Pretend
- Episode aired May 15, 2007
- TV-14
- 41m
IMDb RATING
8.3/10
1.1K
YOUR RATING
The investigation into an extreme fighting death leads to the discovery of a 28-year-old woman posing as a 16-year-old high school student.The investigation into an extreme fighting death leads to the discovery of a 28-year-old woman posing as a 16-year-old high school student.The investigation into an extreme fighting death leads to the discovery of a 28-year-old woman posing as a 16-year-old high school student.
BD Wong
- Special Agent Dr. George Huang, M.D.
- (as B.D. Wong)
- (credit only)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis episode was loosely based on the story of Treva Throneberry. Shortly after graduating high school in 1987, Throneberry traveled the United States claiming to be an underage teenager She attended many high schools and lived in many foster and group homes throughout the US. In 1998 she moved to Vancouver, Washington, and as sixteen-year-old Brianna Stewart enrolled in Evergreen High School. After graduating in 2000, she attended Clark College. In January 2001 she tried to get an official birth certificate so she could obtain a Social Security number. When her fingerprints were checked, her original identity was revealed, leading to her arrest in Vancouver, Washington. On March 22, 2001, Throneberry was arrested for theft, fraud, and perjury for trying to obtain legal documents with false identity. She had defrauded the state for foster care and college tuition worth $4,670. She could not raise bail of $20,000. Other charges around the country also increased the load. Throneberry continued to insist that she was Brianna Stewart and refused to acknowledge her parents. Authorities proved her original identity with fingerprints and DNA testing. Psychologists and lawyers began to study her, trying to find out if she was a con artist or delusional. Her trial started in November 2001 in Vancouver. State prosecutors charged that Throneberry was a con artist who had intentionally taken advantage of the social security system for personal gain. Throneberry fired her court-appointed lawyer and decided to defend herself in court. She was not successful and received three years and two months for fraud and perjury and was sent to the Washington Correction Center for Women. The judge recommended that she receive psychotherapy in prison. Throneberry was released on June 18, 2003, after two years. As of 2003, she continued to maintain that she is Brianna Stewart and tried to appeal her fraud conviction.
- GoofsCassandra's doctor incorrectly states that wisdom teeth do not erupt "until you reach adulthood". While it is true that in most cases wisdom teeth only erupt after age 17, they can erupt much earlier.
- Quotes
Olivia Benson: [When it's revealed that Cassandra Sullivan\Denise Pickering had been involved with other high school boys] Riley wasn't the love of your life. You didn't love any of them.
Cassandra Sullivan: I did. I loved them all.
Detective Elliot Stabler: So why'd you leave them?
Cassandra Sullivan: They got older. I didn't.
Featured review
The girl who never grew up
"Pretend" was one of those 'Law and Order: Special Victims Unit' episodes that didn't quite connect with me on first viewing some years back. Something about the premise didn't click or ring true, instead coming over as on the strange side. As a result, the episode was a little strange. That though was on first viewing, and there are a fair share of 'Special Victims Unit' episodes that fared better on rewatches and grew on me by quite some way.
One of those episodes is Season 8's penultimate episode "Pretend". While not one of my favourites of 'Special Victims Unit' or the season, it is leagues better than the previous outing "Annihilated". The scenario/premise is much easier to buy in my mind (there were far more improbable scenarios in the 'Law and Order' franchise), due to now being aware that it can happen in real life. And the execution is not weird anymore and is really quite unsettling.
Is "Pretend" perfect? No. The mother ID-ing the boy subplot could easily have been left out, it came over as irrelevant and was neglected and completely forgotten about very quickly.
There are other episodes that are more original and fresher, some of the early portions are fairly familiar.
However, there really isn't an awful lot that is wrong with "Pretend", providing that one can buy the premise of course. Some might not, it was fine to me and is not unheard of no matter how odd it sounds. The production values as ever have slickness and grit, with an intimacy without being claustrophobic. The music has presence when it's used but does so without being intrusive, some of it is quite haunting too. The direction is also understated but the tension never slips. All the performances are very good, especially the quite frightening one of Mitsi Traya. She particularly creeps one out at the end.
Script is taut and intelligent, a lot of talk but doesn't ramble or confuse. The very interesting story is both creepy and tragic, with an ending that lingers long in the memory a long time after. It was nice to see Stabler interacting with his family and being a family man without going into soap opera-land, it was very reminiscent of the earlier seasons before the family issues kicked in.
Overall, very good. 8/10.
One of those episodes is Season 8's penultimate episode "Pretend". While not one of my favourites of 'Special Victims Unit' or the season, it is leagues better than the previous outing "Annihilated". The scenario/premise is much easier to buy in my mind (there were far more improbable scenarios in the 'Law and Order' franchise), due to now being aware that it can happen in real life. And the execution is not weird anymore and is really quite unsettling.
Is "Pretend" perfect? No. The mother ID-ing the boy subplot could easily have been left out, it came over as irrelevant and was neglected and completely forgotten about very quickly.
There are other episodes that are more original and fresher, some of the early portions are fairly familiar.
However, there really isn't an awful lot that is wrong with "Pretend", providing that one can buy the premise of course. Some might not, it was fine to me and is not unheard of no matter how odd it sounds. The production values as ever have slickness and grit, with an intimacy without being claustrophobic. The music has presence when it's used but does so without being intrusive, some of it is quite haunting too. The direction is also understated but the tension never slips. All the performances are very good, especially the quite frightening one of Mitsi Traya. She particularly creeps one out at the end.
Script is taut and intelligent, a lot of talk but doesn't ramble or confuse. The very interesting story is both creepy and tragic, with an ending that lingers long in the memory a long time after. It was nice to see Stabler interacting with his family and being a family man without going into soap opera-land, it was very reminiscent of the earlier seasons before the family issues kicked in.
Overall, very good. 8/10.
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- TheLittleSongbird
- Jul 29, 2021
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