Law & Order (TV Series) God Bless the Child (1991) User Reviews

Very upsetting episode

[mattiasflgrtll6 · 9/10 · 8 October 2018]

Ted and Nancy Driscoll's daughter is very sick. But as soon as their maid tries to call the doctor, she's shooed away. She calls on the police and the parents are arrested. The child gets taken to the hospital but dies. This is obviously serious neglect of a child. But here's the problem: because they are religious, convicting them automatically interfers with their religious beliefs.

This is one of those episodes that's really tough to watch since you've got criminals who claim they love someone, and yet they let something so horrible happen. It's not quite as brutal as Aria, but still tough. The guest actors playing the Driscolls are convincing in their roles, and the case is presented in a very complex manner, since that's what it really is. Complex. As much as I understand the importance of freedom of religion, I believe the welfare of a child always goes first. But there are some, thankfully a minority, people who don't think so. It's interesting to see Ben Stone try to balance freedom of religion and the importance of medical care, since even if he as much as suggests that their "spiritual healing" won't do squat, he risks losing the entire case simply on the claim of not respecting their beliefs.

Definitely a very interesting albeit depressing watch. If her parents truly believed that Dinah was a gift from God, then they should have let her live to make themselves and others happier.

Keepin' the faith

[safenoe · 7/10 · 17 July 2023]

A controversial episode this second season episode for sure. God Bless the Child pits organized religion against the law, and there are modern analogies like blood transfusions and the like. Anyway, James Noble of Benson fame guest stars as the judge. James played the Governor in Benson.

Anyway, I enjoy watching the early episodes of Law and Order, and for me, I'm transfixed up the opening theme and the black and white shots and also the cars crossing the bridge at night, knowing that those drivers and passengers are imprinted as a part of Law and Order lore.

Anyway, I haven't watched the revival.

Hits hard

[TheLittleSongbird · 10/10 · 19 February 2020]

As well as having diverting cases and thought-probing courtroom/legal scenes, 'Law Order' (and the franchise in general) excelled when it tackled challenging subjects and themes often still relevant today. A lot of very challenging subjects and themes were explored, even controversial, more often than not done in a way that provoked thought and debate, induced a wide range of emotions and didn't come over as too polite or trivial.

That is certainly the case with "God Bless the Child". For me it is among the best Season 2 episodes and one of the most emotionally hard-hitting and complex. It has one of the season's most difficult and most complex subjects (as well as controversial), in how to deal with it without any bias or upset and in how to purposefully not make it an easy watch without getting preachy. The execution of this subject makes for one of the gutsiest and most powerful episodes of Season 2 and of the early seasons.

"God Bless the Child" has a riveting case that is a tough, uncompromising watch but handled with tact and in a way that induces a lot of tears and perhaps anger. The investigative elements intrigue and Cerreta and Logan have started to gel, but it was the legal scenes that resonated with me more. Done in a way that was thoughtful, making one think quite hard about what their stance on the situation is (found myself personally really hating what happened to the girl but couldn't bring myself to completely hate the parents either and understood their dilemma).

It is so easy when tackling a subject like this, where people would have strong opinions on it on either side, to execute it in a way that takes too much of one side and pass judgement. "God Bless the Child" doesn't do that, actually found it surprisingly balanced, in that it didn't take one side and trash the other (avoiding being too anti-anything), and that it was handled thoughtfully and sensitively without trivialising or being too careful. The moral issues and how to deal with the case had traps, again bias and heavy-handedness, traps not fallen into and found myself seeing where both sides were coming from. As the story progressed, the harder it hit and more emotional it got. Stone's conflict is easy to identify with and he is still a juicy character.

As ever, the episode is well made and scored and the script is taut and intelligent. All the acting is very good, Michael Moriarty doesn't disappoint while Byron Jennings and particularly Kaiulani Lee give powerful performances as the Driscolls, where one can see their moral dilemmas without completely hating or completely sympathising with them.

On the whole, wonderful. 10/10

No doctor cross our doors

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 12 August 2017]

Supporters of those religious freedom laws to check anti- discrimination statutes will cheer for the exercise that Byron Jennings and Kaulani Lee in their religious. Their little girl dies because this wacko church they belong to forbids its members to use physicians.

Michael Moriarty gets to prosecute these two and the church lawyer Henderson Forsythe defends them in court. What seems simple to me is not necessarily that easy to prosecute, constitution and all.

When Hippocrates invented and practiced the first rudimentary medicine instead of leaving minor illness in the hands of those Greek Gods you have to wonder what faced back in those ancient days.

The couple is an appealing one. Hard working dad and all American soccer mom. Still I would have hung them both as that child was a gift from God as well.

In God's Hands.

[rmax304823 · 6/10 · 17 July 2012]

A little girl dies because the mother and father belong to a church that doesn't believe in medical treatment, only prayer therapy. It's a first amendment issue. How much latitude is given to religious freedom under the Constitution? If the grieving parents are convicted of a crime, then doesn't that interfere with their right to practice the religion of their choice? The issue is a Big One, of course, but as usual the story successfully avoids dealing with political philosophy and concentrates on the two people responsible for withholding proper medical care. It's a continuing feature of the series to bring up a major issue and then side step it. Not to criticize the series because in its first decade it more than established its bona fides, but in its unwillingness to deal at greater length with the larger issue, the writers and Dick Wolf have decided to settle for commercial appeal and a "very good" rating instead of taking a stab at something that's rather more than very good.

Writers concoct religious faith healing defense

[evony-jwm · 1/10 · 19 April 2021]

Episode claims there's a State law forced upon States by an act of Congress excluding child endangerment based on religious freedom.. there is not

Which makes the whole episode unbelievable.