This is SVU at its best. No PC garbage or liberal agenda. A crazy case with twists and turns. Kate Burton turned in a masterful performance. I wish all the episodes were like this.
5 Reviews
One of the best
marysammons-422201 September 2019
Company Creatures
yazguloner12 July 2021
A messy episode
audreylauriston10 June 2022
This is one of the rare SVU episodes that totally missed the mark for me.
Despite featuring a talented and experienced group of guest stars, the performances feel theatrical and fake. But with such a poorly written scenario, I don't think the actors can be blamed here.
The plot is without substance. It feels as though they tried to stuff in too many ideas for the duration, not giving them time to be performed adequately, and instead ending up to be almost satirical.
The main characters are shallow and cliché: you have the psycho bully, the mousy victim, the momma's boy, the gay best friend, and even the egotistical artistic "genius"...
All in all this episode feels very messy and really didn't do it for me.
Despite featuring a talented and experienced group of guest stars, the performances feel theatrical and fake. But with such a poorly written scenario, I don't think the actors can be blamed here.
The plot is without substance. It feels as though they tried to stuff in too many ideas for the duration, not giving them time to be performed adequately, and instead ending up to be almost satirical.
The main characters are shallow and cliché: you have the psycho bully, the mousy victim, the momma's boy, the gay best friend, and even the egotistical artistic "genius"...
All in all this episode feels very messy and really didn't do it for me.
All over the place
TheLittleSongbird2 June 2022
To me, the second half of Season 12 (so post "Mask"), which started off so well but too early became hit and miss, was very underwhelming. With the only episode to be above good being the wonderful "Totem". Most of the episodes in this half were barely average or less. "Bully" was one of the episodes that didn't do anything for me on first viewing, with it feeling bland and all over the place story wise and was really hoping that that would change on third viewing (second watch was no better).
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.
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.
Luscious Grape
bkoganbing29 September 2015
The SVU squad responds to an artist's party when blood from the above apartment started dripping in. It was Kathryn Barnhardt's blood and she's found dead upstairs.
By all accounts she was a mousy inoffensive woman who internalized a lot of her feelings. She was keeping a lot to herself because she worked for a small company called Luscious Grape which sold expensive wines. The woman she worked for was Kate Burton who was the boss from hell who made Leona Helmsley look like a cloistered nun. And Barnhardt took enough secret video to prove it.
The small company provides the squad with a closed circle of possible perpetrators. Why this episode didn't really work for me is that I could not understand why this group didn't just leave. No job was worth taking the abuse they did and they all looked like they could find other work.
However you will enjoy Kate Burton chewing and digesting every stick of furniture on the set.
By all accounts she was a mousy inoffensive woman who internalized a lot of her feelings. She was keeping a lot to herself because she worked for a small company called Luscious Grape which sold expensive wines. The woman she worked for was Kate Burton who was the boss from hell who made Leona Helmsley look like a cloistered nun. And Barnhardt took enough secret video to prove it.
The small company provides the squad with a closed circle of possible perpetrators. Why this episode didn't really work for me is that I could not understand why this group didn't just leave. No job was worth taking the abuse they did and they all looked like they could find other work.
However you will enjoy Kate Burton chewing and digesting every stick of furniture on the set.
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