Episode 179: Carisi Chokes Out Another Pedo in the Meat Wagon (S14E13 Monster’s Legacy)
Some very questionable stuntcasting forces the Munchie Boys to wrestle (box?) with Mike Tyson's checkered past while reluctantly acknowledging that he's actually pretty good in this SVU. He's no Andre Braugher--WHO IS ONCE AGAIN INCREDIBLE--but he was pretty effective. Ed Asner's really good at playing a real monster, too. Kind of burying the lede there though because Peter Scanavino pops up in Monster's Legacy, and it's not as Domenick Carisi, so this ep is one helluva brainmelter.
Episode 131: Any Teenager Getting off a Bus at the Port Authority Is Going to Get Turned out (S13E10 Spiraling Down)
Why do any non-New Yorkers even bother coming to the big city? They're just gonna get turned out within minutes. Of course, that might give them the chance to service a john of Broadway Joe's caliber. This one does quite the about-face halfway through, making the wild left turn from teens being forced into prostitution fresh off the bus at the Port Authority into a dive into the unending effects of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) and how it’s downing our sports idols. Obviously it was going to end up there, right? This is SVU, after all.
Episode 93: They Still Manage to Wedge in Some Racism, but It’s a Little Too Professional (S13E6 True Believers)
After kicking things off with Adam’s tales of neglected hot tub maintenance, the Munchie Boys step into the world of early Season 13 where a new writing staff ventures off into a Stabler-less world. Where some episodes may not be as boldly helmed and written, this is a fantastically directed, process-concerned contemplation on how a rape and its ensuing investigation affects the victim in the days and weeks that follow.
It also features Munch’s former Homicide fellow detective after an apparent name change from Frank Pembleton to Bayard Ellis, who is apparently now a civil rights defense attorney. Yes, this one’s got none other than 11-time Emmy nominee (and two-time winner) Andre Braugher. Don’t worry, we also talk at length about a cast member’s involvement in a meditation cult and how it colors our undying appreciation of Mandy, the undeniable sexual energy between Braugher and Hargitay, and the notion of an SVU without Olivia Benson which was apparently in the cards.