hard as it can, but then for him to magically find his brother a couple seasons later, without her finding out. But not find the truth about is father, is such a crock of you know what. It's really bad. Just. Bad. Like, tell this kid his dad wasn't a nice guy and his mom got in trouble. Don't straight up lie to him.

So, this episode starts with a musical scene which, they've tried a couple of times with this show and it's always a miss and kind of funny trying to make Law and Order anything "hip." As far as any episode goes. This one is pretty good. It's got good development, good acting, good scene work, all that. The bone I have to pick with it, is the repeated storyline and vax argument. SVU has been here before, done that. Season 10 they tied in the anti-vax argument with the Casey Anthony case. Guest starred Hilary Duff. And it makes it annoying when they try to make it out like Olivia is being some kind of tyrannical beast, doing her job, because she's got a kid now. But she had the same to little reaction on her stance then. So there is immediate proof it's not some personal vendetta. Then they just kind of drop that and go along with the rest of the story. Which ends fine. I mean there are some more annoyances. Amaro is annoying and overly emotional as ever, Carisi, Rollins and Fin do a lot of the leg work with the school and Dr.s and collecting the evidence and records, I like it because everyone is in it, it's got more of the squad feel the show used to have and is a good centralized storyline. So it sits at an 8 good, not fantasitc, but way better than some of the drivel they fall into.

Look, this episode is okay for being over 20 years old, from the start of the series, this is one where they tried to branch out a little and they didn't get it quite up to snuff. But honestly it's the low stakes things that they mess up that really bites on me. I wouldn't be reviewing an ancient episode from 2001 except for the fact I went all the way back to the beginning of the show and decided to binge the series. (I've floated around the seasons over the years but this was my first time going to season one episode one and just letting them run) but with the industry they decide to explore (which at that time, the adult entertainment industry was wildly different and just starting to radically change with the matches struck by the internet) and twist in this crime but then to dump the sick kid on top of it... and that's my gripe is the whole CF kid. Where they're talking about "she has Cystic Fibrosis, there's Dr. Visits, shots, pills..." what shots? Unless she also has CFRD, which she's kind of young for, she'd be on insulin but there's no other injectables for CF so what is she talking about? It's just annoying. Especially after in another episode they tried to use a kid not having insulin as falling into a coma the second his pump ran out of insulin. Which is also wrong and not how it happens. These are giant network shows. They have enough resources to have consultants to fact check this stuff and they have a responsibility to because people watch it then think they know what they're talking about referencing medical issues. It's annoying. But they really stretch this story way too much, beyond just trying to add MORE drama with a sick kid story that they don't really need.

Wonderfully acted. Beautifully set. Has truly heart pounding moments when you know the true outcomes anyway. But every second made my stomach knot and I couldn't stop uncontrollably crying throughout. I first read the Diary of Anne Frank when I was in seventh grade. I have read it countless times since then. I have thought of each of the people in hiding, Anne, Margot, Otto, Edith, the Van Pels ans Mr Pfeiffer... but also Miep, Jan, Bep, Johannes and Victor and all of the people relegated to the roles of "helpers." This show brought into a sharp, heart rendering focus of what those helpers went through. And how even more awful it made this time in our disgraceful history. The suffering, the pain, the atrocity... are all expressed in this series without being overly gory or even having to show the camps. It ruins you on emotion and truth alone. That it could be made, and there is truth, but so unbelievably well done and powerful with what it does show, gutted me. I should have realized going in what it would do. I am a person who read the same copy of the diary for years until I was gifted the "textbook" copy, the revised critical edition, that isn't as edited, has handwriting analyses and other details. It is truly, to me, one of the most relatable stories of what happened, to be shared with a worldwide audience. Or maybe it was relatable because I was a thirteen year old girl reading something written by another teenager and could understand the intricacies of her thoughts and feelings through a similar lens. I never went through a day of what she did. I never went through a day of what Miep or Jan Gise did. But that doesn't mean I can't understand how absolutely atrocious it was. And this series shows it all from the less common lens of outside looking in. Not from inside the attic. Not from in hiding but being the people doing the hiding, and the struggle to keep up with those tasks. To have hide things outwardly to the rest of the world to try and save others. I do like how the series doesn't try to fabricate a soluble ending, but shows how several people may have caught on in some ways. Although, truly, in real life, I hope whatever person snitched for the money, or reported to their superior officer, is burning. I think everyone should watch this. But I truly wish no one had to. I do applaud all of the cast, and especially Bel Powley, Joe Cole and Liev Shreiber for their remarkable performances. And, Ashley Brooke bears such a striking resemblance to Margot it's startling, (they're shown next to eachother in the credits scene) I wish I could say I loved it, but I can't. I detested every second, and wish it wasn't real. If it had been some sort of archaic fantasy? Maybe. But this was all too real.