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Absolutely nobody asked but I've just watched #SVU 
22x6, "The Long Arm of the Law," and I have THOUGHTS. Many of them. This is very long.
22x6, "The Long Arm of the Law," and I have THOUGHTS. Many of them. This is very long.
Firstly, it was SO fantastic to see @wentworthmiller and Elizabeth Marvel back. Also, shoutout to Josh Stamberg for genuinely making me feel covered in sleaze gunk and ALSO TO ADRIANE LENOX FOR BRINGING TO LIFE THE MOST BADASS JUDGE IN THE HISTORY OF RECENT SVU JUDGES 
SO. We already all recognize that this episode was a reflection of the allegations against Kavanaugh. Gallagher is the epitome of the Privileged White Male. Fin says it best, the old boy game is strong. Dude is a white supremacist in a nice suit, sounds familiar.
I wish I could say Gallagher is over-the-top garbage but the sad reality is, men like this exist. Men like this are in power. So much of this episode focused on the two side of the fight: the ones who are tired and the ones who can't stand to take it anymore.
If you consider Isaiah's plight, it actually has nothing to do with the way Gallagher treated him when they were in school. Isaiah is DONE with that, he doesn't dwell on that, he became a successful lawyer, he's become comfortable in his own skin, he's married. No, what haunts
him is what he couldn't bring himself to do for this one woman thirty years ago. What he regrets is not standing up for someone harder than he tried at the time because he was afraid of the consequences. On the other hand, you've got Rita, who reveals she took this case because
she has come to the conclusion that the alternative is worse than standing on the side of a man like Gallagher. Did you hear the exhaustion in her voice in that last scene? Did you see the heavy weight she was clearly carrying on her shoulders? Don't get me wrong, I think it's
despicable that she would defend Gallagher but you see what happened with Carmen--she went in swinging, seemed like an incredibly strong witness, but she was blackmailed into backing off. You think Rita doesn't know about that? You think she hasn't considered many times over
that the same thing might happen to her one day? I'm not saying you MUST feel any sense of empathy for her; but her point is clear. This is exactly why it was such a beautiful, stunning moment when Judge Lewis said NOT TODAY, DEVIL, and gave Gallagher a sliver of what he really
deserved. It's no mistake Gallagher hired a woman to defend his case and likewise, it's no mistake that a black woman assumed the responsibility of knocking Gallagher down a peg. "I'm not satisfied." Nobody in that room was and she DID something about it. She made him feel
powerless and I'll tell you what, that made me cheer harder than I have for this show in a long time. I'll also say that I know there were parts of this episode that were liable to make the stomach churn. One of the most noticeable for me was the bathroom confrontation between
Gallagher and Isaiah. It was intense and had I not seen mentions of this scene already, I would've been nervous that the scene would end in physical violence but lord almighty, some of the nastiest shit a person could spew came out of Gallagher's mouth and frankly, without that,
I don't think Isaiah's recording would have ended up being allowed as permissible to use in court, simply because the whole point is to show the jury exactly what kind of character Gallagher really is and, likewise, punish him for it. It's not acceptable. It's not portrayed as
such. And while I am not a fan of unexpectedly encountering homophobic slurs in my media, I think the ultimate context of the scene and the subsequent repercussions are important to consider. I'm not saying anyone has to like it or choose to be okay with it, by any means. It's
just something to consider. Other things I liked included how utterly fed up Sonny was with Gallagher. How can anyone deny Sonny has often proven himself to be a hothead? Gallagher could see that! He's been playing on people's insecurities and fears for DECADES! He did exactly
what he knew would provoke Sonny and it worked. That smug laugh was more than enough to show that. It's also SUCH a great juxtaposition to all the needling Barba gave Sonny about going to Fordham Law. Barba and Gallagher both attended Harvard but you can be sure that Rafael Barba
would want to BURY this guy. Remember, too, Barba was there on scholarship, just like Isaiah. As far as Gallagher is concerned, that would still make him irrelevant. Anyway, overall, I thought this was a strong episode and while it did end on a bummer of a note, I'm glad we got
to see Gallagher eat crow and get put away. Oh, I also loved seeing Sonny and Isaiah have their little nightcap! I do hope Wentworth returns in the near future because I love seeing these two team up. Anyways. Those are my thoughts. Would watch again.
OH, and side note on Isaiah basically being a diversity hire? Yeah. That. Happens. He had few choices, no? Put his foot down and walk away, or take the job and do something of value with it. As a person of mixed race myself, I think he made the right choice, what about you? 
