Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (TV Series) Pop (2011) User Reviews

Family battering

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 2 February 2013]

One of the more heartbreaking episodes on SVU was this one where the squad gets involved with the discovery of a dead middle school kid on an amusement park carousel. With Christopher Meloni taking the lead on this case, they uncover a teenage bare knuckle fight ring that some real extreme alpha dads are running. I use 'dad' in the loosest sense possible because the dead victim was being pimped out by his uncle and the kid who actually killed him was a punching bag for his stepdad who did legally adopt him.

It's the second one we're concerned with here. Mother and son played by Drea DeMatteo and Al Calderon are abused and battered by Adam Senn, but she has nowhere to go as if him paying the bills and putting food on the table gives Senn a right to beat up on them both.

After Senn is arrested and released on bail he winds up dead and Calderon is arrested for it. But who in fact did kill Senn, both mother and son could have done the deed and with the picture painted of Senn who could have blamed them.

Meloni doesn't in fact he gets Olympe Dukakis as a defense attorney for for Calderon. He's going to need one as prosecutor Melissa Sagemiller has an inexplicable desire to crucify this kid.

In the end Calderon has one, maybe two murders under his belt, yet he's the victim here. Weird, but true in a fascinating episode about family battering.

I love SVU, but some plots, like this one, stretch credibility.

[dpsface · 8/10 · 12 April 2020]

I love SVU. Let's just get that out of the way. My problem with this episode is simply with the ADA. At this point in the series there is a carousel of ADAs in and out of the episodes. The idea that this ADA would have zero concern for the young boy and only the abuser who he shot just seems like melodramatic. The idea the boy should be convicted of murder simply because the guy had stopped beating his pregnant wife for a moment and knelt down for an unknown reason is not logical. There was a reasonable expectation that the abuser would stand back up and continue to either beat the wife or attack the boy. I'm used to how they play fast-and-loose with things like DNA results (particularly the time it takes to get them) and the way things sometimes just fall into the detectives laps. This episode just stretched credibility too much for me. ¯\_(:/)_/¯

UPDATE: Watch the next episode! S12 E12 "Possessed". Same ADA, very different logic.

A battered family

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 1 June 2022]

One knows from the outset from the subject matter alone, well before reading the plot synopsis, that "Pop" would be a difficult episode to watch. The subject matter is such a disturbing one and anything that deals with the dangers of something so dangerous should be raised awareness of as much as possible. Especially when it is still so relevant. Especially anybody who has been a sufferer of domestic violence or seen it, am someone who knew someone that was a sufferer.

"Pop" is not rated very highly here, but to me it's a very good episode even if not perfect. Is it one of the best episodes of the frustratingly inconsistent Season 12? No. Is it one of the worst? Again no. It does though is closer to being in the better end. It handles a difficult issue very well on the whole, and while any episode that has Stabler as a primary focus (especially during this period where his character writing became significantly less appealing) may have one a little worried he struck me as fine here.

Am going to list the many good things first that outweigh the negatives. Christopher Meloni brings his usual steely intensity expertly, was really starting to like Stabler a lot less but that was the character writing's fault rather than Meloni (who was always good and more as well). The supporting turns are solid too, with Adam Senn making a detestable character very unnerving. The case is very sad and harrowing, that will hit home with any domestic violence/abuse sufferer/survivor and/or witness. It also opened my eyes up to how truly bad it can be.

The script is lean and thought provoking, dealing with a difficult issue in a pull no punches yet tactful way. It is as ever shot with the right amount of intimacy without feeling too up close, even with a reliance of close up camerawork. That the editing has become increasingly tighter over-time is great too. The music isn't over-scored, manipulative or used too much. There is intimacy and tautness in the direction.

Having said all this, "Pop" isn't perfect. It does feel too incomplete even for an open to interpretation ending in a case that would have resonated more if there was a resolution. Hardwicke has really gone down in my estimations since her first appearance, she is extremely cold here and too much of a witch.

Didn't buy too how easily gullible Tucker was, especially considering his job.

Wrapping up, very good if not great. 8/10.

Fight

[yazguloner · 10/10 · 9 July 2021]

It's a good story.

Domestic violence and violence to prove masculinity are also addressed in the first two episodes of the 20 season premieres: Man up and Man down.