Mother’s Day
By Hank 74
Lennie-10/10
Ed-9/10
Van Buren-10/10
Jack-9/10
Serena-9/10
Arthur-8/10
Supporting Cast-8/10
Plot-8/10
Performance-8/10
Value-7/10
Total-86/100
Notes:
This ep was a typical recent L&O ep we've seen. The
first part is a little bit stale and then picks up in the second half with a
new legal strategy. This time, the defense was "I had to kill my son
because he was dellusional and was going to kill innocent people." I found
that to be a rather weak argument, even though Hartley came close to getting an
acquittal. At the very end, I really thought the jury might acquit or be hung.
The disappointing thing about the son's psychotic past was
where was Skoda or Olivet to counter this argument? I would have been
interested to hear what they had to say.
To me, there are many eps which you can compare this one
to. But the clearest choice has to be "Mother Love" from season 3. As
you might recall, Virginia Bryan shot her crack addicted daughter because she
was high and who knows might kill someone. Those were the parallels that I drew
with the boy. It seemed he was a mama's boy in which her mother needed to be at
his side all the time. If there is one thing I do grant the defense, it is the
constant jumping of the hoops people must go through to get adequate mental
health attention. The red tape and beauracracy is mind racking! It's gonna get
worst as states are facing budget shortfalls and making harsh cuts. But just
because there is "no room at the mental ward inn" doesn't mean you
kil someone who's your flesh and blood.
I enjoyed the little catfight going on between Serena and
Hartley. I even thought had there been an acquittal, Serena might talk Jack
into arresting Hartley for subordinating perjury. We'll see if these two women
cross paths again.
Finally, wasn't it interesting to see Lennie with his own
cell phone! He's clearly now in the 21st century. Also, him grilling Payton and
Van Buren telling him to cool off was a great strategy. For if VB allowed
Lennie to keep going, this case might have gone nowhere. Lennie was clearly
showing his anger after what happened to his own daughter five years ago. I'm
stunned sometimes of how he's able to keep his composure more often after what
he's gone through.
A little disclaimer. In two weeks, there will be another
L&O repeat from earlier this season. But enjoy the new ep next week.