It was great to see ADA Pippa Cox, this time as the wife of a high-profile perp. Her role had been very minor previously but she shined in this episode. Her and Benson had worked together for many years, and the bond showed. Too bad we haven't seen her back on the show to advocate for children, maybe because she had been transferred to a different unit.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (TV Series)
Collateral Damages (2016)
User Reviews
Review this title6 Reviews
If Pedophile Becomes a Family Man.
yazguloner9 January 2022
The child porn addict is both a cop and a high-ranking person. Most importantly, he has a family, two children.
We are watching a documentary of what happened to the family of a child pornography addict who became a father after he was arrested. The state of shock his family is in, calls in the house, reactions from family and people around...
Pippa's trauma performance is very good.
Liv's approach to the shocked spouse and her words are remarkable.
Ps. The scents of love in the air.
We are watching a documentary of what happened to the family of a child pornography addict who became a father after he was arrested. The state of shock his family is in, calls in the house, reactions from family and people around...
Pippa's trauma performance is very good.
Liv's approach to the shocked spouse and her words are remarkable.
Ps. The scents of love in the air.
Damage
TheLittleSongbird26 September 2022
On first watch, "Collateral Damages" came over as a truly powerful and intelligent episode. Not only did it become one of my easy favourites of Season 17, but also saw it as an episode that got the season back on the right track. 'Law and Order: Special Victims Unit' has been very on and off as a show for me for a while now. The early seasons saw a lot of brilliance with only a small handful of disappointments, but from the mid seasons onwards it varied wildly.
"Collateral Damages" still is that powerful and intelligent episode, once again the subject is an extremely tough one that needs a lot of uncompromising and tact to pull off well. Both can be seen here, and what could easily have been disjointed considering the structure was anything but. "Collateral Damages" may not be a 'Special Victims Unit' high point, but to me it is easily the best episode since "Institutional Fail" and in the top 5 of Season 17.
Almost everything works wonders. It is shot with the right amount of intimacy without being claustrophobic and that the editing has become increasingly tighter over-time has been great too. Nice use of locations too. The music doesn't get over-scored or overwrought, even in the more dramatic revelation moments. The direction doesn't try to do too much and is understated but never flat or unsure.
The script is intelligent, non-soapy and layered with no signs of rambling or dumbing down. Excellently done too is the story, which is harrowing and truly sad. One that goes from one case to another (am not always crazy when this happens because it can mean disjointed-ness) seamlessly. The regular acting is without issue, the standout being Raul Esparza. Barba's justifiable anger and frustration towards Abraham is very believably done. The best overall performance though comes from an outstanding Jessica Phillips in what is easily her best appearance, was not a fan of Cox's previous appearances but felt really sorry for her here. Josh Pais is strong too, the writers do laudably in not making Abraham too loathsome or too sympathetic, but at absolutely no point is any sympathy felt for him. Really like how Tucker has softened, though his chemistry between Olivia has changed too quickly in my view.
Not a perfect episode by all means. The sentence is far too lenient considering the severity of the crime.
Did think also that Fin is criminally under-utilised and bland.
Otherwise, excellent episode and one of the best of Season 17. 9/10.
"Collateral Damages" still is that powerful and intelligent episode, once again the subject is an extremely tough one that needs a lot of uncompromising and tact to pull off well. Both can be seen here, and what could easily have been disjointed considering the structure was anything but. "Collateral Damages" may not be a 'Special Victims Unit' high point, but to me it is easily the best episode since "Institutional Fail" and in the top 5 of Season 17.
Almost everything works wonders. It is shot with the right amount of intimacy without being claustrophobic and that the editing has become increasingly tighter over-time has been great too. Nice use of locations too. The music doesn't get over-scored or overwrought, even in the more dramatic revelation moments. The direction doesn't try to do too much and is understated but never flat or unsure.
The script is intelligent, non-soapy and layered with no signs of rambling or dumbing down. Excellently done too is the story, which is harrowing and truly sad. One that goes from one case to another (am not always crazy when this happens because it can mean disjointed-ness) seamlessly. The regular acting is without issue, the standout being Raul Esparza. Barba's justifiable anger and frustration towards Abraham is very believably done. The best overall performance though comes from an outstanding Jessica Phillips in what is easily her best appearance, was not a fan of Cox's previous appearances but felt really sorry for her here. Josh Pais is strong too, the writers do laudably in not making Abraham too loathsome or too sympathetic, but at absolutely no point is any sympathy felt for him. Really like how Tucker has softened, though his chemistry between Olivia has changed too quickly in my view.
Not a perfect episode by all means. The sentence is far too lenient considering the severity of the crime.
Did think also that Fin is criminally under-utilised and bland.
Otherwise, excellent episode and one of the best of Season 17. 9/10.
Familiar faces
bkoganbing27 April 2016
More than any of the Law And Order franchise series SVU was constantly bringing back old guest stars if their characters made an impact on the viewing public. My favorite was Fed Marcia Gay Harden who came to an end via SVU, an unsuspected one given her character.
In this one an unexpected fish was caught in a net as they laid out an internet dragnet for child porn distributors. Josh Pais could not have been more caught in the act as SVU burst in on him, right at his computer with wife and kids right in the next room not suspecting a thing. Nor did anyone else.
Pais has an appearance or two as a deputy police commissioner and not the most lovable of characters. He was a political consultant hired in their public relations office. His former profession guarantees the fact he has enemies.
Robert John Burke who has had a change of attitude toward SVU since Elliott Stabler put in his papers is also here as Internal Affairs Sergeant Tucker. And Ned Eisenberg who's everyone's favorite defense attorney is the one called when Pais goes into the jackpot.
SVU at times is like an old movie studio where various same character players show up in different films. And you enjoy seeing them.
In this one an unexpected fish was caught in a net as they laid out an internet dragnet for child porn distributors. Josh Pais could not have been more caught in the act as SVU burst in on him, right at his computer with wife and kids right in the next room not suspecting a thing. Nor did anyone else.
Pais has an appearance or two as a deputy police commissioner and not the most lovable of characters. He was a political consultant hired in their public relations office. His former profession guarantees the fact he has enemies.
Robert John Burke who has had a change of attitude toward SVU since Elliott Stabler put in his papers is also here as Internal Affairs Sergeant Tucker. And Ned Eisenberg who's everyone's favorite defense attorney is the one called when Pais goes into the jackpot.
SVU at times is like an old movie studio where various same character players show up in different films. And you enjoy seeing them.
SVU puts recurring characters on display
pshanosky4 March 2016
Warning: Spoilers
If you were to look at the basic plot of this episode and compare to the generic "SVU" episode you wouldn't really see anything particularly different. The writers, however, chose this episode to trot out several of their recurring characters whose performances lift the episode out of mediocrity.
Essentially the arrest of one (unusually high profile but irrelevant) individual leads to a child pornography ring. This is fairly run of the mill for the show. This episode differs in the fact that implicated in the ring, is the deputy commissioner of the NYPD. The rest of the episode also follows a familiar formula.
For true fans of the show, however, it is always a pleasure to see Ed Tucker (Robert John Burke) working with the SVU team rather than against them. Ned Eisenberg reprises his role of 15 years as the higher-priced attorney representing the commissioner (Josh Pais, also a multiple episode actor) during his crisis.
At the end of the day, this is a generic episode with some familiar faces that make it worth a watch.
Essentially the arrest of one (unusually high profile but irrelevant) individual leads to a child pornography ring. This is fairly run of the mill for the show. This episode differs in the fact that implicated in the ring, is the deputy commissioner of the NYPD. The rest of the episode also follows a familiar formula.
For true fans of the show, however, it is always a pleasure to see Ed Tucker (Robert John Burke) working with the SVU team rather than against them. Ned Eisenberg reprises his role of 15 years as the higher-priced attorney representing the commissioner (Josh Pais, also a multiple episode actor) during his crisis.
At the end of the day, this is a generic episode with some familiar faces that make it worth a watch.
An Especially Stupid Episode
bkkaz27 December 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Collateral Damage has the distinction of taking a very serious subject and treating it so stupidly, it's an insult. This creaky episode starts with a has-been boxer who like underaged girls. When he's caught in an undercover sting, he sings about a wider and uglier ring of pedaphiles trading images on the Internet. Never mind that the undercover cop is traumatized by having to take her top off -- not exactly the hardened, savvy agent you want working on the streets -- nor that the boxer is more than happy to turn in everyone else for a pretty crappy plea deal -- it turns out the annoying NYPD official whose only function seems to be a creep is one of the major players. Wait-- what? He's such a cardboard character, he's clueless about the procedures the officers he works with will use to investigate him. The episode doesn't even try for a red herring and let it turn out to be the wife who is the villain. Nope. The episode's as subtle as a guy coming out of a just-robbed bank with a mask, striped shirt, big old gun, and a bag with dollar signs on it.
Even better, though -- this is the episode where Benson -- who despite all the efforts to paint her as NYPD's greatest hero and keep her on camera as much as possible -- does yet another one of her stupid things. The younger Dodds, who could be Inspector Gadget without the hat -- is almost convinced to leave SVU for a better job on the terrorism taskforce when Benson plants the seeds of doubt. By the end of the episode, he will have changed his mind, and within a few more episodes, be shot dead on the job. Good work, Benson!
Even better, though -- this is the episode where Benson -- who despite all the efforts to paint her as NYPD's greatest hero and keep her on camera as much as possible -- does yet another one of her stupid things. The younger Dodds, who could be Inspector Gadget without the hat -- is almost convinced to leave SVU for a better job on the terrorism taskforce when Benson plants the seeds of doubt. By the end of the episode, he will have changed his mind, and within a few more episodes, be shot dead on the job. Good work, Benson!
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