watcher1006

I went through most of the trial part of the episode thinking that Cain was guilty but when the business of the hard drive was raised I started thinking that the defense could have a case there... The blood evidence was hard to explain but it seemed difficult to explain even with the way the prosecution portrayed it, given the distance between the shooter and the victim. Cain's attorney was clearly going for some kind of jury nullification strategy, bringing up the race angle at every opportunity (think O.J. Simpson trial). I think that the D.A.'s office would have been highly concerned about the makeup of the jury, and even if there was no time to delve into the jury selection process I thought that it deserved at least a few lines of dialogue. Regarding the crossover, I'm not enthusiastic about it. In spite of the efforts of the writers, it seems that the characters from the other show or shows usually feel out of place on the show of focus and often their portrayals don't sink with their development on their primary show.

I guess I was puzzled by the course that Nolan took. To change course and purse a case against the father by making a deal with the mother after she changed her plea. As Baxter said, the evidentiary bar was very high, plus the main witness was very weak and not at all sympathetic (killed her child!) I don't know, if there was not sufficient justice in sending the mother away for treatment and they had to charge the father for something I would think it would be a lesser felony like. gross negligence. Seems more realistic, but such would not make a L&O episode.

This is tragic indeed. Too young. Besides Buffy I saw her in the movies Harriet the Spy and Ice Princess and in guest spots on some TV series. So very sad and ironic that it should be the youngest regular cast member of the show to be the first to pass away.

The D.A.'s office wasn't even looking at the mother originally. Yes, some case could be brought against her, she did bear some responsibility for her daughter's death. But whatever one thinks of Maroun's arguments going against her higher ups, one has to wonder if the case would have even been brought if the father hadn't committed suicide.

I gave up on SVU a few years ago when I decided it had become too much of an individual star vehicle for Mariska Hargitay in her role as Olivia Benson. I like Mariska Hargitay, but I enjoyed the show when it was more of an acting ensemble rather than being too focused on a central character, which is what it had become. The murderer had to pay some price, and she did decline the deal. Short of killing the Eli guy, she could have pursued another option. She didn't trust the police or the criminal justice system to protect her but didn't she have a personal tie to the captain? I was thinking she could have turned directly to Olivia for help.

My goodness, Hinton Battle, who was the dancing demon in S6 "Once More With Feeling", passed away on January 30. He was only 67. https://www.playbill.com/person/hinton-battle-vault-0000100485 He was a delight to watch and to hear, with his dancing and wonderful rich voice. So clearly the Broadway performer.

When the video evidence turned up so late in the episode my first thought was "the show is almost over, how are the attorneys going to deal with this?" As it turned out, they didn't show the defense making any effort to disqualify or discredit the evidence. There just isn't enough time on this show anymore. The Order side of the episode gets weaker writing than the investigative Law side but it also gets shortchanged on time. I guess we just have to assume the defense tried to challenge the video.

Yes, this episode echoed the real life Jeffrey Epstein/Ghislaine Maxwell case, even if it was about a cult rather than about serial sexual exploitation. Even down to the death in prison. Viewed in this light Maroun was right, Jocelyn did not deserve leniency based on her own status as a victim. The two witnesses changing their stance from one of being in the thrall of their cult leader to one of cooperating with the prosecution had a contrived feel to it. As for the discovery of who the cult leader was mid-trial I think it brings to the fore a problem with the show's structure. The wheels of justice don't move that fast, particularly in a populous jurisdiction like in New York City. I would think that in real life there would be much more time for the DA's office to properly investigate what was going on with the cult.

I couldn't see how Price /Maroun could have possibly gotten a conviction in this case, given all the stumbles and Price's compromised position. Speaking of which wouldn't there be grounds for appealing the verdict? As this episode struggled towards its conclusion I started wondering whether the biased judge would overrule a guilty verdict handed down by the jury.

When I watch Season 1 now I wonder if, in the original concept for the show, Xander was meant to have the primary role in backing up Buffy. It's Xander who resuscitates Buffy in Prophecy Girl. I wonder if, as the show progressed, the writers/producers realized just how much they could do with Alyson Hannigan as Willow and her role in the group and the show unfolded accordingly. Her direction is certainly set by the end of Season 2 (think Becoming Pt.2).

I also don't see how the knife should be excluded. What Shaw and Cosgrove did might have been stretching their jobs a bit, but it seemed to me that they still stayed within the boundaries. Does the judge give motorists the automatic right to bend the traffic laws of NYC? It feels as if Maroun has been de-emphasized somewhat recently, with Exec ADA Price taking the more active role. Who knows, from the preview it looks like she'll have a big part in the next episode.

I agree with all the above posts pointing out that the prosecution's case was thin. The courtroom drama shown was about nothing BUT Reilly and his actions /inactions. No doubt we were supposed to believe that more was presented by the prosecution than we were saw, but it doesn't seem that there was all that much to present in the first place. Regarding Reilly's freezing up in the emergency, Price did try to treat him sympathetically and nobody can know how they'd react in a similar situation. Still, given his long experience, it could have been pointed out that he could have gotten on his radio and issued a report about someone fleeing the scene, whether he got out of the car immediately or not. The guy might have gotten away but a report with description recorded at the scene /at the moment at would have had more credibility than later testimony based on later recollection. It might have also helped deflect the blame heaped on the officer for his inaction. Honestly, these end of episode "twists" are getting tiresome.

Regarding the judge, I thought it was a reach for him to declare that the church was illegitimate and that the confidentially rules didn't apply. There are crooked church leaders for sure, but I wonder if that ruling would be grounds for appeal. It seems a very significant matter for a trial judge to decide.

To me this seems to be a trend of this reboot. The crime investigation parts of the episodes seem better written and more engaging than the legal proceedings. Of course there is less total episode time than there used to be. I liked Dylan Baker in his recurring role as Colin Sweeney on The Good Wife.

I suppose that seeing Amy in S3 "Gingerbread" (which is when she turns herself into a rat) one could see her being far enough into the magic to be getting "fixes" from Rack.