No matter how you slice it, five hundred episodes is a big deal.
Law & Order: SVU hit it last year, albeit with a controversial episode that angered many survivors.
Now it was Law & Order Season 23 Episode 12's turn. They marked their 500th episode with a story that, ironically enough, seemed more suited for SVU but otherwise seemed like a typical episode. Was it special enough for the 500th?
Law & Order Doesn't Do Tribute Episodes
When Sam Waterson exited the series on Law & Order Season 23 Episode 5, it was a strong story that was still disappointing because it didn't contain any flashbacks or other tributes to his iconic character. The same thing happened here.
That's the way it has to be to an extent. It would be off-brand to have an episode that's more tribute than original story. Still, there should have been something more to the story than a standard crime and an argument between Price and Baxter about how Baxter does not intend to be McCoy 2.0.
Something as simple as Baxter adding his name to a list of all the DAs who have led this office and thinking about how proud he is to participate would have been sufficient, but the closest we got to that was his impassioned speech about loving to get people justice.
Baxter: I want to win reelection because I love trying cases and I love getting people justice. And if you can't accept that's who I am, you can get the hell out.
Nolan: I think you're the one whose perception of me is beginning to affect this relationship. I'm not the one comparing you to Jack McCoy. But there is no point to us debating this. We have a trial to win and Sean Payne takes the stand tomorrow.
My dream tribute episode would also have featured cameo appearances by Dann Florek and S. Epatha Merkerson, who were the original captains years ago (Merkerson took over after Florek's Captain Cragen was tapped to head SVU).
Of course, Florek already popped up on Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 4 Episode 7, and Merkerson plays Sharon Goodwin on Chicago Med, so this was mostly a pipe dream.
Still, it would have been nice to have some faces from the past to commemorate the 500th episode of a series that has run for almost a quarter of a century. It also would have been great to have a tribute to the late Jerry Orbach, the actor most closely associated with the original Law & Order.
This Episode Would Have Been a Perfect Crossover With SVU
Since that type of tribute would not have fit the Law & Order brand well, the next best thing would have been a crossover, and this episode seemed readymade for one with SVU.
We had a traumatized rape victim and a rapist who only got five years, thanks to a deal Price made. In the pre-SVU years, Law & Order sometimes took on these types of cases, but come on!
SVU handles rapes, and Chelsea is precisely the kind of person Olivia Benson would be eager to support: a young woman who was so shaken by the rape that she couldn't testify at the original trial and was still traumatized five years later.
SVU's Carisi handles the prosecution end of these cases, so it didn't make much sense that Price was the lead prosecutor.
While in real life, there are many ADAs working for the same office, it's been made clear on SVU that their cases are prosecuted by ADAs who have special expertise in these types of crimes.
Presumably, both departments work under Baxter since SVU used to occasionally have McCoy visit to deal with a problem with an ADA. Still, Carisi should have been part of this story.
Chelsea's fragility and Baxter's refusal to consider that an important factor in his trial strategy were classic SVU themes. Benson would have had something to say to a prosecutor who insisted on putting her on the stand.
Instead, this was a standalone episode that acted like SVU didn't exist.
In a way, it was a callback to the early days of Law & Order when there was no spinoff dedicated to these types of cases, but it seemed odd since the cops on Law & Order have consulted with Benson about SVU-related issues recently.
The Story Was Good Despite These Issues
This is not to say that this wasn't one of Law & Order's stronger stories because it was.
The idea of a therapist who treated violent criminals getting killed was compelling. Anyone could have been responsible, even if that question was resolved too quickly.
The cops fell into the tired TV trope of fixating on the wrong suspect, but there was a twist: throughout the hour, it was possible Mark was the killer.
He was a strong enough suspect for the defense to point fingers at. He had priors, was dressed like the defendant, and had a key to access Angela's apartment anytime.
When Price got the call about Chelsea, I thought he had just found proof that Mark was guilty after all that. That would have been a memorable plot twist to end the 500th episode!
Evidence Kept Coming Out Of Nowhere
If the episode had one weakness, it was that the cops kept referencing evidence that the audience didn't know about.
It was convenient that when they detained Mark for questioning, the cops mentioned that he had sent threatening texts. This would have been a stronger twist if we'd known they'd found something instead of it coming out of thin air.
Similarly, why did the defense drop a bombshell out of nowhere? That trope aggravates me every time legal dramas use it. In real life, the defense can't spring surprises on the prosecution like that, and even though it's done for dramatic effect, it always pulls me out of the story.
There Were Some Great Confrontation Scenes
The drama between Nolan and Baxter has been a long time coming.
Baxter: I want to win reelection because I love trying cases and I love getting people justice. And if you can't accept that's who I am, you can get the hell out.
Nolan: I think you're the one whose perception of me is beginning to affect this relationship. I'm not the one comparing you to Jack McCoy. But there is no point to us debating this. We have a trial to win and Sean Payne takes the stand tomorrow.
These two have hated each other from the get-go, and it doesn't help that Baxter echoes many fan concerns about Nolan.
Nolan tends to be pigheaded, always thinks he knows better than his supervisors how to try the case, and takes significant risks that often magically pay off when they shouldn't.
Yet, both characters made strong points during their argument. It felt like Baxter was projecting his insecurities onto Nolan, but he still came off as sympathetic.
It has to be hard to follow in Jack McCoy's footsteps. He was as much an icon in the franchise's world as he was for viewers, and Baxter can't be faulted for having a bit of imposter syndrome after being tapped to take his place.
I also enjoyed Baxter's argument with the judge. However, it was a bit unbelievable that the judge didn't threaten Baxter with contempt rather than giving in to his pressure.
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Law & Order airs on NBC on Thursdays at 8/7c. New episodes drop on Peacock the day after they air.