| "Funny Valentine" | ||
|---|---|---|
| ← | SVU, Episode 14.16 | → |
| Production number: 14016 First aired (US): 27 February 2013 First aired (UK): 26 March 2013 First aired (CAN): 27 February 2013 First aired (AUS): 11 April 2013 | ||
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| Written By Gwendolyn M. Parker Directed By Jean de Segonzac | ||
When a rising star is beaten by her high-profile boyfriend, the SVU detectives work every angle to bring justice against a manipulative and shameless abuser.
Summary[]
A promising singer is brutally attacked by her boyfriend, a popular hip hop star. A.D.A. Barba works to build a case, but the victim refuses to aid the prosecution and, despite Detective Benson's best efforts, continues to put herself in danger. The case quickly spirals into a media circus, perpetrated by both the defendant and his uncompromising attorney.
Plot[]
Singer Micha Green is recording a song with hip-hop star Caleb Bryant in a recording studio. Later on, Micha notices Caleb flirting with another girl and playfully taunts him about it. Caleb doesn't take it well and ends up assaulting her.
Micha is later seen in a hospital with a badly bruised face. When Olivia asks who hurt her, Micha states it was her boyfriend, Caleb. When Nick speaks to Micha's manager, Brass (who discovered Micha when she was only 9 years old), he claims he didn't see Micha being assaulted by Caleb.
Micha tells Olivia how Caleb assaulted her & that the backup girls and the engineer were in the room when the assault happened. When Fin, Nick and Rollins talk to the other people who were in the room at the time Micha was attacked, they are reluctant to testify in court.
When Olivia and ADA Barba talk to Micha at her home, she is reluctant to testify in court, but after Olivia points out that Caleb isn't sorry about what he did, Micha agrees to testify, but later changes her mind because she's worried that it would jeopardize her career.
Despite Olivia explaining to Micha that guys like Caleb are likely to do this again, Micha makes up her mind about not testifying in court. Later on, the media reports that Micha has withdrawn her complaint so that she & Caleb can repair their relationship in private.
Olivia doesn't want Caleb to get away with this and tries convincing Barba to pursue the case without Micha's cooperation. Barba tries to talk Caleb into admitting what he has done and apologizing in public.
He later informs the SVU squad that Caleb will be given a five-year suspended sentence and community service, which Olivia isn't happy with, but Barba informs her that it's the best he can do without witness testimony.
Caleb apologizes on TV to Micha, but the SVU squad isn't buying it. Later on, they notice a picture of him in Micha's hotel room even though there is a restraining order against him.
Olivia & Nick arrive to Micha's hotel room where Caleb is arrested for violating the restraining order. Micha says that she allowed Caleb to be there, but Olivia explains that it's not up to her. As Caleb is taken away, Micha apologizes and tells him she loves him.
In court, the judge gives Caleb a 30 day suspended sentence and warns him about obeying the restraining order. As Caleb leaves the courthouse he starts taunting Olivia & Nick. Nick finds an excuse to frisk Caleb, finds weed on him, and Caleb is arrested.
Munch reprimands Nick for his actions and while Nick believes that Caleb will hurt Micha again, Munch explains that their actions are only going to encourage her to stay with Caleb.
Fin talks with Brass and tries convincing him to talk some sense into Micha. At Micha's music launch party, Caleb violates the restraining order again by showing up to the party. Brass calls Fin right away and Caleb sees him talking on the phone.
When Olivia, Nick and Fin arrive to the party, they see cops at the scene, saying they got a call about shots being fired. As they enter inside, several people are wounded, Micha is lying on the ground unconscious and Brass dead.
When Nick and Olivia question Micha at the hospital, she claims she didn't see anything. When Caleb is questioned, he claims that he was home watching television.
Olivia and Barba talk to Micha again, reminding her that Brass started her music career & trying to make her realize what she meant to him and how it would be a huge mistake to let his murderer walk.
Micha is finally able to admit that Caleb physically abused her and states that at the party, he pulled out a gun and shot Brass in the chest. She agrees to testify against Caleb. However, in court, Misha perjures herself and says that Caleb wasn't at the party at all, which exasperates Barba. Without Micha's testimony, Caleb is exonerated for Brass' murder, and the couple vacations to Bermuda.
Barba discovers that Caleb had called Micha's hotel room the night before, successfully convincing her to change her mind. Olivia says that all that they can do is wait for the inevitable.
While on a yacht in Bermuda, Micha and Caleb are making out when Caleb checks a text message from his phone. When Micha asks who it is, Caleb becomes enraged and proceeds to beat her to death.
Back in New York, the SVU squad hears on television that Micha is dead and Caleb has been arrested as a suspect.
Cast[]
Main Cast[]
- Mariska Hargitay as Detective Olivia Benson
- Danny Pino as Detective Nick Amaro
- Kelli Giddish as Detective Amanda Rollins
- Richard Belzer as Sergeant John Munch
- Ice-T as Detective Odafin Tutuola
- Dann Florek as Captain Donald Cragen (credit only)
Recurring Cast[]
- Raúl Esparza as A.D.A. Rafael Barba
- Karen Tsen Lee as M.E. Susan Chung
- Socorro Santiago as Judge P. Ortiz
- Jeffrey Tambor as Defense Attorney Lester Cohen
- Sue Simmons as Herself
Guest Cast[]
- Tiffany Robinson as Micha Green
- Roca as Caleb Bryant
- Charles Malik Whitfield as John "Brass" Blaken
- Dave Navarro as Ferrari
- Saul Rubinek as Mr. Price
- Wendy Williams as Herself
- Perez Hilton as Himself
- LaNeah "Starshell" Menzies as Joi
- Lisa Tharps as Clara
- Gamze Ceylan as Jen Blanken
- Madison Elizabeth Zamor as Micha Green - Age 9
- Joseph A. Halsey as Uni
- Tara Moncure as Young Woman
References[]
- Kobe Bryant
- Murder of Tupac Shakur
- Murder of the Notorious B.I.G.
- Team Umizoomi
- Rihanna
- Chris Brown
- Barclays Center
- Ken Randall
- Romeo and Juliet
Quotes[]
- [about Caleb Bryant and Misha Green]
- Munch: They should go on a double date with Chris Brown and Rihanna.
- Rollins: [to Mr. Ferrari] Did you see him choke her?
- Mr. Ferrari: For a hot second.
- Rollins: There's a three-second rule in choking?
- Brass: We are all concerned about Micha.
- Mr. Price: Yeah, not just about her health, but all aspects of her life, including her brand.
- Benson: Her brand?
- Barba: Oh, right, I'm sorry. Uh, corporations are people, people are brands.
- Benson: I saw a woman who's traumatized, who doesn't realize the danger that she's in.
- Barba: It's domestic violence. There's only so much the courts can do until the victim's ready.
- Caleb Bryant: [to Amaro] Come on, blue blood. We're both players. You play the good guy who runs the charm and the "I'll protect you" routine.
- Amaro: And I know your play: "I love you, I beat you, I'm sorry."
- Barba: [to Olivia] You ever been in love like that?
- Benson: Like the guy kills somebody in front of me, but he sends me flowers, so I let it slide? That's not love, that's brainwashing.
- Barba: Yeah, I know, but she thinks she's in love. Eleventh grade, Lauren Sullivan. She could have massacred my entire family, I would've looked the other way.
Background information and Notes[]
- After seeing video of Caleb's arrest on the internet, Munch jokes that Caleb and Micha should go on a double date with Chris Brown and Rihanna, the real-life musical couple whose tumultuous relationship inspired the episode.
- This episode aired as the 13th episode of the fourteenth season in Australia for unknown reasons. This was corrected on the DVD and streaming releases as well as syndication airings.
Episode scene cards[]
| 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|
|
Rise Up Health Food |
The Hudson Square Hotel |
Arraignment Court |
| 4 | 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|
|
Arraignment Court |
Rhythm & Brass Studios |
Grand Jury |
| Previous episode: "Deadly Ambition" |
"Funny Valentine" Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 14 |
Next episode: "Undercover Blue" |