Love the police investigations on this show but these court room portions are lacking and unbelievable. It appears as though the writers are trying to just make up some preposterous court room twists. These court room portions are not nearly as interesting and well written as when McCoy was the DA. Additionally, I'm not feeling the prosecution team at all. I have loved the previous teams but not this recent one. Please keep current investigation team but rewrite the DA portions. Please! I do not want Law & Order canceled! It is a staple and would truly be missed by all the viewers. The show is like family now. DongDong!
4 Reviews
Collateral Damage
bobcobb3018 April 2023
Warning: Spoilers
It is hard to believe that cults exist and that people can get sucked into them, but I am not one to judge and I know how dangerous the path can be for many people.
Cults make for fun episodes on sitcoms and powerful episodes on dramas and we got the latter here. The only issue I had is the predictable "twist" of the person we thought being the leader not really being the leader and a man ending up being behind things.
They made a big deal of the female ringleader going away for 12 years, but true leder or not, she was the one responsible for the girl's death, so I cannot argue with that ruling.
Cults make for fun episodes on sitcoms and powerful episodes on dramas and we got the latter here. The only issue I had is the predictable "twist" of the person we thought being the leader not really being the leader and a man ending up being behind things.
They made a big deal of the female ringleader going away for 12 years, but true leder or not, she was the one responsible for the girl's death, so I cannot argue with that ruling.
A Riveting Law & Order Episode Exposes the Dark Side of Cults and Their Hold on Vulnerable Women
alzeem-3495314 April 2023
Collateral Damage is a gripping and disturbing episode of Law & Order that explores the dark side of cults and their influence on vulnerable young women. The episode follows the investigation and prosecution of a charismatic cult leader and his female accomplice, who are responsible for the death of a member who died from an untreated infection. The episode raises ethical questions about who is accountable for the victim's fate and whether the cult members are also victims of manipulation and coercion. The episode features strong performances from Jeffrey Donovan as the sinister Zach Elfont, Geneva Carr as his loyal follower Jenny Newhall, and Odelya Halevi as ADA Samantha Maroun, who is determined to get justice for the victim. The episode also features a guest appearance from Sam Waterston as DA Jack McCoy, who offers his wisdom and guidance to the new team. Collateral Damage is a well-written and well-acted episode that keeps the viewers on the edge of their seats until the end.
Feels like Reheated SVU
bkkaz7 April 2023
So, Derp and Lurch go to investigate an evil woman's cult. You know they're evil because most if not all of the women - except the blond victim -- have dark hair, which is supposed to mean something about good and evil. Plus, quite a few look Asian or Hispanic.
Derp and Lurch do some derping and lurching early on after the body of a cult member is found rolled up in a rug like a burrito. The evil looking cult leader - you know because she's got dark hair and sneers a lot - looks a lot like AOC, but she smirks and has less eye make up.
There's a strange moment where they don't say what the charges are, but then this gets shifted to the actual courtroom scenes, which, in keeping with current Law and Order melodrama, ends with someone lashing out at someone else in the hallway.
For a little while, it looks like there would be no Garden Gnome - yay! - only to bring him in later - boo! And while AOC was the level-headed one in the early episodes, she's increasingly being written as dopey and histrionic. Why? Her character initially was closest to the classic era of Law and Order, when it was rooted in drama and not melodrama, where the characters seemed like real people and not soap opera caricatures. But now she's not as bright and chewing up the scenery like the rest. For shame.
The severe looking computer technician continues to dress like she works in a 1970s Burger King. Manhands wanders in and says nothing, which is her best performance of the season. Or at least the most enjoyable.
Sam the Eagle initially refuses to sit down and, of course, walks away at the end of his moment. It's like they cab him over from hit hotel and then cab him right back. Later he does sit down, so I guess he had to wait for that cab. Even later, he's walking around. Still waiting.
It turns out, of course, the victim and her self-righteous mother have some shadiness of their own in their past to hide. That part is, of course, realistic. What's not realistic is she appears to reveal her affair in court apparently for the first time. She wouldn't have told her husband first since she was told it was going to come out? She'd just hurt and humiliate him in public without warning? Why abuse him further, and just what kind of monster is she?
By the time the evil Santa Claus judge pulls them into chambers, the case seems to be spiraling out of control. This gives the defense attorney time to twirl his mustache and assure our heroes they have no case - MUHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Just when you think this is treading into maudlin SVU territory about female victim empowerment, AOC plays hardball, telling a former cult member - who sees herself as a victim - that she'll go to jail for aiding in the death of the other cult member if she doesn't cooperate.
And just when you think it's not, in SVU style it turns out that all of this female influence is - wait for it - ultimately under the control of a man, all to chintzy SVU-style melodramatic music. MUHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!
There's the requisite head shaking. Yes, this is based on a real cult, but obviously, the variables support the same thinking SVU has engaged in for at least 10 years. Even the evil woman in charge turns out to be an SVU-style victim who was groomed.
In the end, it's a warmed over SVU retread, which makes one wonder why bother with more than one Law and Order series these days if they're just recycling from SVU? All they need do next is have AOC adopt a child she has absolutely no chemistry with, and she can be the new Benson!
Derp and Lurch do some derping and lurching early on after the body of a cult member is found rolled up in a rug like a burrito. The evil looking cult leader - you know because she's got dark hair and sneers a lot - looks a lot like AOC, but she smirks and has less eye make up.
There's a strange moment where they don't say what the charges are, but then this gets shifted to the actual courtroom scenes, which, in keeping with current Law and Order melodrama, ends with someone lashing out at someone else in the hallway.
For a little while, it looks like there would be no Garden Gnome - yay! - only to bring him in later - boo! And while AOC was the level-headed one in the early episodes, she's increasingly being written as dopey and histrionic. Why? Her character initially was closest to the classic era of Law and Order, when it was rooted in drama and not melodrama, where the characters seemed like real people and not soap opera caricatures. But now she's not as bright and chewing up the scenery like the rest. For shame.
The severe looking computer technician continues to dress like she works in a 1970s Burger King. Manhands wanders in and says nothing, which is her best performance of the season. Or at least the most enjoyable.
Sam the Eagle initially refuses to sit down and, of course, walks away at the end of his moment. It's like they cab him over from hit hotel and then cab him right back. Later he does sit down, so I guess he had to wait for that cab. Even later, he's walking around. Still waiting.
It turns out, of course, the victim and her self-righteous mother have some shadiness of their own in their past to hide. That part is, of course, realistic. What's not realistic is she appears to reveal her affair in court apparently for the first time. She wouldn't have told her husband first since she was told it was going to come out? She'd just hurt and humiliate him in public without warning? Why abuse him further, and just what kind of monster is she?
By the time the evil Santa Claus judge pulls them into chambers, the case seems to be spiraling out of control. This gives the defense attorney time to twirl his mustache and assure our heroes they have no case - MUHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Just when you think this is treading into maudlin SVU territory about female victim empowerment, AOC plays hardball, telling a former cult member - who sees herself as a victim - that she'll go to jail for aiding in the death of the other cult member if she doesn't cooperate.
And just when you think it's not, in SVU style it turns out that all of this female influence is - wait for it - ultimately under the control of a man, all to chintzy SVU-style melodramatic music. MUHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!
There's the requisite head shaking. Yes, this is based on a real cult, but obviously, the variables support the same thinking SVU has engaged in for at least 10 years. Even the evil woman in charge turns out to be an SVU-style victim who was groomed.
In the end, it's a warmed over SVU retread, which makes one wonder why bother with more than one Law and Order series these days if they're just recycling from SVU? All they need do next is have AOC adopt a child she has absolutely no chemistry with, and she can be the new Benson!
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