What a messy case!
It wasn’t clear who was extra fallacious in Legislation & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 15, however we did our greatest to resolve the problem.
Our TV Fanatic writers Laura Nowak, Jasmine Blu, and Jack Ori debate whether or not Stacey’s protection was cheap, whether or not Carisi had a degree concerning the double commonplace, and what justice appears like.
Stacey’s protection was that she thought Ryan was an grownup as a result of he was consuming on the bar and regarded like an older individual. Was that cheap, or ought to she have finished extra to substantiate his age?
Laura: How many individuals ask somebody’s age when hooking up in the actual world? I get it’s the regulation, but when he was within the bar consuming, I perceive why she thought he was authorized.
Jasmine: I’m at all times torn with these particular eventualities. However I additionally know I’m delicate to older girls participating in questionable relationships with youthful males.
Ryan didn’t look a lot older than 18 or so, and figuring out that children use faux IDs and it was a resort bar reasonably than a particular membership made me warier of the scenario and need that there had been some double-checking.
Nonetheless, it was cheap for Stacey to imagine that as a result of he was consuming alcohol served to him at an institution that he was authorized.
Conditions like this contain many components, which is what made all the case so muddled within the first place.
Jack: I believe the truth that Ryan was sitting on the bar with a drink in his handcrafted Stacey’s assumption cheap. Presumably, his ID had already been checked earlier than he acquired the drink.
Did you do the thought experiment Carisi steered in his closing? Would you’re feeling in a different way about this case if Ryan had been an older man and Stacey had been a 16-year-old woman?
Laura: That was the one factor I agreed with that he did on Legislation & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 15.
Society might need been extra upset if the roles had been reversed. Is it truthful? No, however this case was messy.
Jasmine: As a result of I’ve witnessed the gender position reversal secondhand because it occurred to a liked one, and I understand how poorly conditions involving male victims of statutory rape are handled, I didn’t want to actually envision it or swap the roles to grasp or really feel strongly.
Sadly, there actually is a double commonplace and a few folks can’t grasp it till they contemplate that.
So long as masculinity is tied to “conquering” girls and even being desired by them (though that is additionally pervasive in queer dynamics as nicely), it’ll repeatedly be a fancy difficulty that society can’t totally wrap its head round, together with male victims who aren’t giving the house to actually course of that they’re victims.
I really feel like I’m occurring a tangent now, so I’ll wrap that up.
Jack: I agree with you wholeheartedly, Jasmine.
On the identical time, although, I’m unsure it could have made a distinction to me on this particular case due to the opposite points within the case.
All of the transferring components that made this messy would nonetheless be the identical if Ryan had been the older get together within the case.
Had been you stunned that the jury was deadlocked on the finish of Legislation & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 15? Why or why not?
Laura: Completely not! This was one of many messiest circumstances in SVU’s historical past.
I might have been stunned if there had been a conviction.
Jasmine: By no means! There have been so many transferring items to it.
This case was something however simple, so it could’ve been a shock if it hadn’t been deadlocked.
Jack: Agreed. As I mentioned in my Legislation & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 15 evaluate, there was no different approach this case might have ended, given all of the confusion about who did what.
The story on Legislation & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 15 had lots of transferring components. Ryan’s stepmother was the one who filed the criticism, not him. Stacey thought Ryan was over 18, and Ryan let her drink drug-laced vodka. What would justice seem like on this case?
Laura: As talked about, this was one of many greyest, messiest circumstances.
I believe Ryan knew what he was doing and was simply as responsible, but as a result of he was the minor, Stacey was prosecuted.
I believe a mistrial was the very best verdict. I’m hoping Carisi deliberate that. I bear in mind Barba utilizing that trick earlier than, too.
Jasmine: , I nonetheless don’t have a definitive reply for that. I think about that’s a part of why the case was so fascinating.
I do consider all the things that happened, Ryan permitting her to drink one thing drug-laced with out warning her about it was essentially the most overt and clear-cut difficulty out of all the things. That was one thing that required some punishment due to how harmful that’s if he continues with these forms of actions sooner or later.
I didn’t discover these actions ambiguous.
Jack: It actually is difficult to determine what a simply consequence is right here. I believe the mistrial was the closest we had been going to get to justice on Legislation & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 15.
Each folks had been fallacious, and it was arduous to tease out what was malicious and what was a critical mistake.
Ought to Benson have talked about her historical past of sleeping with a 21-year-old when she was 16 at any level throughout this case?
Laura: I truthfully forgot about that.
Jasmine: If the context was proper, she might have. But it surely wasn’t one thing on the forefront of my thoughts.
Jack: I considered it throughout the scene when Benson was speaking with Bruno. I used to be debating whether or not it could have been useful for her to narrate to his expertise by sharing her personal.
Something not mentioned above.
Laura: I typically like Carisi, however he actually acquired to me. I’m hoping he lastly listened to Liv and deliberate that mistrial.
Jasmine: Ugh, Bruno. I wished to succeed in via the display screen and hug him when that case clearly conjured up a previous trauma that he’s buried.
I appreciated him sharing it and that little second on Legislation & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 15 as a result of it exhibits simply how males course of sexual trauma in a different way.
I might surprise if that’s one thing he wrestles with transferring ahead, however SVU isn’t the best with continuity.
Jack: I actually appreciated that this episode was so case-focused. As a lot as I like Benson, too many episodes currently have been about Superhero Benson supporting the survivor of the week and nothing else, so this one was a refreshing change.
What was your favourite scene, story, or quote from Legislation & Order: SVU Season 26 Episode 15?
Laura: I appreciated that Stacey’s husband stood by her it doesn’t matter what.
Jasmine: I did take pleasure in how complicated this case was and that it didn’t really feel too preachy or exploitative.
Jack: I additionally liked how complicated this case was. Additionally, as we mentioned above, the Bruno scene was glorious.
Over to you, Legislation & Order: SVU fanatics.
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