Law & Order: SVU – Recap & Review – Lost Reputation/Above Suspicion

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Law & Order: SVU
Lost Reputation/Above Suspicion.

Original Air Date: Sep 26, 2012

Caitlin – Staff Writer
caitlin@thetwocentscorp.com

Four months ago, Law & Order: SVU finally decided to do something many other shows consider commonplace for season finales: end the episode on a dramatic cliffhanger that leaves the fates of main characters hanging in the balance.

The character in this case is Captain Cragen, and his situation coming into the two-part season premiere isn’t so much a life or death one as it is one of his innocence, character, and freedom. Though that actually kind of makes it almost life or death for someone as dedicated to police work as he is.

We start out with quite a few flashbacks that include both new and old information. When Olivia arrives at Cragen’s apartment, he doesn’t remember anything that happened, probably because he was drugged. He’s taken to a hospital; she immediately clashes with an investigator named Paula Foster. In the squad room, everyone is in shock, and the arrival of a new captain helps nothing. In the hospital, Dr. Warner is forced to examine Cragen for evidence.

Munch and Olivia talk to Cassidy, who thinks Delia is guilty. Delia herself visits Nick at his house, saying only that she thinks he’s a good person and cop. The captain is arrested before an audience of reporters and put in solitary confinement without bail. We turn our attention first to Ganzel, playing a grieving lover, and then again to Delia and her lawyer, who are trying to blackmail Cragen with photos of him and other women.

Olivia and Foster are more or less on the same side now, despite a wiretap bringing about all sorts of awkward information. But that doesn’t the change the fact that Foster is still investigating Cragen, or that she’s right about how strong the case against him is. Amanda and Fin go to question Iris before her testimony against Delia. She wants protection right after the trial. This fact does not say anything hood about her fate.

Olivia talks to Cragen again, trying to boost his confidence however she can, and learns that he did briefly slip and have a fling with a woman. Nick’s own personal life is in shambles as his wife announces she’s moving to D.C with their daughter. And sure enough, Iris winds up dead. Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear to be a murder. She’s found dead in bathtub of bloody water with her wrists slit.

Nick loses his cool when he’s put under a closer lens and when everyone else tries to get him to drop out of things. He’s angry that they won’t listen to his distrust of Cassidy. Foster then informs everyone that the last witness against Delia has also been killed. Munch and Olivia get some more details out of Cassidy while Fin and Amanda deal with the new captain. But none of them are watching Nick. Later, he finds Cassidy and confronts him at gunpoint.

Cassidy does his best to talk Nick down, telling as much of what he knows as he can. Meanwhile, an oblivious Olivia and Munch talk to the captain again. Munch points out that’s it’s fairly telling Cragen is the only one who’s been arrested despite all the bodies that have dropped in connection with Delia. It’s only later that Foster points out they haven’t seen either Cassidy or Nick in a while. Elsewhere, Ganzel finds a bug in his apartment.

Olivia learns from Nick that Cassidy knew of connections between Carissa and Delia. She also learns how he got that information and what’s going on with his family. Ganzel makes Cassidy find all the bugs in his place and later has a little chat with the detectives. Foster and Delia go toe-to-toe at court and everyone tries to figure things out. But then there’s a standoff with a couple carjackers at Ganzel’s car and Cassidy gets shot in chest.

Somewhat amazingly, he makes it to the hospital alive. Olivia is convinced that the shooting was intentional, and that the carjackers were planted. Later, after the detectives convene, Nick and Amanda tell the rookie cop who shot Cassidy that he’s dead. They break her down and learn that Ganzel arranged the shooting after learning who Cassidy was. Olivia tells Cassidy this just before she kisses him, and Ganzel is arrested trying to flee the country.

Ganzel’s lawyer gets him bail and denies his charges despite having told his client to turn himself in earlier. Foster interrogates him and it turns out even he doesn’t know how much of a terrible person Ganzel actually is. He changes sides and secretly records Ganzel’s confession. But even then, Cragen isn’t off the hook. As soon as he’s released, he learns he’s being charged for sodomy after the D.A. made a deal with Delia.

To get away with all she’s done, Delia has to have some pretty high connections. Cragen’s going to be forced into retirement, and Olivia won’t accept the fact even when Foster says she can’t keep investigating. Delia turned over her client list and got immunity. Foster apologizes, but Olivia is still suspicious. She knows everything Foster does is tied to her disabled daughter.

Sure enough, Delia’s had Foster under her thumb for a long time. Foster set everything up. To be fair, she’d only recently realized everything the woman was capable of. Olivia takes her away and arrests her, but it’s only the beginning. Cragen’s not going to around for a while and the aftershocks result in many people in the force and government getting arrested. We’re in it for the long haul.

I was going to include more commentary in this recap, but all I can come up with is that watching this show for two hours is draining in a whole variety of ways. I’m glad Cassidy isn’t dead and I’m curious what’s going to happen between him and Liv. I liked the performances, but would recommend anyone else watching this episode in the future do so in small doses. There’s too much information to process all at once. Hopefully, we’ll keep making sense of at least some of it for the rest of the season.

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