‘Law & Order’ Recap: ‘Castle In the Sky’

5/3/2024

Written by John Edward Betancourt

LAW & ORDER -- "Castle In The Sky" Episode 23011 -- Pictured: (l-r) James Caverly as Patrick Dixon, Alona Jane Robbins as Alex Marley, Bradley Snedeker as Ryan Marley -- (Photo by: Virginia Sherwood/NBC

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 23011 of ‘Law & Order’.

It is definitely safe to say, that the feeling in modern America right now when it comes to equality and justice, is that there is no equality and there is no justice. Because so many laws have changed for the worst and those who deserve to be punished for crimes they have committed, never once face accountability for what they’ve done. So, the vibe regarding such matters is sour and it does leave us wondering… what it will take to see justice be served in this life and what it will take for people to be on equal ground and equal footing and oddly enough, these are questions that the next episode of Law & Order on NBC took the time to answer.

A feat that ‘Castle In the Sky’ accomplished by having the team investigate the murder of a wealthy socialite. Who was shot and killed in his own penthouse apartment to be and that pushed the team to quickly look for the usual suspects. People that might hate a rich kid, ugly known associates that might want to impart harm and well… that quickly brought forth one dead end after another. Simply because, no one wanted to harm the guy, and while he may have known some unsavory folks, they were only around to indulge a rich kid’s desire to spice up his life, and were not capable of harm. Instead, their suspect turned out to be, a security guard named Ryan Marley.

For he did have an altercation with the deceased, and he did have motive under his belt. Simply because, he was homeless and trying his damndest to care for his deaf daughter after his family faced some hardships, and that fight was over money and him potentially losing his job, and eventually… he was placed under arrest and put on trial. Because the evidence did indeed mount up and well, the trial is what brought about the answers and exploration in question. Because as the trial played out, it became clear that this was all grounded in the current fight for the have and have nots, since Ryan was squatting in that penthouse to give his child a roof to sleep under… and while he eventually admitted he shot the deceased in a moment of panicked self-defense in the middle of the night, he made a point to lie and have his daughter lie to put together a plea bargain that would give him a second chance.

Because he knew the system would throw the book at a squatter, especially one that harmed a rich guy. But sadly, despite his best efforts to hide the truth, it came out and it put Kate in quite the tough place. For it was up to her to decide if a down on his luck guy who truly screwed up and took a life out of fear and in self-defense, deserved to go to jail for doing what anyone else would have done. But alas, the law was the law, and he wasn’t the owner of the property and killed the real owner on his own turf, and well, that prompted Kate to follow the law and that shattered a family and broke hearts and reminded us, that justice is skewed in this world and not everyone is treated equally under the law and in general and well… the pain present here and the shocking ending said it all.

In that, the laws have to change. We need reform, we need to codify that which is right and that which is wrong. Because clearly, they’re out of date, and clearly, they skew the wrong way and impart harm, and that has to change and has to offer more flexibility based upon the circumstances at hand. All of which made for a thoughtful and emotional hour of television. One that truly explored a real concern we all harbor and spoke loudly to what needs to happen to make it better and break the cycle, and hopefully… this at least starts the conversation. Because it isn’t right that in this world, people who are down on their luck and literally fighting to survive, receive the worst sentences possible when they screw up, while white collar criminals get to fly to Cancun while on probation. Until next time.

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