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: Special Victims Unit’s “Alta Kockers”

Tread Perilously rounds out 2018 by convening the Special Review Unit for a look at the most recent episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, “Alta Kockers.”

When a hip, young author is found dead after their big reading at an important bookstore, Lieutenant Olivia Benson declares the murder a hate crime as the author was apparently male despite presenting female. SVU detectives continue to misgender the person even as the team discovers the victim was not the author of the novel, Blue Barracuda. The investigation leads to a very nice house somewhere in the Bronx owned by an older Jewish gentleman and his brother. Did they kill author Bobbie O’Rourke, or was he really the bartender at Molly Malone’s who died of diabetes in 1975?

Captain Charlie Wright and Executive Assistant District Attorney Louis Allred join Justin and Erik to discuss the episode and point out a certain flaw in literary fiction. The group warns against walking around the Meatpacking District, though Charlie recommends the Whitney Museum. Justin declares Ninjas as the largest ethnic group in Hell’s Kitchen. The casual transphobia throughout the story gets called out. Charlie tries to find a flaw in the perp’s thinking. Erik reveals his hatred for new ADA Peter Stone. And in a rare case for Tread Perilously, the Special Review Unit decides Judd Hirsch and Wallace Shawn deliver Emmy-worthy performances.

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