Hothouse
- Episode aired Jan 13, 2009
- TV-14
- 1h
The death of a teenage mathematics prodigy sheds light on some disturbing and unhealthy practices taking place among a group of competitive students at a prestigious academy.The death of a teenage mathematics prodigy sheds light on some disturbing and unhealthy practices taking place among a group of competitive students at a prestigious academy.The death of a teenage mathematics prodigy sheds light on some disturbing and unhealthy practices taking place among a group of competitive students at a prestigious academy.
Photos
- Sergeant John Munch
- (credit only)
- Special Agent Dr. George Huang, M.D.
- (as B.D. Wong)
- (credit only)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAya Cash, who plays Katrina Lychkoff, also appears on a episode of Modern Family (2009), where Sarah Hyland (Jennifer Banks) is on the main cast.
- GoofsWhen Jennifer appears in court she is wearing an orange prison jumpsuit, which is something a defense attorney would never let a client do, especially a pretty young girl, the attorney would want her to have her hair fixed nicely, wear makeup and a nice dress or skirt. Having the defendant wear prison issue clothing in court can bias the jury, and even the judge, against the defendant, if they are wearing prison clothing it makes them think of the defendant as a prisoner and not a person. That is why the law allows for a defendant to change into normal clothing for all court appearances, including motion hearings, not just trial; and most judges will insist that the defendant be given the option to change clothing in order to avoid any appearance of impropriety.
- Quotes
A.D.A. Kendra Gill: Yeah, I've gone two days without sleep... only thing I murdered at the end of it was my pillow.
Detective Olivia Benson: I knew a cop who worked double homicide for 41 hours straight, went home and went to bed. He had an asthma attack and reached for his inhaler, but he grabbed his service revolver instead. He put it in his mouth and blew his brains out.
- ConnectionsReferences Sunset Boulevard (1950)
It still is a great episode. Only five episodes of the mixed to disappointing Season 10 were properly great in my view, with a few more nearly so, and "Hothouse" is one of those great, even outstanding, episodes. What stood out as particularly good still sticks out and there is very little to criticise, only one really and it was one that was a common major problem with Season 10. That fortunately is vastly outweighed by everything else being so brilliantly done.
Am going to get that not so good thing out of the way first. It is good that Greylek's role isn't massive here, but that is not enough to disguise that she has no personality whatsoever and is the kind of DA that one wonders how they even got the job in the first place. She is also very unsympathetic and treats a troubled teen as if she is a monster, the actions are monstrous but the person behind them isn't really when you take into account the circumstances.
That is pretty much it with the not so good. Hyland's performance is a marvel, one that ripped my heart out of my chest in its intensity and emotion. She is especially good in the confession scene, which is an unforgettable gut wrenching scene and one of the season's and mid-seasons period's (for the show) best. Her outburst has the shock factor. Misha Kuznetsov is unsettling.
On a visual level, the episode is solid and the intimacy of the photography doesn't get static or too filmed play-like. The music when used is not too over-emphatic and has a melancholic edge that is quite haunting. The direction is sympathetic enough without being leaden, while having enough momentum to make the drama sing in its atmosphere. The script is taut and thought-provoking.
Much of me felt for Hyland's character, her actions are uncondonable but the truth of what drove her to it was upsetting and being someone who tried to achieve a lot and pushed myself in school it is always disturbing to see that that mentality can push even students over the edge in such a way. She is actually not the character one hates at the end of the episode. The story is very sad and anger-inducing, in a good way and in a way that chilled me and brought tears to the eyes.
Concluding, absolutely great and proof that Season 10 was capable of greatness. 9/10.
- TheLittleSongbird
- Nov 17, 2021
- Permalink
Details
- Runtime1 hour
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 16:9 HD