| "Weak" | ||
|---|---|---|
| ← | SVU, Episode 6.09 | → |
| Production number: E5213 First aired: 30 November 2004 | ||
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| Written By Tara Butters & Michele Fazekas Directed By David Platt | ||
Summary
Olivia enlists the help of a fellow police officer turned psychiatrist, Rebecca Hendrix in finding a rapist who is responsible for assaulting disabled women.
Plot
A rapist attacks several disabled women from the same apartment building, and each woman confirms that they were attacked from behind, the rapist ordered them to tell him how good he was (after which he still failed to perform), and that he smelled like an ashtray. The third victim still works with a sketch artist; meanwhile, a local pedicurist remembers doing a man’s nails and that they were dirty but she also didn’t get a good look at his face. Later, a schizophrenic woman named Miranda Cole (Amanda Plummer) comes into the precinct with a picture of the sketch and then has a psychotic episode before falling asleep on the floor. At the hospital, Benson and Stabler get help from cop-turned-psychiatrist Rebecca Hendrix (Mary Stuart Masterson), who tells them that Miranda hasn’t been taking her medication, and that right then would be a bad time to attempt a rape kit because of her uncontrolled musings about terrorists recording her thoughts and her reliving of the rape in her mind.
Benson and Stabler then find a fourth victim, who is dead. They go back to the hospital to convince Hendrix to process the kit only to learn that she has already done so. The detectives then begin to interview Miranda, but when she gets into detail about the rape, she starts to have convulsions, so Hendrix ends the interview. Cragen then reports that the DNA from the rape kit matches Raymond Ettinger, who is also schizophrenic; because of this, Hendrix is convinced that the sex between him and Miranda was consensual, but she also still believes that Miranda was raped by someone else. All three of them return to the hospital to discover that Miranda has checked herself out.
Benson, Stabler and Hendrix track down Miranda’s sister Margo, who tells them that she bought Miranda a house that she hardly lives in. The three of them then go to the house anyway and find no lights (because Miranda believes terrorists are communicating via light sources). They then find Miranda cowering in a closet behind a wall made of tin foil while rambling; evidence shows that she was raped there. Miranda then mentions the same rape details that the first three victims said, but she also says that the rapist’s name is Thomas. The suspect is narrowed down to Thomas Mathers (Dallas Roberts) and he takes a DNA test, but Stabler doesn’t believe he did it because he is a closeted homosexual. While Thomas’ partner says that he was asleep in bed at the time of the rapes, Benson and Munch discover that Thomas was also at his mother’s house.
Munch and Tutuola go to see Mrs. Mathers’ house (which smells like an ashtray because of her chain smoking), and she says that Thomas came over and tried to fix her furnace. Munch goes to inspect it himself as Thomas shows up; then Munch comes back with dirty fingers and nails before he and Fin arrest Thomas. Hendrix notices that Thomas is bleeding from his neck (which Thomas says is because he cut himself shaving), and Novak is ready to process him until Cragen reports that Thomas’ DNA doesn’t match the blood from any of the crime scenes. Stabler and Hendrix still believe Thomas is the rapist, but Benson disagrees (and insults Hendrix, causing her to leave); Stabler thinks Benson is upset at Hendrix because she stopped being a cop. He then runs into Hendrix, and they learn that Thomas’ blood didn’t clot from the neck cut due to a low blood cell platelet count, which possibly was derived from a disease.
Stabler contacts Mathers’ college to get his medical records to explain why his blood isn’t clotting; meanwhile, Benson goes back to visit Miranda, who mentions that she saw the rapist in the library. At the library, she rambles about terrorists recording her thoughts again, and Benson interprets this as the library’s surveillance camera.
At the station, Benson and Stabler share what they've learned with each other: Stabler learned that Thomas had leukemia and had a bone marrow transplant which means that his blood has different DNA then the rest of his body, which is why the cheek swab wouldn't have matched the DNA from the crime scene. Benson reveals that she has a copy of the security tape which clearly shows Thomas stalking Miranda. With this evidence they are able to get a warrant for a blood sample and Judge Petrovsky remands him without bail at a hearing. Presumably Thomas is convicted, but Hendrix tells Benson that Miranda Cole committed suicide.
Cast
Main cast
- Christopher Meloni as Detective Elliot Stabler
- Mariska Hargitay as Detective Olivia Benson
- Richard Belzer as Detective John Munch
- Diane Neal as A.D.A. Casey Novak
- Ice-T as Detective Odafin Tutuola
- B.D. Wong as Dr. George Huang (credit only)
- Dann Florek as Captain Donald Cragen
Recurring cast
- Mary Stuart Masterson as Dr. Rebecca Hendrix
- Mike Doyle as Forensics Technician Ryan O'Halloran
- Caren Browning as C.S.U. Captain Judith Siper
- Joanna Merlin as Judge Lena Petrovsky
- Tamara Tunie as M.E. Melinda Warner
- Paul Borghese as Officer Tanner
- Joselin Reyes as Paramedic Martinez
- Natalie Carter as Nurse Cathy
Guest cast
- Dallas Roberts as Thomas Mathers
- Geneva Carr as Margo Sanders
- Angela Pietropinto as Mrs. Mathers
- Amanda Plummer as Miranda Cole
- Becki Newton as Colleen Heaton
- Casey Spindler as Raymond Ettinger
- Ward Horton as Alan Richter
- Justine E. Boyriven as Samantha Traber
- Adara Almonte as Gina Kownacki
- Greg Vaccarello as Officer Galloway
- Hettienne Park as Annie
- Molly Noe as Veronica
- Angel Desai as CSU Technician
- Nilaja Sun as Triage Nurse
- Archie MacGregor as Elderly Man
- Matt Wells as Uniform Officer
References
References
Quotes
- John Munch (seeing the suspect sketch): Great. Our suspect's the Unabomber.
- Manicurist witness (later when Benson and Stabler show the suspect sketch to her): Isn't that the Unabomber?
| “ | Hello? I can't find my head. | ” |
–Raymond Ettinger (while sitting in the interrogation room, as Benson, Stabler, and Hendrix discuss him outside.) | ||
(After realizing there's only one bed in the apartment and seeing a loving picture of Thomas Mathers and Alan Richter)
- Odafin Tutuola (referring to Mathers): This guy's gay?
- Melinda Warner (referring to Richter): Mmm, mmm, mmm... It's a damn shame.
- Elliot Stabler: You want to call Michigan State to find out why his blood isn't clotting?
- Dr. Rebecca Hendrix: I can't. I'd lose my license.
- Elliot Stabler (pausing, then smiling upon realizing the Dr. Hendrix's implication): But Dr. Elliot can.
(After Thomas Mathers says he's not a rapist or gay and is just looking for a nice girl}
| “ | Sure, you'll meet a nice girl and rape her and live happily ever after. | ” |
–Elliot Stabler | ||
Background information and notes
- Mary Stuart Masterson makes the first of three appearances as psychologist Rebecca Hendrix. She was brought in as a temporary replacement while series regular B.D. Wong (Dr. Huang) was appearing in the Broadway musical "Pacific Overtures."
- For her performance as Miranda Cole, Amanda Plummer was won an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series.
Episode scene cards
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Saint Catherine's Hospital |
French Tip Nail Salon |
Broadway Souvenirs |
Apartment of |
| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Apartment of |
Home of |
Apartment of |
Arraignment |
| Previous episode: "Doubt" |
"Weak" Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 6 |
Next episode: "Haunted" |