Detective Benson is placed in the position of facing her kidnapper, William Lewis, as he has his day in court and decides to represent himself.Detective Benson is placed in the position of facing her kidnapper, William Lewis, as he has his day in court and decides to represent himself.Detective Benson is placed in the position of facing her kidnapper, William Lewis, as he has his day in court and decides to represent himself.
- Detective Odafin 'Fin' Tutuola
- (as Ice T)
- Bronwyn Freed
- (as Sarah Bisman)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaNancy Ellen Shore has played five different characters over the course of the series:
- Episode 19.11 Flight Risk (2018) - Grand Juror
- Episode 18.11 Great Expectations (2017) - CSU Investigator (uncredited)
- Episode 18.7 Next Chapter (2017) - Diner Waitress (uncredited)
- Episode 16.10 Forgiving Rollins (2014) - Courthouse Visitor (uncredited)
- Episode 15.6 October Surprise (2013) - Lawyer / Gala Attendee
- GoofsAt 3 minutes in Detective Benson draws her weapon and there is audible sound of a hammer being cocked. The Glock she carries is a striker fired weapon, and there is no hammer to cock. This is a common mistake, likely done for dramatic impact.
- Quotes
Donald Cragen: [to the SVU squad] These next few weeks are going to be stressful for Olivia and for us.
Nick Amaro: Lewis has some stones, putting her through this.
Amanda Rollins: He can't really think he's gonna get away with it again.
Rafael Barba: He's five for five. That breeds hubris.
Odafin Tutuola: We should have shot him when we got there.
[everyone looks at him]
Odafin Tutuola: Hey, we were all thinking it.
Somehow, "Psycho/Therapist" didn't click with me. Not because of the acting, which was actually its main saving grace, or of Lewis himself. But the handling of the courtroom case was a shambles. Considering how great Lewis was as a character and because his first two episodes "Her Negotiation" and especially "Surrender Benson" were so good, also because the last courtroom-dominant episode "Screwed" was such a fine episode, this was great potential not lived up to. This should have been on "Screwed's" level but ended up being nowhere near.
"Psycho/Therapist" does have good things definitely. Mariska Hargitay's performance is one of her best, even better than in "Surrender Benson". Showing determination but also that there is a lot of torment from a tough character. Pablo Schreiber captivates too, his menace spine chilling to the extent that a guilty verdict is rooted for. The chemistry between them is absolutely magnetic and crackling in tension. There is genuine intensity here, namely due to how despicable a character Lewis comes over.
The emotion and character writing for Lewis and especially Olivia are spot on, one sees properly for the first time how traumatised she was undergoing what happened to her. The production values are slick and have a subtle grit, with an intimacy to the photography without being too claustrophobic. The music isn't used too much and doesn't get too melodramatic. The acting from the rest of the regulars is very good though their material isn't as rich or their screen time as even.
However, so much could have been done much better. One might argue that the things that would have strengthened the prosecution case that would prove Lewis' guilt weren't shown as the episode couldn't cover everything that happened in those four days, but to me it should have been shown more explicitly and in the episode and more should have been made of the charges and overwhelming evidence. While the tension between Olivia and Lewis were on point in the dialogue, the writing generally came over as one sided and jumpy (feeling too much like Olivia vs almost everybody else).
Also found the ending very unsatisfying, especially with how biased the trial was and how Olivia was made out to be in court. But it was undone by the very weak and incomplete feeling prosecution argument and the character writing for Barba (the latter being one of the episode's biggest frustrations). Just didn't buy at all how such a smart, thorough prosecutor with the snappy one liners and observant mind could look so incompetent, unsupportive and easily deceived he came over in court. Don't agree with anybody that Olivia was out of character, she definitely wasn't considering what she went through and what happened in the past. If there was anybody out of character, it was Barba.
In conclusion, disappointing despite the acting and chemistry of Hargitay and Schreiber. 5/10.
- TheLittleSongbird
- Aug 2, 2022