Law & Order: SVU "Cold" (Episode 202)

A slideshow presentation is being given. The pictures are of a crime scene and the occasion looks like some sort of seminar. Detective Chester Lake is there and asks a question about the crime scene and we find out it's a cold case being discussed. He chats with a strawberry-blonde, Penelope Fielding, and they discuss a ten-year-old case Lake's been working on.

At a fancy mixer, no-nonsense Casey Novak is clearly being courted by a high-powered law firm who specializes in defending white-collar criminals. Think about it, Casey, no more dead babies, rapists and Robin Williams to deal with! She gets a phone call and has to rush out, but clearly she's aware that SVU runs her life and maybe she should think consider settling into a career defending Martha Stewart-types, if she'd ever like a boyfriend. I'm just saying, she's not getting any younger and I would like some grandchildren. Wait a minute, who am I?

At the crime scene, all of SVU shows up, including Casey. The suspect is a detective and another detective is wounded. The snarling-faced suspect being taken away on a stretcher is none other than Chester Lake. So this is how he's going out? Let's see how this all unravels, since it is his last episode on the show. I wish I felt more than just meh.

At the hospital, Benson and Stabler go into Lake's room. He invokes some kind of right not to talk for 48 hours because they work with him or something. I'm not up on my legal codes. Needless to say, I get the feeling my boyfriend wishes I'd invoke that right more frequently than I do, which is never. Lake won't budge and Benson and Stabler leave concerned and confused.

Witnesses on the scene report the two were fighting, Chester Lake and the late police detective, Ed Kralik. It escalated very quickly, but why? A search of Lake's apartment turns up a train ticket from Philadelphia and more research reveals that he's been going to Philly once a month.

Fin and Lake have a little discussion. These two seriously never had any chemistry and Fin trying to get Chester to explain the situation to him is annoying. Lake complains that Fin never really took the time to get to know him and blah, blah, blah. So is Lake saying that he killed another cop because he just wanted a hug from Fin? Sad.

Coroner reports indicate five gunshot wounds and the death is ruled a homicide. The non-fatal wounds came from behind and it's looking bad for Det. Chester Lake. The detectives dig up the cold case file Chester was working on and very interesting, Detective Ed Kralik was the first responder to the crime, a rape and murder of a young Elisa Hernandez.

Penelope Fielding shows up to the station. She reveals that she and Lake were members of the Vidox (sp?) Society, a group that met once a month to discuss and try to solve cold cases. Her last conversation with Chester had her advising him to reinterview the witness, Elisa's friend Cecilia Cruz, as well as the first responders, one of whom was the late Kralik. Also, the girl who was raped was wiped down after and a condom appears to have been used. Was it a cop?

Back the hospital, Lake appears to have bolted. Stabler wonders, did his partner, Fin, warn him? Eliot has Fin's phone dumped and much like everyone else, Fin reacts pretty strongly to being dumped. He and Stabler bump heads. Don't cross Ice-T, y'all.

After storming out of the station, we head to a diner where Penelope Fielding and Fin sit to chat, since she and the organization she represents aren't getting a hero's welcome at the station. She suggests Fin chat with Lake's old partner, Wesley Meadows.

So, Benson and Stabler go to meet up with Wesley. Meadows reveals that he and Lake hadn't spoken for a good six months and the last time they did speak, it was about the cold case. He suggests they track down the witness to the rape, Elisa's friend Cecilia Cruz. The detectives first make contact with Elisa's father, who indicates that he was contacted recently by Lake, who was also looking for Cecilia.

At Cecilia's work, her boss reveals that Cruz rushed out with a bleeding Lake at 1 a.m., claiming she was taking him to the hospital. She's a hostage now, y'all.

Recreating the crime scene back at the station using amazing technicolor lab equipment, we see that a third shooter was involved. Was Cecilia shooting Kralik from behind? From here, we head to Kralik's widow for more info.

At the Kralik home, his widow is surrounded by a protective herd of cops, buddies of the deceased detective. They seem very surly and snarl that they want Lake to pay. Down boys. Olivia and Benson are stonewalled and head back to the comforting warm uterus that is the station.

Forensics has gone through Elisa's rape kit and reveals that Kralik's blood was under the victim's fingernails and a second semen sample is discovered, in addition to Kralik's belonging to a presumable second rapist. Cragen rushes in and says that Lake's holed up in an abandoned building!

It's a stand-off, but Fin makes his way inside to reason with Lake, who admits that he was lured to the original shootout by a phone call from a mysterious Bill Jensen. Cecilia admits she was raped and agrees to testify and everyone walks out unharmed. Well, except Lake, but he was already harmed so that's nothing new.

At the same time this was going on, Thomas Crane, one of the surly officers at the Kralik home is discovered by Benson and Stabler attempting to make a sniper shot on Lake. Stabler probably had to exercise all his remaining restraint to keep from throwing Crane off the side of the building. I don't know if y'all know this, but boyfriend's got a nice little temper on him and it's been a while since he's had a chance to rough somebody up.

In court, Cecilia describes the rape scene in vivid detail. Both cops took turns raping the girls and it was Thomas Crane who killed Elisa because she fought back. Cecilia managed to escape unharmed, but had been threatened with her life to keep silent. The defense attempts to discredit her intentions by bringing up her immigration status.

DNA goes on trial as the defense questions whether or not the samples are valid and accuses Casey Novak of lying about the validity of lab reports. Damn you, degraded semen! Court stuff always confuses me, so basically, I would be a fantastic juror and probably an even better lawyer. The trial is deadlocked and immigration arrives to snatch away the prosecution's star witness. Now this is just great. At least Casey's eye make-up is stellar.

Uh oh, Lake's not answering his phone. Stabler apologizes to Fin, and he kind of accepts it, but not really and seriously, they should consider taking an SVU retreat where they do some trust exercises because tensions are strained, y'all. Fin storms off and Munch is pissed, handing Stabler Fin's transfer request as he trails behind his former partner. Holy crap!

Casey's getting reamed about misconduct, blah, blah, blah possible suspension for a year or more! What the freak, SVU? Oh no, I totally had forgotten that Casey was leaving the show too! This sucks ass.

New crime scene and all of SVU is there, including a cuffed Lake. Thomas Crane is dead and I know I was supposed to expect something like this, but I still get the feeling I'm going to need some major therapy after tonight's finale and the trauma it has caused me.