EPISODE OF THE WEEK: HOMO HOMINI LUPUS

[Patcat]

Will air Sunday, September 23, 2007 at 7pm and 11pm (EST) on the BRAVO Network

First aired March 3, 2002. The fourteenth episode of the first season.

Written by Rene Balcer
Directed by David Platt

Synopis: The kidnapping of an executive's wife and daughters lead Goren and Eames to a vicious rapist and extortionist.

Guest Actors: John Colby (Lucas Coultor); Ritchie Coster (Simon Matic); Jordan Charney (Melvyn Coultor); Marianne Hagan (Susan Coultor); Stephi Lineburg (Maggie Coultor)

Quotes: I'd like to put in both Goren's interview with Maggie Coultor and his final confrontation with Matic, but I'll settle for the following:

Goren: "You raped her body. You raped her mind, you turned her head inside out, but she got you. She. Got. You."

Carver: "The dominos are falling, Mr. Pettijohn, you want to get ahead of them before they fall on you."

A warning, perhaps, that this is one of my favorite episodes of LOCI. And, judging from the lively and frank discussion we've had regarding it, this is apparently a favorite of many. And a comment--I believe this is the only LOCI episode written by Rene Balcer as a solo effort.

Why is this a Major Case case? Is it more of a case for SVU?

Is Lucas Coultor a bad man? Is Melvyn Coultor a bad man?

Did Mrs. Coultor push her husband to embezzle the funds from his company?

Will the Coultor marriage survive? Will Lucas go to jail?

How well does Matic describe Lucas Coultor?

Is this story exploitive?

While we've frequently seen both Goren and Eames draw their weapons, Eames has actually shot and killed a man twice. Aside from killing Nicole in one version of GREAT BARRIER, Goren has not. Why is Eames given this role?

There was much discussion about Goren's interview of Maggie, a scene that I find one of the most compeeling in LOCI. Stephi Lineburg, who plays Maggie wonderfully well, contributes much to this.

Will Maggie survive? Will her sister Sarah, who seems to get lost in this story?

Why does Goren rather than Eames take the lead in the interview and in comforting Maggie?

One of the perceptive commentaries I read on TV.com suggested that Goren identifies with Maggie. Comments?

Does Goren heal himself by helping Maggie to heal?

Wild speculation of the week--From Stephanie Sengtupa's interview on this board we know Goren was physically abused as a child. Is it possible that he was sexually abused? (Right--let's just pile more angst on the poor guy (g))

I suspect that next week's will be the last EPISODE OF THE WEEK until next summer. I hope everyone has enjoyed these as much as I've enjoyed preparing them.

Patcat

[DonnaJo]

This is an excellent episode that I know created quite a stir here on the Board due to the rape scene & the subject matter. Personally, I thought the rape of Maggie was as tactfully done as it could be, while still conveying the realism & horror of the act. I have no idea what its like to be raped, but I'm always sickened when I watch that particular part. We've talked about who is the worst criminal ever on CI? To me, hands down its that guy. Pure evil masquerading as a patriot to his country.

I don't believe that Goren was sexually abused as a child. Physically, yes. I believe that his mom & maybe his Dad smacked him around. Corporal punishment was more accepted & practiced back then, and the schools didn't interfere unless you were really black & blue. Even then, it was still a private family matter. I doubt little Bobby ever told anyone, he would be too embarrassed & maybe afraid he'd get into more trouble with his folks. He might have also not wanted his mom to be taken away because she beat him. I'm sure childhood was a sad, confusing time for him.

Patcat brings up a good question about the younger sister. True, she wasn't raped. But she was kidnapped & kept tied up & blindfolded for a few days. Did she ever get counseling?

I don't think we can blame the wife for her husband's need to embezzle funds. Coulter had all sorts of self-worth issues based on his dad's criticism of him. He probably felt the need to show his family (his Dad)that he was a success, and that means having lots of money. If the wife's to blame at all, its for being naive & clueless about what was going on with her husband. The guy was an easy read, she should have wondered why he was so angst ridden? Maybe it was easier to just hand over the money responsibilities?

What is it with these women ? I would never make a good trophy wife, I'm way too hand on about things, especially finances.

My theory about Eames being "trigger happy" is practical. Goren always tries to use his physicality, his large physique, first, to bring down a perp. And he can , he's bigger than most of the criminals. In Eames case, that wouldn't work, she's too small. So she leans more towards using her weapon. It's all legal, of course.

[deathroe]

Make sense to me that Eames would use her weapon more than Goren, but she does express distaste for it in certain episodes (Pas de Deux).

This one creeps me out. I think what was most interesting about it might have been how real the toll on the family was, in some ways more real than similar L&O episodes I've seen.

[Patcat]

Donnajo; Are you suggesting that Eames is trigger happy? Or am I reading something into your post?

Patcat

[ragincajun]

deathroe said:

Make sense to me that Eames would use her weapon more than Goren, but she does express distaste for it in certain episodes (Pas de Deux).

This one creeps me out. I think what was most interesting about it might have been how real the toll on the family was, in some ways more real than similar L&O episodes I've seen.

Also in D A W when the doctor says he finds firing a weapon relaxing, Eames says firing her weapon is never relaxes her, or something to that effect. But I get what Donna Jo is saying, Goren is Big and can be intimidating, Eames can't be physically intimidating, so she would have to use weapons more.

[DonnaJo]

patcat said:

Donnajo; Are you suggesting that Eames is trigger happy? Or am I reading something into your post?

Patcat

LOL. It's a little joke, sort of a tongue in cheek comment. No, I honestly don't think she's trigger happy. I know she's always deeply disturbed when she has to pull her weapon. As I said, there is more of a necessity in her mind that she needs to use her weapon. I think she does tend to resort to it more so than Goren does. Unless there is another reason why she has so many instances of pulling her piece that I'm not seeing?

I'll go even one further - that I think Goren is too confident about his physical ability & refrains from pulling his piece at times when he should probably do it.

A good example of the Eames vs. Goren gun use is during that scene in "Gone" at the casino, when that big guy was all in Eames' face, screaming at her. She was ready to use her gun if necessary, her hand was near it, even though the guy was unarmed. Goren never thought about pulling his gun - he simply went over to the guy & slammed him into the wall. There's the difference.

[Patcat]

I hope I wasn't too glib in my response. But I don't see Eames pulling her gun more often than Goren. In this week's episode, she pulls her gun only when a gun is pulled on her. Goren isn't in the picture. In the other cases I can think of, Eames and Goren both have pulled their guns. In GONE, Eames was responding to a definite threat. I thought Goren's reaction was creative and effective. I suspect if the guy had a gun, Goren would've pulled his. I think that most cops hate to pull their guns, and that Goren and Eames are in that category. My question regarding Eames' use of her gun was more along the lines of why do the writers keep using her rather than Goren.

Patcat

[effie]

The contrasts between Goren and Eames' pulling their guns is an interesting thing to think/talk about. Comendably, they seem disinclined to do it, but it always seemed to me that Eames sees using her weapon as one of the ways of subduing a perp... Goren seems to see it as the last resort. (Interestingly I remember some early interview with Eric Bogosian before last season talking about taking the role of Ross and he said one of his first requirements was making sure that Ross carries a weapon.)

Of course, I also think that maybe it's just that Eames is the better shot, and while not discussed, perhaps they both know it and so they operate knowing that if there's shooting to be done, Eames is the better choice.

Although both her shootings made the guy dead, right?

In light of the rumblings about season 7 being about Eames more... perhaps she's faster on the trigger finger as a result of her husband's death... pure and utter speculation...

There's a million possiblilites (that's why we love to talk about stuff like this) up to and including the writers (many of whom are women) wanting to defuse the sterotype of the gun toting tough guy cop... so in the same light as Eames being the one most often wearing leather jackets and driving and knowing cars and being the lead detective... she is also the one most comfortable using firepower...... she's the boy of the partnership on some level. Goren is the touchy feely emoting "girl" -- all stereotypes mind you... but with a certain influence on the dynamics of the Goren/Eames partnership.

[nosee]

patcat said:

Donnajo; Are you suggesting that Eames is trigger happy? Or am I reading something into your post?

Patcat

I don't think that's it. Maybe it's just Eames is able to react quicker than Goren. Ross said in "Blindspot" that Goren overthinks a case, and we know he tends to think out of the box. Obviously Eames doesn't have that problem. She's well trained and acts accordingly. They play off each other's strengths, and that's why they have such a great partnership.

[musicwench]

First of all, this was a great episode but it's rather disturbing to watch and as a result I've only seen it twice.

I find the idea of Eames using her gun more readily than Goren to not reflect so much on Eames as it does on Goren. He's the one who prefers using his intellect to resolve most situations rather than physical force. Eames might just be more typical of law enforcement officers who have to deal with life threatening situations on a regular basis.

I also think there is some credibility to the fact that she is physically smaller than most of the perps they run into and perhaps relying on her weapon is a result of that. Being a physically petite person I also would feel safer with a weapon than without - my Judo training is a nice thing to have but a gun would make me feel safer.

And finally as to effie's comment:

effie said:

There's a million possiblilites (that's why we love to talk about stuff like this) up to and including the writers (many of whom are women) wanting to defuse the sterotype of the gun toting tough guy cop... so in the same light as Eames being the one most often wearing leather jackets and driving and knowing cars and being the lead detective... she is also the one most comfortable using firepower...... she's the boy of the partnership on some level. Goren is the touchy feely emoting "girl" -- all stereotypes mind you... but with a certain influence on the dynamics of the Goren/Eames partnership.

I love the role reversal here. Yes, they are stereotypes but they do add to the fascinating dynamic between Goren and Eames. I love the whole contradiction there. Physically they look like stereotypical big, strong male and petite, pretty female. But beneath that you have what you pointed out. This is what I love about this show. Nothing is what it seems and there are so many layers no matter how closely you examine it there are always new insights to be found.


Oh and one more thing! Thank you Patcat for these discussions! Most interesting and quite enjoyable indeed. Your efforts are most appreciated and I look forward to more next summer!

[Techguy]

Why is this a Major Case case? Is it more of a case for SVU?
One of the crimes Major Case Squad investigates is kidnapping, and kidnapping is the crime that involved MCS before one of the kidnappers raped one of the victims.

Is Lucas Coultor a bad man? Is Melvyn Coultor a bad man?
Lucas is bad because he embezzled money to get out of the hole he dug for himself. His father Melvyn, however, is not bad for refusing to bail out his son. The senior Coulter relents when Lucas tells him his family has been kidnapped, so Melvyn did the right thing at the right time.

Did Mrs. Coultor push her husband to embezzle the funds from his company?
Lucas might have thought so, but he is solely responsible for his choices and their consequences.

Will the Coultor marriage survive? Will Lucas go to jail?
I don't think the Coulter marriage will survive, given the devastating trauma suffered by the wife and two daughters as a result of the husband/father's terrible decisions. It's possible Lucas will be charged with embezzlement, but the DA and the court might be inclined to show clemency given how much the family has already suffered.

How well does Matic describe Lucas Coultor?
It's doubly devastating that the kidnapper who caused so much harm to his family knows Lucas better than he knows himself.

Is this story exploitive?
I don't think so. What would have been exploitive is if the kidnappers raped the mother Susan and younger girl Sarah in addition to Maggie, and/or was more graphic in showing or suggesting the crime.

While we've frequently seen both Goren and Eames draw their weapons, Eames has actually shot and killed a man twice. Aside from killing Nicole in one version of GREAT BARRIER, Goren has not. Why is Eames given this role?
I think it's a natural progression, at least for this particular detective team, that the by-the-book street cop (Eames) take a more overt role in drawing a weapon than the profiler member of the team (Goren). It might also be scripted that way, since Goren is portrayed as the sleuth who discovers the truth from the minutest clues, and so rather than have Goren do everything, Eames is the designated "enforcer" of the team.

Will Maggie survive? Will her sister Sarah, who seems to get lost in this story?
Maggie has an excellent chance to survive. With Goren's help, she was empowered to get her kidnapper/rapist Matic by identifying him with an exact recollection of the tiger tattoo on his back. Turning the tables on the man who had victimized her will be a huge factor in Maggie's healing. The one flaw in the story, however, is how little attention is given to the effects of the kidnapping on the younger girl Sarah who, although she wasn't raped, was certainly traumatized by the kidnapping and who will need help coping with her experience.

Why does Goren rather than Eames take the lead in the interview and in comforting Maggie?
I think Goren recognized that Maggie needed to see that a man of his physical stature and strength would not exploit her for her to realize that strength does not depend on physical characteristics but rather from conviction and one's own will.

One of the perceptive commentaries I read on TV.com suggested that Goren identifies with Maggie. Comments?
Goren identifies with Maggie's sense of helplessness and abandonment, her feeling of being adrift because her parents failed to protect her from someone like Matic. The circumstances of Goren's own childhood would make him especially sympathetic and empathetic to Maggie's situation.

Does Goren heal himself by helping Maggie to heal?
I think Goren had already healed himself long ago, and was drawing on his own strength of character and will to show Maggie that she too can survive the trauma that was imposed on her.

Wild speculation of the week--From Stephanie Sengtupa's interview on this board we know Goren was physically abused as a child. Is it possible that he was sexually abused?
While it's possible that Goren was sexually abused as a child, I think it's more likely the abuse was physical, emotional, and psychological.

[Ladyheather]

The first time I saw this episode, I was disturbed by the questioning of the rape victim. I just didn't get it. Now that I have seen it several times, I understand how Goren identified with the girl's anger. He might not have been abused in the same way but he sure understood the anger. He mentions this on several occasions (other episodes). Goren knew how to get in touch with all that rage.

This marriage is history....I wouldn't take him back that is for sure. When she let Goren and Eames question Maggie, it was evident that she had contempt for him and what he did.

[meggyd]

I remember on my first watching of this episode being impressed by the grandmother, the strong woman who insisted on going to the police because she sensed that there was something wrong with the story she was being given by her son in law. She wasn't afraid to go and report that something felt wrong and was so definite in her statements. The fact that she later tried to retract what she had said when the she learnt more about the situation didn't detract from the guts she had to report it in the first place. If not for her determination, the whole thing might never have been investigated and the rapes and intimidation continued.

Lucas Coulter is weak, but the worrying thing about him is that he is painted as such an 'everyman' type. He tried to get ahead, live a particular lifestyle, then tried to take the easy way to dig himself out of trouble. One thing that always strikes me about the law and order series is the cause and effect, how easy it is for someone reasonably ordinary to set off a series of events that leads to tragedy and disaster. His father actually came across rather sympathetically - trying to teach his son to stand on his own two feet, but relenting and helping out when he realised the stakes were really high.

I thought labelling Maggie's reaction as 'Stockholm Sydrome' was probably a little extreme. Surely having rage against those who 'let' bad things happen to you and a feeling that your attackers are stronger than others would be fairly common reactions and not necessarily part of a long term 'sydrome'. Still, it is a highly recognisable term that would lead to certain expectations for the character on behalf of the audience. I thought the interrogation scene was masterful.

Eames does usually seem to be the one to pull the trigger when that is required in the storyline. She has her gun out more often. I always put this down to VDO's (and the writers?) determination to make Goren a different type of officer. I could picture Goren getting shot one day because he didn't think to pull his gun in a particular situation - though after season six I think it is less likely to happen, he seemed much more traditional in having his weapon drawn in that season, to me, anyway.

The villain was truly repulsive. I spent some time trying to puzzle out why the Bonanza theme was chosen as the distinctive ring tone, the theme of a Wild West show which nonetheless focused on family values, but couldn't really draw any conclusions from that. I remember nearly cheering in the restaurant scene when Goren rang the number and located Matic. I was sure he'd lost him!

[tjara]

This episode is grueling, to say the least. The subject matter is just... whoa. A dad causing his family to be kidnapped and his daughter to be raped. A story that has you sitting on the edge of your chair for 40 minutes...

Goren really gets to be the hero in this one, and the scene in the cafe is just great. And boy, can you believe that only a couple of years back cellphones where so big!! But it's classic Goren that he'd catch the guy with such a simple detail like the ringtone...

Why is this a Major Case case? Is it more of a case for SVU?

Actually one thing that I like about this ep is that there's no dead body. And since MCS handles kidnapping, this probably comes closer to what they do than many, many other episodes.
And we're treated to one of the cutest "undercovers" that Eames and Goren have ever done.

Will the Coultor marriage survive? Will Lucas go to jail?

Lucas will not go to jail as the company is not pressing charges, but that marriage is doomed. He allowed his family to be abducted, and I doubt his wife can forgive him. I don't think she pressured him into embezzeling his firm, he managed to do that all by himself. If anyonre "pressured" him, it was his father, who never thought that Lucas was good enough.

How well does Matic describe Lucas Coultor?

Very well, which is why this ep is so strong. Matic has Coultor figured out, which is probably also why Maggie can identify with her capturer. It's as if he knew her family.

Why is Eames given this role?

I think the shooting served to purpose but to fill the ep with an action scene. I could've done without it.

I do have to comment on a few positive and negative (for me) things in this ep.

I thought that the depiction of the rape scene was "great" ... I acutally think that rape scenes like this where you're left to guess to some extent are extremely strong. The last thing we see is Matic taking off his shirt and unbuttoning his pants (and even that is only a silhouette), then it's black. Just that later, we see how she reacts to him (she winces) and how content the actor managed to look in that scene without overdoing it. It's gut wrenching... For me, that's completely different than movies like "Casualties of War", which also depicts rape.

Wow, Melvyn Coultor comes across as bad in this ep - he just won't help his son, he'll help his grandchildren, though. Yet a definitve "meany"... you can almost understand why Lucas became the way he became.

I guess the term "Stockholm Syndrome" was applied rather loosely here. First, although it's called "syndrome" - it's a state of mind, and one that's still under a lot of discussion as far as I know. To my knowledge, Stockholm Syndrome is also something that would rather develop because you understand the captor's reasons for doing something and because they don't treat you bad. What Maggie had seemed to be different, indentifying with her captor because he was strong, that's more something like the battered wife syndrome or a kind of loyalty that victims of child absue sometimes feel. Identifying with one's aggressors does happen, but I guess the term Stockholm Syndrome just won't fit.

I do have some issues with the whole-Maggie-interview scene. I thought that, Goren gets to be the hero in that ep anyway, he captures the bad guy, he get his aria (without which there wouldn't have been any evidence against Matic!) - I think it's bad that they didn't use KE some more.
While I can appreciate the scene for what it is and I read the comments in the original thread about the "Teddy Bear Goren", which put the scene into a different light, I think this scene is also somewhat creepy. Goren almost goes into "interrogation mode" and plays reverse psychology on her. Standard police procedure indeed would be to have a woman talk to her (Officers coming to a rape scene are supposed to call medical help and if possible, a female officer). Now I know that Eames tried, but I think they undermined Eames when she didn't go anywhere. Heck Eames was with Vice!! We know she's said to've gone undercover as a prostitute, we know she's been to Chelsea. I really think she can handle a rape victim, even one that's not easy. Eames could've pulled off the reverse psychology, as snarky as she is... I really think KE was underused in that scene for the sake of making Goren shine when it wasn't needed anymore in that ep.

That last scene is very powerful. While I'm like "yeah right" when it's mentioned that Maggie remembered "every detail down to the stripes" (mind you, I know there's people with photographic kind of memory, but still), I think she can remember the important details, which would've been sufficient to id Matic. Also, the way Goren plays him, than grabs him to hold up that shirt... Eames being the one to chime into the aria at the right moment... and the lawyer getting ever more uncomfy... and the way Matic is done at the end, completely insecure and scared (great acting, btw.) Goren's "She.Got.You." Lovely scene.

That ep title must also be one of the most poigant. There really is a few wolfs in that ep - Matic, Maggie (at the end), Melvyn...

[outerbankschick]

Each time I see this one, it is still one of the most hard-hitting eps of the series. It's excrutiating and beautiful all at once. The acting is superb on all counts.

As to Bobby being the one to question Maggie, it plays exactly right to me. Alex was too understanding, Maggie's mother was too soft. Her father was too little, too late in the role of protector. They were all trying to speak to her pain.

Bobby gave her exactly what she needed. He first spoke to her rage. Only then was he able to draw out her pain. It was perfectly done. That moment when she begins to cry, when she leans forward, he immediately moves to hold her. Their embrace is one of the most touching moments of the entire series. It never ceases to move me.