The Shocker

“Sacrifice”

This episode aired probably about a month ago, but between the end of the school year, the holiday season (see out of town and entertaining visitors), there wasn’t much time to write this entry with the quality it deserves, so here goes…

“Sacrifice” guest starred Mark Paul Goseller as Wesley Janzen and Elizabeth Banks as Jana Janzen. It all starts when Wesley is assaulted and shot outside a bar that has a largely male clientele. At the hospital, they discover that he’s been shot by more than just a gun as three separate DNA specimens are found “in his person.” Stabler and Benson arrive at the hospital to question Wesley, only to find out that he has checked himself out of the hospital.

They go to his apartment and find him in a great deal of distress (since he was shot and left before proper attention could be paid to his wounds). He’s of little assistance initially, but with the agreement that the police won’t say anything to his family, he tells them that although he’s not gay, he participates in “gay-for-bang” porn videos for $1500 per “session”. Apparently his education from Bayside High didn’t open up the doors that other schools did because he has been doing gay porn.

To find out more about his situation, Stabler and Benson show up at Jana’s place of work where they discover SHE’S A PORN STAR TOO!!!* [Mind blown] Not only is Jana at work, but so is her daughter. Social Services is called in, and Wesley’s parents are called in to take temporary custody of the daughter. It turns out that his parents have never approved of his choice in life partner, and Wesley had run off to New York with Jana.

*Elizabeth Banks must have some predisposition to take roles where porn/sex is involved.

While at the porn studio, they meet her director, Cal Oman. Upon first arrival, Oman looks Benson up-and-down and says what all [presumably male] fans have thought for a long time…“You’d be a natural”. It turns out that both Wesley and Jana had been doing porn because their daughter suffers from Cystic Fibrosis and have all sorts of medical bills to pay. Wesley and Jana both disclose that Oman has been bullying them both because he wants Jana to be the next big star, and Wesley has been trying to get them to skip town and make an honest living. They deduce that it was Cal who shot Wesley for trying to take his “star” away from him.

There is only one eye witness to the initial shooting. At the beginning of the episode, Phil is homeless and sober, but by the time they bring him in for a second round of questioning, he’s relapsed and is uncooperative. That’s when Fin has easily the best line of the episode. He and Munch are questioning him, Phil’s freaking out, and Fin pounds on the desk and says “Phil!! Do you want to be a stupid dick or do you want to help us out?!”

The interrogation is interrupted when they get a call that Cal Oman was found shot to death in his office. Wesley is the primary suspect, and he admits to shooting Oman and pleads guilty, but that it was in self defense. Wesley’s prints were on the gun. He confessed to shooting him and pled guilty. Open and shut case.

TWIST!!!

The autopsy showed the exit wounds were in the front, so Oman was running away from the shooter. Jana had shot Oman who was going to send her to Las Vegas for a 24-Hour Sex Marathon and Oman was going to take almost all of the money earned. Jana had arranged for their daughter to go and live with Wesley’s estranged parents. Wesley thought he was providing for his family by admitting guilt and that his daughter would be able to stay with her mother.

They discover all this in time to catch Jana before she was left for Las Vegas where she would continue her honest living. So, Zack and Miri really do make porn, but they do it separately, and she's willing to let Wesley go to prison where he wasn't going to get paid $1500 per "session".