User reviews

Really just want to address the other reviewers who are upset about the lack of a tribute to Richard Belzer within the episode. What were you expecting the show to do mere days after his death? This episode was shot and edited weeks prior to its airing. Of course I hope they give him and his character a worthy tribute later this season, but let's take it easy on the writers for not being able to alter an already finished episode in order to do it.

As far as the episode goes, I thought it was one of the best ones they've done in recent years. It feels reminiscent of the big guest star episodes of the past. Bradley Whitford does a fantastic job, and we got to see a lot more of the acting chops from the rest of the main cast than we normally do. It was nice seeing Carisi involved in a case. It feels like his role on the show has diminished since switching professions.

Great directing by Mariska Hargitay.

As a loyal viewer of LAOSVU from day 1, at some point you stop looking for a different episode. The cases themselves are quite interesting but the story telling is well known.

And then you see an episode like this with two very distinct arcs, one of them being a love story with a tragic end. Clearly not your typical SVU episode but one that creates a different feeling around a crime and the role of police and DA.

Special mention to Bradley Whitford. If you have seen him in The Handsmaid's Tale, he is as impressive here. I can't imagine a better casting for this role. He delivers everything you want for this character.

Yes, it was a bit hokey, but it was nice to watch a Dick Wolf show that was not a lecture on the perfection of the progressive agenda.

Mariska Hargitay was back to being the talented actor she was before she climbed up on her soapbox of annoyingly spaced phrasing of platitudes.

The story was wildly romantic and tragic, yet within the purview of SVU, with a small aside about lax investigations and how the past informs the present.

Bradley Whitfield was excellent and if they still give out Emmys for guest appearances, he's got it. He wasn't pathetic or a saintly martyr - just a human being going through something awful and not being too thrilled with it, but not in denial.

Some might dismiss the last scene as a bit much, but it bookended the story nicely and made me cry- even more when the dedication to Richard Belzer- who played the best Character in the SVU universe- came up.

Bradley Whitford makes everything better, of course. Ferraris go faster when he's behind the wheel, parties become livelier when he arrives, and he simply refuses to lose his good looks as he pretends to age. We all know this.

But his turn in this episode showed what SVU can achieve when the Muse is upon the Writing Room and the casting director works hard to hook top talent. And top talent he is.

The STORY in this episode was so poignant and relevant that it engaged me more than the stories of any previous episodes.

The ending was a real tear-jerker, both sweet and sad, and perhaps sprinkled with just a little hope for the future.

In all my years watching SVU (since 1999) I have never been moved as much as I have with this episode.

"King of the Moon" is hands down one of the most touching episodes SVU has ever aired. From the very beginning, the storyline is handled with such care, depth, and emotional weight. Every scene feels intentional, every line of dialogue meaningful.

The character arcs in this episode are beautifully developed, and the pacing is perfect-drawing you in slowly and then hitting you with an ending that's not only powerful, but deeply human and heartfelt. I found myself in tears by the final scene. It's rare that a crime procedural delivers this much emotional resonance, but SVU proves once again why it remains such a strong and enduring series.

The performances were phenomenal, especially from the guest stars and core cast. If you've ever doubted that television can be art, this episode might just change your mind. A masterpiece. Thank you, SVU, for this one.

Beautiful episode I really enjoyed Bradley Whitford, he's a great actor. The side story was boring and i don't really understand why it went on for so long. But the main reason for my 6/10 is that there was no dedication to Richard Belzer at the end of this episode when it was shown in the UK...what is that all about?! Of course we know the man, he was the best character in Special Victims Unit got years! So why don't we get to see the special dedication to him at the close of this episode?? Sick of Americans treating us like we don't know as much as they do or that it's not relevant, it's absolutely ridiculous.

Last week's SVU was a rarity -- an episode that tried to be as good as the old ones. I see that effort, however, was short lived, as this week's is a return to the standard Benson lovefest hour (or 37 minutes, given that's about what's left after all the commercials and so forth).

Worse, even though it's dedicated to Richard Belzer, there's not so much as a mention of Munch. Wow, talk about empty gesture.

So much is awful in this episode, including a hokey ending that's likely to play well in the sticks but is so over-the-top silly that it's just embarrassing.

That guy from Northern Exposure or Hill Street Blues or The West Wing -- ones of those 80s or 90s shows -- plays a sundowner who might be the witness to the brutal attack on an old lady. There's a lot of hemming and hawing, as everyone plays to the melodrama. Two potentially good moments are ruined.

The first concerns an opening with Ice T, where the notion of two old pros having a thoughtful conversation about procedure starts out good but then turns into the usual silliness as the dialogue suggests they're two rookies, not seasoned cops who've been on the job 25 years or more.

The second is when the guy from LA Law or whatever compliments Benson on looking like Jane Mansfield. That would have been great had it stopped there because, of course, Hargitay is her daughter. But then he has to make an out-of-the blue compliment about her ample posterior, which he can't even see because she's wearing one of those long coats as usual to hide it.

I mean, come on. Are egos so fragile they need this level of constant reassurance? It's getting truly pathetic.

The rest of the episode stumbles along until an ending that seems right out of a bad kid's movie COMPLETE WITH LOUD MELODRAMATIC MUSIC. You can't make this stuff up. Just awful.

Mariska Hargitay directing for the first time since the pandemic was exciting, but this clunky episode written by Julie Martin and David Graziano wastes her talents, as it does terrific guest stars Bradley Whitford and particularly Nancy Travis, who is onscreen for maybe a woeful 2 minutes tops. Weird.

A writer with dementia thinks he killed his wife, and Carisi sensing he didn't, calls in Benson to help. That's the first stretch.

"Up"-style intro was a fun OOC move for SVU (the fantasy ending is out of the box as well), but why compete with an animated classic no one will ever top?

Then there's Benson throwing out a ridiculous one-liner about how the only people she meets are emotionally unavailable.

Yet just three weeks ago didn't Stabler drive four hours roundtrip to bring her young son back to her, then confront her in her kitchen, more available than ever?

Dick Wolf always thinking a lack of continuity is some kinda flex is one of the weirdest things about this man's broadcast empire, as is leaving Benson and Stabler in this embarrassing undefined limbo for 24 years.

Why he's so intent on not using the one ratings draw he really has in this franchise is another unexplained mystery.

Episode's sub-plot about Velasco possibly being dirty was also a bore, a super-thin premise that could have been an email.

A line about Mariska's icon mom Jayne Mansfield (a first in SVU's 24 years) was sweet but felt forced, even in Whitford's capable hands.

And when Benson reads the children's book, King of the Moon, (as in the episode's title), one couldn't help think it was a badly concealed promo for a real book coming any day. Big overhyped blehh all the way around.