Benson and Stabler believe that the abusive CEO of a wine company killed her CFO, but why are the company's other employees refusing to step forward and expose her?Benson and Stabler believe that the abusive CEO of a wine company killed her CFO, but why are the company's other employees refusing to step forward and expose her?Benson and Stabler believe that the abusive CEO of a wine company killed her CFO, but why are the company's other employees refusing to step forward and expose her?
- Sergeant John Munch
- (credit only)
- Captain Donald 'Don' Cragen
- (credit only)
- Cindi
- (as LuAnn de Lesseps)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis episode was TARU Ruben Morales' final appearance.
- GoofsWhen Stabler and Benson arrest Justin, they walk him out of his home as his handicapped mother is calling for assistance. They don't even go up stairs to tell her what has happened or call someone to look after her.
- Quotes
Dr. Melinda Warner: [after learning that Ellen became intoxicated by the perp inserting a bottle of alcohol in her anus] It's an old alcoholic's trick. You get drunk faster because the alcohol bypasses the stomach and is absorded into the bloodstream. There are reports of young women soaking tampons in vodka - gets them drunk, but keeps their breath nice and sweet.
Detective Olivia Benson: File under "things I never wanted to know."
Sadly, my feelings on "Bully" have not changed and it is like "Spectacle" (another one of the season's worst) in that the flaws are even bigger than remembered and more was noticed this time. Am not saying that it is a terrible episode, none of 'Law and Order: Special Victims Unit's' episodes at this point of the run are that distinction (even the ones with major problems), but it is to me not a good one at all. Am not saying this with pleasure.
"Bully" has good things. It is a slickly made episode, the editing especially having come on quite a bit from when the show first started (never was it a problem but it got more fluid with each episode up to this stage). The music is mostly not used too much and mostly didn't seem melodramatic, the theme tune easy to remember as usual.
Have no faults either with the regular acting, who all give solid performances in spite of their material. Did think that the episode started off quite intriguingly with one of the season's more brutal crime scenes.
On the other hand, "Bully's" story did come over as very over-stuffed and convoluted, as well as phoned in because of the lack of any real atmosphere or momentum. There was too little focus on the main crime and too much on what went on in the victim's workplace, this was one of those episodes where it is easy to forget what the crime actually was. Did feel too that everything with Bruce could have been left out, it added nothing and only muddled the story. All the time that that plot took up could have been dedicated to elaborating more on the victim and the crime.
Furthermore, the character of Annette is very over the top to near cartoonish level and what was really difficult to buy (and a big problem in the story) was the employees' naive loyalty towards her, really hard to swallow for someone so blatantly awful. The music is very melodramatic in the scene where the video is watched. Really hated how the detectives handled the case, here they come over as bullies and borderline antagonistic as well. The ending is rushed and didn't come over as realistic, while the supporting cast is pretty poor. On one side of the acting we have Leonard Helmsley looking bored and on the other we have Kate Burton devouring the scenery to smithereens in a way that felt like belonging in another episode.
In all, rather all over the place. 4/10.
- TheLittleSongbird
- Jun 2, 2022
Details
- Runtime1 hour
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.78 : 1