Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (TV Series) Transgender Bridge (2015) User Reviews

Hate crime enhancement

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 1 October 2015]

The SVU squad has a real heartbreaker in this episode. It deals with the hate crimes statute and the application thereof. And it involves juveniles as well.

Young Christopher Dylan White plays a transgender teen who gets harassed by three other teens. Someone had a cell phone with a camera and films White accidentally being pushed off a bridge in Fort Tryon Park by Dante Brown one of the teens. It's quite clear it was an accident.

But the bullying of this transgender kid who was wearing a dress elevated it to a hate crime and Brown is headed for grown up court. This might very well be in Family Court otherwise.

It's been my experience that the difficulty I've seen in my region is getting the DAs to use the hate crime statute at all. It is their call to use or not.

Even with that the performances of the two kids are outstanding. Even the squad feels sympathy for both.

Crossing a line

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 20 September 2022]

Of all the episodes of Season 17, "Transgender Bridge" has one of the most difficult and most bold subject matters and it is one that was relevant back then and is even more so now. So regardless of the execution, there still would have been admiration for the episode for even daring to tackle such a subject. The episode stayed with me for quite a while on first watch, having been very moved and interested by it while also being in two minds on the ending.

This is a controversial episode within the fandom, one of the season's most divisive and it is an episode that may strongly divide the LGBTQ community. Lots found the episode heart breaking and thought provoking. Just as many others found it preachy and that portraying the perpetrator as remorseful trivialised hate crime. Count me in as someone that mostly belongs in the former category, while completely seeing both sides and feeling that more could have been done in examining the subject. Also liked the episode a good deal more on first watch.

Am going to begin with what didn't come over so well. Lindstrom did not add much to the episode and his argument was not a strong one and also not really true, considering that the perpetrator will know right and wrong at a mature enough age. Did not buy at all how the others involved got off so lightly, especially considering that they showed no remorse unlike the perpetrator who was tried.

For me too, "Transgender Bridge" could have been more tactful in its intended exploring of anti-LGBTQ bullying when actually it didn't really do that, they did make Darius too sympathetic in my view and considering the actions (which technically still counts as hate crime) that was a mistake.

However, a lot is great. The production values are slick and have a subtle grit, with an intimacy to the photography without being too claustrophobic. The music isn't used too much and doesn't get too melodramatic. The direction has enough taut urgency when needed while giving the case breathing space. The script is incredibly thought provoking.

It was appreciated too that it did try to show more than one side of the argument and do it in a way where all viewpoints were worth pondering on. The story is very heart breaking, especially the consequences of the hate crime (which reduced me to tears on first watch and still does) and the whole debate regarding the punishment if convicted and delving into the characters' mind. Really understood and appreciated Avery's parents' dignified and surprisingly understanding attitudes.

Some may be infuriated by the denouement (and it was the aspect that sparked the most debate as well as the charge), to me it was understandable after a lot of thinking on rewatch (was not sure on first watch). The reasoning for the decision was not bisased and shouldn't be swept under the rug. The remorse was very clear and clearly genuine, but what happened is something that shouldn't be gotten away with or trivialised. The regulars are all very good, but the supporting cast are even better. Notably the brave and moving performances for Avery and Darius, Avery being one of the latter seasons' most rootable victims.

Concluding, a lot worth admiring here and actually still really liked it on the whole but doesn't reach greatness. If anybody that liked it even more disagrees fair enough. 7/10.

Soooo sad

[graceevatrends · 9/10 · 27 February 2021]

A moment of stupidity cost him 7 years of his life. I don't think he deserved to have been tried as an adult, especially for a boy who was as remorseful as he was. He wasn't a thug or criminal, he was just a silly boy showing off to his friends.

Very sad episode but well written and acted. Felt really bad for both families.

Very Well Done

[kkleeband · 10/10 · 17 October 2015]

I found this a remarkable performance by all the young people involved. It was very, very well done and very realistic. The young man who played Avery was very believable and the young man who played Darius was heartbreaking in his sincerity. It made you think and definitely encouraged dialogue with the young adults. I found all the medical and psychological aspects to be right on. Kudos to the writers and to the actors all. This episode shows the damage that can result when a young immature person reacts without thinking to show off for his friends and the chain of damage that results. In our rapidly changing world this points out that education and tolerance is key.

Soooooo sad.

[annabrady-95646 · 10/10 · 28 December 2018]

This episode is one of the saddest. I cried so much at the end with the verdict and I felt so much compassion for Darius.

A Hard Line must be drawn?!

[labenji-12163 · 10/10 · 3 December 2020]

I agree with the other reviewers that this was a well written, directed and acted episode dealing with hate crimes against Transgender community. I believe there were 2 separate competing issues - 1) When to charge a minor as an adult 2) Hate Crimes.

As pitiable as Darius character was after the fact, his actions were a result of a hate crime and thereby punishable under the law. However, I believe that the criteria for which to charge a minor as an adult should be stringent, and we should never charge a minor as an adult to make a point.

We must remember, to truly feel remorse for one's actions, especially when those actions causes death to another only results in a lifetime of guilt and shame that the guilty individual must learn to live with.

Forgiveness: "If I could get a do-over, I wouldn't do it."

[yazguloner · 10/10 · 25 December 2021]

The story is as if it came out of a Shakespeare novel. There is a white transgender person, Avery, and a black ostracize person, Darius.

The bridge that unites these young people is art. But the bridge of prejudice will lead to a huge tragedy.

Although he regrets Darius a thousand times, unfortunately the law uses his case to give a warning to society.

In fact, the court and the law are very right about discrimination and cruelty towards transgender people. However, in this case Dr. As Lindstrom said, Darius is not yet fully developed, he is in a state of insecurity. Therefore, it is very regrettable. The victim's family is also forgiving.

In fact, in such cases, if the victim's side consents, there should be a "reasonable forgiveness" option. We can think of it as a kind of second chance.

Judging Darius as an adult and throwing him in the correctional facility, I think, is to make him a victim too.

It is one of the most tragic and dramatic writings. Svu is among the solid episode. It made me cry throughout the entire episode.

Justice?

[thornrosebud · 8/10 · 4 November 2020]

I know that if a child is 14 or older they can be tried as an adult, but this was not an intentional murder. I do believe the boy should have spent three years in a juvenile correctional facility but not an additional four years in an adult prison. Also, the two other boys (who stilled seemed unrepented) should have been convicted of assault. They were harassing and assaulting the transgender as well. Why did they get off with a slap on the wrist? During that assault any one of the three could have caused Avery to be knocked off the bridge. The law says that when someone dies in the process of a crime that all involved in the crime are guilty of the murder/manslaughter. Did Justice prevail here? No, it did not.

Heartbreaking

[mbhbrh · 9/10 · 7 September 2022]

I couldn't finish the episode bc I just knew it was going to have a tragic ending. That said, I was gripped from the beginning. When I saw the hardworking mom who watched her watch the entire time she was at family court just trying to make her way for her family; the supportive parents of the transgender kid; and when Darius sketched an apology and Avery's response was (paraphrasing) "How did he knew I was into graphic novels?" Tears. Tears I say.

I just wanted to hug everyone. Yes Darius needed to be punished, but not that harshly (I read reviews to surmise his sentence). He was truly repentant. Something not often seen in these episodes. That's why I couldn't give a 10. Otherwise spot on. There was no jurisdictional battle ("we're not giving this clearly federal case to the feds. It happened in our backyard!"). No "Rollins steer clear." Next scene Rollins NOT steering clear. It was just a compelling story that broke my heart.

A return to good writing after a few years off!

[Lexiconjobbs · 9/10 · 7 February 2021]

Yes, this was a tough prickly subject from every angle. But the complicated legality, ethics, and all that other intense human stuff made this the type of law and order I love. Smart, complicated and realistic (unfortunately). This is why I love this show and re-watched all billion seasons during the pandemic. Not the back stories of Amaro or Rawlins toeing the edge of (or overstepping) being bad detectives. The first few years of the Alex Cabot DA days really displayed the "law and order" aspect. The intricacies of the law, the working relationships between the ADA and detectives, and how the law can be amazing and utterly heartbreaking at times. Then enter seasons roughly 14, and getting at its worst 16, where I thought I was watching Melrose place instead. Yes, I absolutely love all the characters. But I don't want to know about their demons, the show isn't called "Elliott's or Amaro's rage issues". I digress. My point is, smart writing once again, finally.

Bemusement

[akicork · 8/10 · 3 November 2019]

Often, SVU stories raise issues which may leave many international (and perhaps domestic?) viewers bemused by the vagaries of the American legal system. Not helped by the fact that there is no coherent system - over 150 years after the Civil War they still haven't worked out how to deal with the conflicting demands of Federal Law, States, Counties and Boroughs. Here is one of the most puzzling and upsetting - that a prosecutor can decide to charge a child as an adult, opening them to the punishments that they could incur were they actually an adult at the time of the crime. But they weren't! Here we have a fifteen-year-old child who accidentally causes the death of another - yet the system can pretend he is legally an adult? Say we have a five-year-old who is angry at her mother for some reason and pulls the cord of a steam-iron, bringing it down on her mother's head and killing her. How is she not equally as liable (if not more) as the character in this story? How can any ethical system of jurisprudence allow such arbitrary variation of the judicial process? It is a *system*, with all the flaws of systems. If a child is a child, then let them be a child; if an adult is an adult, then let them be an adult. For a prosecutor to be able to waltz in and say "Well, this child is actually an adult. (No, their actual age doesn't matter.) Yeah, let's go ahead and hang them!" still leaves me with my jaw well dropped.

Controversial Episode

[clownbaby-06006 · 9/10 · 6 February 2024]

This is a very well-written and controversial episode. Its focus is on hate crime as it pertains to Transgenders as well as charging juveniles as adults. I'll admit, the episode almost swayed me, made me feel bad for Darius. He's remorseful, sad, and ooh! He's an artist. I'm sorry but no, he committed a hate crime. He targeted Avery, and while pushing him was an "accident", approaching Avery from the get go was his choice; his aggressive, hateful choice. Avery died. That person is no longer in the world, no longer gets to eat, play with friends, live life, etc. His life was taken away by Darius's hateful ways. That whole fully-formed brain theory is bogus. A teenager knows right from wrong. I'm sorry I didn't know you couldn't kill people. Gitouttahere.

SVU does it again

[anastasiaconstantinou · 10/10 · 10 November 2023]

It's shows like this that I love watching SVU. They never stop short of touching on the sensitive and real life topics.

When three youths bully a transgender girl, which ends in her death, they decide to try the one that pushed her to her death as an adult.

Watching the bullying it is quite heartbreaking at how judgemental we are as a society. If someone stands out different to us we pick on them and hurt them.

It makes it worse as the youths are African Americans which you would think would understand being outed.

Do you put it down to kids being kids or blame the parents. Either way as a society we need to be more accepting and accountable for our ways.

In today's hard hitting episode

[xhidden99 · 25 December 2018]

There are no straight white men to blame for a transphobic hate crime so the black kid who's guilty is also a victim too, naturally. Everyone is rooting for the killer to be thrown a parade. Obviously the straight white male DA prosecuting the case is the bad guy here.

Where is all the 800 plus reviews?

[ginoi117 · 6 March 2020]

Where are all the reviews i mean it says 8.7 out of 80p reviews but yet only 5 show up and this wasn't rated that high before

Something isn't right here