Law & Order: SVU (5/22/2007) Season Finale: Everyone on Trial

The season finale of Law & Order: SVU was absolutely magnificent. It brought back many of the recurring characters that have popped up this season but seemed to leave me with more questions than answers. If you are expecting this episode to wrap up any loose ends, then you will be disappointed because it just further frays those loose ends into a giant mess that leaves you wondering even after the show ends. The episode opened with a Court TV-esque news segment with real-life lawyer Nancy Grace and former giant pig on "The View," Star Jones. Apparently, Darius Parker was finally going to trial over the murder of Nancy Stansville and her baby. This case would prove to be highly controversial to the detectives at SVU because Darius, played by rapper Ludacris, is Detective Fin's stepson and during the investigation of the crime, an illegal interrogation occurred that lead to the suppression of most of the evidence. The prosecution is forced to proceed with only the blood at the crime scene and the murder weapon as evidence. No bodies, no confession, no service.

The detectives of SVU can barely get into the station due to the media mob that is posted up just outside. As soon as all the detectives are in the same room, a skinny, white woman hands Detectives Stabler, Benson and Fin subpoenas. Aside from learning that perhaps it is really the detectives who are being put on trial, we also get to see a skinny, uptight, white woman tell Ice-T that "You got served."

Darius Parker meets with Prosecutor Casey Novak and Judge Elizabeth Donnelly and tries to avoid being present at his own trial due to illness. Donnelly sees it as yet another delay tactic and forces Darius to attend trial. Darius Parker actually chooses to co-defend himself in court and does a surprisingly good job. In the opening sequence of the trial, Doctor Melinda Warner testifies that there were vaginal cells on the knife that were the result of the knife being plunged into the victim's vagina during the murder. Unless, of course, the victim was just trying to shave herself a brazilian, Crocodile Dundee-style. Actually, you know what? Not even I will going to make a joke about that one. When Doctor Warner makes a reference to the murdered child, Darius jumps up and yells objection like a skilled Perry Mason. The defense runs into this problem with him throughout the entire trial. Every time the prosecution moves, he moves. Just like that.

Darius' ex-girlfriend takes the stand and testifies that she bought the murder weapon for him as a present. She tells the court that she saved up the money and would frequently visit the pawn shop to make sure that it hadn't been sold yet. So romantic, but then again, a burly Rambo knife is actually a lot better of a gift than the collection of thrift store ties that I seem to get every year. The defense points out that this woman baby-sat for the victim and frequently had Darius over for sex (that explains the DNA) and that she was testifying to get back at him for breaking her heart. What kind of evil woman would actually testify against you in a murder trial just to get even? Maybe the same kind of woman that would put a giant knife on layaway at a pawn shop as a gift. The prosecution calls Darius Parker's mother, Teresa Randall, but Ol' Teresa refuses to speak and gets her ass put in jail for contempt of court. This is a huge blow to the prosecution, because she could give the jury some important testimony about Darius' character and motive for the crimes.

The next person to testify is none other than Darius' own stepfather and investigator to the case, Fin. Fin's days of being an undercover Narc cop is brought to the court's attention by the defense. Fin is forced to admit that he once took home evidence seized in a bust and violated department policy. Fin is outraged with his other son, Ken, after he finishes delivering his testimony. Fin believes the only way Darius could have known about the drugs and weapons that were stored in his vehicle after the bust was from Ken, who found the evidence the following morning while playing in Fin's car. Of course, this happened ten years ago so either Darius has a great memory or someone else is feeding the defense inside information. Ken doesn't deny talking to Darius about the incident. Ken states that his mother was always off being angry somewhere and Fin was always on the job and so Darius was the only person he could talk to. Ken is like Darius' dorky little brother. It is sort of like what Mark Wahlberg was to Donnie Wahlberg back in the days of New Kids On The Block, long before the two brothers switched roles.

The defense's tactic to attack Fin's credibility by showing times that he violated department policy has all the detectives at SVU a little jumpy. They have reasons to be jumpy, as we have all watched them each violate policy and ethical standards on a weekly basis in order to protect their family and/or get the confession out of some wretched child molester. Now, in the form of an aggressive defense attorney with inside information, they are all about to be visited by the Ghost of Screw-Ups Past. Detective Benson arranges for a meeting with her former FBI handler to warn him about an incoming subpoena due to his knowledge about her role in aiding and abetting her fugitive brother. It matters little that he was eventually proven innocent; Olivia broke the law. The agent agrees to hide out and I guess this means that he won't be showing his face near his normal stomping grounds like the Vidal Sassoon Hair Styling Studio or at his weekly "Agents to Actors: G-Men trying to break into Soap Opera acting" meetings.

As if he didn't have enough on his mind, Detective Stabler is visited by his estranged wife at the station. Stabler's own police tactics can be said to be a tad on the aggressive side (like putting people in choke holds in the interrogation room) and so he is a ball of stress anyways without a visit by his wife. She tells him that she is pregnant and that it is time to come home now. Ouch. Well, Stabler, it could be worse...it could be Danni Beck delivering that news and she didn't have the stomach to handle SVU and so it may be even harder to convince her to get an abortion.

As Stabler comes stumbling out of the interrogation room after being delivered the news by his wife, Donald Cragen announces that there is a new detective being transfered from Brooklyn SVU who will be helping the detectives with their workload during the trial and who will become a permanent member after the trial. Meet Chester Lake. Wow, I wouldn't have thought that they would let guys named Chester be SVU detectives but, hell, they let women do it so I guess anything goes, right guys?

Chester Lake meets with Fin to discuss the evidence snafu that was brought up in court. Chester mentions that the defense attorney is an ex-cop and that he must be getting such detailed information from someone on the inside. Dectives Fin and Chester stake-out the defense attorney and find that he is having meetings with a Lieutenant Alan James. Neither of the detectives know anything about him but when they bring up to Captain Cragen he sternly tells them to leave it alone.

While Detectives Benson and Stabler are awaiting their turns to testify, Stabler tells Benson that his wife is pregnant. Olivia doesn't exactly pass out cigars at this news but she does have the decency to refrain from asking who the father is. Olivia is excused from testifying until the following day but outside she runs into her half-brother. Remember him? He is the one whose mother wasn't stranger-raped by his father. He tells Olivia that he went to Captain Cragen and told him that he was solely responsible for Olivia's indiscretions while he was a fugitive. Olivia is hurt by this because she doesn't like the idea of having to lie to her captain or stick to some pretend story made up by her screw-up brother. Look, I know that he was proven innocent of all wrong-doing, but every time this guy sticks his face in an episode, we know that it is going to mean big problems for Olivia and the poor girl has enough problems as it is. Detective Stabler's testimony doesn't go so well either. The defense attacks his credibility by citing his daughter's DUI arrest that never resulted in a conviction due to some "lost" blood samples and paperwork that never was filed. Judge Donnelly had her dirty finger in this pie too and she is forced to excuse herself from the case and file charges against Stabler's daughter. Pregnant wife, daughter getting arrested, I am just waiting for Stabler to kick someone's, hell, anyone's ass for all of this.

Captain Donald Cragen, Prosecutor Casey Novack, and the SVU Detectives have a meeting regarding the trial. It is clear that the SVU has gotten a very public black eye due to the defense's attack on just about all of their records. They need to win this case to redeem themselves and the department. Casey Novak states that the defense has done a great job controlling the jury's perception and that they need Darius' mother to testify to provide motive to the crimes. Benson agrees to visit Teresa Randall, whose ass has been sitting in jail since her initial refusal to testify. Benson tells her that she knows that she has been raped and that she needs to testify in order to bring justice to the deceased victims. Benson could tell that she had been raped due to her behavior and plus, Benson can just smell a rape on someone from fifty miles away.

Teresa's testimony is equally beneficial to the defense as it is the prosecution. She does provide insight into Darius' violent ways but she ends up admitting quite a bit more than that. She was raped by her own father and hated and resented Darius for his whole life. She refused to raise him and he was brought up believing that she was his aunt. She threatened him to keep him away from her other son, Ken, and she often just wanted him to disappear. Damn, Fin, you married this woman? How much undercover crack were you smoking in those Narc days anyways?

Donald Cragen pays a visit to Lieutenant Alan James, the cop that Fin and Lee caught providing information to the prosecutor. Donald Cragen confronts him and we find out that in the distant past Donald Cragen had taken James' job by showing that James' was unfit to lead a police squad. Lt. James was issuing some payback by exposing the skeletons in Cragen's department's closet.

We the jury find Darius Parker not guilty of all charges filed against him.

This is bad news for everyone involved. At this point it seemed like the only thing that could salvage any of SVU's credibility would be a conviction against Darius. It all seems to be coming apart and each character now must face the music alone.

Casey Novak gets a message that she is to report to the DA's Office immediately, she just lost the biggest case of her career.

Detective Olivia Benson decides to turn herself in to Internal Affairs for her role in aiding and abetting her fugitive brother. She is shown testifying to a group of very harsh looking old white men.

Detective Stabler tries to comfort his daughter as she is lead away in handcuffs, finally being arrested for her DUI. Detective Stabler is called to report to Internal Affairs for his role in the cover-up of her original arrest.

Captain Donald Cragen is called into a meeting held by the Chief of Police. His department was just portrayed very publicly as being corrupt and incompetent.

Detective Fin and his son Ken both must turn their backs on Darius Parker. Darius Parker looks unshaken and confident and I sense that we may see him again.

Keegan Hornbeck finishes his final recap for this season's Law & Order: SVU. We can all only hope and pray that he will grace our lives with his insightful, witty, and vulgar writing style for all of next's seasons episodes.