Could the new Law and Order finally be stumbling - like a drunk wearing a blindfold in an unlit alley during a solar eclipse -- closer to the greatness of the original series? Eh.
This episode is better than some in the reboot, but that's like saying being run over by a motorcycle is better than being run over by a taxi cab. The beats are sorta like those at the end of the classic era, so there's that. This one has some banter among characters rather than the plodding, paint-by-numbers dialogue of so many others.
In this episode, Derp and Lurch continue to show why people - especially Black people - are afraid of the police. In some ways, this is closer to the original series, though neither one seems to have the finesse of those cops. Instead, they intimidate and strong arm anyone they come in contact with to get what they want. In one moment, a suspect who is not under arrest and told them he doesn't want to talk to them nonetheless is bullied to the point he finally pushes Derp away.
And, of course, that's what Derp and Lurch want, since now he's technically assaulted a police officer. But he didn't have to talk to them in the first place. Not being under arrest and having informed them in straightforward terms he had nothing else to say, they're obligated to leave and not just escalate. But escalate they do.
This is more realistic, and on some level, I applaud the show for staggering if only marginally closer to being a procedural based in reality again. The problem is this version of Law and Order never wants to go all in. It wants to remain like its mind-numbing cousin, SVU, in some strange fictional realm where all the main characters are always right, despite their performative angst and constant bending of the rules while pontificating that they're always in the moral right.
The Garden Gnome continued to overact - he reminds me of the scene chewing and therefore intensely annoying Raphael Barba on SVU - and I think the show would grow by leaps and bounds if they got rid of him and promoted AOC to his position. So far, she's the best thing about the Law and Order reboot, even if they keep having to do that irritating thing SVU does, which is getting lots of disapproving reaction shots from her because, you know, the audience wouldn't understand by context what they must be feeling. I honestly think she's a far better actress than the reboot deserves, and if the writers and directors could stop thinking they're making General Hospital episodes, she could shine.
The Law and Order franchise now has all the subtlety of Olivia Benson trying to find the chemistry with her son, which is to say none. It's also getting tired. The last few episodes have explained elementary legal concepts - you know, like a confession being privileged - as though the audience has never seen such things before. As a result, the actual mystery and ensuring trial here seem more like an eight grade lesson in the justice system than the taut procedural that it could have been.
Those who are fans of hackneyed acting will be pleased to see the automatons playing judges and defense attorneys continue to be wooden and amateurish. Remember when Law and Order seemed so realistic it was hard to accept they were acting? Not anymore. NOT ANYMORE, PAL. Do they roll up to a Home Depot each morning and ask if anyone hanging around wants to play a judge? Was the budget cut, too? Courtroom scenes routinely empty of extras, for example - where does that money go?
That's a more interesting mystery than what is in the actual episode.
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