‘Law & Order’ Recap: ‘Catch and Kill’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

LAW & ORDER -- "Catch and Kill" Episode 24001 -- Pictured: (l-r) Odelya Halevi as ADA Samantha Maroun, Hugh Dancy as ADA Nolan Price -- (Photo by: Scott Gries/NBC)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the Season 24 Premiere of ‘Law & Order’. To revisit the Season 23 Finale, click here. Also, this article contains discussions of domestic violence and suicide, which may be triggering to some individuals.
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One unfortunate truth about our world that few of us ever like to admit to or face… is the sheer fact that sometimes the bad guys win. Because our world is imperfect, courtesy of the imperfect beings we are and the imperfect systems we have set up to hold people accountable. Which does indeed allow for evil to slip through the cracks and continue to thrive in the world and that is tough to swallow. Because we believe in justice for all, and that is why so many crime shows and movies… make sure the bad guy loses. To give us that catharsis and give us the sense of justice we sometimes crave. But what’s incredible is that not every crime story abides by that rule.

Take Law & Order on NBC for instance. For this is a series that explores corners of the justice system that are painfully real. Wherein the ugly of our world is echoed and where the bad guys sometimes win. To provide us with a story that can help us to cope with that reality in far more healthy ways than wanting to escape, as evidenced by last night’s season twenty-four premiere. Although, it did not seem as though that was going to be the case early on in ‘Catch and Kill’. Since we learned that Price won his election and returned to the office no problem. Making it seem as though a decent status quo was on the horizon. But the death of a city lawyer named Macy, took this story down the frustrating but realistic path in question.

Simply because, a quick look at who might have harmed Macy, turned out to be a waste of time. For there were no external suspects and the fine work of the new Lieutenant, one Jessica Brady, helped to narrow the team’s focus to look at what wasn’t obvious at first, that it might be someone she knew, she loved. Such as her fiancé, a man named Dylan Phipps, who had a bit of a temper and seemed a bit suspicious and well, through some digging, they came to learn… he beat Macy on a regular basis and worked with a scuzzy journalist to cover up any clues that he might have done so. Which likely meant, he was the culprit and once confronted with that, he was quick to take his own life rather than face time in jail. For he did indeed brutally kill Macy. Which made it seem as though that was how the bad guy got away, by quietly dying and keeping the truth out of the public eye.

But ADA Maroun wanted justice and convinced both Baxter and Price to go after the journalist, a jerk named Lane and hold him accountable to being an accomplice. A move that Price loved and eventually… solid evidence came forth and it looked like Lane was going away for a long time. But his deep pockets and his desire to evade any ounce of accountability, ensured that he was going to walk. A move that infuriated Maroun, especially since she experienced a similar horror in her past through her sister’s passing and that prompted her to understandably explode, and plot. Plot to take down Lane herself and lose her job if needed. But thankfully, Baxter stepped in and saved her from doing something career destructive, but that did not make the outcome any better for her.  Because Lane was going to walk, and justice would not happen.

But alas, that is the truth of the world. Sometimes these pieces of trash have money, and they use it to wield power and help evil prevail and they know how best to game the system and evade justice. Which is an awful thing to type, an awful thing to read or hear aloud and it leaves us to wonder how best to fix things so guys like Lane don’t enjoy freedom after hurting people and the answer is simple… reform. We have to tighten up the rules and fix the laws so that these kinds of things cannot happen. But that will take time, and all we can do in the meantime, is do as Baxter asked of Maroun, and keep plugging away and being better people and doing our best to enact change. Which is not a perfect answer, but if enough people do it… change will come, and all of this made for a powerful opening chapter to a new season from one of the boldest crime shows to ever hit the airwaves. Until next time.

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