| "Pathological" | ||
|---|---|---|
| ← | SVU, Episode 19.10 | → |
| Production number: 19010 First aired: 10 January 2018 | ||
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| Written By Brianna Yellen Directed By Jono Oliver | ||
Summary[]
While SVU investigates a case that involves two students in a special needs school, Rollins discovers that one child's medical issues stem from a surprising source.
Plot[]
plot
Cast[]
Main cast[]
- Mariska Hargitay as Lieutenant Olivia Benson
- Kelli Giddish as Detective Amanda Rollins
- Ice-T as Detective Odafin Tutuola
- Peter Scanavino as Detective Dominick Carisi, Jr.
- Raúl Esparza as A.D.A. Rafael Barba
Recurring cast[]
- Jenna Stern as Judge Elana Barth
- Carolyn McCormick as Dr. Elizabeth Olivet
- Tamara Tunie as M.E. Melinda Warner
- Ryan Buggle as Noah Porter-Benson
- Mouzam Makkar as Defense Attorney Dara Miglani
- Charlotte Cabell & Vivian Cabell as Jesse Rollins
Guest cast[]
- Dendrie Taylor as Dawn McLaughlin
- Erin Wilhelmi as Mariel McLaughlin
- George Sheffey as Lou McLaughlin
- Mandi Masden as Vanessa Banks
- Joanna Parson as Dr. Alexandra Levy
- Jon Shaver as Randy Hill
- Andrea Cirie as Alicia Flock
- Conor Tague as Cody Hill
- Tywan Wade as Taylor Jones
- Claire Neumann as Susan Glaser
- Danielle Famble as Juror #2
References[]
- Munchausen syndrome by proxy
- The Little Mermaid (1989 film)
- Sheila Porter
- William Dodds
- Beth Anne Rollins
Quotes[]
- Benson: So, you guys managing without me?
- Rollins: Yeah, and Fin loves being in charge, I can tell you that.
- Tutuola: So he's nineteen?
- Carisi: And autistic.
- Tutuola: And she's fifteen and says he raped her?
- Carisi: Rollins doesn't think she understood what the word meant. I get a sense this is a "Romeo & Juliet" scenario here. Should we call Liv?
- Tutuola: No, we don't call Liv. She's still on leave.
- Carisi: So what do we do?
- Tutuola: We take his statement, then we wait on the rape kit. Take it Barba, figure out if we've got a crime.
- Dr. Warner: You made the right call, Amanda.
- Rollins: So Mariel was drugged?
- Dr. Warner: You could say that. She had half a pharmacy in her system.
- Tutuola: But she is sick.
- Dr. Warner: And a lot of these drugs make sense. Like the Valproate, for seizures.
- Rollins: But?
- Dr. Warner: She also had a cocktail of others. Paxil, St. John's Wort, Ginko. And some of these have severe adverse interactions with the anti-seizure medication.
- Tutuola: Could that just be an oversight?
- Dr. Warner: Not by any reputable professional. It this was purposeful, I'd say you're looking at medical malpractice. And possibly a case of child abuse.
- Carisi: So what now, we ask Barba for a warrant?
- Rollins: Or we get a parent's okay to look at Mariel's medical history.
- Carisi: Well, Dawn's not gonna agree to that.
- Rollins: But Mariel's father might.
- Carisi: Okay, should we check in with Fin first?
- Rollins: Better to ask for forgiveness than permission.
- Tutuola: So what are looking at?
- Rollins: Munchausen by proxy. A mental illness where a parent makes up fake symptoms or causes symptoms.
- Carisi: Medical child abuse.
- Tutuola: Mariel's fifteen. That's a long time to go along with being sick.
- Rollins: I'm positive that this is what we're looking at, Fin. Multiple diagnoses from a dozen doctors, that we know of, from six different states. Fifty different medications, at least ten surgeries.
- Tutuola: Well, aren't these doctors to blame?
- Rollins: No, because the mother is... she's a very smart liar. Master manipulator. From one doctor to the next, she says that they've lost the records, so she fills in the blanks herself.
- Carisi: And these doctors have no reason not to believe what she's been telling them.
- Rollins: So Dawn has been medicating Mariel. She's been making her own daughter sick. And she knows how to do it. She's... she's been getting drugs from online or off the streets.
- Tutuola: All right. Now it's time to call Liv, Barba, and Child Services.
- Benson: Does she know why she's here?
- Tutuola: She's a smart lady.
- Benson: She didn't ask for a lawyer.
- Tutuola: Maybe not that smart.
- Barba: Aren't you supposed to be on leave?
- Benson: I am, but I need to be here.
- Tutuola: We got enough for a case, Barba?
- Barba: Based on the files you gave me, probably. I need a full medical and psych workup on Mariel. And I need a court order for a full psych eval on Dawn.
- Benson: How about a confession?
- Barba: She's been getting away with this for fifteen years. She's good at covering her tracks.
- Benson: So she knows what she's doing is wrong?
- [to Dawn McLaughlin]
- Carisi: Dawn, we know you love your daughter and you're doing the best that you can. And doctors, they don't always know the answers.
- Dr. Elizabeth Olivet: She fits all the diagnostic criteria for Factitious Disorder, or Munchausen by proxy. There's a cognitive distortion in her thinking. She knows what she's doing is wrong, but she doesn't know why she's doing it. And she certainly can't stop herself.
- Barba: Is she competent to stand trial?
- Dr. Olivet: In my opinion, yes. But she's going to need a lot of treatment.
- Carisi: So is Mariel.
- [after seeing one of Noah's toys in a "prison"]
- Barba: What's he in for?
- Benson: Stealing all the ice cream.
- Barba: I never trusted that elephant.
- Benson: So, what's happening with Dawn McLaughlin?
- Barba: Yeah, she was arraigned today. Charged with reckless endangerment. The judge RORed her, which was completely against my recommendation.
- Benson: Rafael. Do you really think this woman belongs behind bars? She's mentally ill, like...
- Barba: Like Sheila Porter?
- Benson: Noah keeps asking me to see her. I don't know what to tell him. Just avoid the subject altogether.
- Barba: Liv, you're going to get through this. You've gotten through a lot worse.
- Mariel McLaughlin: All I ever wanted was to be normal! Now I never will!
- Rollins: Dawn made bail. She's out again.
- Carisi: What? How is that possible?
- Rollins: One of her supporters raised the cash through GoFundMe. I mean, she's not allowed within a hundred feet of the hospital or Mariel.
- Rollins: You know, what Dawn did to her daughter, she took away her childhood. It's unforgivable. But... she's sick. I mean, I just... I can't wrap my head around that we want her punished.
- Carisi: Listen, Rollins, why don't you go home and be with Jesse? I haven't forgotten that you have a kid, too, you know?
- Rollins: After what Liv went through, I'm fine.
- Carisi: Look, you're a single mom. You're a full-time cop. Your life is not easy. And it's okay to say that out loud every once in a while.
- Barba: How long was she online?
- Carisi: A few hours. And the defense claims that's part of her emotional disturbance?
- Barba: All it takes is one juror. What else?
- Rollins: Well, that's it for her Google searches, but she did watch "The Little Mermaid" seven times in three days.
- Barba: What does that mean?
- Rollins: Well, her classmate, Cody. The nineteen year old with autism.
- Barba: We didn't charge him.
- Rollins: Well, Mariel thought that she was the Little Mermaid, and that Cody was her Prince Eric.
- Benson: You did your job, Rafael.
- Barba: I also might have sent a horrifically abused teenager to prison.
- Benson: They could acquit. Or you could drop the charges.
- Barba: I drop the charges, that's tantamount to saying there's no rule of law. That the judicial system changes its mind. Makes exceptions on a whim. Or for sympathetic defendants. Yeah, that's the jury's determination, not mine.
- Benson: Well, the law says she's guilty. But your heart says she's not. So... so what are you gonna do?
- Barba: I don't know.
- Barba: The family court judge gave Mariel a three year sentence. Suspended to probation, community service. With the stipulation of regular mental health evaluations.
- Benson: So... justice was served.
- Barba: Hope so.
Background Information and Notes[]
- A deleted scene features Rollins and Carisi telling Barba about the condition they found Mariel McLaughlin in.[1]
- Flashbacks from the previous episode, "Gone Baby Gone", are shown throughout the episode.
- Other Law & Order franchise episodes that deals with a woman who abuses a member of their family for attention are the Law & Order episode "Precious" and the SVU episode "Sick".
- A physician sedating a child, especially a mentally disabled child, for a short, minimally painful procedure wouldn't be very likely to use Ketamine. Ketamine doesn't relieve anxiety all that well, which is what the mother is worried about in this case. It takes about three hours to wear off and once it does start to wear off it has been known to cause psychological issues such as agitation, confusion and hallucinations which would be something to be avoided at all costs when dealing with a mentally handicapped child who had just undergone a potentially traumatic experience. The drug most commonly used to sedate people and alleviate anxiety caused by invasive procedures is Midazolam (Versed), a short-acting benzodiazepine that wears off in less than an hour when administered intravenously. It is far less likely cause any adverse psychological issues and it has the added benefit of causing memory loss, most people don't remember anything that happens to them while under the influence of Midazolam which is another benefit when dealing with children.
Episode scene cards[]
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Delacorte School |
Mercy Hospital |
Office of |
Office of |
| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bellevue Hospital Center |
Supreme Court |
Supreme Court |
Supreme Courthouse |
Footnotes[]
| Previous episode: "Gone Baby Gone" |
"Pathological" Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 19 |
Next episode: "Flight Risk" |