After the Jeffrey Epstein story broke, this episode immediately came to mind. So said that the young actress who played the victim was killed in that car crash. She was very good in this, which it turned out to be, her, only acting role.
6 Reviews
Globetrotting, Jetsetting rapist
bkoganbing29 July 2015
This SVU story contains one of those villains you absolutely love to hate. That would be in this case Colm Feore, a multi-billionaire with a private jet who actually imports young girls to have sex with him. The story opens in fact with a telecommunication video chat with Benson and Stabler and the French police questioning a young girl who said she had been flown to New York for a 'modeling' assignment and wound up being Feore's birthday present. He likes them young, I mean just entering puberty.
This guy has some powerful connections so the squad has to tread lightly here. The key here to cracking this case is Richard Belzer. Detective Munch has one unique investigating technique enabling the squad to come up with multiple victims.
I read here that one the young victims here was played by a young woman named Isabella Grasso who died in a car crash after shooting episode. This part turned out to be the only role of her career as she was 17 when she was killed. How incredibly sad, my heart goes out to her I imagine still mourning family.
In the end only a certain amount of justice prevails for this member of the rich and powerful.
This guy has some powerful connections so the squad has to tread lightly here. The key here to cracking this case is Richard Belzer. Detective Munch has one unique investigating technique enabling the squad to come up with multiple victims.
I read here that one the young victims here was played by a young woman named Isabella Grasso who died in a car crash after shooting episode. This part turned out to be the only role of her career as she was 17 when she was killed. How incredibly sad, my heart goes out to her I imagine still mourning family.
In the end only a certain amount of justice prevails for this member of the rich and powerful.
Flight in the right direction
TheLittleSongbird1 June 2022
Anybody who has read any of my other reviews for for example individual episodes of the 'Law and Order' shows, am slowly working my way through writing reviews for all the episodes of 'Law and Order, 'Special Victims Unit' (and 'Criminal Intent' until late last year) with a long way to go, will know already how much admiration there is from me for anything that tackles difficult and controversial themes and issues. The story for "Flight" can definitely be considered that.
"Flight" is a step in the right direction and is a big improvement on the very disappointing previous episode "Dirty", one of the worst episodes of Season 12. One of my favourites of Season 12 ("Behave", "Locum", "Totem") it is not, but on the most part it was very impressive despite the story execution being far from perfect. It is though worth seeing for the disturbing atmosphere, Colm Feore and the fact that there is more of the team with relevant roles.
The story as said could have been done better. It did feel choppy in places, like there had been scenes that had been filmed but for some reason had not made it into the episode. Maybe to respect the memory of Isabella Grasso who died tragically not long after filming. The ending was abrupt and unsatisfying.
On a more nit-picky note, did have to cringe at some of the French in the scene between Munch and Dominique, with words being pronounced in a way that changes the whole meaning of the word thus also the whole meaning of what is being said in the interview.
However, there is a lot to like. The regulars are all great, and even more so Feore at his most unnerving. It was great to see more of the too under-utilised Munch (likely down to Richard Belzer's health problems) and to see the team members all have something to contribute to the case and work cohesively as a team. There is a lot of fun and taut writing, with the best lines going to Stabler and Fin.
Despite not being perfectly executed, the story is disturbing and has always given me the creeps, especially considering that it is eerily reminiscent of a current case that was a big thing for months and still is. "Flight" is a slickly made episode, the editing especially having come on quite a bit from when the show first started (never was it a problem but it got more fluid with each episode up to this stage). The music is sparingly used and never seemed melodramatic, the theme tune easy to remember as usual. The direction is sympathetic enough without being too low key.
Summing up, worth watching if not an essential. 7/10.
"Flight" is a step in the right direction and is a big improvement on the very disappointing previous episode "Dirty", one of the worst episodes of Season 12. One of my favourites of Season 12 ("Behave", "Locum", "Totem") it is not, but on the most part it was very impressive despite the story execution being far from perfect. It is though worth seeing for the disturbing atmosphere, Colm Feore and the fact that there is more of the team with relevant roles.
The story as said could have been done better. It did feel choppy in places, like there had been scenes that had been filmed but for some reason had not made it into the episode. Maybe to respect the memory of Isabella Grasso who died tragically not long after filming. The ending was abrupt and unsatisfying.
On a more nit-picky note, did have to cringe at some of the French in the scene between Munch and Dominique, with words being pronounced in a way that changes the whole meaning of the word thus also the whole meaning of what is being said in the interview.
However, there is a lot to like. The regulars are all great, and even more so Feore at his most unnerving. It was great to see more of the too under-utilised Munch (likely down to Richard Belzer's health problems) and to see the team members all have something to contribute to the case and work cohesively as a team. There is a lot of fun and taut writing, with the best lines going to Stabler and Fin.
Despite not being perfectly executed, the story is disturbing and has always given me the creeps, especially considering that it is eerily reminiscent of a current case that was a big thing for months and still is. "Flight" is a slickly made episode, the editing especially having come on quite a bit from when the show first started (never was it a problem but it got more fluid with each episode up to this stage). The music is sparingly used and never seemed melodramatic, the theme tune easy to remember as usual. The direction is sympathetic enough without being too low key.
Summing up, worth watching if not an essential. 7/10.
Story of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell
azmogroupon14 November 2020
So amazing the story of this 2011 episode was just like the horrifying case of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, only that the details of Epstein case broke in 2018 thru 2020. God knows how many of such perverts have existed so far. Dick Wolf movies are so great in linking to real world crime cases (whether at the time the work was created and released or years after that).
Billionaire Predator
yazguloner10 July 2021
Jordan Hayes, (Colm Feore) should be at the top of the baddies in Svu history... Predator disguised as billionaires... You can't get close to them with money, power and slaves.
In the 9th and 10th episodes of the 21st season, another powerful predator billionaire issue that cannot be held to account is handled.
After the shooting ended, unfortunately, there was a sad result about the young actress.
In the 9th and 10th episodes of the 21st season, another powerful predator billionaire issue that cannot be held to account is handled.
After the shooting ended, unfortunately, there was a sad result about the young actress.
Showed Promise, Quickly Gets Melodramatic
bkkaz2 May 2022
Warning: Spoilers
So, imagine someone does the JE case years before it actually comes to light. Pretty powerful. But then imagine someone's job is to fictionalize it -- that is, take the essence of what happened and find a story that isn't merely a recounting of the actual event. You know, like Law and Order used to do.
"Flight" is an aggravating episode because it presents something ripe with drama -- someone accused of a heinous crime who might or might actually be the victim -- and then just goes predictably melodramatic with it. There's absolutely no doubt that billionaire Jordan Hayes is guilty. He's played like a reptilian Snidely Whiplash by Colm Feore as a character who all but has a sign on him that says "monster." Had Hayes even an ounce of human warmth, the audience might have had at least some conflict.
And then there's the story. Hayes tries to get ahead of the accusation but claiming he was the victim. Now, remember that SVU is supposed to investigate crimes, not be the judge and jury. Remember that investigators are supposed to let the facts guide them, not their personal biases or feelings about people. Remember that the victim is to be believed and not treated as the criminal. Or, perhaps, that only applies if it's a woman (and in the SVU universe, a pretty one).
Nah, none of that here. Benson and Stabler are on to this guy from the beginning, and their skepticism crosses over into scorn more than once.
But what if. SVU took a brave turn for once and showed their bias was wrong? And what if they had to finally face repercussions for not staying in their lane as police officers? Wouldn't that make for a great dramatic episode?
Or what if the episode just made it less obvious who the villain is, you know, like in the better ones? That way they couldn't be accused of somehow defending a horrible, disgusting crime but instead show the "fog of war" that happens when the police investigate a crime where the clues are unclear and the people are hard to read?
This is one of the seasons where SVU begins to show both its age and its shift from SVU being a police procedural and more about an advocacy group. Goodness help anyone who is ever falsely accused because according to the show's formula, if they don't look a certain way or are of the wrong gender, they're as good as convicted. And that makes for poor drama because drama is about conflict and not simply reinforcing ideology.
"Flight" is an aggravating episode because it presents something ripe with drama -- someone accused of a heinous crime who might or might actually be the victim -- and then just goes predictably melodramatic with it. There's absolutely no doubt that billionaire Jordan Hayes is guilty. He's played like a reptilian Snidely Whiplash by Colm Feore as a character who all but has a sign on him that says "monster." Had Hayes even an ounce of human warmth, the audience might have had at least some conflict.
And then there's the story. Hayes tries to get ahead of the accusation but claiming he was the victim. Now, remember that SVU is supposed to investigate crimes, not be the judge and jury. Remember that investigators are supposed to let the facts guide them, not their personal biases or feelings about people. Remember that the victim is to be believed and not treated as the criminal. Or, perhaps, that only applies if it's a woman (and in the SVU universe, a pretty one).
Nah, none of that here. Benson and Stabler are on to this guy from the beginning, and their skepticism crosses over into scorn more than once.
But what if. SVU took a brave turn for once and showed their bias was wrong? And what if they had to finally face repercussions for not staying in their lane as police officers? Wouldn't that make for a great dramatic episode?
Or what if the episode just made it less obvious who the villain is, you know, like in the better ones? That way they couldn't be accused of somehow defending a horrible, disgusting crime but instead show the "fog of war" that happens when the police investigate a crime where the clues are unclear and the people are hard to read?
This is one of the seasons where SVU begins to show both its age and its shift from SVU being a police procedural and more about an advocacy group. Goodness help anyone who is ever falsely accused because according to the show's formula, if they don't look a certain way or are of the wrong gender, they're as good as convicted. And that makes for poor drama because drama is about conflict and not simply reinforcing ideology.
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