Law & Order SVU – Recap & Review – Gray

photo: nbc

Law & Order SVU
Gray

Original Air Date: Nov 17, 2010

Caitlin- Associate Staff Writer
caitlin@thetwocentscorp.com 

The last time we saw ADA Sonya Paxton on this show, she was being removed from court for being drunk during a trial. She returns tonight and, needless to say, this stirs up some drama. Then again, the episode does that well enough on its own.

The episode opens at a Take Back the Night rally Kathleen is attending. Elliot shows up and she volunteers him as a speaker. Just then, a girl runs up, her boyfriend following. She accuses him of rape while he acts bewildered. The crowd cheers as Elliot arrests him.

At the station, the girl, Bethany, talks about the rape, which she says happened last May. She says Chuck took her home, but he argues the sex was mutual and she was upset that it was just a fling. Then it turns out Bethany has a website calling out Chuck as a rapist. Munch and Fin aren’t impressed by it. Just as things get tense, in walks Sonya. She doesn’t like that they have a case with no evidence. She says to let Chuck go until they have something more concrete.

A college police officer has a rape report, but it contains no details whatsoever. An administrator says they decided to stop pursuing the case, though he gives the names of the people on the disciplinary committee. They find a woman who might help, as she works at a women’s crisis center. Indeed, she doesn’t like the committee and quit it- but can’t openly say anything. However, she does advise Elliot to talk to Kathleen, who it turns out was with Bethany before she was raped. They were at party at what seems to be an actual library. Chuck is there again now. Suddenly, a girl dumps a pitcher of beer over him. He pushes her away, causing her to hit her head.

Chuck is angrier still in interrogation. He continues to plead his innocence. Sonya again says they don’t have enough to hold him. Irritable, Elliot goes home, where he reflects on how he and Kathy met. They were both drunk, but she tells him she knew what was happening. Kathleen comes in to try and drop off an envelope and leave, but Elliot stops her. The envelope contains materials from Chuck’s hearing at the college. She admits she got it herself, but tells Elliot he can legally use the materials.

The file does contain evidence, but not what they expected. Felicia, the girl who dumped beer on Chuck, hung a banner calling him a murderer. She says it was because he caused his girlfriend, Carla, to have a miscarriage. Carla, however, believes Chuck was devastated by their baby’s death and that he’s innocent in all ways. He wasn’t too innocent, though, to use something he called “Love Potion #9”. It seems likely that caused the miscarriage. Sonya and the detectives catch him when he comes to Carla’s apartment to have sex again.

The “Love Potion” was indeed a concoction including a drug that can cause ulcers. Finally, Chuck is willing to confess to this crime, but his attorney says he took the drug for erectile dysfunction. There are several jokes that probably just barely got by NBC’s sensors, and the detectives admit Chuck knows what he’s doing. A pharmacist says he did sell Chuck the drugs, but that he would have had to have used a penis pump if they were for ED.

Carla won’t say whether he did or not, but thinks she’ll be held accountable for the miscarriage because she’s had an abortion before. The person who put these concerns in her head was Chuck’s lawyer. She and Sonya argue with each other, and she reveals she knows Elliot had the hearing materials- and how he got them. Then Sonya and Elliot yell at each other until he crosses the line with a comment about her alcoholism.

Elliot apologizes for his words and for not confessing how he got the materials. However, he’s worried about Kathleen having to confess to her own actions in court and pleads with her to find a way out. She agrees to keep Kathleen’s name out of the proceedings. In court, Chuck pleads not guilty. His lawyer objects to the judge’s agreement on bail by accusing her of bias in these cases. The judge agrees to recues herself, but her replacement was on a committee that sent Sonya to rehab.

Soon, though, that same judge says she was investigated by Chuck’s lawyer and wants to convince Carla to testify in court. She talks about her own rape and how her assaulters were never punished. Carla agrees, but doesn’t show up the next day. The new judge isn’t happy with Sonya, but finally agrees to wait for Carla. She is soon found- but is dead in her apartment from toxic shock syndrome caused by her miscarriage. Chuck is now arrested for manslaughter.

This was yet another episode that was almost too complicated to be enjoyable. It wasn’t too hard to follow, but paring the complex events with Sonya’s return and Kathleen’s dilemma felt like they were packing in too much. That said, I think everything was done well, especially the judge’s own story. My biggest hang-up is the lack of conclusion on Bethany’s case. As for Kathleen, I can’t help thinking this will come back to haunt Elliot. Getting his daughter off has backfired before.

Note: BTW, the episode title refers to the gray areas in all the cases against Chuck.

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