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Is there a specific episode/moment that made you fall in love with Carisi?

I loved how good with the kids he was with the ultra-Christian vlogging family, how he didn’t judge his sister for considering an abortion when her partner was in and out of her life, how respectful he was of everyone when he joined the team ( always using their rank, taking on board their constructive criticism/feedback and letting them take the lead, while also managing to get himself opportunities to try to do things without help, volunteering for the boring/tedious jobs, making sure everyone on the team was included in social events and inviting people who were having a hard/sad/bad time to join him or others for socialising/food). How he cares for Amanda throughout her pregnancy with Jesse and once she has given birth… So lots of little things from the start ( he arrives with zeppole, which was a nice touch for a guy who shows his affection for those he loves by providing foid for them) that all added up over time. Also Liv asking him to be Noah’s guideparent after only knowing him a year or so says a lot about his character. If Liv or Fin think the person is a good one/innocent, they are usually right, so that also helped consolidate my feelings for him. He’s just a kind, funny, hard-working family man who talks about his feelings and dreams.

Evidently, losing the god awful moustache helped a lot too!

Sgt Hunt talking to Eli before his IAB investigation and coaching him on what to say while at the same time how he's proud of him is come gross manipulation.

When he makes sure Eli knows to say that he identified himself when we all know he didn't. Ugh!

Also, Eli being just like his Dad and ignoring phone calls, even when he's told he can answer them and he sees it's Becky.

Eli asking why IAB guy is asking about his Father, much liek Elliot did when they first met one another and he kept talking about Joe Snr. Neither of the Stabler's want to be likened to their Dad especially (although with Eli, not in a bad way).

Also, IAB guy being all shocked his investigating a shooting, like dude, it's your job. I'm sure you've investigated people in the same family before. Cops seem to shoot people all the damn time. My current theory is he and Hunt are buds.

IAB guys mentions Eli and his wife, and he doesn't correct him. Compared to Elliot who instantly corrected the shrink last week when she called Becky Eli's wife.

If there are already 'several eye witness reports' saying Pietro was lowering his weapon, I really don't see how Eli gets away with his job here.

Eli looked horrified about going before a grand jury. And it'll be interesting how he's psychiatric appointment might go.

Also, it was nice having the juxtaposition between Eli's IAB interview and Elliot with Isabella as she identifies Pietro's body.

1) liaison jj, as her role was more unique, she was on-screen less but more interesting as a character. She was always quite vocal that she didn’t want to be a profiler, it seemed to come out of nowhere. If she’d shown interest in the run-up ( looking over how to write a profile, asking her team to test her on x/y/z , reading up on it/studying for one of the tests...)I might have found it more believable.

2) profiler emily, as politics were never her thing early on, and I thought she was a great addition to the team. Again, if we’d seen her opinion shift and had her try it before, it would have felt more organic!

3) casual morgan feels truer to his character, as he’s always ready to jump into action-it must be so constrictive to have to wear a suit when you’re kicking down doors/ running after unsubs!

4) hotch in suits. I am a sucker for a classically handsome man in a suit, and the whole put together, show no emotion façade he puts up goes perfectly well with his immaculate suit and perfectly tied tie! It’s close though, as I do love him in casual wear too!

5) hotch without a beard, though it’s close. I normally prefer men clean-shaven, but he rocks the beard!

6) Reid without glasses, I like that it doesn’t perpetuate the stereotypical nerd trope!

7) Reid with short hair. It looks best when Hotch asks him if he joined a boyband, hee!

8) Penelope with blonde hair, by, no pun intended, a hair! As a blonde, I preferred when our hair colours matched! Ironically, I think she looks best as a redhead posing as a blonde in Reflections of Desire, when she has to do a videoed press conference-total Marilyn Monroe off-set vibes!

9) Morgan as unit chief! He did such a great job and could definitely have continued if Hotch had stepped down and taken the 9-5 desk job!

10) I like both for different reasons. Both super smart, but in very different ways, and extremely different personalities. For the language connection and her lovely relationship with Spencer, I’ll say Blake, if I really have to choose!

11) Haven’t seen past Season 11, and the little glimpse I got of Mike wasn’t really enough to pass judgement on him. Luke seems very sweet though, and he ends up with Penelope, and if she likes him that much, I should go for him!

12) early seasons, until about 7/8, when the cliffhangers stopped being so good. The first 4/5 seasons have brilliant finales, I have no idea how anyone who watched when they aired on TV coped until the next season started, as they were total cliff-hangers, with 4 being the best!

13) Foyet arc, as cannot actually bring myself to fully watch all the Scratch eps, just too bloody terrifying. The Foyet arc was so long, with so many little clues, and the reveal about who Foyet actually is made me gasp/get shivers down my spine! 

14) Both, for different reasons! The end of Season 1 had me ordering the Season 2 DVDs immediately, as I only bought Season 1 to see if I got on with the show! Season 7 was a lovely ensemble moment, showcasing the team’s closeness and it just makes me so happy! 

15) Emily, as we got more insight into her character, but, if Elle had stayed, I think she would have grown on me- I didn’t like or relate to her much in Season 1, but liked her arc at the end. They were both tough, take no crap ladies who could be funny. I think Emily also got on better with Penelope/JJ/the other female profilers ( training Todd, great relationship with Tara...).

16) Both interesting characters with their own flaws and merits. Long-term, Seaver would have bern more interesting, and she seemed to gel with the team more, hanging out with Penelope, Morgan and Reid at least once outside of work hours. 

17) Tank top Emily, especially the red one! JJ’s style is preppier, with the shirts, and she looks so beautiful in those light blue shirts she often wore!

18) Hotch in a suit. Matches so well with his personality and makes him even more attractive!

19) Lauren, as have not seen the Spencer episode, as I think it’s post Season 11, with the prison arc. I did however really enjoy the Riley Jenkins episodes, which are pretty Reid-centric!

20) Season 1 Hotch and Haley are so sweet as new parents, and when Hotch is at home they have some adorable moments together that made me squee. However, once Hotch is a single dad, I loved Beth and their relationship. She was really confident, funny, had a great job and would have made a fantastic new partner for Hotch, had she stayed. We only really got to see the bad side of Hotch and Haley after the first season. 

criminal minds asks: this or that

1. liaison jj or profiler jj?

2. profiler emily or unit chief emily?

3. morgan in suits or morgan in casual clothes?

4. hotch in suits or hotch in casual clothes?

5. hotch with a beard or without a beard?

6. reid with glasses or without glasses?

7. reid with long hair or reid with short hair?

8. penelope with red hair or penelope with blonde hair?

9. morgan as a profiler or morgan as unit chief?

10. kate or blake?

11. matt or luke?

12. early seasons or later seasons?

13. the scratch arc or the foyet arc?

14. season 1 finale or season 7 finale?

15. elle or emily?

16. seaver or todd?

17. tank top jj or tank top emily?

18. morgan in a suit or hotch in a suit?

19. the “spencer” episode or the “lauren” episode

20. hotch/haley or hotch/beth?

I love how Hotch almost always thanks her for her help, he’s so polite! 

Thoughts on Season 17 of SVU

What an opening episode! My hate for Dr Yates is immense, it has no limit! He must have been investigated when Stabler was still there, somewhere between Season 5 and 8, as it was apparently 10 years ago. However I can find zero episodes that feature him during that time frame! 

Yates is so creepy, so calm and so sleazy! 

Carisi is an excellent cop, he works really hard, has excellent instincts, takes instruction/feedback well and takes initiative when appropriate. He also sometimes spots things that his colleagues have missed or has a novel way of approaching the case/victim/suspect.

He is always actively observing how his colleagues handle situations ( victims, suspects, the big cheeses in charge…) and everything that’s going on in the courtroom. He’s obviously really into his legal studies as he’s accompanying Barba when he’s dealing with that side of things.

In a few years ( I stopped watching when S 12 finished), everyone seems much more accepting/open-minded and mindful of the language they use regarding trans females/males ( currently on episode 2 with the trans teen girl) and sex workers/drag queens… Some of the language used by the team in the first few seasons is really shocking, and some of them are really judgemental ( yes, Stabler, I’m looking at you!) when it comes to mental health and sex/gender issues. 

The tech is also much improved, as the earlier seasons were all about the dangers of this new-fangled internet and Stabler didn’t even have a cell phone until quite late. 

Wish Fin had taken the sergeant’s exam, would have meant no nepotism from William Dodds and his spy of a son taking on the job. I haven’t met him yet but hate him on principle! 

 I remember how annoyed Fin was that Munch took and passed the sergeant’s exam behind everyone’s back, possibly on a dare/because he lost a bet, so nice callback/continuity there. 

Lots of big names in supporting/guest roles: Sean Robert Leonard and Whoopi Goldberg that I can name, but lots of faces that are familiar to me. 

The pronunciation of some names in French is still appalling!

In the overworked social workers episode, the dubbers made Keisha/Keysha sound like Petit Chat ( Little Cat, which is used a lot as a term of endearment from French parents towards their little kids) and Keith sounds like a cross between Kiss and Keys ( the “th” sound is notoriously difficult for French people to master).

Just watching the baby shower episode and snorted at Fin’s comment about not having any idea how Mike Dodds got the sergeant’s job. He always seems to say what everyone else is thinking but doesn’t dare to say.

So far, Dodds seems competent and not too annoying, so that’s good. His dad however really got my heckles up by telling Olivia how to organise her team and do her job. 

Really not fans of Amanda’s mum and sister, they are walking disasters.

Was also disappointed by Carisi’s gift to Amanda for the baby shower. A wipe warmer is just so impersonal even though it is practical and recommended by his sister. I feel a bit cheated as we haven’t seen Carisi being awesome with his niece, or at least mentioning her from time to time. 

I love this episode!

I think the crime investigation is interesting, and it has lots of potential suspects who are intriguing.

I love Benson’s line « It’s Detective, not Miss » as it reminds me of Spencer Reid in Criminal Minds who is being questioned about something and gets annoyed, gets reprimanded but replies wit( « This is calm and it’s Doctor! ». Such similar energy!

I also adore Benson’s reply to the University priest, when talking about stalking as a crime, he says « it’s in the eye of the beholder » and Olivia says it’s not, it’s in the eye of the District Attorney. Just a brilliant comeback!

My favourite parts of this ep were Stabler and Maureen’s interactions.

She clearly has no idea why he’s asking her to breathe on him to see if she’s been drinking, showing that she’s still innocent.

I think this episode shows just how stubborn they can both be ( Kathleen, Dickie and Eli all seem to share this trait with him, which we see in later episodes: the Season 11 episode with Dickie’s friend Shane, countless episodes for Kathleen and probably for Eli too, where they refuse to talk to their dad because they are angry/upset with him) and how their relationship is shifting. I think the grounding lasts about a week, and at least one day ( after she sneaks down to help with dinner prep and won’t tell her dad where she was/what she was doing/who she was with) where she’s not speaking to him at all. 

In the previous episode, she doesn’t want him to kiss her on the lips when he’s been called in to work, and, in the second episode ( the one with the models and eating disorders), Kathy tells Elliot he should talk to her because she listens to him, and she won’t talk about her eating habits. So lots of little signs/hints that they aren’t as close as they once were. 

Later in the show, we find out that Elliot was at home during the day when Maureen was little  while Kathy studied/worked and he took night classes/work shifts. He mentions taking her grocery shopping, to the park etc, so would have had a lot of interaction with her, playing with her, helping her learn new skills, teaching her social rules etc… That’s got to have made them very close ( definitely a Daddy’s girl!) , and she’s obviously upset and annoyed that her dad always has to leave for work when family time is planned. 

Before their reconciliation chat, when they are in the car, I think both actors nailed the portrayal of how tense things are between them. She doesn’t say goodbye to him when she gets out of the car, let alone look at him, there’s no music playing and it’s just uncomfortably quiet.

It contrasted nicely with the Season 2 premiere, where they are in the car, Maureen fiddles with the radio ( so she gets to choose the music) and they have some teasing banter ( about tattoos and just wait until you have kids).

Their reconciliation scene echoes/parallels their opening scene. He calls out to her, just like he does at the beginning, and she really doesn’t want to have a conversation with her dad. He responds to her annoyed « What? » in a similar tone to her answers to his questions when he’s caught her sneaking back in, which I thought was a nice little callback, and a sweet/funny way to show her how annoying/frustrating it is to not get a straight answer. Plus he tells her that he hates being in a Cold War with her as much as she is visibly hating it, and reassures her that he loves her. 

I like that he can get through to her just how scared he is that she’s going to end up hurt or worse without going into graphic detail, and the second he can see she’s upset, he opens his arms to hug her.

Her apology is very sweet and heartfelt, and I adore that he says he’s sorry too. 

Their hug is short but full of affection, I love the little squeezes they give each other, it’s clear they’ve missed that aspect of their relationship, and Stabler is very physically demonstrative with his kids ( he’ll kiss them on the head, put his arm around them, lets the little ones snuggle up to him when he’s reading to them or  climb all over him when he’s on the phone, picking Dickie up to make him fly across the climbing frame, draping his suit jacket over Maureen’s shoulders at the picnic at the park in the next episode ). 

Milquetoast watches Sophomore Jinx

Sophomore Jinx S1xE6 Special Victims Unit: Episode Review

what this episode is about: Benson and Stabler suspect a pair of college basketball players of murdering a female student, but officials don’t want to draw negative attention to the school.

What I think this episode is about:

Father/Daughter Growing pains

________________________________________________________________

Oooooh! Maureen you are so busted!!! If only Elliot hadn’t been called in the middle of the night she might never have been caught.

I never realized how much SVU had originally focused on Elliot’s home life in the first season. Maureen specifically has had a significant role the past few episodes. Lots of teenage angst and how that effects Elliot.

Elliot: “Breathe on me.” - Maureen is so creeped out by that. And she seems so confused. Hint: he wants to know if you’ve been drinking. Elliot is so haunted by his work he is suspicious of everyone. What’s interesting here is that Maureen seems to be having a hard time with Elliot leaving all the time to go to work. In the middle of the night, in the middle of their dinner, in the middle of a PTA meeting.

Keep reading

Aw Becky, maybe the saviour of the episode.

Not that it's a bad episode and it needed saving but this conversation *finally* happening.

I like how Becky says Elliot looks well rested after what had happened and he just makes a non-commital 'mm' noise. I think this man can survive on miminal sleep by this point.

Her little pat on the bed to make his sit down beside her. It's adorable. And it shows a sweet side to Becky who has had so little to do so far.

Becky letting Elliot into some secrets between her and Eli, things that he's not been able to speak to his Dad about. His obligation to become a cop. Her telling Elliot he really loves him and he doesn't want to disappoint him.

Admitting to him how scared she is and Elliot telling her to breath, a nice callback to when Bernie talked about her fear of being a cops wife in episode 2. How El just hugs her to reassure her.

The release from confessing all of this to him.

Thoughts on Law and Order Organised Crime, Seasons 3 and 4

I thought Season 3 was extremely boring, as I watch for the Stabler family interactions and Elliot and Olivia moments.

The scene between Eli and Elliot at the end of the episode with the Asian father searching for his son was sweet. Elliot teasing him about his clothes being all over the floor as well as providing a good home-cooked meal felt very true to the characters and their father-son dynamic, as well as Eli not being forthcoming about his girlfriend without some prodding. How is Eli old enough to be in college? The only explanation I can come up with is that Eli was so far ahead in his studies, having studied in Italy ( European curriculum is allegedly a couple of years ahead of the equivalent grade in the US, so US uni courses are equivalent to Junior or Senior Year courses in the UK). There were several other instances where I was very confused by the timeline, like Elliot’s dad being dead by 1993 as Elliot says he went to his dad’s grave with a sandwich and two beers when he made detective, aged about 25, yet had also been able to serve in the Marines on several missions... Honestly, I’ve given up trying to understand it! Also still trying to figure out the age order and age gap between the older Stabler siblings, which is also very confusing. Joe Jr’s year of birth is 1980-something ( based on the safe code in his hotel suite that Elliot and Randall figure out), which would mean Elliot was in his late teens/early. 20’s ( so already married with at least one kid) by the time Joe Jr came along. 

 The Season 3 episode ending establishes a pattern as Eli doesn't tell his dad he’s split from Rachel, but tells Randall. It kind of mirrors the Season 4 finale, with Elliot teasing Eli about being up early at first, then asking the probing/deeper questions. I wish Eli had just told him, but seeing as how his dad reacted to him joining the police force, I can understand why he didn’t want to. I love that he and Bernie both figured it out, albeit in very different ways that felt very true to their characters. 

The family dinner episode in Season 4 was very dramatic and the revelations were pretty shocking. I knew the truth about Joe Sr but to actually hear it and see all the characters deal with the aftermath was so impactful. Again, everyone reacting, talking over each other and wanting to leave both then and when Eli tells them he’s going to be a police officer. I really get why Elliot doesn’t want him to join up, with all the dangers he has faced and faces in the Season. 

The casting continues to be excellent, as Joe Jr looks just like the actor who played Joe Sr as they have a similar build, face/nose shape and colouring. Randall looks like a stockier version of Elliot. 

I think it’s sad that the Stabler kids have cousins they have never met/hung out with as Randall has been in Florida for about 40 years, and got married and had kids at some point. 

I enjoyed the little moments with Carisi and Rollins. It seems like Rollins and  Stabler have quite a close bond/an established friendship, so I would like to see Stabler have that bond with Carisi. They could have had a beer together after one of the cases and talked about their kids/families/whatever was going on. I think Carisi’s empathy and desire to look after people would be good for Stabler. 

I was much more interested in the Season 4 episode arc, I thought they packed a lot into 13 episodes. 

Law and Order OC Seasons 1 and 2 thoughts

I have just watched the first two seasons of  SVU OC, as I wanted to see the episode when Eli runs away. 

Unfortunately I can only watch the episodes in French, so have to put up with the dubbing, which is not the worst but it could be a lot better.

I don’t really follow the actual crimes part, I mainly watch for the Stabler family interactions, dynamics and development.

 I like Stabler’s new team. Ayanna is great, Jet is super cool ( she seems to be on the autistic spectrum, as she sometimes takes things literally, isn’t very comfortable with touch/affection and goes into hyper focus mode when it comes to work). I love the bond she has with Stabler, he’s very fatherly and protective of her. There’s an episode when he goes to pick Eli up from school and he gives him a fistbump when he tells him he’s made the soccer team, then, either before or after, Jet helps him out with some tech issue or finds out some useful info through cyber digging, and he does the same to her. There’s also a sweet moment when he is talking to Ayanna about protecting his family as they are at risk, and she just sidles over silently and puts her arms around him. Elliot is surprised but pats/rubs her arm in response, then they talk about her fears and he reassures her. 

It reminded me a bit of the Season 1 episode, Nocturne, where he is reading to Lizzie and Dickie, who are about 7. They are climbing all over him and giving him hugs and kisses, and he’s just so patient with them, answering their questions about why it can’t be Christmas every day and being used as a human climbing frame.

He’s definitely more relaxed as a dad with Eli, though he is trying to be a mother and a father to him. He’s much more patient with teen Eli than he was with  Maureen, Dickie and Kathleen when they were teens. He listens before jumping to conclusions when he finds Eli in New Jersey, whereas with the other three, he let his fear and protective side take over, which manifested in anger. 

Like in Swing, Olivia is there to help, which is a neat parallel, and I only just realised that Stabler must be worried that Eli could be bipolar too and that’s why he’s run away because he is in a manic state. 

I really like how he shows his affection for Eli in small ways, like he’ll fix his son’s collar or give him a pat on the shoulder, when he’d really like to hug his son but doesn’t want to demand a hug. He can also be quite playful with him, as after giving him a hug, they tease each other affectionately and Elliot pushes at his face with his hand. 

I also think it’s normal that Eli wants to know more about his grandparents/his roots, as the only grandparent he knows is Bernie, and even then, he doesn’t know her extremely well. Having just lost his mum, he’s trying to figure out who he is, where he is from and where he is going, with lots of changes going on around him, having moved to a new country, a new home, a new school and school system, having to make new friends and also going from having a dad who was around a lot to one who is absent a lot. Eli is also trying to look after Elliot, which he should not be having to do, but he won’t leave to stay with one of his sisters as he doesn’t want to lose his dad as well. 

In Season 6, when Kathy leaves Elliot, she goes to stay with her mom, so we can assume her dad is not in the picture, and, presumably being Catholic too, he’s probably dead, rather than divorced from Kathy’s mum.

Elliot is still super closed off about his past and his relationship with his father, and his feelings are intensified as he investigates the story behind his father’s bravery medal.

Finding out he really did want to be an architect ( he tells Frank about it when they are on a stake-out) but his father knocked the idea out of his head ( probably literally as well as verbally) broke my heart. 

In Season 10, Swing, he outright denies Bernie’s claim that that is what he wanted to be, claiming he’s always wanted to be a cop. 

It shows that Bernie really understood him, she tried to encourage him as best she could and clearly loves him very much. 

They are so much closer in OC, which is lovely to see. They even share a laugh, when she asks him if he’s a phone salesman now as he has a few phones for all the different undercover jobs he’s doing, and he says no, he stole them. They both sarcastically “ha ha” at the other person’s quip, but it is a moment full of affection and understanding.

They also start talking properly, which is a very good thing, and Elliot’s love for his mom and family are very touching. 

The episode where Elliot gets the reels of the recordings of his childhood and watches them with Bernie at the end made me cry, and has lodged itself in my brain. While it was lovely to see Elliot have some sweet moments with his dad, it’s heartbreaking that they couldn’t always have had that, and there must always have been that fear that he’d flip and become physically abusive, like he did in the diorama incident referenced in Season 7 that Elliot tells Dr Hendricks about. Hearing about that left me in tears. Destroying your kid’s project in a fit of rage because they changed one minute detail is just awful, but then beating them for crying too is just unforgivable! 

The dinner scene when Bernie tells Eli about Joe boxing Elliot’s ears, slapping him upside the head and putting soap in his mouth for attitude/disrespect leave Eli absolutely stunned, like he’s seen, heard or read about such punishments in books or films but didn’t think actually happened in real life, as Elliot has never physically disciplined any of his kids like that, and was probably more relaxed/lenient with Eli than he was with the other four children. The only time he comes somewhat close to getting physically aggressive with one of his children is with Dickie in Turmoil ( Season 11), when Stabler asks him if he’s lost his mind and Dickie sasses back that he wouldn’t be the first Stabler to do so, referencing both Bernie and Kathleen’s manic episodes. Elliot shoves Dickie up against the wall, but he quickly lets go and holds then pats or squeezes his shoulder, as if he wants to pull his son in for a hug. 

I like seeing how hard Elliot has worked on not being like his father was, trying so hard to give his children a home life that is predictable and safe, with  boundaries, consistency, encouragement ( when Maureen wants to get into Columbia and is disappointed by a B+, he is so supportive of her and says she’s done/doing great) and he tells his kids he is proud of them and that he loves them regularly. 

His difficulties with technology are very endearing, he usually has to ask Jet for a non technical translation, and his kids have been helping him since Season 1 with computer/phone issues, with Maureen in Season 1 bypassing the parental security lock on the computer and, in Season 8 he mentions that his kids had to help him put the numbers he wanted on speed dial. 

One annoying thing about the show is how the flashbacks at the start of the episode sometimes show an SVU scene, which I haven’t seen, like Kathy’s funeral, for example. It was cool to see Carisi in an episode though, and Olivia is a pretty regular recurring character too. 

Seeing Stabler’s complicated relationship with Liv is so interesting.

Because I am watching in French, there is no ambiguity about who he is saying “I love you” to during the intervention scene, as he uses the singular/informal/friendly you form, then, 20-something seconds later, he says “I love all of you”, using the plural you form this time. 

It was so interesting to see Eli try first, then Kathleen ( the kids he is closest to and the ones he talks to/confides in the most), but they both fail, so Olivia steps in. She actually stands in front of the children, as if to protect them from Elliot’s potentially angry outburst.

Her chat at the diner with Kathleen was really moving, it reminded me of when Liv talks to Bernie in Swing.

I’m looking forward to watching the next three seasons to see how everything plays out.