‘Law & Order: SVU’ season 18, episode 9 review: A company’s collapse in ‘Decline and Fall’
Tonight, “Law & Order: SVU” aired an episode entitled “Decline and Fall,” which was in many ways about a powerful family being forced to face the fact that despite whatever they may think, they are not protected 100% from justice. This is especially true for Lawrence Hendricks, an extremely powerful man at the center of a business empire in Avalon who felt, for some perverted reason, that he could do whatever he wanted to and would never get in trouble for it.
As a matter of fact, tonight things went to such a disturbing level that we saw Lawrence drugged and raped a young woman who also had sex with his grandson Ben. This young man was key to the case, but unfortunately he was not all that interested in helping out Benson or anyone else in the SVU … at least at first. That would change before the episode’s end.
Barba’s fight – As the pieces were started to come together, we got a sense from Barba as to just how difficult this case was going to be in order to win. Lawrence’s daughter attempted to do his part in order to claim that his father had dementia, and was not fit to stand trial as a result of all of this. It was an aggressive approach to handling her father, especially when it came to claiming control of the company. As for Lawrence’s defense for his actions, he was also claiming that Sarah (the woman at the center of the rape), wanted to be with him and had a “thing” for older men.
Eventually, we saw our favorite prosecutor do what he could to try to convince another key figure in Lawrence’s girlfriend to testify using some trickery. Specifically, she admitted to Lawrence frequently drugging her with quaaludes, often doing so without her consent. What made all of this work was the fantastic game of legal tug-of-war that transpired over time, as Barba had to find the right person to go up against Lawrence and prove that the insanity defense was nothing more than a put-on.
The next problem – While Lawrence’s son agreed at first to testify, some of his motives were not entirely clear … in particular when it comes to some of the secrets that existed from the past. He didn’t care about the company in the moment; what the father was hiding was that Lawrence raped his wife. This was the revelation that caused Ben to stop protecting Lawrence, and finally allowed Sarah to have some justice. This was a story effectively about three generations trying to protect secrets in their own way, whether it be to protect themselves, or the reputation of the Avalon brand. All it took was Ben’s testimony in order to change everything, and put Lawrence away once and for all for his despicable crimes. He was VERY much aware of his actions.
Overall – We love Raul Esparza, and therefore it’s always a thrill to get to see episodes that focus almost entirely on the courtroom and the drama that unfolds there. There were several great twists and excellent story throughout; the case itself was certainly depressing, but there are times when you have to expect that with this show. Grade: A-.
(Photo: NBC.)