Law & Order Franchise

Gosh, remember when Law & Order used to be the realistic courtroom drama? That was ridiculous.

That was NOT solid. SO much to complain about. The judge at the trial was unprofessional in allowing the other's judge's lawyer to accuse Price of the murder in open court. Price "forgetting" he was once in a romantic relationship with the victim is unforgivable considering how many times he's reamed other witnesses for failing to disclose that. Maroun's high and mighty insistence that Price share their lead about the shaky doorman is also quite ludicrous. Everyone in the trial was playing unfair, and Price was using a SINGLE advantage. Yeah, it's a shady idea. Used against the lawyer who publicly accused him of murder in front of the jury, a suspect who witness-tampered and bullied said witness into committing perjury, and a crooked judge who sat back and said "I'll allow it," to everything. She can get off her high horse.

But my biggest complaint is about the verdict. While the viewer is absolutely 100% sure the judge is guilty, based on what the jury heard they were handed reasonable doubt. I cannot recall seeing a "Not Guilty" verdict during Rick Eid's tenure. On the original series they happened about half the time. It feels like the jury here gave the right verdict solely because he was actually guilty. Not because those facts supported his guilt. Shoddy. Shoddy Shoddy.

I'm impossible, aren't I? I spend week after week griping that the show is constantly stomping on the underclass in order for the prosecution to win cases, and when they finally have an episode where a powerful, corrupt individual is held to account, I do nothing but complain. I like that the dirty judge was found guilty. I am also aware of how every single step to get to that verdict was unrealistic and not credible. 2 stars.

The new squad is too dysfunctional. I feel like Liv is losing control. Too many new detectives.

The case itself was interesting, and I still like Bruno. But the conflict in the episode was a little too unwieldy. It bordered on unprofessional. 3 stars.

As far as long-running franchises go, Law & Order is famously unsatisfying. Organized Crime is the best Law & Order show because it often is. That was great, with an amazing ending for the guy looking for his son, and for Stabler and his son too.

I love this show. 5 stars.

Weirdly enough, I felt bad for Jocelyn's lawyer. He was clearly distraught that the cooperation deal was rejected. And I have to say it WAS unfair. But I don't blame Price or Maroun either. But when he hugged her after she pled guilty instead you can tell it broke him up. Very unusual to get a sympathetic defense lawyer on this show. Probably why they cast Zak Orth in the role.

I thought it was a good episode in general actually. 4 stars.

That is a messed up family. And that's what this show excels at.

Still, while I'll give that a positive grade, I'm not gonna stop shuddering in revulsion either. 4 stars.

I think the cops moved in a little late at the end.

When Stabler tells Bell he DOESN'T know what she's going through, I thought that was a very empathetic perspective, and nice character growth for someone who back in the day was portrayed as majorly insensitive. Her joking that he almost made her cry was great, as was him asking what would happen if he had, and she telling him she'd fire him.

The scene with her and the gay detective at the end was nice too.

Good episode. 4 stars.

I'm going to declare that the worst, most disgusting episode in Law & Order's 30 year history. For the first time ever I sent in a complaint to NBC over it. It was transphobic and filled with disgusting political lies designed to make audiences fear Antifa and the mean liberals who are trying to stifle heroic conservatives' free speech. But I have a couple of options here. I can do a thorough deconstruction and rebuttal of the episode or just declare it trash and move on. I'm tempted to do the former but it would be me putting more effort into this show than I get out of it. Most importantly if I DID decide to do that specific debunking it would be done under the understanding that this is the last episode of the series I am ever watching and my final middle finger to it. I have decided I'm not there yet. But I'm close. Another episode like this, and I'm gone. 0 stars.

I always though Maxwell was cool but just the way she comported herself during the investigation of her husband was very brave. I'm not down with her letting him choke to death, but I'm still impressed with her.

It turns out Velasco is actually all right too. I'm glad.

This was a good episode. 4 stars.

SO good. I love Stabler figuring out the diplomat was the thief and I thought the ending with his mother was very sweet too. All this stuff is why this is the best current Law & Order show. 4 1/2 stars.

Remember when this used to be the realistic cops and lawyers show?

The things the judges on this show allow are ridiculous. And I'm sick of the show having the clients change their pleas to insanity mid-trial and Price never points out how their entire credibility is shot by them doing that. It's so freaking tiresome. 1 1/2 stars.

That was a good week. Carisi did did great, I think. However the defense attorney was kind of stupid to put that guy on the stand without knowing his whole history. A good lawyer never asks a person on the stand a question they don't already know the answer to. Law & Order is riddled with bad lawyers.

I like the girl Naomi too. I hope she does become a lawyer someday. 4 stars.

WHAT?! Mind blown. Can't wait for next week.

There was a lot of funny humor in the episode. Stabler's interrogation was both mesmerizing and weirdly hysterical. It's why this show has value.

I especially loved the prison guard in the police car with the lifer hit man, "Does this mean I don't get my smokes?" Those guys don't want much, do they?

I dunno how they'll explain Kathy next week, and I sure as hell don't know if they can even come up with a halfway good explanation. But it's exciting to think about. 4 1/2 stars.

How badly written was that? It could have happened in the freaking Arrowverse and I wouldn't have batted an eye. That is pretty much the biggest slam you can give a lawyer show. Well, okay, you COULD compare it to David E Kelley, but even he wouldn't be THIS damn sloppy.

How is this even a case? Forget intimidating the witness, the perp shot a cop. How the HELL is that something not allowed at trial? This is a bad judge (as always on this show), but we never saw her rule out him shooting Frank as evidence because the idea is so freaking stupid. He shot a cop. Shaw was there. They had him to dead to rights. How was this even an episode? It's not just that the writers think I'm stupid. That's the problem with David E Kelley's lawyer crap. I think the problem HERE is the WRITERS are. That's the problem with Rick Eid's Law & Order.

And the defense talking about how you can't trust Price for changing the charges mid-trial would hold more weight if half of the defendants on this show didn't do that themselves, and Price never used that argument. I've complained about this multiple times. How is it the DEFENSE is the first time I'm seen somebody accused the lawyers present of a credibility problem over changing the charges / plea? Especially since this case is such a freaking slam dunk.

Law & Order makes good writing look difficult and hard because it is not present on this show, and it seems desperate for both that and relevance. And I also very much beg to differ that "half the people want to defund the police". That is not where my political side is at. That is a fringe-ass opinion that mainstream Democrats disavow not just because it's politically stupid and electoral poison (although it is). It's stupid coming from the matter of practicality as well. People wanting to defund the police are not split down the political divide. Those of us who want accountability and fairness for cops are very different people than people who don't believe cops should even exist. Those people are far rarer than rational Democrats like me. Those people also happen to be thunderingly stupid. They are a fringe group, not part of the national divide. But of course the show is essentially rightwing propaganda many weeks, so it doesn't surprise me in the least to see them misrepresent a political opinion on the left like that.

This show is a trainwreck. I should look away at this point, but every week I come back peeking through my fingers. Its badness is almost fascinating, considering at one point the old show won an Emmy for Best Drama. We've sure fallen a long way from that. 0 stars.

I liked it. Not much closure of course, but Muncie showed great character progression in her stuff with Elias, and Carisi's stuff with Benson about him becoming a father was great too.

Let's see how this turns out with Stabler. And where does Kathy fit in? To Be Continued... 4 1/2 stars.

I think this is the first two-part, two-week crossover.

I should be mad about Kathy, but really it may have been a punk move last week, but the truth is it would have made no sense to be an actual thing. That's partly why I resent it and last week for intriguing me so much. The show was not playing fair.

The thing I love most about this show is that it's the one Law & Order show that routinely engages in comedy. I laughed when the kid mistook Reyes for a junkie and gave him a sandwich. And I laughed that he ate it! Everybody else on the other end of the wire thought that was majorly weird, but if somebody gives you a sandwich, the rational response is to eat it. And he even has it in his hand as his gun is casually pointed at Josh's head!

"Josh. Your mother is here." Did I mention this show is often funny?

The bad Jewish neighbor guy from last week was super annoying, and he continued to be by simply not getting how serious this is. "Am I going to jail for this?" Maybe you wouldn't be if you had shut your yap and let your lawyer do the talking, but dude, you're dumb.

I love the guy being furious the hit on him was only two grand. He was quite a character trying to haggle money for his time and help from the guys trying to save to his life. Fort Lauderdale sounds nice for a guy with a bit of dough under his mattress. On the other hand, Jet is right about, "Florida. Ick." Not currently the Happiest Place on Earth.

I should be furious about the resolution to last week, but I enjoyed the episode too much to stay mad. 4 stars.

I thought it was good. The problem with the relaunch is that there's a guilty verdict every week. Not only did Price not want to prosecute that case, I don't think he made the case to the jury. It makes no sense that the jury voted the way they did. And while I liked the episode exploring notions of empathy and responsibility, while the relaunch is ALWAYS so cut-throat in its verdicts none of that nuance actually matters. It's simply empty rhetoric at this point.

But no, it was good to see Jack's relationship with his daughter sour over this case, and it was good of the show for reminding the viewer of Price's trauma. But if the show were better than it is it could have made a powerful statement about it. But because the show is so formulaic it was good instead of amazing. 4 stars.

Great stuff.

Manny's mother is like the worst, and I love how Bruno talked her down.

Stabler's scene with Liv about the present is amazing. I love how much growth these two have gone through over the decades.

McGrath is an actual menace. We've never liked the character, but his erratic behavior is starting to damage investigations. And he blames everybody else for his own failings. He sucks. I miss Garland.

The ending was a big "Whuh oh" moment. Didn't feel like much a season finale moment, but it was pretty dire anyways. 4 1/2 stars.

That ending was nice.

Worst Christmas ever. That Kyle is one creepy kid.

What a bad ending for Whelan. I was a little shocked.

Solid ending. 4 stars.

What an unsatisfying ending. This isn't even a 2-parter!

McGrath has piss-poor PR instincts. If amazes me he never saw that mess at the end coming. I sure as hell did.

The episode's premise was weird. And gross.

Usually the show's cases take an hour to solve. It's not really fair to keep one open-ended, especially if we aren't getting right back to it next week. 2 1/2 stars.

John Shiban? That name takes me back.

Since when does Elliot have a brother? Guess we'll find out next week.

I love that when his mother sees the beard, she asks Stabler what happened to his face. He tells her it doesn't hurt. She still expresses skepticism, and he says he'll put some ice on it. Good, funny character moment. By the way? The beard IS ugly. He can't shave it off fast enough for my liking.

Reyes and Jet? Okay. Maybe. I could see that.

This remains the best Law & Order show. 4 stars.

I LOVE the controversy. Natalie KNOWS he did it. But she does not want to take away this Black kid's entire life. She's socially conscious enough to feel bad for her damn rapist which is why the controversy lands, and why it's believable and effective, especially in an episode repeatedly proving the NYPD are not.

It's gotten so that a lot of times conscientious white people refuse to call the police on Black people during emergencies because no matter the crisis, they are aware it's a potential death sentence. Have the police and the prosecutors who do this crap ever think of the toll is takes on people who see the injustice and would rather fight that than the criminal who hurts them? The best thing about the controversy to me is there is no easy answer. The kid confesses at the end because it's TV, and TV needs a sense of closure every week. But even after we get that, I don't think Natalie is entirely right. And I also don't think she is entirely wrong. 4 1/2 stars.

Because Stabler seems to dislike his never-before-mentioned brother, I do too. I also sort of came around at the end around the same time he did.

Jet's last name is impossible to pronounce.

I forgot Reyes was married. This makes him a scumbag.

My favorite moment was Elliot hugging Warner. I love the gray braids! The woman looks magnificent!

Still the best current Law & Order show. 4 stars.

I remember David Krumholtz. Big part of the 1990's. He's turned into kind of a shlubby guy in middle age. I thought him enjoying going undercover was fun, especially him charming himself back into his wife's good graces. I took note of how fun it was because very little on this show is ever fun.

Liv's stuff however was much less successful. Speaking a viewer and person who cares about Liv's well-being, it's not really fair for the writers to have her obsessed over the Maddie investigation while there are no new leads or breaks in the case. It's punishing not just to the character but to the viewer. I do not think a show about sex crimes lends itself to arc-based storytelling, and a kidnapping certainly does not. Law & Order: Organized Crime rocks the serialized storytelling. SVU needs to stay in its lane. 3 1/2 stars.

So Stabler has TWO brothers we never heard of. I'm calling retcon.

Glad Reyes is sleeping in his car. If his wife was in the dark about this I'd be unable to forgive him.

Gruesome gimmick for the crime.

The woman renting the guns strikes me as an ever bigger sociopath than the assassin. At least the assassin likes quiet kids. But he raised her ire by cashing lottery tickets he didn't buy in her store and didn't buy anything else either. After seeing those crime scene photos it is VERY telling to me that THAT specific thing is what actually strikes her as ill-mannered. Sociopath. No question.

I'm not saying Reyes definitely would have successfully navigated the gun deal without blowing his cover. But he might have. Jet went in too soon.

I don't like hearing about never-before-mentioned relatives, especially for TV characters that have been around for nearly 25 years. I'm resisting the episode for that reason. 3 stars.

I don't know how to feel about that. On some level that's good. But man, a LOT of stuff happened that pissed me off. It's such a pleasant surprise at the positive place the episode left things off on. I kept thinking the SVU department was getting out of control.

McGrath has been running roughshod all over the series ever since he replaced Garland. His wife accuses Liv of trying to get him fired to take his job, because that is EXACTLY what he did to the competent and empathetic Garland. It was obscene. And seeing this jackass in the role he took from a compassionate Black man, as he steamrolls through the squad every week, and jeopardizes every investigation was painful to me. I think the season where Demore Barnes was a series regular was probably the series high point for me. It addressed unfairness in policing practices. The McGrath turn I believe happened when the producers realized nothing actually was going to change after George Floyd, and NYPD was gonna dig in, and things would get worse, not better. That's how we got McGrath. But I remember the hopefulness of Garland telling Finn he believed they were at "an inflection point" and that's why that remained my favorite season.

Curry, investigating Liv was a big part of that. The thing I dug most about Curry is she made Liv understand something I think most white liberals are unable to admit or process: Having racial bias is not something to be defensive about or deny. It's ingrained in all of us. And it's not just white people. Liv refused to entertain the notion that her actions in that episode were based on race, when yeah, they were. Maybe not consciously, and maybe not intentionally. But I admired Curry for putting the idea in a white ally's head that just because they are an ally doesn't mean they don't have privilege that blinds them sometimes. Many white allies are SO against racism that to even suggest they themselves have those biases gets a stronger pushback than warranted. I think everyone has problems there. For some reason white allies have a VERY strong hang-up about it, and definitely are far more defensive about it than the situation calls for. And Curry's chill. And I'll enjoy her in the SVU. And the idea that they can clear cases without McGrath looking over their shoulder is fun.

In the early seasons of SVU IAB were the bad guys. Around the time Garland came aboard, and Curry was introduced, they became the good guys. Back in the day they used to accuse detectives of things they were NOT guilty of when reprimanding them for things that they were, which led the viewer believe the "rat squad" was corrupt itself and looking to railroad good cops. And God bless the show for changing both the function of IAB on the show and their role in the narrative.

I felt very unhappy that McGrath was given the scene of grace at the end he was where he shook Liv's hand. It very much felt like the show was saying this is his last episode and wanted his actor (who has been on the show a few years) a little dignity and a nice last scene. But that and Liv earlier saying she respected him grated at me. Him threatening to kill a suspect could sustain an IAB plot lasting half a season. Pulling on a gun on his neighbor in front of Liv? I'm tired of people like McGrath getting where they have gotten in the NYPD. Liv? He is NOT a good cop. Not remotely. Good cops don't do that. And doesn't that make you wonder what crap he pulled on the force when people like Liv WEREN'T watching? McGrath has been messing up the rhythm of Law & Order's most delicate squadroom with his buffoonery. Last episode or not, I don't like him ever getting those kinds of compliments from Liv.

I would love it if eventually Garland came back, but it's possible Demore Barnes left the show because HE wanted to move on. But when he was Chief the show was working on every level. No matter happens next, McGrath being gone will help, and Curry being on the squad will help a LOT. I think the episode both HAD a lot of problems and it SOLVED a lot of problems. It annoyed me, but the show will be better off in the long run for the things that happened in it. 4 stars.

This would have made a good crossover. Not with SVU, but American Dad. I can totally picture Roger Smith punctuating each scene with a thunder sheet while flicking the lights on and off while saying "Drama!" I feel like the episode is missing something from Roger's absence here.

Good God, the Stabler dinner. To find out the brother ratted out the father made me like him. The REASON he did it, and the fact that Elliot was too dumb to know ANY of this, made me love him. Their scene at the end making up was great. Story for another day? Elliot's father must have committed suicide.

The girl in the episode was pissing me off but it turns out the son had his own problems too. I will say this: All three of the witnesses in protective custody survived. I think the Bureau had SO many outstanding cautions in place to make sure they did even if the daughter messed up I was impressed. And it makes the fact that literally every single time a witness is placed into protective custody on the relaunched mothershow, the incompetent detectives always wind up getting them killed. I guess the real reason I dropped Rick Eid's version of Law & Order is because it's so clearly inferior to SVU and this show in easily measurable and quantifiable ways, there's really no reason to keep watching it while I have these shows.

"Drama!" 5 stars.

Off the show, but it was Jack McCoy's last episode, and somebody asked me to review it. So why not?

The episode itself was shoddy. Cowritten by human disaster area Rick Eid, it had poor police work, unbelievable courtroom antics, and of course a G.D. runner. It was, in short, everything wrong with the relaunch of Law & Order.

Sam Waterston has been in this role for over 20 years, so it's a big deal he's finally leaving the show. Nobody on Law & Order is irreplaceable (with the possible exception of SVU's Olivia Benson) so I was curious to see what kind of send-off he'd get.

The good is they let him try the last case himself, and remind us of the character in his heyday. He also got a fine last moment of looking up at the night sky outside of the courtroom before walking home for the last time. Both of those things were effective and the right things for his last episode.

But did I mention the episode was shoddy? I remember back when Law & Order used to be a great show. During its prime the show was just amazing. It lost its luster as it slogged toward NBC's eventual cancelation after 20 seasons, and the relaunch has been purely terrible, but around the time of Jack McCoy and Lennie Brisco the show was firing on all cylinders. If you had told me back then this episode's utterly craven and underwhelming losers would be the people to take down Jack McCoy, I wouldn't believe you. Or if I did, I'd be pissed. Jack McCoy ate guys like the mayor for lunch back in the day. And Eid sort of has him say he was already thinking of retirement to make up for it, but no, this is not the right or fair end to his amazing career. It's actually on-brand for Jack to go down with the ship from his principles. It's just that that is something that deserves to be fantastic and shocking instead of clunky and lazy. Jack's ultimate end being that of self-sacrifice is right. It's the reason the show has him do it that sucks. And if the reason for THAT specific thing sucks, then Eid failed the actor who has been with Law & Order through good times and bad. It makes me a bit angry.

And it also tells me my decision to drop the show as it currently is was the correct one. While Eid is where he is, I will not be back. 2 stars.

Big, big contrast after seeing that underwhelming Law & Order episode. First off, the police work here is actually solid. Second of all, much of the drama is nonverbal and open to interpretation, especially Sykes' reactions to everything. Rick Eid would NEVER allow that kind of subtlety in his loud noisy weekly trainwreck.

It's not like this episode is so subtle either. But it's effective, I think the cops are doing great, and Carisi is good at his job too. Plus the show has Ice-T. What's not to love?

There is actually a runner here! But he's a sincerely bad guy, and not a pathetic cheap shot red herring, so he actually has reason to run, and the viewer actually knows that the entire time, so it's tense instead of annoying. I don't much like runners, but maybe that's because Eid never bothers TRYING to make them interesting. Need to think more on this.

Dirtbag's Baby Mama is awesome. She actually offer Liv gum! Which Liv takes, because Liv is awesome too.

Things seemed a bit up in the air at the end, and I'm not sure how and why. It was a happy ending with undertones of future uncertainty for the squad. I'm not sure that feels entirely earned, but considering that the episode relied so much on the actors emoting, rather than speaking, it's still all right by me. 4 stars.

Best Law & Order show.

Very scary in places. It's amazing how empathetic current Stabler is. He certainly was not that on Special Victims Unit.

I love that he refuses to acknowledge Vargas as one of the team and Vargas tries to rationalize that as a compliment anyways.

Whenever you see Reed Diamond you know you are about to see a bad guy.

What's the new guy's name? Bashir? I love when IAB asks him if he smelled alcohol on Stabler's breath the night of the shooting, he says they don't have that kind of relationship. That's great.

My favorite moment was a small comedic moment that I love because only this Law & Order show does stuff like it. But Bell is in the hospital room joking that all of the gifts she's received are because people are forced to pretend they care. Stabler holds up a gift teddy bear and says "I guess you don't want this then,." And she reaches out her hand and eagerly says, "Gimme". For decades, humor on Law & Order consisted solely of bad gallows humor puns by Lennie Brisco. I think it's really cool this show allows a moment that warm, funny, and cute. I say nothing but bad things about the relaunch of The Mothershow. But the other shows in the franchise HAVE evolved for the better over the years, even if the original has not.

Stabler trying to suss out who the drugs belong to is interesting because we only get what he's thinking through his facial expressions. He doesn't tell a second person, and there is no one to bounce off his suspicions for first his son, and then his brother. I find that type of thing mature storytelling. It's not like it won't clarified in the future anyways, so I appreciate a bit of dramatic nuance and reality there.

I was pretty devastated on Stabler's behalf when he dug up Rita. What an awful ending for her. A serial is more in line with SVU, but if it's actually to do with that corrupt D.A. and Chief, then yeah, that fits the premise of the show completely. We'll have to see. But you simply cannot trust Reed Diamond. If there is a role where you CAN, he's not actually playing it, because they'll have cast somebody else entirely. 4 1/2 stars.

In its early years SVU was MUCH tougher to watch than it generally is now. Now only were the crimes more realistic and triggering, but they were plausible. You might say that because the show has sort of gone overboard in the meantime the show being grounded was better back then. But it was harder to watch and yeah, ickier.

It's on-brand for a recent season to add a DNA twist of a genetics lab keeping score of a sex game. But it's the sex game that creeps me out. I remember the so-called "Spur Posse" in the 1990's and that crap made me sick. It is too real-world credible for me to enjoy the episode.

But who says you gotta enjoy television? Fair point. But I'm the guy who is mad when he doesn't. 2 1/2 stars.

There is something very unsettling about the town-wide cover-up, mostly because we don't yet understand it or WHY it is as entrenched as it is. If it was JUST covering for the son, the whole town wouldn't seemingly be involved. The son being a serial killer strikes me as "inconvenient" to the town, because the extra attention will shed light on equally depraved and criminal things. We just don't know, so it's like the first half of Get Out.

Stabler is right to find the chief's behavior outright weird. It is. She seems pretty determined to solve the case. And is doing everything in her power to make sure she does not. I can't explain why both things seem true. But they do. Does she actually KNOW it's her brother? That would be a VERY unlikely turn in my mind. Her behavior defies belief.

The IAB guy played by Malcolm Goodwin is the franchise going back to IAB as bad guys, but there is something I try to keep in mind. While Stabler has evolved as a cop and a person decades later, I believe his behavior in the early seasons of Special Victims Unit was borderline corrupt and criminal. IAB wants to see a pattern of corruption? It already exists. I give Stabler the benefit of the doubt because I've seen his growth on this series. Why should IAB give him that same benefit when they have not? They're the bad guys, but I get why they want to nail him. He might be a departmental legend and White Whale.

Just so you understand how much Stabler has evolved, when the guy accuses him of engaging in cover-ups like his father, Stabler said something to him that he would never have said on SVU: "I don't know what you mean because you haven't actually asked me any questions." And the best part of that response to me is it was rational. It was thought-provoking. Which Stabler the SVU bulldog never, EVER was. Man, if Finn actually knew THIS guy, he might have even liked him.

This is an arc that's gonna be frustrating waiting out week to week. That's not a terrible problem for a show to have, by the way. "I need to know what happens next," is nowhere NEAR a formal complaint on my end. I am aware it's a good thing, even if it's frustrating. 4 1/2 stars.

I have to agree with Finn that Torie is a lunatic. Really, her actress heebied my jeebies in the right places. Holy crap.

Liv's therapist who does the swinging thing is annoying. Bring back Bill Erwin.

I love that Maria immediately gives Liv a hug at the end. Aww.

Finn not judging Curry negatively for her squeamishness is refreshing. Especially because he doesn't seem to like her.

The M.E. Truman has always impressed me. I do miss Warner but he has his own charms.

Pretty good week. 4 stars.

According to the previews the story isn't over, which is good, because in my mind the Dad is just as guilty as the son.

So the I.A.B. guy is deliberately targeting Stabler for personal reasons. Do you know another name for that? Police corruption. Sheesh.

I was pleasantly surprised the (former) Chief Bonner joined the right side upon learning the truth. I'd like to think she would have done so even if she weren't fired. In fact, that's probably why the Dad DID fire her.

Cragen! Awesome seeing Dann Florek again. What a kick. He was in the very first episode of the first Law & Order, you know.

Bashir and Jet taking special note of Stabler working a case via earpiece at the same time he's doing a psych eval suggests maybe he actually needs one.

Vargas is slowly making Stabler come around. I don't like Vargas much myself, yet but I assume when Stabler fully changes his mind, I will too, so this was nice to see.

Great episode. 4 1/2 stars.

Good Law & Order episode. SVU knows how to deliver the satisfying endings.

I really liked the agoraphobic woman Anne. I love how brave she became by the end.

It's very nice to know the franchise can still do solid case of the week stories even though the Mothershow is an immoral trainwreck. The reason SVU has a conscience and is watchable is because the Garcia cousins' visas have expired. And the episode doesn't end with them being deported as an extra level of punishment for the victims and the audience. It wouldn't occur to the producers of the show to do that.

Rick Eid was once showrunner on SVU and it was a rough era. But because of the cast we got through it and now the show is good. I hope that eventually happens to the Mothershow so I can watch it again, and I hope Rick Eid stays far away from any TV show I watch and enjoy. Good solid episodes like this say Law & Order is better whenever he has no involvement. 4 stars.

We KIND of suspected that's what happened to Elliot's father, but the confirmation is brutal. I don't feel it's exactly right that Elliot is surprised however. I think if he were being written properly about this, he's already have an inkling based on the thing his brother said to him a few weeks ago. Which was repeated in the recap, which is why recaps are terrible, and I never use them in my work. They invariably spoil an episode. Because of that recap I knew this specific revelation was coming. Recaps suck and are the bane of serialized television.

I love that Elliot goes to shake Meredith's hand at the end, and she pulls him in for the hug instead. There is a warmth to how the characters treat each other on this series that is not present in most other Law & Order stuff. Yes, Olivia Benson from SVU is remarkably empathetic. She's one character. Organized Crime frequently has scenes like this for the entire cast.

Bell's argument to the IAB guy is sound. If he was THAT wrong about a mentor he knew and respected, how could anybody take his negative judgments about Stabler seriously?

It's good to see Cragen again, but I'm a little miffed at him too. Joe Stabler's corruption was clearly something he's either known about the entire time he's known Stabler, or something he learned a LONG time ago. I'm miffed he never told him before tonight. I understand why he told him tonight. But not only was this not news to Elliot, but it's something Cragen should have leveled with him about on SVU, especially whenever Stabler sort of operated outside of the law. And I know why he didn't tell him back then. Because the writers hadn't had the idea yet. But that's why it's problematic to put him in the middle of this at all. I would not have done that. It makes Cragen's role far messier than it ever needed to be.

Bell and Stabler's relationship is SO much fun, and I think the best thing about it to me is it makes this character we've known for 25 years as an intense hardass both lovable and comical. I laugh at the things Stabler says now. Briscoe used to crack jokes on Law & Order, and Munch and Finn used to be SVU's resident cards, but that was always gallows humor, often at the expense of a victim they didn't know. For Stabler and Bell their humor is between each other, which makes it not just funnier, but since it's not punching down, it's easier for the audience to enjoy along with them. Jet is pretty funny too, although most of her jokes are deadpan. I like Organized Crime because in real life people goof around with each other, and give each other the business, and it's not usually mean-spirited. I like that aspect of this show.

The is the best Law & Order show. I could damn it with faint praise and say it's merely the best CURRENT show in the franchise, but I truly like it more than all the others even during the best years of their runs. I enjoy this show more, and am satisfied by this show more. It doesn't feel much like a Law & Order show a lot of the time, which sounds like a slam, but really, that's my highest compliment. A franchise expanding itself beyond its expected parameters is a very good thing.

I love it. Unreservedly. 4 1/2 stars.

Mixed feelings. GOOD drama in the hostage negotiation scene with Liv.

But her "reenactment" at the end? I don't approve. I especially don't approve that the scenario made her seem righteous. Liv is not a dirty cop. Even if she's hurting a scumbag outside of the law, I will not cheer for that. It's weird the show thinks I would.

Also while Liv was right with Noah at the beginning that as his mother it's HER place to tell him the things he looked up online and through her closet about, the truth is she should have done it LONG before now. Noah being so cool with it suggests he's been ready for it for awhile.

The hostage scene was pretty riveting though. Mariska Hargitay brought the goods.

But I have some real problems with how the things went down by the end. 2 1/2 stars.

I DID like most of the episode. But that is NOT the right way to kill off Bashir, with his actor not even being present. I don't know the behind the scenes story there, but it stinks.

I like Randall Stabler because I now understand him. He's the black sheep of the family because he's the most decent of them. He stands up for what is right and is Elliot's conscience. The fact that his mother seems to hate him and blame him when all he's done was protect her is heart-breaking. Dean Norris is VERY good in the role.

I think that guy Darian is ALSO major league decent. When we learned his crime was simply looking the other way I was not remotely surprised.

Stephen Lang always struck me as kind of grody-looking actor. As an old man, he's become kind of distinguished and handsome. I kind of didn't see that coming. You never know about that sort of thing, do you? Just ask fans of Helen Mirren.

It was a good episode, but it had the wrong ending. I don't know WHY Bashir needed to be written off immediately without his actor being present, but I don't like it one bit. Not at all. That's not how storytelling should work. 3 1/2 stars.