| "Man Down" | ||
|---|---|---|
| ← | SVU, Episode 20.02 | → |
| Production number: 20002 First aired: 27 September 2018 | ||
 | ||
| Written By Michael S. Chernuchin & Julie Martin Directed By Alex Chapple | ||
Summary[]
Following a shocking verdict in a high school rape case, ADA Stone blames himself for the outcome. Meanwhile, before Benson can offer help, the victim makes a tragic decision.
Plot[]
plot
Cast[]
Main cast[]
- Mariska Hargitay as Lieutenant Olivia Benson
- Kelli Giddish as Detective Amanda Rollins
- Ice-T as Sergeant Odafin Tutuola
- Peter Scanavino as Detective Dominick Carisi, Jr.
- Philip Winchester as A.D.A. Peter Stone
Recurring cast[]
- Ryan Buggle as Noah Porter-Benson
- Bryce Romero as Sam Conway
- Dylan Walsh as John Conway
- Sandrine Holt as Dr. Lisa Abernathy
- Richard Meehan as Brian Conway
- Sally Murphy as Molly Conway
- Ami Brabson as Judge Karyn Blake
- John Rothman as Judge Edward Kofax
- Lauren Noble as Carmen
- Lisha McKoy as Rebecca Chaster
- Kurt Fuller as Civil Rights Attorney Jed Karey
- Elizabeth Kenney as Gillian Wray
- Robert Turano as NYPD Command Center Leader
- Charlotte Cabell & Vivian Cabell as Jesse Rollins
- Perry Strong as Juvenile Guard #1
Guest cast[]
- Matthew Streeter as Juvenile Guard #2
- Michael Dennis Hill as Reporter #1
- Michelle Won Park as Reporter #2
- Dawn Yanek as Reporter #3
- Kendra Farn as Special News Anchor
- Tom Treadwell as Politician
- Dani Montalvo as Grieving Female Student
- Sean Kaufman as Grieving Male Student
- Melodie Wolford as Grieving Mother
- Michael J. Buoni as Grieving Father
- Andrea Marie Daveline as Jury Forewoman
References[]
Quotes[]
- Molly Conway: We'll get through this.
- Benson: Yeah, well, your husband, maybe, and Brian, but what about Sam? I'm just curious how you're going to get through looking into your son's eyes at the dinner table or when you're saying good night to him knowing that he knows that his mother didn't protect him. His mother didn't keep him safe.
- Sam Conway: Go away!
- Carisi: I can't do that!
- Sam Conway: Just let me die.
- Carisi: I can't do that either, Sam. Now come on, let's put that gun down.
- Sam Conway: No! Why should I be able to play baseball, huh? Or eat chocolate-chip waffles, or kiss a girl, or go to college. I don't deserve that! I deserve to die!
- Carisi: Answer one question for me then, okay? Because all this baffles me. I mean, I can understand if you shot your dad, if you shot your brother...
- Sam Conway: It wasn't their fault!
- Carisi: It wasn't their fault, but it was the kids at school's fault?
- Sam Conway: No.
- Carisi: No? I guess there's only one person left, Sam. I guess this is all on you.
- Carisi: [to Sam] Yeah, see, that's the thing about dads, no matter how bad you screw up, they still love you.
- Tutuola: A lot of kids are assaulted, abused and humiliated. They don't shoot up schools and murder other kids.
- Sam: Be a man! A voice in my head kept saying, "Be a man!" Be a man! Over and over again. Be a man! How's that, Dad? I didn't flinch! Am I a man now? Huh?
- Stone: [during his closing argument in court] Men are strong. They're the hunters, the fighters. The spear-throwers, the sword-swingers, the gunslingers. They sit in bars and they toss back shots, regaling other men with tales of their sexual conquests. That's what makes them masculine. That's what makes them men. You get in a fistfight? That's okay. It'll make you a man. You grab a little ass? Hey, that's what men do. But what if you cry? Or show empathy? Or, God forbid, you can't shoot a little rabbit? Well, I'm sorry, you just don't deserve to be my son. The problem is Sam is John's son. The problem is Sam just wanted to make John proud. The problem is, John wasn't preaching strength. He was preaching power over others and that's not being a man. That's being a criminal.
Background Information and Notes[]
- "Man down" is a police and military code for a killing or critical assault.
- Benson hints to Rollins that she had an abortion at some point in her life. She had previously mentioned having a pregnancy scare in college in the Season 4 episode "Mercy". This abortion secret is mentioned again later in this season in the episode "The Good Girl".
- A deleted scene shows Fin stopping by Rollins' apartment to talk to her and her telling him about being pregnant.[1]
Episode scene cards[]
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Floyd New York |
Horizon Juvenile Center |
Supreme Court |
Apartment of |
Footnotes[]
| Previous episode: "Man Up" |
"Man Down" Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 20 |
Next episode: "Zero Tolerance" |