It was SO good to see Munch again! He has been by far my favorite character since the first episode. I hated when he retired. He belongs with SVU. I hope they keep bringing him back, often. And it was nice to find out that he is wealthy and doing well. I'm glad if he had to leave, at least they gave him a happy future to look forward to.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (TV Series)
Spring Awakening (2014)
User Reviews
Review this title6 Reviews
Benson gets a baby, Amaro gets a jackpot
bkoganbing18 April 2015
Warning: Spoilers
Danny Pino has himself a nice jackpot with being arrested for giving a beat down to child pornographer who got off. Internal Affairs has him in their sights and he's got an arrest warrant. But he's got himself a good friend in retired detective Richard Belzer who doesn't have to obey any of the directives given the rest of the SVU squad.
But this episode marks a turning point in the life of Mariska Hargitay. During an undercover sting which nets an arrest of a pair of robbers who use Craig's List to target victims, the girl who set the marks up for Gavin Keith-Umeh turns out to be the mother of a baby that Sergeant Benson rescued in a previous episode. Will Emma Greenwell roll on Umeh who has quite a large prostitution operation as well as an illegal day care center that his mother runs.
Some extra-legal leverage is used to get Pino out of his jackpot. As for Olivia Benson, as Judge Jayne Houdyshell points out, Benson is the only one who's shown a real concern about the infant Noah. As the story concludes Olivia Benson becomes a foster mother.
This episode gets a bit into the personal lives of two of the squad regulars. These are truly three dimensional people.
But this episode marks a turning point in the life of Mariska Hargitay. During an undercover sting which nets an arrest of a pair of robbers who use Craig's List to target victims, the girl who set the marks up for Gavin Keith-Umeh turns out to be the mother of a baby that Sergeant Benson rescued in a previous episode. Will Emma Greenwell roll on Umeh who has quite a large prostitution operation as well as an illegal day care center that his mother runs.
Some extra-legal leverage is used to get Pino out of his jackpot. As for Olivia Benson, as Judge Jayne Houdyshell points out, Benson is the only one who's shown a real concern about the infant Noah. As the story concludes Olivia Benson becomes a foster mother.
This episode gets a bit into the personal lives of two of the squad regulars. These are truly three dimensional people.
Overall Good Episode but...
fbupdates13 July 2020
Warning: Spoilers
"He's my gangster. He's my daddy." Nobody actually talks like that. And as for Amaro he actually thinks he did nothing wrong beating the crap out of Simon Wilkes. Shades of Elliot Stabler who thought there was nothing wrong with beating up perps. If Amaro had just brought Wilkes in fur questioning or simply arrested him there wouldn't be a problem. Except he was acquitted of all charges. Then there was that weird moment with Benson and Trevor Langan with him stumbling over his line asking her how she was doing. Peter Hermann
and Mariska Hargitay may be married but they have zero chemistry on screen.
One of the best memorable episodes
azmogroupon26 May 2020
It's one of the best and touching episodes with so many examples of humanity and caring shown between SVU family and also toward the victims. This episode is one of the most memorable ones that I would watch over and over and it would still bring tears to my eyes.
P.S. Rollin's hint toward Benson when Langan entered the squadroom was very interesting. I am happy that Mariska Hargitay and Peter Hermann are actual couples. They are good fit.
Surrender Ellie
yazguloner31 October 2021
More consistent quality needs to awaken
TheLittleSongbird5 August 2022
Season 15 was a very inconsistent season, with very few great episodes. Only "Surrender Benson", "Imprisoned Lives", "Internal Affairs" and "Gambler's Fallacy" were great, while most of the rest of the episodes ranging between average and good. A few though were below average and they were "American Tragedy", "Dissonant Voices" and "Comic Perversion", "Reasonable Doubt" was also very close. It is always inevitable to expect a lot from season finales.
For me though, Season 15's finale "Spring Awakening" didn't deliver enough on its potential. 'Law and Order: Special Victims Unit' did vary when it came to its season finales, with great ones such as "Scourge", "Screwed", "Rhodium Nights", "Her Negotiation" and "Heartfelt Passages" but also some very disappointing ones such as "Cold", "Zebras", "Shattered", "Smoked" and "Remember Me Too". "Spring Awakening" is neither one of the best or worst of the show's season finales, one of the middling mixed bag ones.
Beginning with the good, the acting all round is great. From lead and supporting, it is hard to not relate to Olivia in her subplot and Murphy once again proves himself to be a great addition. Have no issues with Raul Esparza. Did like the creepiness of the perpetrator and seeing Munch make an appearance was a delight.
Moreover, the production values are solid and the intimacy of the photography doesn't get static or too filmed play-like. The music when used is not too over-emphatic and has a melancholic edge that is quite haunting.
However, there are a lot of major shortcomings. The personal drama not only gets in the way of the case it completely overshadows it. The case felt contrived, lacking in suspense, thin and not particularly memorable other than the pepetrator, complete with a too neat ending. In a way Olivia's subplot was heart warming for those that want to see Olivia happy, but realistically in my view it was too convenient and too much too soon considering her job and that she was not yet stable emotionally.
Amaros subplot is more frustrating than interesting and doesn't progress amaros character, instead distorting him. He is too one dimensional loose cannon and the subplot is very stale, like seeing late Stabler but close to being even worse. Most of the team are either unprofessional (Rollins) or underused ( Fin is completely wasted). The chemistry doesn't ever quite connect and too much of the dialogue is soapy and lacks tautness. Didn't buy the excessive naivety of the wife too.
Overall, rather mixed here. Watchable season finale but an inconsistent season does not go out on a bang. 5/10.
For me though, Season 15's finale "Spring Awakening" didn't deliver enough on its potential. 'Law and Order: Special Victims Unit' did vary when it came to its season finales, with great ones such as "Scourge", "Screwed", "Rhodium Nights", "Her Negotiation" and "Heartfelt Passages" but also some very disappointing ones such as "Cold", "Zebras", "Shattered", "Smoked" and "Remember Me Too". "Spring Awakening" is neither one of the best or worst of the show's season finales, one of the middling mixed bag ones.
Beginning with the good, the acting all round is great. From lead and supporting, it is hard to not relate to Olivia in her subplot and Murphy once again proves himself to be a great addition. Have no issues with Raul Esparza. Did like the creepiness of the perpetrator and seeing Munch make an appearance was a delight.
Moreover, the production values are solid and the intimacy of the photography doesn't get static or too filmed play-like. The music when used is not too over-emphatic and has a melancholic edge that is quite haunting.
However, there are a lot of major shortcomings. The personal drama not only gets in the way of the case it completely overshadows it. The case felt contrived, lacking in suspense, thin and not particularly memorable other than the pepetrator, complete with a too neat ending. In a way Olivia's subplot was heart warming for those that want to see Olivia happy, but realistically in my view it was too convenient and too much too soon considering her job and that she was not yet stable emotionally.
Amaros subplot is more frustrating than interesting and doesn't progress amaros character, instead distorting him. He is too one dimensional loose cannon and the subplot is very stale, like seeing late Stabler but close to being even worse. Most of the team are either unprofessional (Rollins) or underused ( Fin is completely wasted). The chemistry doesn't ever quite connect and too much of the dialogue is soapy and lacks tautness. Didn't buy the excessive naivety of the wife too.
Overall, rather mixed here. Watchable season finale but an inconsistent season does not go out on a bang. 5/10.
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