Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 24 Episode 20 Review: Debatable
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 24 Episode 20, “Debatable,” has one of the longest introductions to guest characters and a new case that we have seen in quite a while.
Naomi’s arrival to New York with her coaches, her teammates on the bus, the debate, the party in the hotel, and the fire on the bus are all key moments to the story and the episode, making us better understand who each character is.
The case seems straightforward and we assume the episode itself is telling us one of the boys assaulted Naomi. However, there is a plot twist that reveals all of our theories are wrong.
The longer introduction to these guest characters makes us believe that one of the boys is the one who assaulted Naomi. Our suspicions rise when they invite her over for a drink.
It is inevitable that they are brought in for questioning. This scenario creates one of the best scenes in the episode.
Law & Order: SVU does a great transition between interrogation rooms. It highlights what each detective is best at and how great Fin can be in an interrogation scene.
But it also allows us to learn more about each boy. You have the one who immediately hides behind his father, the one who accuses Naomi of partying more, and the one who reveals what the case truly is about.
That is when the shocking moment happens. When one of the boys shows the detectives a video of Naomi and their coaches in bed.
This revelation is extremely shocking for everyone because the first minutes of the episode aren’t set up for us to believe the Youngs could be harmful.
On the contrary, they seem to be protecting Naomi from the boys who are bullying her and encouraging her to further her academic life by going to Harvard.
That is how Law & Order: SVU tricks us into believing we may have an answer to the crime. However, it is also how they prove the Youngs’ MO.
By bringing Colin into the scene, the show proves the Youngs have always operated in the same way. They selected a student they could manipulate, promising them a ticket to Harvard, and then taking advantage of them.
Because they are debate experts, they know how to use their words and their arguments into making the students believe there is nothing wrong with what is happening between them.
As the episode goes on, we see that the Youngs aren’t the only ones who can use their words to get what they want.
Even though he later feels bad about it, Fin is very smart about what he says to Colin in the bathroom, triggering him to come clean when he takes the stand.
Carisi mentions he cannot use that information, but it helps him understand Colin better and guide his questioning to where it will prove he was also assaulted.
In the end, the defense lawyer’s strategy to bring a witness ends up backfiring as Colin confesses Parker Young had raped him as well. Thus proving that Naomi is telling the truth and there wasn’t a consensual relationship between her and the coaches.
Throughout the 24 seasons of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit it hasn’t always happened that the victims receive justice. Thankfully, “Debatable” does bring Naomi a resolution that leaves her rapists in prison.
However, it is important to notice that when Carisi asks the defense lawyer to push her clients to make a statement, he is looking for an apology. This does not happen.
Parker Young once again uses his skills as a debate expert to disguise his speech as an apology, but he never says the words. He promises to make up for what he has done, but never asks for forgiveness.
This episode of Law & Order: SVU proves how strong and powerful words can be in cases when there isn’t enough evidence. Luckily, the jury believes Naomi’s word is just as important as that of the adults around her.
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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.