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Episode Summary

After a six-year-old boy dies in a school shooting, detectives trace the gun used back to a white supremacist's gun shop. Munch and Fin face hatred and prejudice from the major suspects in the case, but their investigation soon takes them from the man who pulled the trigger back to the gun shop owner, who makes no bones about his hatred of anyone who is not white.moreless
9.1
out of 10
EPISODE RATING: Superb
267 votes
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  • 'RAW' didn't hold anything back in detailing the racism of certain peoples.

    9.3
    "Superb"
    This episode was another one of my favorites in the sense that it jumped right into the lives of everyday people and didn't hold anything back. Seeing a 6 year old boy shot to death was something not to be taken lightly with these svu detectives as they link this murder and two other shootings to a man who was somewhat involved in a group that named themselves the 'Revolution Arian Warriors'. So clearly a hate crime the detectives try to get to the bottom of it. 'Raw' also introduced Star Morrison a.k.a Dana Lewis (Marcia Gay Harden) as a woman who was in full support of the RAW, but we later learn that this is not the case as she saves Detective Stabler's ass at last minute. But that still didn't keep him from going to the hospital with a bullet wound, as well as Munch. There were plenty of twists to go around in this teeth-clenching episode and it more than likely left an everlasting effect on us. All in all, a great episode.moreless

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    2 0
  • The last ten minutes ruined the episode.

    5.0
    "Mediocre"
    I am admittedly a huge "Law & Order: SVU" fan. It's long been a fantastic show. That's why I hold it to such high standards.

    "Raw" did not meet those standards. The last ten minutes ruined the episode.

    Suspension of disbelief is important for all shows, but SVU is one grounded in reality--the NYC criminal justice system. That's why I'm not willing to suspend as much disbelief while watching this show as I am others. The last ten minutes, especially the final plot twist, was the nail in the coffin for this episode. The very notion that a white couple, one a seemingly respectable member of law enforcement, would adopt an African-American child just to have him murdered shortly thereafter via SCHOOL SHOOTING just to collect on an inflated insurance policy is just inane, in my opinion. Even if they did, I thought it was sad that the inflated insurance policy wasn't found until the end of the episode. Some detective work there. If they were so destitute, how could they afford to adopt a child to begin with? And how would they be given a child when they obviously didn't have enough money to raise one? It's not like you can adopt a child via vending machine.

    SVU has struck out for me the past two weeks. I'm hoping next week's episode improves.moreless

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    0 8
  • I can't belivie this

    1.5
    "Abysmal"
    This Episode made me sick, halfway through I was wondering why the heck Dick Wolf wasn't sued yet, this entire episode was based on White supremnecy, and so many other things, we top the end of the episode like this

    1. Three children randomly shot, one killed, and another one found to be raped everyday
    2. Gun sold was sold to a white supremist
    3. Gun store owner, and his son are Neo-Nazi's
    4. At least 20 hateful things said
    5. Court-room shootout, with yells of race traitor, and four men killed

    This was by far, one of the most hateful episodes I have ever seen on T.V. ever, Dick Wolf messed up, and if this episode gets big, there's gonna be hell to paymoreless

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    0 18
  • Just saw a rerun (3rd or 4th time) of this episode and remembered that this is about as good as it gets. Even though I was pretty sure I knew all the little twists and turns, I was willing to watch again in case I had forgotten something. The beauty...moreless

    9.8
    "Superb"
    ... of this episode is the number of completely unforseen twists. In fact it is the most 'twisted' episode of any of the 3.5 L&O themed series (I'm giving 'Trial by Jury' a half point). Twist one: the true identity of Star Morrison (Marcia Gay Harden); Twist two: the 'outcome' of the second trial, where the first plaintiff was testifying against the second; and... behind door number three, the actual reason that the young child was singled out for the 'random' shooting. If you don't remember all of the details or, God forbid, you haven't yet seen this episode, do not purchase another episode of another show until you buy and see this one (at least twice). I would not steer you wrong... why would I?moreless

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    4 0
  • Really hard to watch the first time through.

    10
    "Perfect"
    After a horrific school shooting which left one six year old boy dead and two other children injured, the detectives come to find out that the shooting was not random, but from a white supremacist group. It was hard to watch detectives Munch and Fin being called the names they were called (I won't repeat those words here). There were several twists in this episode which I found particularly interesting. For one thing, Marcia Gay Harden's character Star Morrison was not actually a part of this hate group but rather an undercover FBI agent who had been tailing this group for several months. I was glad to see she was actually one of the "good guys." The courtroom scene shocked me; I kept wondering how on earth someone could bring a gun into the courtroom but then it was all explained when Fin is visiting Munch who was shot (but was okay thank goodness!). It is also revealed in this episode that Elliot's wife Kathy is filing for divorce. Not exactly a twist but certainly an important part of character building and future storylines for the show. All in all, great episode but still hard to watch, even though I've seen it about 4 times now.moreless

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    1 0

Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

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    • Goof/Nitpick: When Heshy Horowitz (according to dialog) evidently bails on his client, Brannon Lee Redding, Barry Moredock takes over representation of Brian Ackerman. Yet, even though Moredock has a brief major scene arguing with Novak and the judge, while Novak was questioning Redding right before the court shooting incident Horowitz is the attorney shown seated next to Ackerman instead, and Moredock is nowhere to be seen. It is unclear whether or not this was intentional. Edit
  • Notes

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    • International Episode Titles: Czech Republic – "Árijské bratrstvo" (Aryan Brotherhood) Edit
    • Original International Air Dates: Czech Republic – February 12, 2009 on TV Nova Edit
    • Special billing was given to Marcia Gay Harden (Special Guest Star), John Cullum (with) and Marin Hinkle (and). Edit
  • Quotes

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    • Elliot Stabler: You talked with Brian Ackerman. Olivia Benson: He said that he was proud, that his son Kyle died a hero. Fighting for his race. Edit
    • Olivia Benson: Has anyone called Kathy yet? Elliot Stabler: No. Don't. Olivia Benson: Elliot, don't be like that. You know.. Elliot Benson: (interrupts) She started divorce preceedings. Olivia Benson: When? Elliot Stabler: A couple weeks ago. I have the divorce papers at home, I just haven't signed them yet. Edit
    • (Benson is looking up at Redding's ceiling.) Olivia Benson: Are those beer bottle caps? Brannon Lee Redding: Pretty cool huh? Edit
  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS
    • John Munch: What's JFK Reloaded? JFK Reloaded was a controversial first person shooter game released by the Scottish video game company, Traffic Management Limited. The game let players reenact the assassination of President Kennedy as Lee Harvey Oswald. Players could win up to $100,000 as an award for reenacting the events as realistically as possible, according to the Warren Commission. The site was shut down in August 2005. Edit
    • Dana Lewis: It was an exact replica of the one McVeigh used in Oklahoma City. Dana was talking about a fertilizer bomb the white supremacists had components for. On April 19, 1995, the Alfred P. Murrah federal building in Oklahoma City was bombed by Timothy McVeigh. 168 people were killed, including 19 children in the building's day care center. Before 9/11, Oklahoma City was the worst terrorist attack to ever happen on US soil. Edit
    • Brian Ackerman: (to Olivia) Why don't you stay out of this one, Hillary? This is an unflattering reference to former First Lady and current New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. Edit
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