Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (TV Series) Dare (2018) User Reviews

Dare

[bobcobb301 · 7/10 · 23 March 2018]

This was sort of ripped from the headlines, but with a twist as it was a doctor giving away body parts to save kids. A tough moral quandary for everyone involved. As an organ donor I can only hope if I met an emergency that I could save someone else, but I could see how if the parents didn't want that to be the case it would be wrong to do so.

Not the most entertaining one, but definitely one that made us think.

Consent required

[SarahKSeraSera · 7/10 · 3 May 2023]

I checked the donor box on my DL. I have told loved ones I want to be a organ donor in the event of my death. If someone does not have that box checked, the doctors need to ask family members for permission. If it were my child I'd consent. But that is the issue "consent". Until that child is old enough to make their own decisions, it is up to the parents. No doctor or anyone else has that right. Maybe the parents of the forms she forged would have consented, but she took that choice away from them. She didn't give them a chance to say goodbye before taking their organs without their consent. Lives were saved and that is a good thing, but it it the parents decision.

Really Makes You Think

[audaciousness · 8/10 · 25 October 2018]

An interesting SVU episode. Not the fastest, most exciting one, but it leaves an impression on you that really makes you think. Should consent be assumed for organ harvesting as it is in Europe? Are the American laws wrong, and did the doctor deserve what happened to her?

Life is full of shades of gray

[labenji-12163 · 10/10 · 6 December 2020]

This was a great episode, that brought to light a conversation that most parents should be having regarding themselves and their children--organ donation. I mean, why would you not donate your or your children's organs? What good are healthy organs to the dead? Nevertheless, I believe the choice is still the parents or individuals to make, not the government, hospitals or the doctors.

Epic Controversy

[MrsTheFrog · 9/10 · 30 May 2020]

Everyone seems to think that Abortion is the big, hot debate when SVU tackles it every now and then, but Dare proves that there are more important greyscales to be discussed.

I have an intense love-hate relationship with this episode. To be honest, the acting from the guest stars is mediocre at best. But the topic is riveting. Once again, I think the drama would have been 10x more compelling if they had just ONCE let Liv go against her conscience in the moment, but that's neither here nor there.

I don't think they could have filmed a more succinct example of why organ donation is so fu**ing important, and so sorely under-discussed. When Stone says it would have been harder to say goodbye to his father if his organs had been harvested, all I could think was, "Why?! Why in the world?! Dead is dead - with or without organs, you don't get any deader." Our strange attachment to the physicality of our body in death is utterly ridiculous. The dead don't need their organs or their bodies.

And I 100% agree with the doctor in this episode. If you don't explicitly deny consent for organ donation before death, your organs should be free for the taking if they're needed. To do otherwise is basically the equivalent of burying someone with a shiny new Cadillac.

It is my hope that, since other (smarter) European countries have already figured this out, that Canada will someday follow suit. This episode is a long story about selfish parents who let a little boy die because they were mad they couldn't bring their daughter back.

And YES, if it was MY kid on the table and they were brain dead, for the love of God, take what is useable. Our bodies are vehicles. People are absolutely, 100% given the choice their entire lives to decide/discuss/consider organ donation. It's not about choice. It's about our laziness and our death-avoidant culture that keeps us from these conversations until it's too late.

This episode makes so many great points. The only shame here is that it could have been less frustrating and more impactful if the parents or Liv had made the right choice and it never ended up in court.

Oh Olivia!

[kellielulu · 8/10 · 29 January 2023]

This is not an easy one and I think there needs to be a better way to handle medical cases like this . Grieving parents asked to make a difficult choice but without it you end up with another child dead and another set of grieving parents. That's exactly what happened here . A young girl dies and the doctor took her organs without parental consent. Technically and legally it's wrong but there is moral ambiguities here . Most of the organs have already been transplanted but the heart is minutes from taking off by helicopter. Olivia stops it . Every main character had an opinion here on what the doctor did but while Olivia stops it she actually wanted the parents to consent but they don't. The father is more regretful . Finn and Nick think the child waiting for the heart should have had it regardless and I am inclined to agree. That said it's not say taking the heart without permission is something that can be standard procedure. As I said there needs to be a better way .

In the end the boy who needed the heart died. Yes Olivia felt bad but it's another example of when she decides to look the other way and when she won't. Twice at least this time being one of them I really find myself irritated at her decision. What if Noah had been waiting for the heart? I think her decision would be different.

Assault

[stacy031674 · 6/10 · 10 May 2022]

Would I donate? Yes. But it really is an assault charge. How would the dr know if due to religious reasons the patient could be a donor. There are religious beliefs that a person must be buried whole.

I think the parents were a little selfish but considering situation, I'd be pissed off too.

Transplants

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 15 March 2018]

A teenage girl goes missing from a field trip and after a wild goose chase it's Mariska Hargitay who finds her unconscious body on the gym floor. She dies in the operating room after an operation fails to relieve fluid pressure on the brain.

But quite by accident at the Medical Examiner's office the parents and the police discover some additional surgery. Dying as young as she did she had some vital organs that Dr. Janel Maloney removed for transplant.

In a lot of the world that's a routine procedure, but we still have laws prohibiting that except with explicit permission. That's the issue that is raised here and new ADA Philip Winchester gets to prosecute.

It's an interesting story and the debate still rages. But out of all of this comes a most unintended tragedy.

To find out exactly what you watch this fine SVU story.

Heartbreaking tolerance of a felony assault

[melendyr · 3/10 · 28 February 2019]

A truly terrifying episode because it further stigmatizes and calls into question the integrity of doctors who must declare brain death prior to organ donation. I am a registered and willing organ donor and a strong advocate for organ donation, and was sorry to see the sympathy for felony criminal actions of a surgeon. Lives are saved and changed when organ donation is chosen, either by the adult pre-injury or by a designated relative after a catastrophic injury. It should never be done under fraudulent circumstances. Assaulting a body through organ harvest, even a body that is brain-dead, is rightfully a felony offense in this country.

Sonata for a solo organ

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 2 January 2023]

The subject matter for "Dare" is a very hard hitting. It has, and similar subjects too, has been tackled more than once in the 'Law and Order' franchise and mostly very well (and better than here). It is one of those subjects that could go either way, which is true of a lot of topics tackled on 'Law and Order: Special Victims Unit' over the years, of disturbing and moving or far fetched and borderline implausible. Was really hoping it would be the former, having seen too many of Season 19 tackling topics every bit as difficult and not doing it well.

"Dare" luckily is one of the episodes that tackles its subject on the most part quite well. Other episodes in the franchise have done it better, back when both 'Law and Order' and 'Special Victims Unit' were in their prime periods. It is not an exceptional outing and is not exempt of a couple of the flaws that were big recurring flaws throughout Season 19, especially in its second half, but when it comes to ranking the season's episodes "Dare" is in the better half in one of not enough episodes to be close to very good.

A lot is excellent here. The production values are suitably slick and gritty, with photography that is reliant on close ups that have an intimacy without being too claustrophobic. The music is didn't come over as too melodramatic or like it was emphasising the emotion too much. The direction is sympathetic while still giving momentum. The acting from all the regulars and supporting cast is never less than very good.

Furthermore, the script is tight and intelligently written with nothing coming over as soapy or too loose. Story is never dull and is heart breaking and thought provoking, difficult subject done in a way that will evoke a lot of emotions, spark much debate and personally didn't think it too far fetched on the whole.

Except not finding it at first easy to buy the doctor getting away with what she did so many times for so long, but it is not as if it's never been achieved.

Olivia comes over as very sanctimonious and hypocritical (which was a major recurring problem this season with almost all the episodes having it with a few exceptions), in the earlier seasons she would not have treated other characters in the way she treats the doctor and would have been more sensitive in the situation. Am still finding Stone a very flat character and Phillip Winchester shows very little personality, which sadly did not improve all that much.

Concluding, good, close to very good even, if not exceptional. 7/10.

Not the double standards.... again🙄

[hannahpritchettpase · 7/10 · 8 October 2021]

I understand why everyone is saying what this doctor did was right. She saved lives. I would donate my child's organs. I'm an organ donor myself. But she was cutting into these children's bodies when the parents didn't even know their baby was dead. She cut out their organs with their heart still beating. She took away the right to choose. 5 minutes within being declared brain dead she stole these children's organs. No time for parents to process their loss (not that she told the parents that their child was dead or what she intended to do) A particular problem for me was the double standard and hypocrisy of Lt. Benson. The doctor Herself admitted she wouldn't do what she does to her own son. And if noah was the child in question Olivia would NEVER had been okay with that doctor taking his organs especially if she didn't know if he was alive or dead. If it had been noah she would've been out for blood and make sure the doctor went to prison.

I liked the episode. It talked about a difficult issue but I can't stand Lt. Bensons double standards.

Glaring inaccuracies

[melaniejlunderwood · 2/10 · 27 November 2020]

How is it possible that not one person involved in the production of this episode was aware that for every organ donor as many as four lives (minimum) could be saved.

Throughout this episode the storyline consistently equates one donor to one life saved, completely ignoring the fact that one heart, one liver, two lungs and two kidneys can all be transplanted, along with corneas to save sight, therefore 31 donors could easily equate to saving well over 100 children's lives!!!

Benson's double standards. If it concerns a woman being raped than it is OK to break the law

[sagittarius-5 · 7/10 · 22 May 2020]

How selfish could those parents be, especially the mother that obviosuly doesn't give a crap about that boy dying in Buffalo as long as her principals stay clear!? If my daughter were dead I would never say no to giving her organs to dying children!!! Olivia could've let the helicopter go so the boy would survive but no her self righteous arrogant demeanor didn't let her even though she's broken the law before herself!! Does anybody remember the episode where a news reporter was raped by her cameraman and got pregnant and she ran away so the man couldn't have visitation with the baby and Olivia LET HER GO!! So she can decide which law is OK to break and which one isn't!?! She's an asshole!! and a hypocrite! and charging the doctor was morally wrong! She was saving lives and listening to selfish and ignorant parents who don't wanna save other children and instead let perfectly good organs rot in the ground or burn them!!! I understand that losing a child is the worst thing that could ever happen to anyone and I can't even imagine the pain of loosing my daughter but if I were in the position of saving other children's lives when mine is already gone I'd never say no, it's just a very selfish and cruel act and I'm furious that the doctor is indicted at the end, she didn't deserve that. She wasn't doing this for malicious reasons, she was trying to save lives without having to deal with grieving parents. It's not like anyone was hurt by doing this and if the parents hadn't gone in for that plot armored ring they would've been none the wiser and other children would have a chance. I'm not saying it's right to harvest organs without asking, I'm just saying that to me it's more right than wrong when there are other lives at stake and the person who's organs are taken is already dead and won't be needing them, they'll just be going to waste while people wait years for an organ, and many don't survive that wait!! To me that is more important than some parent who'd rather want their child's organ to rot in the ground. I'd want my daughters organs to live on in some other child and therefore save it!

No consent just like rape

[keila_g · 6/10 · 6 October 2023]

I don't know why Olivia acted like it's wrong to indict the doctor. If it were her son Noah she would've been out for blood. I mean I get that regret she had being at the rooftop with the heart because I would've let the guy get away but to even consider that what the doctor did was okay, and it would be wrong to prosecute her that's not okay. It's very clear, no gray areas. This doctor harvests organs from patients without the families consent. CONSENT which they always preach is important. It's just like rape, sex without consent, the doctor cut open those children and took away their body parts without any consent.

If I were the parent at that situation I would've given away the heart and deal with the doctor later. But don't make it look like what she's doing is okay. That's just wrong.

Be consistent Lt. Benson.

The ethics of this episode don't sit right with me.

[aleyland · 3/10 · 14 May 2024]

I love SVU, having binge watched it from the beginning over the last few months I adore Olivia! But I just couldn't get on board with the way this episode was presented. Framing what the doctor did as righteous and "no big deal", (Fin's words) was appalling!

I'm all for organ donation (on the register myself), but only when it's consensual! These parents lost their daughter in tragic circumstances and then they find out a doctor has STOLEN her organs!

I think framing this doctor as some sort of saint helping sick kids when actually she had god complex and absolutely no regard for grieving parents was really bad writing.