Villainess Review: Jenna Scott (Law & Order: SVU)

For as long as I can remember, Law & Order: SVU has featured some of the most wild, deep, and gripping cases--some of which have been borrowed from the actual news stories. The show's been on NBC since 1999, one of the longest running episodic shows on TV, and in the near quarter-century that the show's been on, it has not only featured some gripping stories, we have seen some sinister and very dark villainesses as well. The latest episode, "The Presence of Absence," ended up continuing that long trend.

The centerpiece of the episode is widowed Zoe Greene, who was two years removed from the passing of her husband, Brian Greene. She was out with Jenna Scott, her best friend since college, and the topic was Zoe's love life...or lack thereof. The conversation revealed that Zoe had been spending time with Jenna and husband Richard Scott, though Jenna had been pulling for Zoe to return to the dating scene, with Zoe responding with a lack of assurance. Jenna manages to get Zoe on a dating app, but for a while, she received no matches...until one name pops up: Klaus Darcy.

Zoe informed Jenna about Klaus, and the news is met with happiness and a bit of concern from Jenna, as Klaus' messages are quite...well...erotic and racy (think 50 Shades of Grey). We see Zoe enter a hotel room while responding to Klaus' erotic commands, but the next time we see Zoe, it's at SVU with Jenna, as Zoe had been sexually assaulted. Zoe and Klaus had been seeing each other for a month, and while the sessions were 50 Shades-esque, a safe word was involved until that latest encounter. As for Jenna, she showed her concern for Zoe, while confirming that Zoe had been living with the Scotts since Brian's passing, and stated that she attempted to talk Zoe out of seeing Klaus.

A DNA sample was found on Zoe's lingerie, and in a shocker, it was Brian's DNA, which is literally impossible. The only solution is someone who was a familial match, and that led SVU to Brian's nephew, Connor Davis, who was disgusted over the accusation of sexually assaulting his own aunt. An interview revealed that Connor was a sperm donor, and while it was his sample, he was not the attacker. While Zoe talked with Benson, she received a message from Klaus, claiming that he never meant to hurt her and wanted to see her one more time. So the meeting happens, while Benson and her team are waiting for Klaus to appear. Klaus does, doing so in a masked disguise, but once the crew enters and the mask is removed, a lot of shock follows.

So "Klaus" was none other than Jenna Scott herself, and Zoe was very stunned that her rapist was her best friend all along. Jenna pleads her case as she's taken away, and afterwards, it's revealed that Jenna was behind the Klaus profile, the messages, and was having the trysts with Zoe all this time. Jenna claimed in her interrogation that her villainous actions were all for Zoe, even making comparisons to potty training a child (yikes!); claiming that Zoe was given what she needed after Brian's passing. As for the attempted impregnation, Jenna revealed that Zoe wanted children, but Brian's death prevented that. So in her mind, Jenna decided to steal Connor's samples due to his strong resemblance to his late uncle. In her words:

"Zoe would never be able to meet another Brian. But maybe she could make one."

Wow. So, of course, Jenna's taken to trial, receives ROR (Released on Own Recognizance), and a fired up Zoe wants to testify. She does, portraying Jenna as what she is: someone who had to be in control, especially when it came to Zoe's life. However, it nearly became Carisi's downfall, as we learn a surprising tidbit about both women: they engaged in a tryst in college--experimenting with each other. Even worse on Zoe's side, her messages about how she loved her time with Klaus are made public, and all of that results in shades of doubt placed towards Zoe. So Carisi's basically in overtime and Jenna's on the power play. What do you do? Simple. Kill the penalty and shoot your shot.

Jenna's power play looked strong: she portrayed Zoe as a submissive woman who needed to be overpowered, and she not only stated that Zoe enjoyed her time with "Klaus," she claimed that Zoe knew that it was Jenna during the trysts. Here's where the penalty kill comes in. Carisi stated that the dark setting would have easily prevented Zoe from knowing the face and identity of her attacker, but Jenna was relentless in her defense. This led to Carisi having the lights shut off, and he asks Jenna to identify the color of his tie. She can't. Carisi brings out someone with him and asks to identify them. Jenna said it was Zoe. When the lights are turned on, the person standing next to Carisi is none other than Jenna's own husband, Richard, and Jenna couldn't recognize him. Penalty killed.

Here's where the winning shot comes in. Carisi stated that this disproves Jenna's belief. She couldn't recognize her own husband in the dark, so there was no way in hell that Zoe could have known that it was Jenna with her during a month's worth of trysts. Richard voiced his shock over Jenna's actions, but the villainess only responded with a claim that there was not only a hole in Zoe's life, there was one in her own as well. Jenna avoided conviction of the larger first degree charge, but was convicted of third degree assault. A small victory, but a victory nonetheless.

"The Presence of Absence," was the 16th episode of SVU's 24th season, and aired on NBC on March 23, 2023. The episode featured Tory Trowbridge as the evil Jenna Scott, and...wow! I find this villainess both deliciously epic and repugnant at the same time, and yes, I'm on a bit of a Pinky and the Brain kick, hence my use of the word "repugnant." I'm still amazed at how twisted and sinister Jenna was, and she covered it up with a veil of kindness and charity. I also couldn't help but love Jenna's brief appearance as a masked villainess leading to the reveal, but while Jenna was quite extraordinary, she was also depraved. Let's look at Jenna's villainous scorecard here. Catfishing, sexual assault, and if you want to get technical, assisted incest (due to the plot to use Zoe's nephew's sperm to impregnate Zoe). That is a hat trick of squick right there.

Zoe had every right to be furious after learning about Jenna's heel turn, because, as Zoe correctly stated, Jenna had to have full control of Zoe's life. Regarding Trowbridge, this was an amazing performance. She played Jenna's kindness and concern very well, and that moment when she's unmasked was also golden, as we see Trowbridge act out Jenna's desperation when it came to trying to convince Zoe that she was still her friend. Her best performance of the episode was saved for the climax, as we see Jenna's arrogance take center stage during her trial. This isn't Tory Trowbridge's first SVU appearance; she appeared three seasons prior in "Dance, Lies, and Videotape" as Tina Bishop.

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Check out Jenna Scott's profile on Villainous Beauties Wiki!