| "The Book of Esther" | ||
|---|---|---|
| ← | SVU, Episode 19.20 | → |
| Production number: 19020 First aired: 2 May 2018 | ||
 | ||
| Written By Richard Sweren & Ryan Causey Directed By Jean de Segonzac | ||
Summary[]
Rollins races to rescue a girl being held captive by her father.
Plot[]
Ιn New Jersey, a young girl escapes from a house and, acting scarred and traumatized, runs to the train station and takes the train. She is later found in the train's toilet by a train officer who calls the police.
Detective Rollins wins the girl's sympathy by offering her some snacks in exchange for information. The girl is named Esther, is suffering a severe trauma and apparently knows large excerpts from the Bible by memory: when Rollins asks her surname, she answers reciting the book of Psalms.
At the hospital, Esther has severe crisis any time a doctor tries to visit her. A rape kit is impossible. The doctors, however, determine that she suffers from severe fast and that hasn't showered in weeks. Esther is taken to the Police Station, where Rollins tries to talk to her. Sergeant Tutuola brings the preliminary results of Esther's clothes: traces of sperm have been found on her panties, and the DNA test reveals that it belongs to a close relative, although not to her father. Esther's travel has also been reconstructed backwards, on the basis of the train route: she is identified in a train station and two unknown subjects are seen arriving at the station shortly after, missing Esther by a little margin.
A man named William Labott arrives at the police station and affirms to be Esther's father; he also recognizes the girl, who acts shocked and scarred by him. During a confrontation with Rollins and Lieutenant Benson, Labott admits to beating Esther in the past and that she has been caught by her mother during a sexual intercourse with her brother, which explains the semen found on Esther's panties. To Rollins' protest that, before a possible sexual crime involving a minor, they cannot let the victim go, Labott answers that Esther is 27 years old, and shows her certificate of birth as a proof. Without any solid argument left and with Esther's agreement, they let Labott take Esther away.
Rollins starts investigating privately. She heads to New Jersey, where the family resides (as New Jersey's legislation does not criminalize incest, Labott's family cannot be persecuted for this). She locates Labott's landlord and breaks into the house, finding it abandoned. The inspection reveals possible signs of abuse and disfunction going on: the house is dirty, the curtains are closed, and a dead rabbit is found in the kitchen. A neighbor reveals the family's new address, which is in Queens.
Rollins follows the family and discovers that Labott has nine children including Esther, all of whom show signs of fast and pallor. Later, hearing a child cry for hunger, she breaks into Labott's house and finds a pre-teen girl chained to a radiator in the kitchen. She meets Esther, but William and one of his sons menace her with a shotgun and a rifle and make her leave.
Rollins comes back with the SWAT and Lieutenant Benson. A smoke bomb makes Debbie, William's wife, escape the house with some of the children; but William and his older sons open fire against the police. In the resulting shootout, William's sons are both killed and he surrenders; the police rescues the young girl in the kitchen too. But during the inspection, Esther's dead body is also found.
During the interview, William Labott reveals himself a religious fanatic, an opposer of modern technology, and a strong believer in the coming Apocalypse; he has been starving his sons and daughters for years, he isolated them from the world and indoctrinated with his apocalyptic beliefs, and possibly also abused them. Debbie, on the other hand, surrenders when Rollins says that when she abandoned the house despite pretending to strongly believe in William's doctrine, she was trying to save her sons and daughters; she confirms that William has been abusing and starving them (justifying his actions with the Bible), and that he prohibited them from having any contact with outer world.
In the last scene, Benson shows Rollins the preliminary results of the ballistic exam. It shows that Esther was killed by Rollins' gun.
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 (credit only)
Recurring cast[]
- Eric Elizaga as Dr. Stephen Hale
- Shawn Andrew as ESU Captain Sasso
Guest cast[]
- Ray McKinnon as William Labott
- Rebekah Kennedy as Esther Labott
- Brandy Zarle as Debbie Labott
- Sami Molly Bray as Rachel Labott
- Stan Demidoff as Sergeant Patrick Costello
- R. Ward Duffy as Van Norris
- Margaret Rose Champagne as Conductor
- Ron Scott as Metropolitan Transportation Authority Officer
- Stephen Payne as Beau Helm
- Nimo Gandhi as Gupta
- Donna Wandrey as Charlotte
- Jean Goto as Neighbor #1
- J.D. Mollison as Neighbor #2
- Chris Russell as EMT #1
- Sebastian Hedges Thomas as Human Shield Son
References[]
Quotes[]
- [about Esther]
- Rollins: I can tell she's smart by the biblical connections she's making.
- Benson: But it's like it was drilled into her.
- Rollins: Oh, yeah, this goes way past the Sunday school indoctrination my mom made me sit through. This is a form of control. It's a way to discourage analytical thinking.
- Benson: Or a place to turn if she's lost or in pain.
- Rollins: Or scare you into thinking you're gonna burn in hell if you... you wear a skirt above your knee. I mean, somebody's doing this to keep her in line and she's still protecting them.
- Benson: I know that this is hard.
- Rollins: Hard? Just imagine how hard those kids' lives were. And then to have to sit there and listen to that... that zealot use God to justify it!
Background Information and Notes[]
- The Book of Esther is a Hebrew text that later became part of the Christian Septuagint.
- As of this episode, Odafin Tutuola is promoted to Sergeant. However, on multiple occasions following, he is referred to as a detective, mostly due to the changing of showrunners from seasons 19 to 20.
- Two deleted scenes from this episode were posted to YouTube:
Episode scene cards[]
| 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|
|
Mercy Hospital |
Lirr Security Office |
Army Surplus Store |
| 4 | 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|
|
2169 Redwood Drive |
50-36 Thornhill Avenue |
Gowanus Bay Waste Terminal |
Footnotes[]
| Previous episode: "Sunk Cost Fallacy" |
"The Book of Esther" Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 19 |
Next episode: "Guardian" |