I have been watching Law and Order SVU for a while now. I've been watching it show by show since season 13 started (2011) and have seen various episodes periodically before the 13th season. It's one of the few shows I still watch on TV. I am a bit younger than the typical viewer as I am a teenager and I know the target audience is typically the middle aged adult who may know a little bit more about the law than the average teenager. But I think me being younger than the typical viewer serves as a bit of a benefit to get the thoughts of a younger guy and not just the regular viewer all the time. My opinion of this season so far is that this season is an OK season or mediocre at best. Just not in its prime. It seems like they are focusing more on the personal life of Benson this season and in a way it seems like they are giving the impression that the show may be coming to an end or at least the run with this specific cast. But this particular episode I liked a lot even though it wasn't as full of suspense as the better episodes usually present. I thought of it as an episode leaving questions as to what will happen next. For example in the first 5 minutes the episode started with Luc shooting his friend was controversial. We knew that he was trying to protect his mother and was in shock when he shot his friend, but we knew that he had killed someone. Which makes us wonder what was going to happen and if he would go to prison. Also towards the end I found it interesting when they got the mother psychologist involved trying to make him admit he shot his friend on purpose when he knew he didn't. So when he had to go up on the stand, you didn't know if Benson could get through to him, and make him tell the truth or if his mother's mind tricks would make him choose otherwise on the stand. I think this episode is top 2 so far this season in what has been to me a mediocre season. Not at all like the past 2 seasons of Law and Order.
8 Reviews
One narcissistic mom
bkoganbing8 February 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Young Aaron Sanders arrives home unexpectedly and thinks there's an intruder in the house. He finds mother Sarah Wynter with another man and she yells rape. With a hunting rifle they had in the house he fires. He then finds out it's one of his friends.
Guest stars really outshine the regulars here. Young Sanders is a sensitive kid torn up by his parent's divorce. Wynter however is not telling the truth. She is one of the most narcissistic characters ever portrayed on SVU. One who just has to be the center of attention wherever, whenever. What better than turning on some eager horny adolescents?
But turning on has a double meaning. She's properly held responsible for the death and faces trial. Then she pulls the ultimate in betrayals in that other sense of 'turning on'.
Wynter is a mother from hell in this fine SVU story.
Guest stars really outshine the regulars here. Young Sanders is a sensitive kid torn up by his parent's divorce. Wynter however is not telling the truth. She is one of the most narcissistic characters ever portrayed on SVU. One who just has to be the center of attention wherever, whenever. What better than turning on some eager horny adolescents?
But turning on has a double meaning. She's properly held responsible for the death and faces trial. Then she pulls the ultimate in betrayals in that other sense of 'turning on'.
Wynter is a mother from hell in this fine SVU story.
Creepy narcissism
TheLittleSongbird27 October 2022
"Motherly Love" left a big impression on me on first watch, in a good way (even if it wasn't perfect). Namely because of one particularly good, memorable performance. There are episodes of 'Law and Order: Special Victims Unit' that have interest points (sometimes more than one) and "Motherly Love's" is that it was announced as and intended to be a milestone episode for the show (its 400th), though it aired as the 399th for some reason.
On rewatch, "Motherly Love" struck me as every bit as very well done as before, though considering that it was an intended milestone episode there was potential for it to be even better. Would actually go as far to say that it fared even better this time. As far as Season 18 goes, "Motherly Love" is one of the better episodes overall and by far the best one up to this point of the season. Which is saying a lot, as only three of the previous episodes impressed me, while the others were average at best (half were below), and neither blew me away still.
There are lots of things that "Motherly Love" excelled at. The production values are typically slick with the right amount of grit, nothing is too fancy or too gimmicky. Nor is anything too static, drab or garish. The music is not too constant or emotionally manipulative, meanig not over-emphasising the emotion to make one think that's how we should be feeling. The direction has alertness and breathing space.
It is thoughtfully scripted and has some great lines from particularly Fin and Barba, such as the one regarding the dirty socks. The story is very intriguing and has a real creepiness to it, particularly when things become more complex. The acting is very good, with the standout being the knockout guest turn of Sarah Winter (the standout performance on first viewing). Such an unsettling presence. Raul Esparza continues to be a breath of fresh air and Delaney Williams is wonderfully pompous as every prosecution witness' worst nightmare.
As said though, "Motherly Love" could have been even better than it turned out. Was not surprised by the truth at all, the title alone promising a much bigger twist than what was provided.
Luke also came over as rather whiny at times, which made it not particularly easy to root for his situation.
Overall, very good. 8/10.
On rewatch, "Motherly Love" struck me as every bit as very well done as before, though considering that it was an intended milestone episode there was potential for it to be even better. Would actually go as far to say that it fared even better this time. As far as Season 18 goes, "Motherly Love" is one of the better episodes overall and by far the best one up to this point of the season. Which is saying a lot, as only three of the previous episodes impressed me, while the others were average at best (half were below), and neither blew me away still.
There are lots of things that "Motherly Love" excelled at. The production values are typically slick with the right amount of grit, nothing is too fancy or too gimmicky. Nor is anything too static, drab or garish. The music is not too constant or emotionally manipulative, meanig not over-emphasising the emotion to make one think that's how we should be feeling. The direction has alertness and breathing space.
It is thoughtfully scripted and has some great lines from particularly Fin and Barba, such as the one regarding the dirty socks. The story is very intriguing and has a real creepiness to it, particularly when things become more complex. The acting is very good, with the standout being the knockout guest turn of Sarah Winter (the standout performance on first viewing). Such an unsettling presence. Raul Esparza continues to be a breath of fresh air and Delaney Williams is wonderfully pompous as every prosecution witness' worst nightmare.
As said though, "Motherly Love" could have been even better than it turned out. Was not surprised by the truth at all, the title alone promising a much bigger twist than what was provided.
Luke also came over as rather whiny at times, which made it not particularly easy to root for his situation.
Overall, very good. 8/10.
Malignant Narcissism's a Bitch
insideout0989 February 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Motherly Love was a breakout episode for this season, due in part to the engaging performance of Sarah Keller in the role of a malignant narcissist and psychopath. Adding to this is the passionate interplay between she and Mariska Hargitay, aka Olivia Benson, who's loathing of her behavior was palpable. I also found fascinating the exploration of narcissism's horrific consequences for family members, as well as the irony of a psychiatrist willing to sacrifice her son to feel whole again quite original. The episode is is rife with twists and unexpected turns
and anyone, myself included, who has questioned the downhill direction of Law and Order SVU may have just witnessed a resurrection.
Sacrifice Manipulation: Not Knowing How to Love or Hate
yazguloner21 February 2022
Welcome to svu gray cases. Dark grays, claims, plot twists... Olivia magic, Barba miracle, Buchannan defense
This time there is a manipulative and provocative case in Svu. Guest actress mother and son performances are very good...
It was nice to watch the fort battle between Olivia and the plaintiff psychiatrist.
This time there is a manipulative and provocative case in Svu. Guest actress mother and son performances are very good...
It was nice to watch the fort battle between Olivia and the plaintiff psychiatrist.
Writing is a bit weak
stratus_phere19 June 2018
Warning: Spoilers
From the very beginning the "twist" is obvious. It's clear from the start what the real deal is. But instead of our detectives solving things realistically, they start jumping to conclusions that are not obvious from the clues they find.
When Benson and Rollins find photos of the "rapist" snapping a selfie above an unconscious woman, they immediately assume the woman was aware of it even though the photo clearly shows she was not awake. Not only that, but they immediately jump in and start accusing her of having a relationship. Based on those photos, they would not and could not have made that assumption. The writers just got ahead of themselves.
So the rest of the show, as it unfolds, feels very unreal and scripted. It's unfortunate that there wasn't much more to this episode. It could have been told in about 10 minutes.
When Benson and Rollins find photos of the "rapist" snapping a selfie above an unconscious woman, they immediately assume the woman was aware of it even though the photo clearly shows she was not awake. Not only that, but they immediately jump in and start accusing her of having a relationship. Based on those photos, they would not and could not have made that assumption. The writers just got ahead of themselves.
So the rest of the show, as it unfolds, feels very unreal and scripted. It's unfortunate that there wasn't much more to this episode. It could have been told in about 10 minutes.
Trey
Copaz21 February 2019
Warning: Spoilers
A very confusing episode which seemed to find the guilty party almost as soon as it began, and yet never gave the audience reasons to believe they were truly guilty. There have been episodes of SVU in the past which gave us a similar twist but managed to include evidence and motive instead of "psychobabble", as Barba said in the episode to describe something which wasn't at all made up: grades not being indicative of a child's emotional well being. What is psychobabble is the idea that a scary therapist would be able to manipulate people so easily. (I honestly thought it was going to be revealed that Nicole's ex husband was making up things about his ex wife, because of how ridiculous his accusations of her seemed)
I realized around the 45 minute mark, and after the 100th time that Lt. Benson shot Nicole a dirty look, that this episode, like the rest of the season, was about Benson. Even the last scene has Benson tearing up about her son for reasons I still don't understand.
Other problems I had with this episode were that the rest of the main cast, save Barba and Benson, are completely devoid of their personalities, the writing is almost unbearable, and there's victim blaming when it was unwarranted!
Another Vapid Scene-Chewer
bkkaz13 July 2020
Warning: Spoilers
If you're a long-time fan of Law and Order: SVU, you can chart its decline from the beginning. Though it was often the most melodramatic series of the Law and Order franchise, it generally stayed within the bounds of reality. Then, somewhere around 2015, once so many regulars were gone or on their way out, the series changed quite a bit. Suddenly, the scripts became more simplistic and histrionic. The characters were drawn more siimply, and the writing became more heavy handed, even while the acting became more over the top. In this weak entry, a narcissistic psychologist is sexually assaulting teenagers, including one her son kills when she screams rape. It's a good set up for a complex story, but if that's what you're looking for, you'll be disappointed. The psychologist, who looks, sounds, and acts like a blond Lilith from Frasier, plays her part with the subtlety of someone screaming "I'm the villain" in your face with a megaphone. The defense attorney -- a kind of evil budget John Goodman -- is just one-note slimy, and this is one of the many episodes that gets to show Mariska Hargitay in a close up shaking her head in court. Padded moments like that, I guess, are supposed to make up for the lack of real emotions in the rest. Oh, and the ferret-like Barba does his usually shifty-eyed legal plotting. You'll see the ending coming by the first commercial break.
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