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First, I have to confess, I was terrified I would miss it, not because of anything I did, but, prior to the show, NBC said it was going to broadcast a special broadcast on the Kavanaugh Confirmation Hearings. This was supposed to be a two hour episode, so how would they do it--break off at ten, then show it at eleven, or delay the second part till next week?
Someone's head is rolling at NBC, because a mistake was made, in viewers' favor, and the entire two part 'SVU' entitled "Man Up" and "Man Down" was shown in its entirety.
The story benefitted from several strong performances--Bryce Romero as the abused Sam Conway, Dylan Walsh, as his father, John Conway, Richard Meehan as older brother Brian, and Sally Murphy as mother, Molly Conway.
The underlying tale was of this dysfunctional family living under John Conway's toxic masculinity, which he imposed on his sons, and, boy, did this press my buttons! I had an uncle who was just like this, and while his boys turned out masculine, and straight, heaven help them if they had been like me! The scene where Sam could not shoot the rabbit was excruciating to watch, because I understood how Sam felt. I would not be able to do it, either. And when blood appeared on Sam's underwear later, indicating rape, I knew the father did it. And when Sam, terrified, lied about going with a strange man in the woods, I thought, "Well, Daddy could have done it in the woods," but when Sally Murphy broke down and admitted what she saw, I realized it was done at home as a punishment. And has been used as this for years, along with abusive name calling!
The entire family is terrified of John. No one will do anything. Sam and Brian even get into a fight over it, at school; Sam wants to break the silence, Brian wants to keep the familial abuse a secret--because I am convinced John had done it to Brian, when he was Sam's age, while Molly, with no skills or education, looks the other way out of fear--typical spousal abuse.
I just want to say that my uncle counterpart to Conway did not molest anyone. He just spoke and did things out of turn--arranging a phony job interview for me, where the personnel representative, Lauren Schor (I don't forget!) belittled me for my homosexuality.....without mentioning the word. He also penned a letter to my terminally ill mother, saying he hopes her death will make a man out of me! Nice, huh? Now you can see why I am down on self-righteous Catholics and right wingers!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I can't say the Conways were Catholic, but I bet the father is a White Supremacist, Trump Supporting, sexist pig!!!!!!!!!!!! Why he and Molly ever got married is beyond me!!!!!!!!!!!!! Unless he needed someone he could control.
Things go from bad to worse. Dad is found not guilty, Sam is scared, but still fueled with anger. So, going to school, as soon as I saw that oversized gym bag, I knew what was in it, and what was about to happen! Yup! Sam brings in a gun and randomly fires, killing two classmates, and wounding at least five.
When Dad first sees him at the precinct, he punches him in the face! This kid is on his way to a mental breakdown. He gets a Life prison sentence, but, I am telling you, getting away from this family, is the best thing for him. Finally, Sam breaks out in anger on the stand, and the father sort of understands what he did, though he disagrees with his now being guilty of criminally negligent homicide verdict. He got what he deserved, he put his son in prison, and as for Brian and Molly, they are left to fend for themselves, as no one seemed interested in their plot threads.
More time should have been devoted to Molly and Brian, Instead, time had to be devoted to the leads' personal problems. Olivia is realizing her mortality, and does not like it. Amanda is pregnant again (by sleazy Dr. Al) and not sure what to do about it. And Peter Stone, the new ADA, played by Philip Winchester, is grieving for his deceased sister, Pamela, by binge drinking and becoming a garden variety sex addict, with threesomes. I have to say, he has the body for it.
But the best is saved for last. While the episode blessedly keeps Olivia at low key, she gets two scenes to air her Debbie Downer approach to life. Except Debbie is funny, while Olivia is just dour. The first, shown here, is when she launches into Molly Conway, basically belittling her as a mother, which does no good, as Molly, I am sure, already knows and feels guilty. And this is revealed when she finally screams back at Benson, "It was my husband!!!!!!!!!!!!"
The other, final scene, involves Noah, who looks bigger than ever, though still prepubescent. Here, he shows his criminal roots--remember, his mother was a trashy drug addict, his father a professional criminal, and Grandma Sheila, whom he prefers, is in jail.
Olivia thinks it is time for Noah to go to bed. He refuses, and pushes her hard. She is shocked, and says not to do that again. She tucks him into bed, says they will discuss this in the morning. Then she says, "Noah, I love you." But the kid turns his head to the wall and does not say a word.
Future Rhoda Penmark in the making! Olivia's saccharine do-gooder act, combined with her downer Joan Didion persona, is going to crash in on her, as Noah gets older, more assertive, and finds out what she is REALLY raising. "The Bad Seed" will be redone as an 'SVU' episode! Cool!!!!!!!!!!!!! Will Olivia take the same out as Nancy Kelly??????????? I can only hope so!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There were so many options this show could have taken. I am sorry they went with the school shooting, leaving Sam a prisoner for life! It would have been more interesting had Sam killed himself, which would have been a tragic lesson for all. or have Sam or Brian kill the father, which I would have viewed as justifiable homicide!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A for effort on this one. Those playing the Conways were compelling, and made the show work.
But its impact on me was more due to the personal associations I brought to it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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