Benson and the SVU investigate the death of a man they believe to be a pedophile. When they dig deeper, they realize things are not what they seem and that the case actually hits really clos... Read allBenson and the SVU investigate the death of a man they believe to be a pedophile. When they dig deeper, they realize things are not what they seem and that the case actually hits really close to home.Benson and the SVU investigate the death of a man they believe to be a pedophile. When they dig deeper, they realize things are not what they seem and that the case actually hits really close to home.
Photos
- Sergeant Odafin 'Fin' Tutuola
- (as Ice T)
- Leo Berry
- (as PJ Marshall)
- Helen Schiller
- (as Lydia Grace Jordan)
- Arraignment Judge Anita Wright
- (as Mary Hodges)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWith this episode, William Sadler has now been in all four NYC-based Law & Order shows.
- GoofsADA Stone offers Gary Dolan a plea deal; if he pleads guilty to sexual abuse in the first degree, Stone will recommend a sentence of 3-9 years. However Sexual Abuse in the First Degree is a class D felony, meaning it carries a maximum sentence of seven years in prison. If the only charge Dolan is pleading to is SA-1, then by law he cannot spend more than seven years in prison, certainly not the maximum of nine years Stone offers.
- Quotes
Peter Stone: Please tell the jury why you're here today.
Brian Cassidy: I'm here because I was a... I was a victim of Gary Dolan.
Judge Anita Wright: Detective Cassidy, please raise your head and speak up.
Brian Cassidy: I was a victim. Of Gary Dolan's. He was, uh... he was my coach. In Hudson youth league in 1985.
[glancing at Benson]
Brian Cassidy: And he sexually assaulted me. When I was twelve years old.
Cassidy's in "Facing Demons" is another example of a personal life story that works. It was a very illuminating look at him and his past and saw me appreciating him more as a character. It is one of those episodes where one story is better than the other, and in this case Cassidy's story worked really well while the case was less consistent (mostly it was fine, but loses lustre later on). "Facing Demons" is a good episode for Season 20, but not a great one that is neither among the season's best or worst.
It is lifted significantly by the compelling tortured performance of Dean Winters, bringing gritty intensity and poignancy to Cassidy in a way not seen before to this extent. Mariska Hargitay is strong sympathetic support and the two surprisingly smolder together, the most convincing their chemistry has ever been. As said what makes "Facing Demons" is Cassidy's character development, which is truly illuminating and provides the necessary answers to questions thought of from his previous episodes. Including an explanation for why he blew up on the stand of a previous case.
The script has a lot of punch and is not melodramatic or too talky. As ever, the photography and such are fully professional, the slickness still remaining. The music is used sparingly and is haunting and non-overwrought when it is used, and it's mainly used when a crucial revelation or plot development is revealed.
However, it could have been great and just missed out on that. The story is nothing ground breaking and is quite thin, pretty much secondary to Cassidy's development. It is a case of starting off well but running out of steam later. The ending unsatisfies, it would have been much more powerful if Cassidy was the character it focused on and would have made more sense that way too.
Phillip Winchester is very flat in personality and doesn't look comfortable, apart from his surprisingly good performance in "Dear Ben" he and the character of Stone never really ignited.
Overall, good but not great. 7/10.
- TheLittleSongbird
- Jun 14, 2023