| "Flaw" | ||
|---|---|---|
| ← | L&O, Episode 16.02 | → |
| Production number: 16002 First aired (US): 28 September 2005 First aired (CAN): 28 September 2005 First aired (AUS): 22 May 2006 | ||
 | ||
| Written By Chris Levinson Directed By Jean de Segonzac | ||
Plot[]
When a cell phone in the hand of a homicide victim shows a number that was entered on the screen, but never sent, the detectives call the number and Detective Olivia Benson answers. Benson shows up at the scene and cannot identify him as either a victim or perpetrator of a sex crime. The Special Victims Unit is brought in to help investigate, and it is soon discovered that the killers were a mother-daughter team of con artists who had previously eluded Benson.
Cast[]
Main cast[]
- Dennis Farina as Detective Joe Fontana
- Jesse L. Martin as Detective Ed Green
- S. Epatha Merkerson as Lieutenant Anita Van Buren
- Sam Waterston as Executive A.D.A. Jack McCoy
- Annie Parisse as A.D.A. Alexandra Borgia
- Fred Dalton Thompson as D.A. Arthur Branch
Recurring cast[]
- Ben Shenkman as Defense Attorney Nick Margolis
- Leslie Hendrix as M.E. Elizabeth Rodgers
- Ami Brabson as Judge Madeline Drake
- Mariska Hargitay as Detective Olivia Benson
Guest cast[]
- Estella Warren as April Troost
- Daniel Eric Gold as David Glass
- Paul Hecht as Lorraine's Ex-Husband
- Lynda Carter as Lorraine Dillon
- Ice-T as Detective Odafin Tutuola
- Chandler Parker as Eduardo Ramirez
- Milena Govich as Geneva
- Ean Sheehy as Arliss Driver
- Margot Steinberg as Radha Graves
- Tia Dionne Hodge as Amy
- Michelle Kittrell as Janet Orloff
- Peter Ganim as Tariq Farhat
- Dane Knell as Jim Bellows
- Eva Kaminsky as Flax
- Chazz Menendez as Agapitto
- Elliot Santiago as Jose
- Chris Fischer as Officer Cassidy
- Melanie Bean as Foreperson
- James Ecklund as Patrick Sullivan (uncredited)
- Jonathon Gentry as Manager (uncredited)
- Sonny Vellozzi as Lawyer (uncredited)
References[]
- Hammurabi
- Hotel Beaumont
- Special Victims Unit
- Walnut Ridge Nursing Home
- Glens Falls
- Vykarius
Quotes[]
- Detective Green: [mocking David Glass] Well, alright then, MC Vanilla...
- Alexandra Borgia: You're on a medication cocktail?
- Arliss Driver: Eight pills a day. I shared a needle with a friend. Now he's dead, and my white-cell count is in the basement. My life went from April to crap.
- Jack McCoy: [to Lorraine Dillon after April's performance on the stand] Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice ... no deal.
- Borgia: Let's con the con.
- April Troost: [to Olivia] I don't know...I can be pretty convincing.
- Olivia Benson: I was hoping you'd say that. [door opens and Lorraine comes in]
- Lorraine Dillon: I told them about how you confessed to me about killing the baby, April.
- April Troost: No.
- Lorraine Dillon: How you called me up that night so worried and guilty and needing me.
- April Troost: What'd you get for telling them?
- Lorraine Dillon: 20 years.
- April Troost: I'll cop to the baby as long as I get less than she did.
- Olivia Benson: No. You'll give me a statement, and then maybe we'll talk about a deal.
- April Troost: [defeated] Where do I start?
- Olivia Benson: The beginning.
Background information and notes[]
- This episode is the conclusion of the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode, "Design", which aired September 27, 2005. In the episode, April Troost and Lorraine Dillon were running a scam involving stolen sperm. Detective Olivia Benson from SVU makes her third appearance on Law & Order and Detective Odafin Tutuola makes his first.
- Actor Ice-T did star in the Law & Order TV movie Exiled: A Law & Order Movie as Seymour Stockton before starring on SVU.
- Milena Govich would later return to the series as Det. Nina Cassady.
- Fontana says "begs the question", by which he means "raises the question". This is an incorrect (if increasingly common) use of the expression. To "beg the question" refers to a circular argument in logic, specifically, an argument where one of the premises presupposes the accuracy of the conclusion.
- Considering Benson claims to never having any history with Patrick Sullivan, it is never explained why his very last action would be trying to call her.
- It is suggested that Patrick Sullivan may have had a same-sex relationship with Eduardo, the male nurse at the care home, yet this was never clarified.
- Green mocks David Glass by calling him "MC Vanilla". This is a combination of popular rap artists' names: MC Hammer, and Vanilla Ice.
- Goof: It is obvious that Glass is not "hanging" by the way the rope is draped down on his neck.
Episode scene cards[]
| 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|
|
Apartment of |
Walnut Ridge Nursing Home |
Office of D. Glass |
| 4 | 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|
|
Apartment of Lorraine |
Hotel Beaumont |
Chambers of |
| 7 | 8 | 9 |
|---|---|---|
|
Supreme Court |
Supreme Court |
Ashram |
| Previous episode: "Red Ball" |
"Flaw" Law & Order Season 16 |
Next episode: "Ghosts" |