| "Hunt, Trap, Rape and Release" | ||
|---|---|---|
| ← | SVU, Episode 22.07 | → |
| Production number: 22007 First aired (US): 18 February 2021 First aired (UK): 16 July 2021 First aired (CAN): 17 February 2021 First aired (AUS): 25 March 2021 | ||
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| Teleplay By Kathy Dobie & Monet Hurst-Mendoza Story By Kathy Dobie & Julie Martin Directed By Batán Silva | ||
Summary
Benson teams up with Lieutenant Carolyn Barek and the Bronx Special Victims Unit to track down a serial rapist with victims in both boroughs.
Plot
A woman is raped in her apartment in Manhattan. The rapist is nicknamed as “The Good Girl Rapist” as he asks his victims to ‘be a good girl’. He usually attacks the victims in Bronx. Benson insists of having a joint investigation with Lieutenant Carolyn Barek, Bronx SVU’s newest head and her subordinates Sergeant Ari Moldovan and Detective Ruz. As they investigate the serial rapist, political over jurisdiction collides between the two units arises. Garland officially blessed a joint task force involving Manhattan and Bronx. Tamin is informed by Ruz that a victim (Bella Gardner) last April was not included in the list. To Moldovan’s defense, the victim did not not follow-up with Ruz. Moldovan and Rollins went to get Gardner’s statement about the assault and along with that, an attempted rape occurred. Tamin, Ruz, Rollins and Moldovan are all in pursuit. Moldovan shot the suspected assailant, Danny Gonzales, upon the suspicion of that he is pulling out a weapon. Rollins admonishes him. During the interview, Danny Gonzales states that he was locked up in Tallahassee during the assault last April in which is confirmed by the Police Department. Tensions and suspicions rise when Moldovan interviewed Rosie again for the voice line-up and implies on picking the guy that was caught accordingly on Moldovan’s nudging. Clearly, Moldovan is tampering a witness. Ruz tells Tamin that Moldovan feels sorry about Rosie because Moldovan was close to the scene of the attack where he is drinking. The squad then figures the mystery of two odd modus operandi that stood out from the rest. Bella and Rosie states that their attacker had a smell of booze and was quiet unlike the others. Rollins concludes that Moldovan is trying to kill Gonzales.
Carisi suggests to go over to Moldovan’s past cases to see what strays to pin him for copying other rapists’ modus operandi. He and Tutuola visits Joey, a rapist that Moldovan collared. Joey is convicted of six rapes but only four had his DNA. Joey confessed to all six rapes as a deal with Moldovan in which he was promised to be locked near his ailing mother. Carisi brings the recorded confession from Joey to Garland. They surmise that Moldovan is a mess when drunk especially during this ongoing case and so they arrange to trap him through Rollins. However, the trap flipped over and Moldovan holds her hostage but he is immediately subdued. He attempts to shoot himself but couldn’t. Ruz berates Tamin for making her feel invalidated as a detective. Barek worries that it’ll be a stain on her career but both Benson and Garland convinces her otherwise.
Cast
Main cast
- Mariska Hargitay as Captain Olivia Benson
- Kelli Giddish as Detective Amanda Rollins
- Ice-T as Sergeant Odafin Tutuola
- Peter Scanavino as A.D.A. Dominick Carisi, Jr.
- Jamie Gray Hyder as Detective Katriona Tamin
- Demore Barnes as Deputy Chief Christian Garland
Recurring cast
- Caris Vujcec as Officer Louise Campesi
- Matt Buechele as Officer Donnie Jones
- Will Vought as Attorney Victor Franklin
- Cyndee Rivera as Detective Mia Ruz
Guest cast
- Annabella Sciorra as Lieutenant Carolyn Barek
- Rudy Mungaray as Sergeant Ari Moldovan
- Shelby Flannery as Rosie Zaran
- Jaime Zevallos as Danny Gonzalez
- Christopher Halladay as Joey Nuccio
- Nikita Tewani as Sienna Rey
- Amber James as Bella Gardner
- Brianna-Marie Bell as Claire Moore
- Eileen Cannon as Jen Jacobson
- Aaron De Jesus as Man #5
- Sunny De Leon as Paz Orduña
References
Quotes
- Carolyn (while doing a bit of a head tilt): Goren used to say our mistakes are our signature.
Background Information and Notes
- The episode appears to be derived from the hunting and fishing phrase "catch and release", but it is written more vulgarly to reference the episode.
- Annabella Sciorra reprised her role as Carolyn Barek from Law & Order: Criminal Intent in this episode.
- Barek quotes something from Detective Robert Goren, a colleague at the Major Case Squad. However, Barek was primarily partnered with Mike Logan.
- Peter Scanavino had previously appeared as Johnny Feist in Sciorra's debut episode of Criminal Intent, "Diamond Dogs".
- Another character that originated on Criminal Intent, Officer Louise Campesi (played by Caris Vujcec), also makes an appearance in this episode, though she has appeared on SVU before.
| Previous episode: "The Long Arm Of The Witness" |
"Hunt, Trap, Rape and Release" Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 22 |
Next episode: "The Only Way Out Is Through" |
