An episode full of plot twists! Well worth the watch.
8 Reviews
Amazing
khalonii-westley21 June 2018
Brilliant casting choices and a highly entertaining installment
garrard8 July 2009
Warning: Spoilers
This is the first part of a "crossover" story that concluded on SVU's sister show "Law & Order." SVU is known for its intelligent writing and good acting, along with inspired casting of those that rarely do episodic television.
"Design" is an example of everything good about the show.
It has "Wonder Woman's" own Lynda Carter and Estella Warren as a pair of con artists extraordinaire that apparently have a success rate unequaled by others. They not only pull the wool over their targets but make mincemeat of Stabler (Chris Meloni), Benson (Mariska Hargitay), and the entire SVU team.
Not only do Carter and Warren soar in their respective parts but so do veteran character actor Ronnie Cox who portrays Warren's father, Broadway vet Peter Reigert as a defense attorney, and Julian Sands as one of the pair's "marks." Witty dialog exchanges between all the characters make this one a treat for the literary senses.
In addition to guests Carter, Warren, and Cox, there are cameos by musician/TV host Mark McGrath, chef Bobby Flay, and football player Jesse Palmer.
All these "power players" make this one of the best episodes in the show's current ten-year history.
"Design" is an example of everything good about the show.
It has "Wonder Woman's" own Lynda Carter and Estella Warren as a pair of con artists extraordinaire that apparently have a success rate unequaled by others. They not only pull the wool over their targets but make mincemeat of Stabler (Chris Meloni), Benson (Mariska Hargitay), and the entire SVU team.
Not only do Carter and Warren soar in their respective parts but so do veteran character actor Ronnie Cox who portrays Warren's father, Broadway vet Peter Reigert as a defense attorney, and Julian Sands as one of the pair's "marks." Witty dialog exchanges between all the characters make this one a treat for the literary senses.
In addition to guests Carter, Warren, and Cox, there are cameos by musician/TV host Mark McGrath, chef Bobby Flay, and football player Jesse Palmer.
All these "power players" make this one of the best episodes in the show's current ten-year history.
And Baby Makes.....The Ultimate Scam
stp431 September 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Design is designed to deliver one of SVU's most Rod Serling-esque teleplays and does so with the aplomb that has carried this series into nineteen seasons, and it has a surprisingly effective taste of sci-fi.
Estella Warren is April Troost. We first meet her straddling the edge of a large hotel's roof, threatening to jump - and almost ready to bear a child, a child she claims resulted from rape by a chemist named Barkley Pallister (Julian Sands). After Olivia Benson talks April out of the jump, Pallister is ready to go to trial when April disappears, and her car is found crashed and burned to a crisp.
Pallister covering his tracks, right? Wrong. April Troost's baby is real, but is also a master swindle on hopeful couples who are paying enormous sums to adopt the child, a girl. And it gets worse, for April has marked a slew of handsome men to seduce, and had worked for a creepy medical chief (Ronny Cox of "Total Recall") who is trying to create "designer" babies - babies injected with DNA of people with superior talents or IQs. All of April's marks have the same story - including Pallister.
All of this leads to the ultimate switcheroo, all of it leaving Olivia enraged at being taken in - but just when you thought you'd see every conceivable plot twist it all winds up leading to an actual adoption of a newborn girl.
Warren commands this episode, but also grabbing strong attention are Cox, Sands, and Lynda Carter as April's mom, who herself has a dirty little secret.
Estella Warren is April Troost. We first meet her straddling the edge of a large hotel's roof, threatening to jump - and almost ready to bear a child, a child she claims resulted from rape by a chemist named Barkley Pallister (Julian Sands). After Olivia Benson talks April out of the jump, Pallister is ready to go to trial when April disappears, and her car is found crashed and burned to a crisp.
Pallister covering his tracks, right? Wrong. April Troost's baby is real, but is also a master swindle on hopeful couples who are paying enormous sums to adopt the child, a girl. And it gets worse, for April has marked a slew of handsome men to seduce, and had worked for a creepy medical chief (Ronny Cox of "Total Recall") who is trying to create "designer" babies - babies injected with DNA of people with superior talents or IQs. All of April's marks have the same story - including Pallister.
All of this leads to the ultimate switcheroo, all of it leaving Olivia enraged at being taken in - but just when you thought you'd see every conceivable plot twist it all winds up leading to an actual adoption of a newborn girl.
Warren commands this episode, but also grabbing strong attention are Cox, Sands, and Lynda Carter as April's mom, who herself has a dirty little secret.
To save is to let go
erichanson-3993827 October 2020
Excellent episode. Many twists and turns. An episode where even Eilot feels for the man, who is a victim. Some evil people. There is some good evidence for conviction, but Casey declines and for good reason. By the episode's ending you will feel some anger and relief at the same time.
This was an entertaining and complicated episode.
mgmpc17 June 2008
Who played April Troost's father? He looked like Kenny Rogers!I looked to see if there were credits given to the actor and I did not see the character listed. This was a good and surprising episode. It was filled with many twists and turns and required that the viewer follow closely. I also noted that the character sounded like Kenny Rogers. While most episodes are clearly "whodunits" the plot slowly developed from the beginning when April appeared to be the presumed victim. She was sympathetic character under the story evolved into an unexpected twist when the character developed into a cunning, manipulative and conniving master con artist who worked in concert with her mother who who had obviously trained her daughter well. Seldom are we treated to such deeply developed characters in a one hour drama.
What "Demons" should have been
TheLittleSongbird31 March 2021
Am saying that because Season 7's first episode "Demons" has always been a disappointment. The first disappointing season premiere for 'Law and Order: Special Victims Unit', one of the weakest ones of the earlier seasons and after following on from such a consistently strong Season 6. The original 'Law and Order' and 'Criminal Intent' had Season 6s that were not near as strong, yet their Season 7 premieres were much better (especially 'Criminal Intent's' "Amends").
"Design" however was a big improvement over "Demons" and was an excellent episode, everything that that episode should have been but overall wasn't. For me, this felt more like a premiere than "Demons" did and where the season properly started. "Design" is not quite one of the best episodes of 'Special Victims Unit' or of the early seasons, but as far as Season 7 goes it's in the better half. Pretty much everything is executed to an exceptionally high standard.
The slick, subtly gritty and intimate production values are still present, while not going too far on the intimacy that it becomes too drab and closed up. The music lets the writing do all the talking without over-emphasising the emotions, while the direction is subtle without being bland or leaden.
Furthermore, the script is tightly structured and intelligent, conveying a wide range of emotions, especially in the latter stages when the complexity comes in. The story is full of clever twists and turns and is hugely entertaining and also very suspenseful. It is suitably complex with the entire truth not being what one expects at all. My only issue with it was that it was occasionally on the over-complicated side from packing in quite a number of surprising and anti-thesis of easy revelations and in a short space of time. The ending is tense and touching.
Characterisation is spot on, with nobody being sketchy and even when things become more personal the character writing didn't become over-heated or have characters going too far. That was one of the biggest problems had with "Demons", but here with Olivia in "Design" it was very easy to relate to Olivia's feelings when realising how wrong she got it (the last time this was done this powerfully was with Stabler in Season 1's "Nocturne"). The perpetrator is a fascinating character, one that is so rootable at first but then they become so chilling in how cold-blooded they are.
Likewise the acting can't be faulted, with a steely yet sympathetic turn from Mariska Hargitay and a knockout unsettling one from Estella Warren.
Summing up, excellent. 9/10.
"Design" however was a big improvement over "Demons" and was an excellent episode, everything that that episode should have been but overall wasn't. For me, this felt more like a premiere than "Demons" did and where the season properly started. "Design" is not quite one of the best episodes of 'Special Victims Unit' or of the early seasons, but as far as Season 7 goes it's in the better half. Pretty much everything is executed to an exceptionally high standard.
The slick, subtly gritty and intimate production values are still present, while not going too far on the intimacy that it becomes too drab and closed up. The music lets the writing do all the talking without over-emphasising the emotions, while the direction is subtle without being bland or leaden.
Furthermore, the script is tightly structured and intelligent, conveying a wide range of emotions, especially in the latter stages when the complexity comes in. The story is full of clever twists and turns and is hugely entertaining and also very suspenseful. It is suitably complex with the entire truth not being what one expects at all. My only issue with it was that it was occasionally on the over-complicated side from packing in quite a number of surprising and anti-thesis of easy revelations and in a short space of time. The ending is tense and touching.
Characterisation is spot on, with nobody being sketchy and even when things become more personal the character writing didn't become over-heated or have characters going too far. That was one of the biggest problems had with "Demons", but here with Olivia in "Design" it was very easy to relate to Olivia's feelings when realising how wrong she got it (the last time this was done this powerfully was with Stabler in Season 1's "Nocturne"). The perpetrator is a fascinating character, one that is so rootable at first but then they become so chilling in how cold-blooded they are.
Likewise the acting can't be faulted, with a steely yet sympathetic turn from Mariska Hargitay and a knockout unsettling one from Estella Warren.
Summing up, excellent. 9/10.
Good episode but
marysammons-422207 May 2021
Warning: Spoilers
This con artist just happens to carry around a cattle prod thing and huge machine to make guys "get it up" while knocked out a a rufi? Other than that being ridiculous the episode is very good. Although her father runs a sperm bank so anything is possible.
Outlier
jeanpierrexxiii3 October 2022
Just realized the title of my article is a triple entendre. Two of them you'll discover in the episode, but the meaning here is that I don't rate this episode as highly as others have.
I like to write spoiler-free reviews so bear with me. You likely know that twists and turns are part of SVUs DNA. You probably also know that episodes don't always have a happy or neatly wrapped ending. This episode left me unfulfilled...I felt like time cramped the story from resolving some of its threads.
The episode I watched right before this one, Poison, did a better job with this kind of ending. I wasn't totally satisfied but enough was done to where I could let it go. Design wasn't a bad episode, I just don't think its high rating is justified.
I like to write spoiler-free reviews so bear with me. You likely know that twists and turns are part of SVUs DNA. You probably also know that episodes don't always have a happy or neatly wrapped ending. This episode left me unfulfilled...I felt like time cramped the story from resolving some of its threads.
The episode I watched right before this one, Poison, did a better job with this kind of ending. I wasn't totally satisfied but enough was done to where I could let it go. Design wasn't a bad episode, I just don't think its high rating is justified.
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