Tread Perilously is a podcast in which hosts Erik Amaya and author Justin Robinson watch the “worst” episodes of popular TV shows, attempting to determine if they would continue to watch the series based on the most off-key moments.

This Week: Law & Order: SVU‘s “We Dream of Machine Elves”

Tread Perilously once again opens the case files of the Special Review Unit for a recent episode of Law & Order: SVU called “We Dream of Machine Elves.”

When a tourist wakes up in Central Park wearing only a sheet and screaming about the “Machine Elves,” Manhattan SVU detectives focus their investigation on a radical New York therapist who encourages the heavy use of drugs like DMT and re-experiencing trauma. He also happens to be a former professor of Detective Amanda Rollins. Will their past allow her the chance to learn the truth about his unusual methods? Or will Rollins once again fall for an older man of seeming authority?

Captain Charlie Wright returns to remind Justin that he’s met Detective Rollins. She also decries the episode’s lack of momentum. Justin finds the cast changes surprising while Erik marvels at a decade of Meloni-less SVU. Carisi gets dubbed “good hair guy.” ADA Barba continues to be missed. Charlie offers a number of great New York safety tips. Erik tries to understand vaping. Both he and Justin get lost remembering Season 2 of The Wire. Officer Katriona Tamin gets her first performance review, and Tread Perilously chooses its favorite brands of oat milk.

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