Law & Order: SVU season 19 episode 11 video: Optimum Air, Tara take center stage
While this is going to be a difficult, emotional installment, this also will represent a little bit more of SVU does best: Exposing the horrors within a culture that are not often explored. In the case of this episode, it is the airline industry. Optimum Air is the name of a fictional airline in this episode, one where a co-pilot in Tara claims that she has been raped by a powerful, well-known pilot. She explains to Benson (now back at work following her leave) and Rollins in this preview that the airline tried to silence the rape back when it first happened, promising her a path to more success in her career. Yet, they eventually lied to her, assigning her on the same flight as her rapist. It was at this point she freaked out and caused her plane to land in New York when it was not supposed to.
So why is Tara in handcuffs in this preview? That’s due to her being suspected of terrorism … something that she doesn’t appear to be guilty of in the slightest.
There were certainly comparisons out there in the press coming into “Flight Risk” between it and what happened with Harvey Weinstein; after actually watching this sneak peek, you can see how Optimum Air basically is doing what Weinstein and some people within the film industry did following some of his assaults — they offered up either money or more opportunities in return for silence, and those who did not cooperate ended up getting blackballed to a certain degree. Tara’s facing an uphill battle in this case. We believe her, but she is firing off an accusation of rape from many months before without too much in the way of tangible evidence, including no rape kit. This is not going to be the easiest thing in the world for her to prove.
Luckily, the one thing going for Tara is that she, very clearly, has some of the best people in the business looking to bring justice to her case.
(Photo: NBC)