"Svengali" | ||
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← | SVU, Episode 9.06 | → |
Production number: 9006 First aired: 6 November 2007 | ||
Written By Kam Miller Directed By David Platt |
Summary[]
A college student, Tina Snow, is found murdered in an attack that bears the hallmarks of infamous serial killer Robert Morten. Detectives Benson and Stabler investigate Morten and discover his loyal following, which includes a man whose comic books glorify Morten's murders. When Cecilia, who was the last person to have seen the victim alive, goes missing, the detectives are pressed to save her life. Benson also finds herself in danger when the investigation angers Morten's followers.
Plot[]
A woman is discovered dead in an elevator shaft. She has been mutilated; someone cut off her breasts postmortem. They investigate around to find out how she got killed. They find a friend of hers, Cecilia, working in a bar. She tells them that Lucy left with a guy the previous night. They talk Cecilia into sitting down with a sketch artist. Later that night, Cecilia calls Benson and says that the guy came back. He's outside the bar. She's closing the bar and no one else is there. Cecilia screams and the call is cut off.
Benson and Stabler go to investigate the bar and find a Venus de Milo painted out in blood and Cecilia missing. They only have twelve hours to find Cecilia before she is murdered like Morten's other victims.
Back at the precinct, a search discovers that mutilated Venus de Milo artwork were available online that were created by a man named Robert Morten. He's doing eight life sentences in Sing-Sing prison, so the crimes are being committed by a copycat. Stabler points out that Tina Snow was positioned with her arms tied together behind her, also resembling the Venus de Milo.
Benson and Stabler go to speak with Robert Morten, trying to find out who is partner is. He insists that he worked alone. Morten claims that there's beauty in all women, you just have to dig deep to find it. Benson questions how he finds women with no arms and no breasts beautiful. Benson tells him someone has been copying his work and asks who it is. He states that if she shows him the crime scene photos, he'll critique them. They find a bunch of fan mail in his cell.
They arrest a convict that used to be his cell mate because he's been writing to Morten, which goes against his parole. The man tells them about a comic called le Morte, which is based off of Morten's murders. Every issue reflects the crime scene of the murders he committed. However there are five issues that continue the series, despite the fact that Morten was captured. The ninth issue depicts Tina Snow's murder. The tenth shows a Venus de Milo panted in blood, just like they found at the bar. They only have two hours left, so they go to visit the writer of the graphic novel Harrison Thomas.
At Thomas's place they find the full tenth graphic novel. In it the character takes his victim somewhere. Benson and Stabler question the artist about the location and he tells them it's Robert's childhood home. They rush there and find Cecilia tied up and bleeding, but alive.
Benson discusses the case with Cragen about Cecilia being scarred when Fin comes in with a pizza addressed to Benson. Hearing this, Benson denies ordering a pizza while Fin gives the pizza to a hungry Lake. After Lake drops the pizza box on the desk, an explosion goes off blowing Lake and others away. Startled by what she sees, Benson immediately orders for other officers to call the bomb squad and call an ambulance for the wounded.
A protesting Lake is transported to the hospital to look for a concussion. Cragen says Benson has been compromised and orders her off the case, despite her protest. Fin is all right only suffering bleeding from the ear while revealing the bomb squad found a pipe bomb in the box. Stabler comes by and revealed that the squad is doing a sweep by sweep on the floors. Fin then walks off to find who caused the chaos, promising pain on them. Forensics appears and reveals that Cecilia actually wounded herself making her suspect. Cragen says he will have Novak do a warrant to check out the apartment of Cecilia.
At the apartment, Stabler and Benson discover the Cecilia has been penpals with Morten for years. She even got a job with the law firm representing him, so she could visit him. They also discover evidence that she murdered Tina Snow and she staged her own attack to avoid suspicion.
Benson interviews Cecilia while Stabler interviews Morten and both confirm knowing each other from Cecilia sending letters to inquire about her father who she learned was a prisoner. Morton had persuaded Cecilia to get a job internship at his law firm to visit him without monitor. He also implies a sexual relationship between them during the visits, which is confirmed by Cecilia stating he loves her. However, Benson can tell that Morten took advantage of her because he cut her off not long after they had sex a few times. After further questioning, Cecilia breaks down at her actions and wishes she died from her overdose from when she staged her kidnapping. Morten also reveals that Cecilia told him where she buried Tina Snow's breast's.
Morten helps with a search of a certain area where Cecilia put Tina Snow’s breasts. Novak announces that they have enough evidence to charge Cecilia with murder while Benson nearly loses her cool when trying to attack a smug Morten.
At the precinct, Stabler reports to his captain that Cecilia has been charged. Fin reveals Benson is at home and gladly takes the opportunity to go himself once advised. Stabler finds Lake has been released from the hospital and is going over surveillance on who brought the pipe bomb in the precinct but they cannot make out his face. Before going out, Stabler asks for him to call Benson and notify her. Lake then calls Benson to tell her of his research, soon announcing that he has found a tattoo on the perpetrator. After he described it, Benson recalls that the artist Thomas had the same one.
After opening her apartment door, Benson is attacked by Thomas and a fight breaks out in her home. However, Benson is still on her phone and is able to alert Lake of the situation. Lake immediately calls for back up to Benson's apartment. Thomas is able to cut Benson but Benson is able to grab a book to defend herself from his furious strikes. Soon Benson is able to get the upper-hand and proceeds to beat Thomas with the book until he's unconscious.
Thomas is being detained by being tied up to a chair and is brought into the precinct but still smug about his situation. Stabler compliments Benson on handling herself with the burglar.
After Cecilia goes on trial, she says that Morten told her to kill someone. Novak, not liking the way the jury is buying her story, goes to visit Morten and asks him if he instructed Cecilia to kill. He states he didn't. When Novak tells him she's going to call him as a witness, he refuses to cooperate. They make a deal that he'll testify if she gets him moved to the federal prison system. She agrees because she doesn't want Cecilia to get away with the murder.
However, in court, Morten testifies that not only had he instructed Cecilia to kill for him, but upon viewing her artwork, that he also had no belief in her abilities as an artist. These words caused Cecilia to become upset and she runs over to him, voicing her love for him while he shows no emotion. Her breakdown causes other followers to have outbursts before guards have Cecilia removed from the courtroom.
After the hearing, Morten is being led out and a crowd of his fans are waving signs and cheering him on. Novak speaks to Morten telling him that because of her reaction Cecilia has earned an acquittal and a stay in a psych ward. Morten remarks that it all worked out and is feeling jubilant with his actions. He gets upset when he discovers that Novak had arranged for him to be transferred to a federal prison, but it's to ADX Florence, a super-maximum-security federal prison in Colorado that has a twenty-three hour lockdown. He won't be able to receive mail, phone calls, or visitors; he will be cut off from human contact for the rest of his life. Novak tells him to say goodbye to all his devoted fans. Morten is outraged at being used, while Novak asked how he likes her masterpiece while officers take the protesting Morten away.
Cast[]
Main cast[]
- Christopher Meloni as Detective Elliot Stabler
- Mariska Hargitay as Detective Olivia Benson
- Richard Belzer as Sergeant John Munch (credit only)
- Diane Neal as A.D.A. Casey Novak
- Ice-T as Detective Odafin Tutuola
- Adam Beach as Detective Chester Lake
- B.D. Wong as Dr. George Huang (credit only)
- Tamara Tunie as M.E. Melinda Warner (credit only)
- Dann Florek as Captain Donald Cragen
Recurring cast[]
- Mike Doyle as C.S.U. Detective Ryan O'Halloran
- Joel de la Fuente as T.A.R.U. Technician Ruben Morales
- Peter McRobbie as Judge Walter Bradley
- Beverly D'Angelo as Defense Attorney Rebecca Balthus
- Erica Bradshaw as Court Clerk
Guest cast[]
- Jared Harris as Robert Morten
- Shannon Marie Woodward as Cecilia Strayer
- Gareth Saxe as Harrison Thomas
- Justin Blanchard as Edgar Rabinowicz
- Zulay Henao as Forensics Technician
- Mitchell Jarvis as Jasper Grice
- Margaret Devine as Susan Goodman
- Kerisse Hutchinson as Lashena Reynolds
- Samantha Jacobs as Tina Snow
- Adam Heller as Ed Brown
- Alexandra Rhodie as Ann Brown
- Marie-France Arcilla as Sheila
- Alex Organ as Damien
- Jared Morrison as CSU Technician
References[]
- Arkansas
- Ted Bundy
- Hudson University
- Venus de Milo
- Tina Snow (victim)
- Svengali
- People v. Rosa
- ADX Florence
- Breslau, Klein & Skobin
Quotes[]
- Benson: Looks like she was dressed for her dream date.
- O'Halloran: It ended when the perp strangled her repeatedly with her own pantyhose. By the ligature marks, I'd say three or four times.
- Stabler: He choked her and let her come back? Got off on it.
- O'Halloran: Yeah, it gets worse. Killer sliced off her breasts. Took him a couple tries.
- Stabler: Hope she wasn't awake.
- O'Halloran: No, no spatter. She was already dead.
- Benson: We find her...
- O'Halloran: Severed parts? Not yet. Killer must have walked out with them.
- Benson: Well, here's how she got in. The lock's been tampered with. Check out the scratches.
- Stabler: No blood trail. He didn't cut her out here.
- Benson: So he kills her, he jimmies the lock, he drags the body to the elevator shaft, hacks her up.
- Stabler: Place is filthy. Explains the dirt on her dress.
- Forensics Tech: No, it doesn't. The soil on her dress is clay-like and crystallized. Nothing like that in this place.
- Stabler: So he killed her somewhere else and dumped her here.
- Forensics Tech: No. She let herself in.
- Benson: How do you figure?
- Forensics Tech: [opening the vic's purse] These are hers.
- Benson: Burglary tools.
- Stabler: Murder is a high price to pay for breaking and entering.
- Benson: Ran our victim's prints, got a hit. Tina Snow, 21, went to Hudson University.
- Cragen: College student? What's her record for, drunk and disorderly?
- Stabler: Trespassing, breaking and entering.
- Benson: Explains the tool kit.
- Cragen: Well, rap sheet says she was pinched at a storage unit on one charge. The other an electronics warehouse. Anything worth stealing where she was found?
- Stabler: High-end art gallery in the same building.
- Cragen: Maybe she's upping the ante.
- Benson: Was she busted with a partner?
- Cragen: Uh, no. Both collars she was solo.
- Stabler: Maybe this time she had a partner.
- Benson: Who turned on her. Mutilating her breasts is personal.
- Tutuola: Rape kit was negative, but tox screen bumped. Tina's blood alcohol content was three times the legal limit, and she had GHB in her system.
- Cragen: Date rape drug.
- Olivia Benson: Why get her drunk, slip her a roofie, and not rape her?
- Tutuola: Maybe he couldn't rise to the occasion.
- Tutuola: Okay, well, there's got to be hundreds of miles of tunnels. Any idea which ones are full of schist?
- O'Halloran: They're all full of schist.
- Morales: You guys'll want to see this. I ran your crime scene image through symbol recognition software and got Venus De Milo. And that's the inspiration for these, which I got off the Internet. All these were created by Robert Morten.
- Stabler: He's doing eight life terms in Sing Sing, no parole.
- Morales: Then it's a copycat. Someone who's into Morten's artwork.
- Stabler: Tina Snow's arm's tied behind her. She resembles the Venus De Milo.
- Benson: Morten tortured his victims for twelve hours. That means if this guy's serious about copying Morten's work, Cecelia's got eight hours left.
- Benson: You mutilated women.
- Robert Morten: There's beauty in everyone. Sometimes you have to dig deep to find it.
- Benson: Women with no arms and no breasts are so attractive?
- Morten: Aren't they? The Venus De Milo speaks to me. It's my latest work.
- Benson: Well, somebody's been copying your work. Why don't you tell us who that is?
- Morten: Show me the crime scene photos and I'll give you my critique.
- Benson: You'd like that, wouldn't you?
- Robert Morten: Don't touch those.
- Stabler: Breslau, Klein, and Skobin. They're your attorneys?
- Robert Morten: Read them and you'll be violating my attorney-client privilege.
- Stabler: Fan letters are fair game. Bet your copycat's been sending you little love notes, hmm?
- Jasper Grice: I didn't do anything.
- Stabler: Associating with other convicts. That's a parole violation, Jasper.
- Jasper Grice: I haven't seen Robert since I got out.
- Benson: Joining his fan club? Now that's just a violation of good sense.
- Jasper Grice: He took care of me.
- Stabler: Three years as his cellie, you were his bitch.
- Benson: Tina Snow's crime scene looks exactly like a murder in your comic book.
- Harrison Thomas: What... thousands of people read my graphic novels.
- Benson: This one came out of your sick mind. Where were you two nights ago around 2:00 a.m.?
- Harrison Thomas: I was working on the next edition with my inker.
[to Stabler] Hey, get out of my stuff. - Benson: Oh, Ted Bundy undies. Now, I don't know what's sicker: you thinking this up or people actually paying for it.
- Harrison Thomas: It's called freedom of expression.
- Benson: 'Till somebody gets killed. Then it's called murder.
- Harrison Thomas: Murder is a part of our society. It's human nature.
- Benson: Yeah, unfortunately, that's why I'm still employed.
- Tutuola: Liv, I got your pizza.
- Benson: I didn't order a pizza.
- Tutuola: It's got your name on it.
- Benson: Well, I'm not hungry. Throw it out.
[Fin goes to throw out pizza box] - Lake: Hey, you gotta recycle that box. Dude, don't you care about the environment?
- Tutuola: It's not empty. There's a pie in here.
- Lake: I'll eat it. No such thing as bad pizza.
- Tutuola: It's double pepperoni. It's gonna kill you.
[Lake tosses pizza box on desk, then it explodes, nearly killing him]
- Cragen: How's your ear?
- Tutuola: I got two. Bomb squad it was a pipe bomb made out of PVC and black powder.
- Cragen: Lightweight, but deadly.
- Tutuola: Yeah, except the dumbass didn't seat the blasting cap just right.
- Stabler: Captain of the Bomb Squad's gonna do a floor-by-floor. Gonna take at least an hour.
- Cragen: That's great. [Fin starts to leave] Where are you going?
- Tutuola: Somebody try to bust my eardrums, I'm gonna bust they ass!
- Stabler: Hey, do me a favor. Call Liv. Give her an update. I have to go home. My pregnant wife is looking for peanut butter and tacos.
- Lake: Dude, say no more.
- Robert Morten: [on Cecilia's work] At first blush, you might think this is unique. But it--it lacks understanding... Depth... With the human canvas, you have the opportunity to do true action painting. Where's the energy? Where's the spatter? This is lifeless dreck. A cheap knock-off of my work. Who did this... is a talentless hack.
- Novak: Well, you were great.
- Robert Morten: Did you like it? Bet you didn't know what was gonna happen next.
- Novak: You put on quite a show. You got her off, she's going to a psych ward.
- Robert Morten: Is that a frown on your pretty face?
- Novak: Actually, I think Cecilia is going exactly where she belongs. So are you.
- Robert Morten: Heh. You're backing out on the deal.
- Novak: No, you're being transferred to a federal prison.
- Robert Morten: I thought you'd be a sore loser.
- Novak: You're gonna love Florence Super Max. 23-hour lockdown, no visitors, no mail, no phone calls. No human contact for the rest of your life.
- Robert Morten: You can't do that to me.
- Novak: Why don't you wave bye to all of your fans?
- Robert Morten: But you made a deal.
- Novak: And it's a masterpiece. How do you like my work?
Background information and notes[]
- Svengali is the main villain in the classic novel Trilby, known as a dance instructor and an expert hypnotist using his skills to imprint on a teenage ballet dancer to make her a dazzling celebrity through suggesting her into being a superior ballerina.
- Morton is depicted as being similar in personality to the infamous fictional serial killer Hannibal Lecter. There is also a reference to the author of the Hannibal series (Thomas Harris) in the author/artist of the comic books (Harrison Thomas).
- The movie the people are watching in the underground meetup is Double Indemnity.
Episode scene cards[]
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
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Apartment of |
Waldorf-Astoria |
Mata Hari Bar |
Sing Sing |
5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
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Apartment of |
Apartment of |
Trial Part 38 |
Trial Part 38 |
Previous episode: "Harm" |
"Svengali" Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 9 |
Next episode: "Blinded" |