The ending made me want to cry. Watching one of my very favorite characters leave was so hard. I won't say who or why, you will have to see for yourself. But it is understandable under the circumstances. Perhaps it will lead to happier times for that person. I hope so. And I also hope that they will be referenced again in the future.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (TV Series)
Amaro's One-Eighty (2014)
User Reviews
Review this title9 Reviews
Jail, a real possibility
bkoganbing10 January 2015
Danny Pino gets himself into a real jackpot over a shooting in this SVU episode. A party is breaking up over Mariska Hargitay's recent promotion to sergeant and as Pino and Kelli Giddish were leaving they see a uniform officer giving chase to a young black suspect. In the end Pino is charged with shooting him and leaving him paralyzed. It was touch and go whether it would be murder.
This certainly was a timely episode as first the department under pressure from City Hall and from citizenry in general to get out from under bad press. That means hanging Pino out to dry guilty or not.
There certainly have been recent stories about police misconduct and the Grand Jury system that fails to indict which makes this one timely story. The episode belongs to Danny Pino who is worried about the future for his wife and kid since jail is a real possibility. Special custodial arrangements would be made since former cops don't really fare well in prison general population.
Nice and timely.
This certainly was a timely episode as first the department under pressure from City Hall and from citizenry in general to get out from under bad press. That means hanging Pino out to dry guilty or not.
There certainly have been recent stories about police misconduct and the Grand Jury system that fails to indict which makes this one timely story. The episode belongs to Danny Pino who is worried about the future for his wife and kid since jail is a real possibility. Special custodial arrangements would be made since former cops don't really fare well in prison general population.
Nice and timely.
Farewell to the wise king in the circus
yazguloner4 August 2021
Amaro is at the center of the story.
Crime and criminal, action-packed style detective series focused before the 10. Season in Svu. From Season 13 Intense stories focused on solving the main source of the problem began to be told. That's why we started seeing more courtrooms, more laws, lawyers, prosecutors, consultants, ambassadors and civil society representatives.
Now, we come across the darkest moments of the gray area.
Amaro's story is also one of the darkest gray areas.
Amaro is iconic in the story as a police officer. The black policewoman who was shot at the hot moment of the incident, the black child, and the people who caught the incident on camera and reacted are also symbolic.
The conflict scene in the Introduction; Amaro's effort to save the child, who saw him shoot a boy. In the last scene, the image of the child waiting in the court with his family in a wheelchair behind Amaro... All these scenes are images that tell the story.
In a hot conflict, Amaro does what is necessary. Complies with the laws, follows the procedures. However, it is charged with many question marks visible to the eyes. He gets caught in the middle of a circus filled with hot and sensitive topics such as hate crime, police brutality, excessive force, use of weapons, and fighting. Mistakes and misfortunes follow each other.
The worst hasn't even hit yet... Representatives of new legal regulations and those who feel excluded demand a blood price. You'll understand what I'm talking about when you watch it.
Everything is like trying to balance on a thin wire. A continuous action-response standoff ensues. The bullet of the gun, which could never be found, explodes in the nearest place to Amaro.
Amaro has to react to every influence in this environment. As soon as his voice is not heard, he gets angry and shouts. This results in even greater racial effects.
The representative of the civil peoples here is Father Curtis. He is the spokesperson for the family and black citizens.
Only 30 seconds of jury and Amaro dialogue will solve this huge circus show.
In the midst of all this noise, a big wise wolf will say goodbye quietly.
When I watched it for the first time since season 13, Although Munch and Cragen were the main characters, they made little appearances. I've always been surprised by this. It turns out that they have been in the law and order universe for a long time. When I watched the old episodes, I saw that they came out less. I learned later that he, like Munch, has existed in the law and order universe for a long time. Cragen is even a head from the first Law and Order.
Munch and Cragen carried the flag from the first Law and Order to Svu. They were a sage and inquisitive from tradition. Now they are handing over the flag they carry to the newcomers. Munch chose Amaro as his heir, Cragen chose Olivia.
The "And Dan Florek" opening scene will no longer be visible. In my opinion, such a short farewell to so much wisdom and experience in the Law and Order universe is not enough. The universe of Dick Wolf and Law and Order (1990) and Law and Order Svu (1999) owes a lot to him. I think could have made a special episode for Cragen.
Crime and criminal, action-packed style detective series focused before the 10. Season in Svu. From Season 13 Intense stories focused on solving the main source of the problem began to be told. That's why we started seeing more courtrooms, more laws, lawyers, prosecutors, consultants, ambassadors and civil society representatives.
Now, we come across the darkest moments of the gray area.
Amaro's story is also one of the darkest gray areas.
Amaro is iconic in the story as a police officer. The black policewoman who was shot at the hot moment of the incident, the black child, and the people who caught the incident on camera and reacted are also symbolic.
The conflict scene in the Introduction; Amaro's effort to save the child, who saw him shoot a boy. In the last scene, the image of the child waiting in the court with his family in a wheelchair behind Amaro... All these scenes are images that tell the story.
In a hot conflict, Amaro does what is necessary. Complies with the laws, follows the procedures. However, it is charged with many question marks visible to the eyes. He gets caught in the middle of a circus filled with hot and sensitive topics such as hate crime, police brutality, excessive force, use of weapons, and fighting. Mistakes and misfortunes follow each other.
The worst hasn't even hit yet... Representatives of new legal regulations and those who feel excluded demand a blood price. You'll understand what I'm talking about when you watch it.
Everything is like trying to balance on a thin wire. A continuous action-response standoff ensues. The bullet of the gun, which could never be found, explodes in the nearest place to Amaro.
Amaro has to react to every influence in this environment. As soon as his voice is not heard, he gets angry and shouts. This results in even greater racial effects.
The representative of the civil peoples here is Father Curtis. He is the spokesperson for the family and black citizens.
Only 30 seconds of jury and Amaro dialogue will solve this huge circus show.
In the midst of all this noise, a big wise wolf will say goodbye quietly.
When I watched it for the first time since season 13, Although Munch and Cragen were the main characters, they made little appearances. I've always been surprised by this. It turns out that they have been in the law and order universe for a long time. When I watched the old episodes, I saw that they came out less. I learned later that he, like Munch, has existed in the law and order universe for a long time. Cragen is even a head from the first Law and Order.
Munch and Cragen carried the flag from the first Law and Order to Svu. They were a sage and inquisitive from tradition. Now they are handing over the flag they carry to the newcomers. Munch chose Amaro as his heir, Cragen chose Olivia.
The "And Dan Florek" opening scene will no longer be visible. In my opinion, such a short farewell to so much wisdom and experience in the Law and Order universe is not enough. The universe of Dick Wolf and Law and Order (1990) and Law and Order Svu (1999) owes a lot to him. I think could have made a special episode for Cragen.
Good but something doesn't make sense
fbupdates19 July 2020
Warning: Spoilers
After another party to celebrate Benson's promotion Amaro and Rollins come upon a scene and give chase to a suspect. another officer shoots at him because she thinks he has a gun and she gets hit. Amaro pulls her to safety and fires at the suspect. The kid is hit only by Amaro's gun? All those shots the other officer fired and not one hit him? She's a lousy shot. Turns out the kid didn't have a gun and she got hit by a ricochet from her own gun. Cassidy is assisting the investigation which should be a whopping conflict of interest as the investigation involves his girlfriend's unit.
RJ Burke
melanie-735229 July 2021
RJ Burke, as Lt. Tucker, does a great job in this episode and many others, making himself totally unlikeable. That's what he's supposed to do. Have to give credit where credit is due.
Hate when police are considered the bad guys right off the bat. Amaro was doing his best to back up a fellow officer.
Hate when police are considered the bad guys right off the bat. Amaro was doing his best to back up a fellow officer.
A turning point
TheLittleSongbird3 August 2022
Nick Amaro was a very promising character when introduced in Season 11 and settled quicker than Rollins did. Did find however that while Rollins' character writing gradually improved, Amaro's in his mid/late episodes declined when his family problems got in the way and when he was treated like Stabler 2.0. It was around this period where it was especially patchy, where he did become too aggressive and self-righteous which was a far cry from the Amaro of Season 13.
"Amaro's One Eighty" was something of a turning point episode for both Amaro as a character and his character development. This is him here at his most interesting all season and where he didn't frustrate me. Really did fear that it would be another "Cold", another episode with a cop in the firing line for a criminal offense, but it is a much better episode than that. "Amaro's One Eighty" also says goodbye to Cragen, and it is a goodbye that was a lot more satisfying than Munch's in "Wonderland Story".
There is a lot to like about "Amaro's One Eighty". 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, the second half being full of it. The script is mostly taut and intelligent, while enough of the story is interesting and well paced.
On top of being a good look at a detective that has his reputation compromised while on the job. The character development for Amaro is good and it is development that advances his character and not regresses or distorts him, the turning point is handled well. As is the tension with Tucker, which thankfully doesn't feature too much and doesn't make Tucker too much of a villain. The episode contains some great work from Danny Pino, who takes centre stage in an all round well acted story. Kelli Giddish has also come on a lot. Also really liked how Cragen's last appearance was handled, low key and moving and far more satisfying than Munch, Cragen is not underused for one thing.
Unfortunately, "Amaro's One Eighty" is let down by its predictabilility. The concept is not an innovative one in the first place and the execution of it isn't either, the outcome is not in doubt and there is a lack of suspense. What would have improved this was if what happens in the opening wasn't revealed immediately, knowing pretty much exactly what happened well before the rest of the team did did dilute the tension in my view.
Really didn't buy that nowhere near enough is done with the other detective character, nearly forgotten about when what they did was as bad as what Amaro is accused of. Cragen's final decision regarding who to replace him comes out of nowhere and is too much too soon, considering she despite her track record and being the longest serving team member had just had a trauma that she had not recovered from.
Summing, not great but good. Much better than the last time a similar scenario was attempted on this show six seasons prior. 7/10.
"Amaro's One Eighty" was something of a turning point episode for both Amaro as a character and his character development. This is him here at his most interesting all season and where he didn't frustrate me. Really did fear that it would be another "Cold", another episode with a cop in the firing line for a criminal offense, but it is a much better episode than that. "Amaro's One Eighty" also says goodbye to Cragen, and it is a goodbye that was a lot more satisfying than Munch's in "Wonderland Story".
There is a lot to like about "Amaro's One Eighty". 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, the second half being full of it. The script is mostly taut and intelligent, while enough of the story is interesting and well paced.
On top of being a good look at a detective that has his reputation compromised while on the job. The character development for Amaro is good and it is development that advances his character and not regresses or distorts him, the turning point is handled well. As is the tension with Tucker, which thankfully doesn't feature too much and doesn't make Tucker too much of a villain. The episode contains some great work from Danny Pino, who takes centre stage in an all round well acted story. Kelli Giddish has also come on a lot. Also really liked how Cragen's last appearance was handled, low key and moving and far more satisfying than Munch, Cragen is not underused for one thing.
Unfortunately, "Amaro's One Eighty" is let down by its predictabilility. The concept is not an innovative one in the first place and the execution of it isn't either, the outcome is not in doubt and there is a lack of suspense. What would have improved this was if what happens in the opening wasn't revealed immediately, knowing pretty much exactly what happened well before the rest of the team did did dilute the tension in my view.
Really didn't buy that nowhere near enough is done with the other detective character, nearly forgotten about when what they did was as bad as what Amaro is accused of. Cragen's final decision regarding who to replace him comes out of nowhere and is too much too soon, considering she despite her track record and being the longest serving team member had just had a trauma that she had not recovered from.
Summing, not great but good. Much better than the last time a similar scenario was attempted on this show six seasons prior. 7/10.
Meh
marysammons-422208 August 2020
Warning: Spoilers
I've actually watched this episode several times. The whole shooting doesn't make sense. From the officer firing he egg n age actually tripped and hit hit witb her own gun to Amaro just firing willy nilly without even looking around the corner. I don't know much about how IAB works in real life but it isn't that much of a stretch for cops to be defensive about them. Another thing that seems strange is that Cragen announces his retirement and that Liv is in charge right before he walks out the door? No transition time? I know she's already there but she's got to walk in the very next day and be in charge? Plus at this time she's hardly mentally ready no matter what Cragen said. Just after the Lewis trial. She's still dealing with a lot in therapy. She's so stressed in Jersey Breakdown she can't even help Cassidy decide on dinner. She even alludes to the stress to Dr. Lindstrom in a later episode.
Not another one of these episodes
stratus_phere15 June 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Here we go again. A detective shoots a suspect during a shootout, while the suspect is actively shooting at the cops. And yet...and yet...the detective could be charged with murder. Once again, the IAB crawls all over them in this farce of an episode.
This is not enjoyable, and is incredibly unlikely. In real life, the IAB are the good guys. They go after cops who shoot people when it's unnecessary, not when they are being shot at. But on this show, the IAB is always the bad guys.
We're so tired of episodes where the detectives are in trouble for this or that. How about you make a series where detectives go after actual criminals instead of always being considered criminals themselves? What a great show that would be.
This is not enjoyable, and is incredibly unlikely. In real life, the IAB are the good guys. They go after cops who shoot people when it's unnecessary, not when they are being shot at. But on this show, the IAB is always the bad guys.
We're so tired of episodes where the detectives are in trouble for this or that. How about you make a series where detectives go after actual criminals instead of always being considered criminals themselves? What a great show that would be.
Enough Amaro
patrickphair22 November 2022
Warning: Spoilers
This episode was the tipping point for me and Amaro. His temper has been too much. We had years of that crap with Stabler and in subsequent viewings, this just pushes it too far. All that's missing is the required punch out of his locker to make it complete.
As for the rest of the episode, I have never liked Cassidy, and cannot understand what Benson is doing with him. How he ends up questioning Amaro makes mo sense.
Finally losing Cragen is tough. He has been a favorite from the start. Nice to see him go out with class. His advice to Olvia to "take care of yourself" is straight from his heart.
As for the rest of the episode, I have never liked Cassidy, and cannot understand what Benson is doing with him. How he ends up questioning Amaro makes mo sense.
Finally losing Cragen is tough. He has been a favorite from the start. Nice to see him go out with class. His advice to Olvia to "take care of yourself" is straight from his heart.
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