Something Happened

"Something Happened" is a relative change of pace for late 'Law and Order: Special Victims Unit' though done before a few times brilliantly in earlier seasons. This is an example of an episode that scales things down in locations and in cast members, meaning sticking to sticking to one or two or so locations and having few characters. This has been done before in 'Special Victims Unit', with notable episodes doing this being Season 6's "Rage" and Season 7's "911".

Both those episodes did this particular change of pace brilliantly, thanks to Emmy-worthy performances, a lot of tension, emotional impact and masterstroke character interaction. Somehow though "Something Happened", in the first scaled down episode in years, didn't quite work. There are worse episodes of Season 19, but "Something Happened" was one of the most frustrating ones considering the hype, the brave subject matter and that it was a change of pace. It had all the ingredients for being potentially the best episode of the season but ended up being a very mixed bag.

There are things here done well. It is a slickly made episode, the editing especially having come on quite a bit from when the show first started (never was it a problem but it got more fluid with each episode up to this stage). The music is sparingly used and never seemed melodramatic, the theme tune easy to remember as usual.

Furthermore, the final twist is a shocker. Best of all is the performance of Mariska Hargitay in a contender for her best performance of the season, her acting for me became less consistent in the latter seasons but she did show that she was still capable of brilliance many times and this is one of the examples. The rest of the regulars do very well too with what they had.

However, the story for some reason really didn't grab me. It came over as too thin and draggy, at times uneventful, and the episode is too talky with a lot of ramble and not enough tautness. The dialogue can be on the bland and over-heated side. Only the ending surprises, with everything else being very predictable. Really disappointing was everything with Olivia's past, such a build up in the promos about shocking secrets from Olivia's past but it actually turned out to reiterate what is known about her already.

Didn't find myself particularly impressed by Melora Waters, for my tastes she was too histrionic. Even for a scaled down episode, the rest of the team are severely underused.

Concluding, could have been so much better. 5/10.

Far from being the "worst" episode ever, this riveting study of a woman in the depths of emotional crisis had us on the edge of our seats from start to finish. Melora Walters gave a magnificent performance, as did Joanna Going as her sister. Be prepared to have your gut wrenched as you watch this. It's horrifying … and well worth the time.

I really tried to enjoy this episode..i really did. But man that was just bad. Only positive thing in this epsiode is the usual cast who did an excellent job as always but the two guest actors (victim and her sister) really tried too hard...it really annoyed me.

"Something Happened" In this striking episode.

The rain sound is a reference to the movie 12 angry men.

Olivia, If she surrenders to her showdown with her father, she meets the personality that awaits her in her destiny.

Like a hunt and hunter simulation...

Olivia is not alone in the center this time. With the waves created by the thrown stone ... with secondary damages.

Olivia and her brother Simon are compared with Going and her sister Walters.

People who confront traumatic events again, Comparison of William Lewis and Greg Harvey.

From a difficult past life, Olivia and Walters won the fight, one became a detective and one became a lawyer. However, the others lost Going and Simon ...

Like Ying Yang, there is a bad in every good, there is a good in every bad... A reckoning episode

Traces of the trauma of the past and its results are well presented with acting, writing 👏👏🌸🌸

Walters makes a very fitting play with Mariska. She plays a personality with the trauma of rape and abuse very well.

In the sisters competition, they put on great performances. Olivia, Laurel and Leah complete the triangle as collateral damage.

The music at the last interrogation moment is great. If Svu is going to have a soundtrack, it must be on the list.

Music, atmosphere, dialogues and writing are perfect. In the final, it is the part that made me say waww, that caused me to create a collection of svu rock episodes.

Mariska is on fire in this episode. She goes through all the range of emotions flawlessly. The antagonist has her moments of being annoying, but it only spoke more to the truth of the character; flawed and unhinged and deeply disturbed by what her childhood entailed. Mariska delivered such an incredible performance. It's been years since she spoke so much of her father and hearing her tell it all to a victim/perp was eerie. It only proves that Olivia Benson is a true survivor in all that she has endured in her life. That you can be angry, even hate filled at times, but you make the choice to do good and see good in others.