Forgiving Rollins on SVU: Patton Strikes Again

but this time, he ain’t in Atlanta… “Law and Order: SVU” returned on 1/7/2015 with “Forgiving Rollins,” the 10th episode of Season 16. And at last, in this episode, the root cause of the often erratic behavior of Detective Amanda Rollins, not to mention her bad judgment in men, all comes out but real justice is just not meted out to the police chief who raped Rollins. He gets a plea bargain for raping another Atlanta detective he brought with him to New York City. Here are some of the guest stars in “Forgiving Rollins.”

Harry Hamlin as Rollins’ old boss in Atlanta, Deputy Chief Charles Patton; Dreama Walker as Det. Reese Taymor, his current victim; and Mary Ann Baker as Vivian Patton, the unbelieving wife. Die-hard L&O fans may remember Baker as Mrs. Brice in the 2002 episode “Juvenile“. Yes, it was a long time ago, but the twist ending on that one made it stand out, when Mrs. Brice made a big mistake concerning the fate of her son, Jeremy.

After wrapping up the “Pattern Seventeen” case, none of the detectives want to party with the good ole boys from Atlanta. Rollins discomfort around Patton, noticed by Fin all along, continues to escalate. Fin can’t stand Patton. Only Det. Pino attended. The next day, the pretty young Atlanta detective that came along, Reese Taymor, lands in the hospital, telling the nurse she was raped. But when Olivia Benson and Rollins get there, she refuses to press charges. After Rollins leaves, she tells Benson the truth.

Patton was brought in for questioning by Deputy Chief Dodds while the other detectives observed, Rollins included. He claims he’s been having an affair with Det. Taymor, things got out of hand that night because they were drinking too much and Taymor wanted him to leave his wife. Then the idiot just about tells on himself by bringing up Rollins, in case she said anything less than flattering about him. Attempting to destroy her credibility, he says Rollins “got around” in Atlanta and when her sister was arrested, she offered him things that made his “eyes water.” Rollins has not said one thing against Patton so far, so now Dodds knows something is rotten…

Rollins tells a watered down version of what really happened to her to Dodds, Benson and ADA Barba but takes the blame herself. She was offered the chance to get her sister out of legal trouble if she played ball so she played ball. But she later admits, off the record, that she believes Taymor is telling the truth and steps up to take another shot at getting Taymor to testify against Patton.

After Patton is arrested, arraigned and released on his own recognizance, Capt. Sam Reynolds accosts Rollins out walking her dog, Frannie. He says he knows she got Taymor to change her mind for revenge against Patton when their affair didn’t work out. Rollins says Patton is a liar and Reynolds angrily accuses her of playing the good girl with him while sleeping with Patton. Rollins gives him a knee to the groin and he sinks to the ground in pain. Reynolds calls her a bitch, threatening to report her. She calls his bluff and tells him to tell his wife she said hello.

Reese Taymor uses her training as a detective to tell a cool, calm and collected account of what happened to Barba on the stand, but Patton’s attorney makes mincemeat out of her under cross-examination. Rollins finds her tearful, humiliated and angry in the ladies room. Taymor says she doesn’t see Rollins testifying.

Rollins runs into Patton’s wife, Vivian, in the hall and they have odd exchange. She knows about Rollins’ sister and inquires after Rollins’ mother, but doesn’t seem to know anything about the price Rollins paid to help her sister. Vivian is unconcerned about the charges against her man.

And this is where we get to see Rollins’ whole version of what happened to her when Barba puts her on the stand for practice. The judge, however, refuses to allow Rollins to testify. It would be be unfairly prejudicial to Patton. On the stand, Patton answers Barba’s questions becoming agitated and so disoriented that they think he is having a heart attack on the spot. He is taken to the hospital where it turns out to be an anxiety attack.

Whether this was a ploy or not, Patton was now a beaten man. He agreed to plead guilty to third degree sexual assault and allocute in open court to his crime against Reese Taymor. He got no jail time but would be put on the sex offenders registry after he resigned (to save his pension). He also agreed to never work in law enforcement again.

Benson wanted Rollins to work on forgiving herself in therapy and suggested she take some time off. After the allocution, Rollins tells Fin and Amaro that it’s over and walks off by herself, presumably adjusting to the burden of all that guilt finally being lifted from her shoulders. Now she can put the blackjack tables, booze and bad men behind her.

Also in this episode:
Delaney Williams – Counselor John Buchanan
Jenna Stern – Judge Elana Barth
Myk Watford – Captain Sam Reynolds
Yvonna Kopacz-Wright – Dr. Darby Wilder
Mike Massino – ConElectric Worker #1
Brian Michael – ConElectric Worker #2