Brotherhood

It is hard to not feel biased towards people like this. American pledges seem to attract the lowest of the low. Rich boy sociopaths who always get the "boys will be boys" excuse when doing anything.

A lot of the cases on this show will test where you stand on a lot of issues, sometimes a person will want to see someone rot in prison a lot more than usual. This was the episode that finally did that for me. In a show like this, having that episode that flips the switch for you like that really goes to show how insane the job of the ADA are in these cases, put in impossible situations to put any bias aside.

For a lot of viewers that moment may have come a lot sooner, or may not have yet, but it really does go to show the strength behind characters like Cabot and Novak.

Much like we the viewers see an episode that finally breaks us, a defense attorney will finally see one too. There can never be 100% objectiveness, and it is just another truth of the system that this show shines light on.

This wasn't a very exciting episode but the ending made it worth it.

Michael Ferreira's body is found in a toxic waste dump and said pollutants take away a lot of the forensics. But one piece of evidence where the sun doesn't shine is the remnants of a violin bow with horse hairs and pernambuco wood is found. The placement of said evidence is what brings the SVU squad in.

The investigation leads to a college fraternity has some truly savage pledge rituals. And the victim had a wonderful sideline business of having sex and taping the proceedings for his on line website. And the fraternity actually kept a journal of the proceedings.

The guilty party pleads out, but Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay feel someone ought to pay from the fraternity bigshots and the guy who kept the journal, Toby Moore is one prime candidate.

Inexplicably Gary Cole, father of the victim and bigshot attorney in his own right defends Moore. To him the fraternity hazing is just a rite of passage and only sissies can't take it. It's on Cole and his performance that the episode hinges. He was good old frat man himself back in the day. When he gets a wakeup call, Cole does the right thing. But what that is, you have to see this pretty good SVU episode.

"Brotherhood" is another one of those episodes from the 'Law and Order' franchise where whether one likes it is very dependent on how they feel about the subject. One that is a very difficult one to explore and can go in either direction when it comes to execution. It can either be very interesting and uncompromising, not trivialising what should be portrayed with the full punch. Or it can go too overboard on the shock value and be too sensationalist.

Part of me had no doubt that 'Law and Order: Special Victims Unit' would take a very noble stab at exploring this subject, which it does, and it and the franchise has proven so many times (as has been said frequently) that it can tackle difficult and divisive topics in a way that pulls no punches. Something that "Brotherhood", one of those episodes that has grown on me, does, it is interesting and it does really unsettle. It is not one of those episodes that is going to be for everybody though, some may and have found it overdone (that is admittedly including myself on first watch).

The episode is not at all subtle in how it deals with the subject, and at times in my view it did go too far on the nastiness and sleaze. More subtlety and tact was needed.

Also felt that the identity of Will's rapist could have been made clearer, compared to everything else in the story that was on the vague (or at least not explored enough) side. Some of Stabler and Olivia's antics border on being a little too silly, though their chemistry is undeniably great.

Credit however is due, despite how the above sounded, for not trivialising the subject and doesn't leave out any real detail. "Brotherhood" is not an easy episode to watch, appropriately so, and is harrowing and freaky, one doesn't look at fraternities and sororities in the same way again (it was this episode actually that put me off them). The descriptions of the acts committed against the boys are horrifically graphic and is where the episode hits hardest. Just wish there was more subtlety.

The production values are still slick and suitably gritty (without being too heavy in it). The music is not too melodramatic and is not used too much, even not being too manipulative in revelations. The script is taut, not too talky or flowery and makes one think. It has grit too as well as some genuinely funny moments, such as Munch's customary dry humour.

Have no qualms with the acting, all the regulars are great and Gary Cole looks as though he was loving every minute of his screen time without it being too much on the scenery chewing.

Overall, one of the more polarising episodes of the season most likely but a good one that grew on me. 7/10