Getting kicked back into the Pre-History of SVU could have been jarring for the Munchie Boys, but Nocturne had them speculating that it might have served as a blueprint of sorts for the Neal Baer years. Despite not having guest stars who Adam or Josh knew, this episode really landed a tragic story of long-term abuse begetting another cycle of abuse. We were also thrown into a somewhat lengthy discussion of the McMartin preschool trial fed by the Satanic panic of the mid-'80s (and prosecutorial misconduct, overzealous investigators, bunk leading interviewing of hundreds of children, and wildly unprofessional behavior of people in the media who were literally in bed with the prosecution) thanks to a throwaway line from Cragen.

The grand return of Elliot Stabler (and family) to SVU would probably hit harder if we were watching these eps in order one at a time. That, however, is not how we do things at Munch My Benson. Instead, we are treated to an investigation that is way, WAY outside the Special Victims Unit's purview, and which won't pay off in an episode of SVU (if it ever does). Still, it's fun to see how Dickie Stabler has grown up and to indulge in the wildest fan service fantasies that were surely swirling when this one first dropped.

The first installment of the Neal Baer era is a doozy, pitting our intrepid SVUs against the defense-industrial complex. In a momentary distraction from family time, which became all too common during his time on the Unit, Elliot Stabler is pulled away from his family--in this case Maureen, a daughter who follows instructions POORLY--for a case in which he literally cannot help but become embroiled. Sure, jurisdiction and the vic's very speculative status as a special victim as it burned to a crisp are real-life hurdles that are completely ignored as Stabler and the Unit dig into the vic's eventually uncovered extremely terrible past.

Along the way, we find out that the US government paved the way for an especially odious pedo to victimize innocent youths without any roadblocks or pushback. We also get a Stabler traumatized for the first time and the introduction of one of the most beloved characters in the entire L&O universe. Fun is had amidst the tragic but fairly realistic world in which our victims live.

In this exercise in somewhat effective stunt-casting, Stabler gets pitted against his untethered analog, a rage-fueled annihilator of tween girls played by erstwhile star actor Matthew Modine. Yes, this week, the Munchie Boys took on “Rage” (SVU S6E17). In a structurally odd episode that pits rager against rager in a ticking-clock, nearly locked-room scenario until it suddenly isn’t and renders much of what preceded moot, Stabler tries to nab the one who got away while confronting his own anger management issues. Don’t worry, there’s also talk of malodorous food PsyOps, truly pornographic whistling, edging, the nature of the San Fernando Valley, Modine’s inability to shed his yuppie prick veneer, and so much more.