This review is written in retrospect of SVU seasons 13-17. There are potential spoilers for all these seasons, so proceed with caution.
Second episode of season thirteen as well as the introduction of the second new detective to the unit, Nick Amaro, a character who will go through many shifts in characterization throughout the series and ultimately turn out to be a very different character than the one presented in this episode. SVU has done negative character development before--most notably in the case of Stabler and Novak, both of whom, in different ways, managed to spiral out and create their own destructions, though none were handled as clumsily as Nick Amaro, who is introduced in this episode as a level-headed, empathetic counterpart to most of the people in the unit. Amaro, in his early season 13 episodes especially, is a happy sort of voice-of-reason, a fact which will quickly deteriorate. Mostly, actually, through his empathy.
Now, onto the episode itself.
Summary
A young man breaks into a press conference to accuse his former coach of sexually abusing him. SVU detectives investigate and find some more secrets that the coach might be keeping.
Title
A pretty clear sports pun. Personal fouls refers both to basketball as well as the personal crimes of the villains in this episode.
Season Theme
The miscarriage/misapplication of justice theme is most clear in the case of the backstory victim who had his rape kept from the police by his church and eventually ends up hanging himself. It’s also pretty clearly hinted at with the inability of the rest of the victims to feel comfortable coming forward.
Episode Notes
The opener people for this award ceremony are aggressively unfunny, but the audience continues to laugh anyway.
The crime this week is a basketball coach who molested his students. That crime stays consistent throughout the episode, until the end of the episode spirals into a sudden murder plot.
Amaro shows up with a terrible beard. It will be gone by the next scene thankfully for all of us. Several seasons later a new detective will be introduced with a terrible mustache which will last two episodes so I’m glad they got things done early with Nick.
Rollins and Fin is friendly with Amaro. This will last about half this season.
Liv calls Amaro Serpico, which is apparently a movie about an idealistic New York cop who refuses to take bribes.
Amaro is introduced as good cop to Fin's (though not to Liv's) bad cop which is abundantly clear with how easily he bonds with the victim. This will change.
Amaro doesn't really get sex crimes here though, it doesn't seem. He asks the vic why he never told anyone, which is something that Fin and Rollins carefully avoid several scenes later, especially in their discussion about why male victims of sexual assault don’t report said assault. His inexperience with SVU is clear in this scene. This will also change.
The coach plays innocent parental figure and it’s disgusting.
The coach payed off the kid up until the point that statute of limitation ran out because he's the worst and he knows the law very well.
The detectives try to talk to the other possible victims, but they don't get very far until the vic sends them to his famous roommate, Prince
There's a major swerve to the right about what this episode is about and the first victim dies.
Melinda can't determine whether the death was a homicide or a suicide. It's the former because there wouldn't be the rest of the episode without it.
The detectives try to emotionally influence the prince victim into testifying by remembering what his life used to be like. Liv speaks in double entendre the entire time. It’s a little creepy. It works, somehow. Things are always a little uncomfortable when the detectives emotionally manipulate the victims into testifying.
And Prince does a press conference telling all. We don't see the trial, but it's a foregone conclusion.
Character Continuity and Characteristics
This episode introduces us to Amaro. We know he worked in narcotics, did a lot of undercover, was well liked by his bosses, his wife is in Iraq, and he's not that familiar with sex crimes.
Liv misses Stabler. A lot.
Liv's not playing nice with the others because of this fact and Cragen tells her to shape up. SVU 2.0 is very much Benson’s show and that’s shown especially this season with the development of her relationships with her fellow detectives.
Amaro asks after Elliot. Fin describes Stabler as a good cop which is the nicest thing he's said about Stabler
Rollins calls donuts the last of her vices. Rollins is lying. Rollins mentions betting on one of the victim‘s games.
Trial Time
N/A. Cabot shows up and helps out the team but we don’t see the case go to trial.
Let's Talk Sexuality
“You think I'd let another man put his hands on my body?" The shame that the victims in this episode feel about their abuse was implied to be based on orientation throughout the episode, but it's made pretty clear in a conversation between Fin and Amanda that male vic's don't report their assaults both from a fear they won't be believed along with a fear that people will think they're gay. Fin states this is especially true in the black and Latino community, which is where most of his experience about it comes from.
Fin mentions Ken (his son, who's gay) and calls him the bravest man he's ever known, in reference to being able to come out in this environment.
Let's Talk Sex
Prince has a threesome, which involved a video and two separate contracts. The division between consensual and nonconsensual sex throughout the episode is made very clear.
Best Line
"Ray's boys foundation. Ray's boys. Wow" --Amaro speaking my thoughts out loud about the name of the pedophile couch's foundation. He really does act as a bit of an audience surrogate through his first few episodes.
"The relationship between a coach and his star player is very intense". You're not making yourself sounds good creepy coach man. This line just does a really good job at making the villain in this episode sound terrifying.
Worst Line
"Look at these fat cats"--The opening speech this episode was really bad.
Should You Watch This Episode?
Yes. This was a pretty legitimately emotional episode. We probably didn't need the brief murder plot in the middle of it, but the victims' acting carried the episode well. We don't get much from the detectives personally, but we do get an introduction to Amaro who comes across as very professional and likable this episode, which will continue on for the first half of season 13, at the very least. There’s a few hiccups in the back half but overall, if you like the show, it’s strongly recommended.
