Okay, put aside the standard Law and Order notion that racism only happens to one group in this country. That gets tiresome considering the actual scope of the issue in reality, which the franchise stubbornly refuses to believe. But putting aside the show's fetish for such things, this episode trips up for another reason common to Law and Order, especially these days. It doesn't go all in.
The first half is actually and surprisingly gripping. In the Derping and Lurching segment, we get two problems. One, an innocent physician simply asking for directions while holding a cell phone is beaten to death by a doofus who - it seems - automatically thinks a certain race is criminal by definition. Therefore, he believes he has the right to be fearful for his life and use deadly force. We hear this dumb excuse all the time, so that's well within the boundaries of reality.
The other issue is Lurch faces his own situation with two cops, and when he refuses an order from them, finds himself on the hot seat. Sort of.
The episode is real in the way minorities often face immediate suspicion and apprehension from their co-workers and bosses if they're of the usual race and question the status quo. The problem, of course, is this is not limited to only one racial group. But it sets up a story that is, if not overdone in the Law and Order franchise, engaging because we hear about it in the real world, too.
But then the second half punts. You see, it turns out there's a twist that now very much undermines everything the episode set up with the guy who murders the physician. It's like saying, "Hey, we brought the problem up, but we're not going to make our target market feel uncomfortable by going the distance. Gotcha!"
It also lets the Garden Gnome off from having to own up to his racism. This is the second or third episode where they've hinted the guy refuses to accept that he might have prejudices, but we've gotten no further than merely the suggestion. Again, it's going through the motions, not actually putting anything of real weight on the line dramatically. It's a cop out. The frenetic Gnome - like that awful Barba on SVU - never acts like an actual lawyer. You know, thoughtful and intellectual. Instead, he's constantly scene chewing, arms akimbo and face flush with bile. I notice that in order to let him do his routine, they're now minimizing AOC, who is obviously the better character of the two.
This is another episode that feels a bit more meaty than the others in the reboot. Good. At this pace, by the third or fourth year, the show may feel as whole as the original again. But there's still the spartan production. Remember in the old days where Adam Schiff might be in his office, sleeves rolled up, his leftover lunch sitting on the desk while he fields a troubling phone call. The ADAs have to wait at the door, and he rubs his tired eyes and says, "Now what?" And in the middle of the uneasy conversation, Schiff's secretary interrupts to give more bad news?
Yeah, none of that anymore. Now Sam Waterson sits on a couch or stands in a hall, looking like he just stopped by, bats some expository dialogue with the Gnome, and that's that. The halls are empty. The phones don't ring.
The court room sequence is perfunctory - but with THE MELODRATIC MUSIC and HEAD SHAKES. The scenes are confrontational but lacking in drama or suspense, despite THE MELODRAMATIC MUSIC. The scheme that finally gets revealed is actually remarkably, um, similar to an episode of the old British TV show, The Professionals. One star off because the ending lacks the, um, impact of last week's.