S21.E01: The Right Thing

[Jane Tuesday]

Small voice... I don't really remember Jamie, certainly not enough to say whether she was OOC or if she has aged well. But then, I haven't really watched L&O since it's original run. 

Smaller voice... I never liked Jack McCoy. I felt like he ate the show. Once he moved up to DA and brought in Mike Cutter, I enjoyed Jack a lot more in the smaller role. So I thought there was plenty of him in this episode.

Good to see Bernard again, and I thought Manheim was a worthy addition the little we saw of her. Male ADA seemed promising enough. Jury is out (pun!) on female ADA. White Cop seemed like a caricature, but hopefully he'll get layers. I miss Van Buren, Lupo, and Cutter, though. The last cast was probably my favorite, though there were individual characters I liked more (Ed!)

As for the CotW... meh. Pretty predictable. We were talking about it later, and my dad (the closet feminist) had an interesting take. His opinion was, if the woman had a gun and shot the guy when he was raping her, it would be open-and-shut self-defense. So he felt like she should get to take her shot any day after. The prosecution wouldn't want my dad on that jury!

Eta - regarding Jack's "defund the police" comment... I thought he was saying that's how they feel, in a kind of, "you need to understand where they're coming from and figure out how to work with them" way. Not necessarily that it's what he thinks. 

Edited February 27, 2022 by Jane Tuesday

[Spartan Girl]

They really couldn’t leave well enough alone with Jamie. I guess no mothership character, no matter how beloved, is safe from these writers. I shudder to think what they would have done with Lennie if Orbach were still with us.

[shapeshifter]

9 hours ago, Jane Tuesday said:

As for the CotW... meh. Pretty predictable. We were talking about it later, and my dad (the closet feminist) had an interesting take. His opinion was, if the woman had a gun and shot the guy when he was raping her, it would be open-and-shut self-defense. So he felt like she should get to take her shot any day after. The prosecution wouldn't want my dad on that jury!

I would love to have your dad as my across-the-street neighbor who pontificates about TV shows over us taking our trash bins to the curb.

[TakomaSnark]

Was listening to the Special Viewing Unit podcast episode for SVU's 'Fat' episode - it's the one-off where Anthony Anderson steps in as Stabler's partner and is then never seen again (he's actually more Stabler than Stabler). There's an interrogation scene with Anderson's character, Lucius Blaine, and a child of, I think, 13 or 14. No adults, no legal counsel present. He promises her that if she tells the truth about assaulting another student, she'll get complete immunity from prosecution. And it works.

So yeah, the L&O universe has gone there before but it's never believable.  At least in the original run of the mothership, you'd have Van Buren or an ADA watching the interrogation and immediately intervening and barking for the detective to step out when something untoward, illegal or likely to get thrown out and kill the DA's case began rearing its head. Heck, sometimes the detective's partner would stop an interrogation that was running over the line.

It worries me that, as with the overdone sets, constant dramatic music, lighting, cinematography, that the L&O: OG reboot really is being dumbed down to SVU levels with the plots and behavior of the principal detectives and DAs. SVU in its Stabler era (stopped watching when it became the All Olivia Show) was engaging in a 'so bad, it's funny' way - always unbelieveable and OTT with everything. Mothership generally retained a believable relationship to the 'real world.' 

If they're really going down this road, I can't see myself sticking it out. It's too depressing.

Edited February 27, 2022 by TakomaSnark
Grammar & Clarity

[Halting Hex]

2 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

They really couldn’t leave well enough alone with Jamie. I guess no mothership character, no matter how beloved, is safe from these writers. I shudder to think what they would have done with Lennie if Orbach were still with us.

Given that, I've heard, CI did an episode where Logan sees Lennie's ghost, I suppose you shouldn't be too sure of that, either.  (What, Max's ghost said "nah, I'll pass"?  Huh.)

A ghost? Seriously?  I guess those Buffy the Vampire Slayer/L&O crossover fanfics aren't too far-fetched after all…

Edited February 27, 2022 by Halting Hex
removed unnecessary comma. (Maybe it was a ghost?)

[GHScorpiosRule]

1 minute ago, Halting Hex said:

Given that, I've heard, CI did an episode where Logan sees Lennie's ghost, I suppose you shouldn't be too sure of that, either.  (What, Max's ghost said "nah, I'll pass"?  Huh.)

A ghost? Seriously?  I guess those Buffy the Vampire Slayer/L&O crossover fanfics aren't too far-fetched after all…

No, he didn’t see Lennie’s ghost. He was telling another character about Lennie, and how he would “see” Lennie after he died, with the ghost telling him he wasn’t dead. That character (Kelli Williams) had committed suicide, and at the end, Mike did see her ghost saying the same thing. 

[Halting Hex]

11 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Mike did see her ghost saying the same thing

Well, then…a ghost is a ghost, right?  Obviously, they didn't have the technology to bring Orbach "back" to guest-star back then, but for all I know, it would be possible now.  I mean, if we can have a convincing 1980-edition Kurt Russell in Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2…

I'm just joking, though.   For all I know, new technology or no, this idea wouldn't have a ghost of a chance.  (Sorry!)

[wanderingstar]

Quote

This episode was a hot mess and the more I watched, the madder I got because "Rubber Room" was a fantastic series finale and this shit all over it....

Agreed. They should've left well enough alone.

[GHScorpiosRule]

1 hour ago, Halting Hex said:

Well, then…a ghost is a ghost, right?  Obviously, they didn't have the technology to bring Orbach "back" to guest-star back then, but for all I know, it would be possible now.  I mean, if we can have a convincing 1980-edition Kurt Russell in Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2…

I'm just joking, though.   For all I know, new technology or no, this idea wouldn't have a ghost of a chance.  (Sorry!)

Or it could just have been Mike’s hallucination. But either way, I hated that episode. It was beyond stupid. The only thing I liked was the show having Mike mention Lennie, after Orbach had passed.

[KittyQ]

This episode was a little rough, but I'm willing to see how things shake out. Since it has been so long since original L&O went off the air, it is understandable that there are probably a lot of crew members, actors, scriptwriters and so on who weren't involved in the original version and need time to get up to speed. 

The rough relationship between the partner detectives is pretty common on this show, at least at the start of the partnership. Once they get used to each other's foibles, they tend to get along better. It was a little surprising to see Jeffrey Donovan be so gruff, since I've mainly seen him act as a more charming character. I was ok with Camryn Manheim but would like to know whatever happened to Van Buren. I don't need to have her return, but I like to hear what happened to some of the old characters.

I have noticed that a lot of shows add in some social commentary on recent topics. It is almost required. After 9/11, for example, there were a lot of shows having characters make speeches about terrorism, etc. After a while, it gets less obtrusive, and the characters' opinions get expressed more organically. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

@KittyQ I have to disagree about tye antagonistic relationships between new partners. I watched the original 20 years in real time and over the years again and again in syndication. The only exception is when Lennie and Ed first butted heads, and when Dennis Farina came on board.

While Max and Mike butted head over certain issues, they got along for the most part. 

[KittyQ]

2 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

@KittyQ I have to disagree about tye antagonistic relationships between new partners. I watched the original 20 years in real time and over the years again and again in syndication. The only exception is when Lennie and Ed first butted heads, and when Dennis Farina came on board.

While Max and Mike butted head over certain issues, they got along for the most part. 

Maybe not out and out antagonism, but I think that we saw some tension with other partners. When Lennie first came on, Logan was pretty slow to accept him, and when Curtis replaced Logan, Lennie didn't immediately take to him, especially as Curtis was such a "boy scout" and liked to use technology in his investigations (like a cell phone! haha).  Later of course, Lennie and Ray became very close, but in the early days, Lennie seemed more wary of how Ray did things. 

[Prairie Rose]

54 minutes ago, KittyQ said:

Maybe not out and out antagonism, but I think that we saw some tension with other partners. When Lennie first came on, Logan was pretty slow to accept him, and when Curtis replaced Logan, Lennie didn't immediately take to him, especially as Curtis was such a "boy scout" and liked to use technology in his investigations (like a cell phone! haha).  Later of course, Lennie and Ray became very close, but in the early days, Lennie seemed more wary of how Ray did things. 

Yes, and when Rey left, Lennie didn't immediately gel with Ed. (See "Marathon".)

[GHScorpiosRule]

1 hour ago, KittyQ said:

When Lennie first came on, Logan was pretty slow to accept him,

Not really. I just rewatched Lennie’s introduction-“Point of View” and Logan was grumbling about when Phil would come back. That lasted for about half of the episode. When Phil told him he wasn’t coming back, Mike told Lennie to make sure his life insurance was paid up. Inside joke that Lennie had made in the opening and that had Lennie laughing.

The point is, none of the previous partnerships had someone who was an out and out ASSHOLE like Cosgrove is. And one with racist tendencies.

[Prairie Rose]

32 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Not really. I just rewatched Lennie’s introduction-“Point of View” and Logan was grumbling about when Phil would come back. That lasted for about half of the episode. When Phil told him he wasn’t coming back, Mike told Lennie to make sure his life insurance was paid up. Inside joke that Lennie had made in the opening and that had Lennie laughing.

"Two partners shot? Most guys would say you're a black cat."

[Xeliou66]

Here are a few of my thoughts about the partnerships - yes at times on the show detective pairings had a hard time warming up to each other, but there were never major hostilities - Logan took a little time to warm up to both Phil and Lennie, Cragen even mentioned this in Point of View, and with Lennie, yeah he was unsure of Rey Curtis at the start and they had such different personalities and views there was some conflict, Briscoe and Green got on pretty well from the start, with the exception of Marathon, episode 6 from Green’s first season where they clashed. Green wasn’t sure what to make of Fontana at the start, but no one was ever really sure of what to make of Fontana, with Nina Cassady her inexperience made for a bit of conflict but more with Van Buren than Green, and Green/Lupo and Lupo/Bernard got on pretty well from the start.

Now for my thoughts on Cosgrove - I don’t think he’s a racist, I didn’t think he said anything racist but he did come across as a jackass at times as well as having a big ego and disliked being questioned. He was uneven, for someone who’s supposedly a smart detective his actions weren’t very smart at times and he lost his cool too easily. Hopefully the writing will get better with regards to Cosgrove, he came off as having some of Fontana’s most unlikable tendencies. Just my opinion on everything being discussed.

[Crs97]

9 hours ago, TakomaSnark said:

At least in the original run of the mothership, you'd have Van Buren or an ADA watching the interrogation and immediately intervening and barking for the detective to step out when something untoward, illegal or likely to get thrown out and kill the DA's case began rearing its head. Heck, sometimes the detective's partner would stop an interrogation that was running over the line.

It worries me that, as with the overdone sets, constant dramatic music, lighting, cinematography, that the L&O: OG reboot really is being dumbed down to SVU levels with the plots and behavior of the principal detectives and DAs.

The OG L&O was terrific, especially in the earlier seasons, in taking an issue and addressing both sides.  The defense attorneys were sometimes sleazy and sometimes had great points that made everyone think.  Having tried a couple of episodes of Chicago PD, I don’t think Dick can write like that anymore.  It doesn’t bode well for this revisit.

[GHScorpiosRule]

4 minutes ago, Crs97 said:

The OG L&O was terrific, especially in the earlier seasons, in taking an issue and addressing both sides.  The defense attorneys were sometimes sleazy and sometimes had great points that made everyone think.  Having tried a couple of episodes of Chicago PD, I don’t think Dick can write like that anymore.  It doesn’t bode well for this revisit.

I think Dick Wolf just wrote a handful- but those handful were good. But René Balcer wrote the bulk of the best episodes in the early years, as well as Michael Chernuchin, Stuart Palm, and a few others. But I agree, Wolf lost his mojo.

[Prairie Rose]

15 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

But I agree, Wolf lost his mojo.

I also agree. Do you think somewhere along the way, he just spread himself too thin?

[Ms Blue Jay]

This show felt so male centric to me.  Burn Notice, Anthony Anderson, and Hugh Dancy.  The women seemed to be mostly background.  Was the show always that way?  I'm an SVU fan, I never really got into L&O Original flavour.

Edited February 28, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[Halting Hex]

I wonder when we'll see Liz again?  Carolyn is (obviously) still acting, but she can't be making too much money from those Tremfiya ads to turn up her nose at a return, right?  No matter how often those ads are on…and on…and on…

Edited February 28, 2022 by Halting Hex

[Door County Cherry]

3 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

This show felt so male centric to me.  Burn Notice, Anthony Anderson, and Hugh Dancy. 

Sort of yes and sort of no.  The first three years of the show were all men.  NBC told TPTB that if they wanted a renewal, they'd have to bring in women.  That's when they replaced Cragen with Van Buren and Robinette with Claire. So still mostly male but the women do develop on their own.  

I think this episode was focused on anchoring the past with the future and I suspect we'll get to know the others as it develops. 

[Xeliou66]

I felt like this episode did a good job of balancing the old with the new - I thought all of the new characters got a chance to have some of the spotlight, and it was nice to see familiar faces as well. If anything, I thought the episode didn’t have enough of Jack in it, they really should’ve had him be the one to talk to Jamie.

I’m honestly surprised at how much criticism the premiere has gotten - I thought it was solid overall and I think season 21 should be good - the main flaw with the premiere was the trashing of Jamie, that disgusted me, but she isn’t going to be a regular so that shouldn’t affect the show going forward. The other issue was the uneven writing for Cosgrove, hopefully that will improve as the season goes on. 

[WendyCR72]

10 hours ago, Halting Hex said:

Given that, I've heard, CI did an episode where Logan sees Lennie's ghost

As a CI watcher, this never happened. Logan did talk about dreaming about Lennie to a neighbor (an attractive female who would end up dead by an ex, mentioned because Logan became consumed with getting the guy!) in which Lennie told Logan that he wasn't dead, but then Logan tells Holly (said woman), then he woke up...

[GHScorpiosRule]

1 minute ago, WendyCR72 said:

As a CI watcher, this never happened. Logan did talk about dreaming about Lennie to a neighbor (an attractive female who would end up dead by an ex, mentioned because Logan became consumed with getting the guy!) in which Lennie told Logan that he wasn't dead, but then Logan tells Holly (said woman), then he woke up...

D’OH! Right. But then he sees Holly at the end while awake, so..stupid.

[WendyCR72]

1 minute ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

D’OH! Right. But then he sees Holly at the end while awake, so..stupid.

Yeah, he saw her staring through the window at the bar they met at, and then when he looked again, she was gone. (Didn't like "Renewal" all that much. Too much going on at once.)

But at least CI basically kept Logan's history with Lennie and from the Mothership years intact.

[Sir RaiderDuck OMS]

On 2/24/2022 at 11:05 PM, WendyCR72 said:

Yeah, but it has been off the air in first run for over a decade. So it is a de facto second pilot, all that time said. And this was rocky, just like a pilot. But just like the first go-round, I have faith the kinks will get smoothed out eventually. I hope!

Not feeling Jeffrey Donovan or the new DA duo so far, but willing to give it time. I always loved Ellenor Frutt on The Practice, so seeing Camryn Manheim again was great.

(Given Dylan McDermott's recurring role on OC, I wonder if we'll see Steve Harris, Michael Badalucco or Lara Flynn Boyle in the L&O franchise next?)

The Cosby storyline was a little too on-the-nose, but that's always been the case with this franchise.

 

On 2/25/2022 at 4:57 AM, debraran said:

Do you think others will have guest appearances? Abbie Carmichael or someone else down the line?

I would imagine any character who is still alive in-universe and whose actor is alive would be a possibility. That means no Greevey, Briscoe, Fontana, Stone, Kincaid, Schiff, or Branch, but anyone else is fair game (although nobody on the show would remember Phil Ceretta, and Chris Noth's sexual assault allegations likely mean the franchise won't touch Mike Logan again with a ten-foot pole).

If the awesome Sam Waterston retires during this incarnation's run, they could do worse than bringing back Richard Brooks as Paul Robinette, having won election as a BLM-friendly reformer or somesuch.

Edited February 28, 2022 by Sir RaiderDuck OMS

[SnarkShark]

On 2/25/2022 at 7:26 PM, 853fisher said:

Forgot to say that McCoy's "the police are under attack!  Some people even want to defund them, for God's sake!" really threw me.  I don't remember this character that way.

If they are going to bring up those kinds of hot button issues, I would like them to get a little further into them.  It would be interesting to learn if what McCoy's been doing while the show was off the air has changed some of his perspectives.

There's room for that to come, sure, and I get leaving us wanting more.  But that was just too slapdash.  Even if his point of view has shifted, unsurprising in over a decade, the McCoy I remember would have conveyed a more sophisticated understanding of this issue.

And it went unchallenged by the other characters.  That's TOTALLY out of the tradition of the show too.

Tossing red meat to draw in certain viewers is pretty dicey, and twisting the well established viewpoint of a known character is worse, but not giving the counterpoint is the biggest departure.  The show typically avoided being too overtly political by usually stating both sides and leaving them sitting there for the audience to decide. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

5 hours ago, Sir RaiderDuck OMS said:

(Given Dylan McDermott's recurring role on OC, I wonder if we'll see Steve Harris, Michael Badalucco or Lara Flynn Boyle in the L&O franchise next?)

They all have appeared in previous seasons. Michael Badalucco in Season 3; Steve Harris appeared twice in two different seasons; Lara Flynn Boyle in season 20; Kelli Williams in Season Two; and Lisa Gay Hamilton in season...five, I think?

[Raja]

7 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

They all have appeared in previous seasons. Michael Badalucco in Season 3; Steve Harris appeared twice in two different seasons; Lara Flynn Boyle in season 20; Kelli Williams in Season Two; and Lisa Gay Hamilton in season...five, I think?

Those were all "just" roles. Now as older actors with The Practice in common it would be stunt casting as say "Eugene and Ellenor" faced off.

[Zaffy]

I would say this was "Meh..."...
It felt like leftovers from a list of abandoned SVU scripts.
I would give them some time to hopefully find their way.

I loved seeing Jack back, although after having watched lots of Grace and Frankie, I kept expecting Martin Sheen to show up 😁

[dubbel zout]

12 hours ago, Halting Hex said:

but she can't be making too much money from those Tremfiya ads to turn up her nose at a return, right? 

Those ads can be very lucrative. I think they pay a bit more than non-dharma ads, and residuals can add up.

I'd love Skoda to show up, but J.K. Simmons is pretty busy these days.

[Jane Tuesday]

6 hours ago, Sir RaiderDuck OMS said:

If the awesome Sam Waterston retires during this incarnation's run, they could do worse than bringing back Richard Brooks as Paul Robinette, having won election as a BLM-friendly reformer or somesuch.

I would love this! I always thought he was a great character (and actor).

[GHScorpiosRule]

6 hours ago, Sir RaiderDuck OMS said:

If the awesome Sam Waterston retires during this incarnation's run, they could do worse than bringing back Richard Brooks as Paul Robinette, having won election as a BLM-friendly reformer or somesuch.

11 minutes ago, Jane Tuesday said:

I would love this! I always thought he was a great character

Only if they restored his original personality/character. When he returned-three times after he left, he had become a defense attorney; but he trashed and mocked the DA's office that when he worked there, was a good ADA and respected Schiff and Stone. Not that you could tell when Pod!Paul! as I call him, came back.

[Halting Hex]

1 hour ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

They all have appeared in previous seasons. Michael Badalucco in Season 3; Steve Harris appeared twice in two different seasons; Lara Flynn Boyle in season 20; Kelli Williams in Season Two; and Lisa Gay Hamilton in season...five, I think?

And Anna Gunn (the original A.D.A., pre-LFB) got in just before the (no longer) final Gunn, in the delightful 20.22, "Love Eternal".

[Prairie Rose]

22 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Only if they restored his original personality/character. When he returned-three times after he left, he had become a defense attorney; but he trashed and mocked the DA's office that when he worked there, was a good ADA and respected Schiff and Stone. Not that you could tell when Pod!Paul! as I call him, came back.

I always thought it was a real missed/wasted opportunity that Richard Brooks didn't share any scenes with Steven Hill in that S6 episode, but I digress.

[Halting Hex]

7 hours ago, Sir RaiderDuck OMS said:

If the awesome Sam Waterston retires during this incarnation's run, they could do worse than bringing back Richard Brooks as Paul Robinette, having won election as a BLM-friendly reformer or somesuch.

When I thought Waterston had too many commitments elsewhere, I mused about having Serena become the first open LGBTQ person to be elected D.A., and to thus be more overtly political and somewhat difficult for her ADAs to work with.  Somewhat like Peter Coyote's D.A. on the L.A. series.
 

I know that there are people who flat-out despise Serena, but I am not one of them.  (I grant you that after Abbie the Anti-Feminist Fascist, I'd have accepted a tree frog in the post, but still.). However, I should point out that the D.A. doesn't handle arraignments, so you'll never have to hear Röhm say "the people request remand", at least. 🙂

[watcher1006]

I hope Anita van Buren gets mentioned at some point, even if she doesn't appear. Perhaps the character succumbed to her cancer? I believe S. Epatha Merkerson is still busy on Chicago Med.

The characters and their relationships have yet to shake out on this reboot but I'm willing to give it a couple of episodes to do so. It's important to remember that the original L&O was very much a plot driven show and the characters played their part in the criminal justice drama without their personnas dominating the action. I feel that that was part of the reason why most of the replacement characters made smooth transitions into the structure of the show. Of course some didn't go as well as others. Whatever its shortcomings, I thought this reboot "pilot" did try to stick to the plot driven concept of the original. I watched L&O SVU for many seasons until I finally had to give it up because it had become too much of a star vehicle for Mariska Hargitay. Make no mistake, I like her very much, but I couldn't keep watching the show when it became overly character driven.

[TakomaSnark]

8 hours ago, Sir RaiderDuck OMS said:

If the awesome Sam Waterston retires during this incarnation's run, they could do worse than bringing back Richard Brooks as Paul Robinette, having won election as a BLM-friendly reformer or somesuch.

Oh I would LOVE to see Brooks get tapped for the big office. But as @GHScorpiosRule says, not if he's coming back as PodPaul (great name for it). 

[Xeliou66]

I would not be happy if Robinette became DA, he repeatedly insulted the DA’s office as a defense attorney and the viewers haven’t forgotten it. It would just be too unbelievable that he would become DA. I really just hope Jack stays on as DA throughout the show’s run, hopefully Sam Waterston stays healthy and enjoys doing the show enough to stay on, he’s the face of the show and no one can replace him. 

[shapeshifter]

3 hours ago, Zaffy said:

I loved seeing Jack back, although after having watched lots of Grace and Frankie, I kept expecting Martin Sheen to show up 😁

Ooo! That's a great idea! He could be a judge who's "an old friend" of Jack's. Fanfiction can do it's thing, but on the show they would leave it at that.
Or, even better, he could be a former POTUS.

 

[GHScorpiosRule]

10 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Or, even better, he could be a former POTUS.

Doubtful, since all the presidents referenced in this show and yes, even charging indictments against them, were the real life presidents at the time or of previous administrations.

[tessaray]

It was weird watching new L&O, especially since my husband watches an episode every day (at least) and I've lost count of how many times we've seen them.

It didn't really feel right to me, sorry to say. The music, the sound effects and the camera angles were weird. Close but off. The performances were okay though I was disappointed in Donovan. The writers didn't do him any favors. I think my favorite part was all the cameras out and recording the two detectives as they searched for information. Life has changed for cops, no doubt about it. It was unsettling. (Not the accountability,  the non-stop surveillance.)

The case was okay but as I was watching I could only wish that Elaine Stritch was still with us. 

[Peace 47]

I only just watched this. I tried to temper my expectations upon seeing some mixed reviews, but as soon as that “In the criminal justice system …” intro started, I got pretty nostalgic.  I actually liked what they did with the new opening credits, except for the walk at the end by the cast:  they’re supposed to be chatting with each other, not staring us down!  (Lol.)

I didn’t like the second half of the case very much because I missed the fun of the junior ADA doing some additional questioning and/ or conference with defense counsel in the ADA’s offices where they reach the plea agreement.   I also missed police and or prosecutors eating takeout while discussing strategy.  Sure, you’ve got new stuff, but play the classics soon, guys!

I love Sam Waterston, and he’ll always be “my” ADA, but his voice sounds so taxed here, that I was worried about him.  As long he’s up for it at 81(!), though, good for him.

It seems like every time Jamie comes back, she does something on the scale of dislikable (trying to keep the school shooter out of prison) to “disbar-able” (disclosing privileged information to try to keep an innocent man out of prison).  But this was definitely way beyond any of the more nuanced lines she ran up against before.  I didn’t like how they did her character dirty here, but I guess as an actress, that is what makes it interesting to come back for.

[shapeshifter]

9 minutes ago, Peace 47 said:

I didn’t like the second half of the case very much because I missed the fun of the junior ADA doing some additional questioning and/ or conference with defense counsel in the ADA’s offices where they reach the plea agreement.

My main criticism was that male Hugh Dancy as Executive Assistant District Attorney Nolan Price didn't bring in female Odelya Halevi as Assistant District Attorney Samantha Maroun until closing arguments.
It seems the female ADA should have taken over as soon as the jury seemed to be siding with the admittedly guilty-of-murder female rape victim. 
The only reason to not have her take over sooner in real life would be if she wasn't very good in court (yet); 
the only reason to not have her take over in a fictional TV show is if the actor isn't very strong. 🤷‍♀️

[KittyQ]

27 minutes ago, tessaray said:

The case was okay but as I was watching I could only wish that Elaine Stritch was still with us. 

I loved her on the show! I agree that she would have been a great defense attorney for this episode.

[tessaray]

28 minutes ago, Peace 47 said:

It seems like every time Jamie comes back, she does something on the scale of dislikable (trying to keep the school shooter out of prison) to “disbar-able” (disclosing privileged information to try to keep an innocent man out of prison).  But this was definitely way beyond any of the more nuanced lines she ran up against before.  I didn’t like how they did her character dirty here, but I guess as an actress, that is what makes it interesting to come back for.

Considering her body language at the end,  she knows she's in for it. We'd better get a great scene with Jack out of it in an upcoming episode. I will be ticked off it they resolve it offscreen. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

1 hour ago, tessaray said:

Considering her body language at the end,  she knows she's in for it. We'd better get a great scene with Jack out of it in an upcoming episode. I will be ticked off it they resolve it offscreen. 

Seriously. As a defense attorney, she can keep quiet if her client confesses or tells them what they are going to do. But she wasn't a defense attorney any more, and this was just downright insulting and the next words I hear from Jack better be "You're fired." He doesn't have to yell it. He can say it quietly with disapproval and shaking his head. Or whatever. Jamie is toast now.

Fucking Eid and Wolf. Both, since we don't know who wrote for Jamie and destroyed her character.

Edited February 28, 2022 by GHScorpiosRule

[Xeliou66]

I doubt we ever get a follow up to what happened with Jamie - she probably won’t ever appear on the show again and I don’t see them taking time away from a case in a future episode to deal with it. So I doubt we ever know what happens to her now. Which frankly I’m fine with, it was so insulting to the character and the viewers what they did to her it sickened me, so frankly I don’t want to think about it anymore and I don’t want the writers to fuck things up even worse. So I bet they never resolve it. It was really bad writing to throw Jamie under the bus just as a plot device. 

[Raja]

5 hours ago, Halting Hex said:

When I thought Waterston had too many commitments elsewhere, I mused about having Serena become the first open LGBTQ person to be elected D.A., and to thus be more overtly political and somewhat difficult for her ADAs to work with.  Somewhat like Peter Coyote's D.A. on the L.A. series.
 

I know that there are people who flat-out despise Serena, but I am not one of them.  (I grant you that after Abbie the Anti-Feminist Fascist, I'd have accepted a tree frog in the post, but still.). However, I should point out that the D.A. doesn't handle arraignments, so you'll never have to hear Röhm say "the people request remand", at least. 🙂

"Did you elect me because I'm a lesbian?"