Law & Order

I'm a Law & Order junkie. I LOVE that show...in every form (SVU, Criminal Intent, etc). Often, when I'm watching it, I try to "figure it out" by the end of the first half. It's a challenge I enjoy.For the past two nights in a row, the episodes I watched dealt with D/s. Isn't that a coincidence? As they are reruns of previous episodes, I'm sure that it wasn't planned that way...but how often do you see something like that? And in both cases, I did not watch past the first 30 mins, let alone trying to "figure it out". I missed the challenges both times.Both were episodes of Criminal Intent. I really love the characters, but found myself feeling angry and resenting the messages contained in each. The first dealt with a father-in-law who was responsible for his daughter-in-law's suicide (or maybe it really was murder)? He was a therapist who advocated surrending. In other words, through her marriage to his son, she was submitting to her husband. The father-in-law had written a book, "Surrendering for Love," and his son and daughter-in-law were featured on the cover. Unfortunately, not all was well for the couple. She had begun an affair with a student, was experimenting with drugs and quite frankly, was completely out of control. Why? Because she was being forced to "surrender". She had lost her ability to make decisions for herself and was treated as if she were "lower" than her husband...giving him control to make all decisions for the couple. The wife was portrayed as weak...with emotional problems...because she "allowed" this to happen. Weak? Hmm.The second episode was the story of a serial killer who had seduced a research assistant to murder other women while he was in jail. This woman, as well as other women who did as he wished (sent him naked pics while he was in jail, etc), were portrayed as desperate. From the start of the show, it implied that dominants "convince" submissives to do as they wish. Convince? Have you ever needed to "convince" me? NO. I'm disappointed with both of these episodes. They made me feel dirty for the choices I have made. I willingly submit to you. I am not desperate. And, I am not weak. I am quite capable. Or am I?