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laurajklitzke
Reviews
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: Vulnerable (2002)
One of the more memorable episodes
As a fan of SVU since its inception, I've seen many of the episodes run together in my head in a hodgepodge of brutal rapes and murders. But this one stands out. It's one of those episodes whose characters stick with you after you turn off the TV and go to brush your teeth.
Jane Powell is quiet yet captivating as the unreliable victim of a quick, cruel, and callous attack. The script, too, elevates her performance, a disconnected narrative that is heartbreakingly accurate in its portrayal of dementia. While the drama swirls around her, Powell is the core of the episode that drives immediate empathy for her plight and the plight of so many like her.
The number of twists and turns in this episode may be rather implausible, but it's a purposeful decision to showcase the innumerable ways that the vulnerable elderly can be (and often are) abused. Yes, there is the blunt and obvious physical abuse that's evident in the first few minutes. But there's also callous endangerment, well-meaning but seriously misguided neglect, various degrees of financial exploitation, and worse -- along with a side dish of repressed childhood trauma, a vestige of an era when such things were hushed up and buried deep, not dissected on television.
It may not be the best SVU episode in history, but I'm giving it a 10 out of 10 for sheer watchability and a thoughtful treatment of a problem nearly everyone has faced by the time they reach adulthood: the loss of a loved one to an insidious disease that slowly steals away their ability to control their own narrative, leaving them vulnerable to every little shred of wickedness that happens to cross their path.