The discovery of the bodies of a newborn and her mother leads to a dermatologist coming under suspicion of the rapes of young girls.The discovery of the bodies of a newborn and her mother leads to a dermatologist coming under suspicion of the rapes of young girls.The discovery of the bodies of a newborn and her mother leads to a dermatologist coming under suspicion of the rapes of young girls.
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- Special Agent Dr. George Huang, M.D.
- (as B.D. Wong)
- DA Arthur Branch
- (as Fred Dalton Thompson)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaLoosely based on the case of Dr. John Schneeberger. Dr. Schneeberger inserted a tube into his arm filled with a patient's blood in an attempt to fool investigators in Kipling, Saskatchewan, into thinking that he was not responsible for the sexual assaults for which he was eventually found guilty.
- GoofsThe entomologist claims that the blowfly larva on the dead baby were freshly laid, so the baby died not more than 3 hours before. Firstly flies lay eggs, not larva. And secondly, it takes anywhere from 12 to 24 hours for blow fly eggs to hatch into larva.
- Quotes
A.D.A. Casey Novak: What do you tell your boyfriend?
Detective Olivia Benson: I don't have one actually, once they find out what I do, the ones that don't pull away immediately get too interested and want to know all the sickening details.
A.D.A. Casey Novak: I guess it's easier on the men's side.
Detective Olivia Benson: Well, Fin doesn't talk about his personal life at work, Elliot doesn't talk about his work at home, and Munch has just given up.
- ConnectionsReferences Law & Order (1990)
On the most part, "Serendipity" does a more than worthy job. It is not as amazing as "Loss", but in all honesty it would have been quite a task to make an episode equal to or better than that so shortly after. Much credit is due in making what sounds like a simple premise on paper and make the execution very intricate, while not being over-complicated or too strange. Very like the third episode of Season 5 "Mother", but does it better than that as "Mother" did have moments where it did fall in the latter adjectives whereas "Serendipity" never did.
Novak's introduction is quite interesting and it was interesting to see a replacement very different (more hands on and not as by the book) from her predecessor. Will admit though to not warming to her straightaway here in "Serendipity", she is not always very professional and her personality struck me as too cold and difficult for most of the episode. The detectives' initial attitude to her is more than understandable.
The episode is a little too conventional to begin with and ends slightly too neatly.
Which very quickly becomes a case that is a lot more complex and surprising than it initially appears to be. It is a tense episode and also heart-breaking, especially in the second half, another episode to show how 'Special Victims Unit' (and the whole 'Law and Order' franchise for that matter) had the guts to tackle difficult and relevant subjects, back then and now, and do it in such an uncompromising way. Which is a major part of the show's and franchise's appeal. The climax wrenches the gut and the scene between Novak and Branch is beautifully written and played, great to see a character like Branch have faith in her. The script is typically thought-provoking and smart with a good deal of edge.
Characterisation is terrific, where one gets to know the characters as people beyond what they do in their job. Did appreciate how Olivia's relationship with Novak grew and became more empathetic after starting off on the most wrong of feet. The acting is also terrific from all involved, with great performances from Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay and Neal making a more than credible first impression despite finding her a lot more likeable in later appearances.
Production values are slick and professional, not ever resorting to cheap or untested gimmicks or anything. The music is haunting in the right places and isn't constant or too loud, and the direction gives the drama urgency and breathing space.
Overall, very good. 8/10
- TheLittleSongbird
- Nov 18, 2020
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