Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 24 Episode 18 Review: Bubble Wrap
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 24 Episode 18, “Bubble Wrap,” isn’t the first time in which the show introduces a mother/son relationship that is toxic and abusive. However, Michelle Gomez’s acting elevates the narrative and captivates us.
This time around, we discover that Connie Parish (the mother) has been slowly poisoning her son in order to have control over his life. Details of her actions come to the light after Martin rapes an employee.
The biggest challenge the squad faces is trying to turn Martin against his mother after years of abuse.
“Bubble Wrap” gives us signs of Martin’s abuse from the beginning of the episode. However, we only receive confirmation of his relation to Connie after he has committed the rape and goes home to ask for help from his mother.
He walks into a bubble wrapped home to find his mother waiting for him, saying she has dinner in the oven ready for him. It immediately shows us there are boundaries these two have crossed.
From that moment on, we have a strong feeling that the defense attorney will use this abuse and toxic behavior as part of Martin’s defense. However, they go a completely different route by paying off the victim and saying she had accused him because she was going to get fired.
This is something we have seen on Law & Order: SVU over a dozen times. The rich and privileged use their money and their power to silence victims.
Mona’s silencing doesn’t end there. It goes beyond money. It becomes a murder.
Mona’s death uncovers how deep Connie’s obsession with her son goes. An obsession that pushed her to try and murder her ex-husband in the past.
We understand how terrible Connie has treated Martin in the past and how horrifying this abuse has been, but we stand with Carisi when he reminds Olivia that Martin is a rapist.
For a few minutes, it seems as if everyone has changed their focus from Mona to Martin. This isn’t what we expect from a show like Law & Order: SVU.
Yes, Benson says it herself, Martin is also a victim, but that shouldn’t erase what he has done. That shouldn’t prevent Mona, even after her death, from getting the justice she deserves.
Luckily, Benson changes gears once more towards the end of the episode and reminds Connie that her son is still a rapist.
As much as Benson and Carisi joke about being pessimists, Mona’s rapist will face the consequences and be charged for his crimes.
Season after season, Law & Order: SVU has proved one of the best things the show does is bring on guest stars. “Bubble Wrap” definitely doesn’t disappoint with Michelle Gomez’s appearance.
It always seems like Olivia Benson is challenged the most when strong, powerful women are on the other side of the court. She steps up her game and becomes even more fierce.
This time around it is a mother versus mother battle between Benson and Connie.
Connie challenges Olivia by comparing her actions to what Benson is willing to do for her own son. This only angers Benson further — something that becomes very clear when she lets out a deep grunt after their encounter in court.
Their anger and their rivalry focuses on the use of the word “mother.” They use a specific tone of voice to prove it means something different to each of them. The perfect example is Benson’s pause when she says “devouring mother.”
For Benson, mothering is about love. For Connie, it is about control and abuse. Two completely different views of what it means to take care of their sons.
A highlight of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 24 Episode 18, “Bubble Wrap,” is how well Muncy and Churlish seem to be getting along.
They belong to the same generation, but they have very different views on what it means to be a cop. This was something that had them butting heads from the moment Churlish joined the squad.
However, Benson and Fin have been pushing them to work together, and this has proven to bring out the best in both of them.
Their scenes together are some of the best on this episode, proving that new detectives can be as good as the old ones.
It is also interesting to watch them understand one another. As they discuss the case, they begin to understand how they view everything from different angles and how it might work in their favor to compare notes.
Hopefully, they continue to work together without any more Velasco drama.
For the first time in many seasons, it looks like Law & Order: SVU finally has the amount of detectives the squad has been needing.
In previous episodes, Benson had to be everywhere in order to help her detectives with the investigation. Now, she is able to stay back and interfere only when extremely necessary.
However, it is interesting that this amount of detectives means they are never all together in the same episode. Hopefully, this will change before the season ends.
It’d be interesting to see them all work together with the added dynamic of Bruno and Churlish.
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What did you think of this episode of Law & Order: SVU? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Law & Order: SVU airs Thursdays at 9/8c on NBC.
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Lara Rosales
By day, Lara Rosales (she/her) is a solo mom by choice and a bilingual writer with a BA in Latin-American Literature known as a Media Relations Expert. By night, she is a TV enjoyer who used to host a podcast (Cats, Milfs & Lesbian Things). You can find her work published on Eulalie Magazine, Geek Girl Authority, W Spotlight, Collider, USA Wire, Mentors Collective, Instelite, Noodle, Dear Movies, Nicki Swift, and Flip Screened.