Law & Order: SVU season 20 episode 8 video: Why doesn’t this victim want to talk?
Olivia and Amanda aren’t able to make too much headway here (as you can see in the preview video we have for you below), as the victim refuses to even call herself that. She also claims that she was heavily intoxicated and she doesn’t remember how her shirt got ripped. She denies that an Uber driver did anything to her; once she realizes that nobody is pressing charges, she determines at that point that she’s better off going on her way. This leaves Benson and Rollins in a tough spot, one in which they realize that unless they find a different way to get through to her, it’s going to be incredibly tough in order to pin anybody down.
So what’s really going on here? Well, this is an episode entitled “Hell’s Kitchen,” and it is actually about a chef (though that chef doesn’t seem to be based at all on Gordon Ramsay’s hit reality show). Instead, this case could be inspired in part by some of the accusations levied against celebrity chef Mario Batalie within the Me Too movement. Batali was not the only chef accused of either assault or improper conduct within the workplace, so there may be some other ripped-from-the-headlines moments folded in here at some point. Restaurants can be a difficult, predatory environment. The chef and the owner have tremendous amounts of power, especially if they are one and the same. We’re in a culture now where a small handful of chefs are revered as gods and if you anger one of them, you anger many of them. An up-and-comer, whether it be a waitress, a line cook, or anyone else in that environment, may be fearful of career retaliation if an accusation surfaces. This is such a tight-knit community that the idea of talking must be terrifying.
Consider all of this us laying out the variables, and why it may be so difficult (if not impossible) for Benson and Rollins to get any alleged victim on the record. Yet, we’re sure that they are aware of this: The young woman who they are speaking to in the sneak peek may not be the only one out there. It’s almost a ripple effect where if you can get one person on the record, you may be able to find others and tell them there is a sense of community and support and that there is hope together in the midst of incredible, devastating darkness.
Where do you think SVU season 20 episode 8 is going to go over the course of the hour? Let us know your pre-show assessment below, and check back later tonight for a full review of everything that transpires.
Photo: NBC