Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (TV Series) October Surprise (2013) User Reviews

One of my fav episodes

[michelle-m94 · 9/10 · 13 May 2021]

Themes of culture and childhood ties bind this story. It was refreshing to see the human side of Barba.

It was a nice dressing on a "ripped from the headlines" scandal that often rocks the SVU world. But this time it was a man of color, with direct ties to a member of the team. While the ADAs aren't police, their insight and valuable friendships are part of what drive the show.

The casual usage of Spanish/Spanglish showed how high stakes and emotional the stakes were.

Cool to see Burr (Leslie Odom Jr.) return for a bit, amusing to see him vouch for a perv with a "zipper problem"

Although it's disappointing to not see the conclusion of the trial, it was a solid ending.

The Barba Show

[wrenleung · 7/10 · 6 June 2020]

If Barba has his own show, I'm not interested. I like him in the courtroom but I'm not crazy about his relationships with other characters. Also, there was so much Spanish being spoken in this episode. The only thing I enjoyed was how funny Fin was.

Holy Crap, Barba Has A Soul

[amckee-64063 · 10/10 · 25 December 2017]

Although Latin-American racism and the Andrew Weiner scandal both influence this case, the real star is ADA Rafael Barba, who finds himself entangled in a complicated case involving his childhood friends and his ex, which reveals a surprisingly emotional side to the usually ruthless prosecutor. This us a rare episode with no real victims, dead or alive-the rape accusation which starts this whole mess is proved false, while the other women involved in the ensuing sex scandal do so willingly. The closest thing to a "victim" is Barba himself, who is forced to confront the disturbing dark side to his charming buddy, Alex Munoz, also known as the frontrunner in the upcoming election. Despite Barba's attempts to protect him, it soon becomes clear that Munoz is involved in a tangle of sexting, bribery, and child porn which turns the old friends against each other. Maybe I'm paraoid, but I couldn't help noticing how Alex and his wife Yelina (the aforementioned ex) have much heavier accents and use Spanish words far more often than Barba--almost as if they're using their race as a weapon to generate sympathy. That's definitely what Munoz does, holding fast to his claim that "Wall Street" is setting him up to the bitter end. Overall, an excellent episode centered around one of my favorite SVU characters.

"The Full Munoz"

[bettyegriffinunderwood · 10/10 · 12 June 2022]

Best line in all the show's 23 seasons...a good episode. Too bad we didn't get to see the outcome of the trial, but the ending did feel complete nevertheless.

Brotherhood of Shield: Men too smart for their own good

[yazguloner · 10/10 · 3 August 2021]

It's amazing... it's an amazing episode. The strongest episodes I will place in my box and hide. At the center of the story is Rafael (Raffi) Barba.

Barba mesmerizes the eyes with his performance. He rises to the top with anyone who has a stage. Especially their encounters with Alex are full of stone scenes. His arguments with his Cuban countryman Amaro, whom he confronts because of his friendship with him, are terrific.

We follow the story of three neighborhood friends who grew up with Latin American language and culture in a Latin American neighborhood. From childhood to youth, they protected and looked after each other. They become a kind of shield for everyone in the neighborhood. Barba, Alex and Eddie are the three closest childhood friends who grew up together as shields.

When they grew up and left their neighborhoods, each of them came to different places. He has made Alex, whose shield powers are great, a force targeting statesmanship in politics. Barba became the state's prosecutor, equivalent to his shield power. Obviously, a movie or series emerges from this topic.

However, a "zipper problem" in the shadow of politics will bring these two blood brothers against each other.

Barba's best friend's wife, whom he lost while in love, will further fuel the problem. Eddie, who could not leave the neighborhood brotherhood and his neighborhood and could not leave Alex's shadow, will solve the problem.

Women harassed by messages in the mountains of politics and men's brotherhood are not considered very important. Unfortunately, the women in this story think so too. Father thinks so too. Women and fathers have their own logical reasons.

It is a very good article on what brotherhood means and what it is not.

Common Sense cries for discretion

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 17 October 2014]

This SVU story was obviously inspired by the saga of Anthony Weiner who resigned from Congress and then tried a political comeback and ran for Mayor of New York. This was no comeback for State Senator Vincent Laresca though. He's got a raging libido that when common sense cries for discretion this man just can't control his hormones.

His past of buying off women he's accosted in person or on line has finally caught up to him. The problem is that his childhood buddy ADA Raul Esparza is caught in the middle. Also caught in the middle is another neighborhood guy Kirk Acevedo.

This one is Esparza's episode and let's just say he sees his duty and does it.

Not much surprising

[TheLittleSongbird · 5/10 · 2 August 2022]

Seeing that "October Surprise" was going to have a lot of focus on Barba already was a given reason to see the episode on first watch. Always did love the character ever since he was first introduced in Season 14 and he was one of the reasons as to why Seasons 14-19 (when he was on the show) was stuck with. Memories of the episode from first viewing though was loving what it did with Barba but not being all that engaged by the case and that full potential wasn't really lived up to.

Unfortunately, my initial feelings of mixed feelings are pretty much the same now for "October Surprise". It is not a terrible episode or one of the worst of Season 15, as far as previous episodes of the season go it is better than "American Tragedy". At the same time, 'Law and Order: Special Victims Unit' was capable of such brilliance in its prime (Seasons 1-6 and it still had flashes of brilliance when it became more hit and miss) and "October Surprise" was not reflective of that.

It is made watchable by the performance of Raul Esparza, he brings a lot of much needed spark at a point where the show was really needing it and also brings a lot of heart that was missing elsewhere in the episode. What was great about Barba in the previous episodes is still present in "October Surprise" while also giving him some illuminating development that doesn't feel like going round in circles. His backstory compels.

The supporting cast are also fine and there are some amusing moments from Fin which was nice and stopped "October Surprise" from being overly serious. It is slickly made visually and the music isn't too melodramatic or overused.

Really do wish that the case itself was much stronger than it was. It is far too thin, like 25-30 minutes stretched to twice as long. The truth is also obvious and established too early which renders the final act unnecessary. The pace felt rather slack which made the episode feel pedestrian. Tension and suspense are lacking, which made it bland as well, and with everything that needed explanation being obvious prematurely it came over as very predictable.

Also don't know what Amaro's problem is with Barba, his behaviour towards him seems hostile in a dispproportionate sense and Amaro's character writing had regressed quite a lot by this point. Did not like how sanctimonious he is here. The regulars all seemed tired and have all been better before and since, only Esparza shines with some moments from Ice-T.

Overall, very mixed. 5/10.