| "Holden's Manifesto" | ||
|---|---|---|
| ← | SVU, Episode 16.04 | → |
| Production number: 16004 First aired: 15 October 2014 | ||
 | ||
| Teleplay By Julie Martin & Warren Leight Story By Kevin Fox Directed By Jean de Segonzac | ||
A young man leaves behind his manifesto before embarking on a crime spree.
Summary
New York City bike messenger Holden March creates a video diary of his troubles with women. Talk soon escalates to action, and the SVU scrambles to find his manifesto before he commits another violent act. When Rollins and Amaro come face to face with Holden, they find out just how dangerous a desperate man can be. Meanwhile, as Benson balances the responsibilities of motherhood and career, the new Deputy Chief of SVU calls her leadership into question.
Plot
Episode plot
Cast
Main Cast
- Mariska Hargitay as Sergeant Olivia Benson
- Danny Pino as Detective Nick Amaro
- Kelli Giddish as Detective Amanda Rollins
- Ice-T as Detective Odafin Tutuola
- Raúl Esparza as A.D.A. Rafael Barba (credit only)
Recurring Cast
- Bronwyn Reed as Lucy Huston
- Peter Gallagher as Deputy Chief William Dodds
- Christine Toy Johnson as Dr. Celia Lee
- Thedra Porter as Chantal Jackson
Guest Cast
- John Karna as Holden March
- Joe Urla as Thomas Eldridge
- Antoinette Lavecchia as Adriana March
- Nicole Balsam as Haley Morton
- Sarah Clements as Gwen Young
- Katie Henney as Jean Asher
- Migs Govea as Catignano's Manager
- Emilie Miller as Mrs. Synchovich
- Ann Arvia as Principal
- Daniel Morgan Shelley as ESU Officer
- Charlë Web as Janelle
- Elanna White as Betty
- Katie Hayek as Leah Simms
- Max Elk as John Brewer
- Charlotte Durkee as Student
References
Episode references
Quotes
- Holden (as the ambulance takes a victim to the hospital): Idiots. I'm right there and no one even notices me. No one ever notices me, but that is all going to change.
- Holden: All of you women who will not look at me or kiss me, giving yourselves to other men, giving sex to men who do not love you, who use your bodies. I would know how to take care of you, to worship you, but all of you beautiful girls, you throw yourselves at men who are mean and selfish. Sweating, grunting brutes. You reject me: a nice guy, smart, superb, clean. I dress well, I take care of myself. I would have taken care of you, been gentle, but those days are gone. You had your chance. You do not deserve me anymore. You do not deserve to live.
- Olivia: (while on the phone with Noah's social worker): Miss Jackson, yes. So sorry.
- Chantal: That's not what you should be sorry about. I'm in the hospital where your foster child is in a step-down unit with a babysitter.
- Olivia: Yes, I know. I was there all night and Mrs. Amaro is not a sitter. She's actually a family friend.
- Chantal: And I just spoke to Noah's doctor.
- Olivia: So did I.
- Chantal: She called me after finding the child's fractured ribs.
- Olivia: Yes, then you know that those injuries happened before I took custody of Noah and that they've healed now.
- Chantal: I'm not suggesting that you caused the injuries. I am troubled that you chose to go to work while your foster child remained in the hospital.
- Olivia: I was called away for an emergency and I'm doing everything that I can to get back there as soon as possible, believe me.
- Chantal: I hope so. You do understand that your absence will be included in my report.
- Olivia: Yeah, I do.
- Olivia (to Noah): You gave Mommy a scare, didn't you, Noah? But you're my big boy. You're my little fighter, aren't you? You're so strong. You had to be, huh? You got a long life ahead of you. You got places to see, things to do and people who will love you.
- Holden: [in his last video before the school shooting] All of you beautiful, blonde, unobtainable girls, I forgive you. If it were not for you, I would not be here on the edge of greatness. I could have spent my whole life in the shadows, but I choose instead to fight back, to make sure people remember me because I know one thing: It is better to die in infamy than to live a life of obscurity.
Background information and notes
- This episode is based on the Isla Vista killing rampage in May 2014 that left six dead and fourteen injured. In particular, the character of Holden March is heavily based on the perpetrator, Elliot Rodger, who sent an email titled "My Twisted World" to acquaintances and family beforehand. The document quickly became known as his "manifesto". Rodger claimed he was constantly rejected sexually by women, despite hardly interacting with them. He also uploaded a video to YouTube before the incident called "Elliot Rodger's Revenge", where he talked of the upcoming attack, and his motives behind it: his desire for revenge against women and sexually active men he perceived to be living a better life than his.
- The final standoff also has some elements inspired by the Platte Canyon High School hostage crisis in September 2006. In that incident, a gunman, Duane Roger Morrison, took six female students hostage in a classroom, sexually assaulting them before killing one while police were breaching the classroom. He had no known connection to Platte Canyon High School or any of the hostages, and his motive is currently unknown.
Episode scene cards
Episode scene cards
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Mercy Hospital |
Catignano's |
Residence of |
St. Francis High School |
| Previous episode: "Producer's Backend" |
"Holden's Manifesto" Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 16 |
Next episode: "Pornstar's Requiem" |