Episode 23: Donnelly Is Essentially The Destroyer (S10E8 Persona)

What happens when an accent choice derails an SVU where the initial crime is wrapped up in an open-and-shut murder at minute 19 and becomes a bizarre cold-case-cum-morality-play sans benefit of flashback? Well, the Randomizer selected “Persona” (Season 10, Episode 8), so Adam and Josh found out the hard way. For far from the first time in the run of Munch My Benson, a foreign-born actor plays fast and loose with a wavering accent. This time, the offender was two-time Oscar-nominee Brenda Blethyn, whose presence pulls a certain big gun down from the bench to settle a 34-year-old score. Along the way, the question as to whether this feminist text passes the Bechdel test, the greater concerns raised by Liv’s proclivity towards inappropriate actions, an exploration of just what “vile thing” meant in 1974-speak, and an alternate reality in which Benson DuBois chases down perps are all discussed.