Written by John Edward Betancourt LAW & ORDER -- "The Hardest Thing" Episode 24011 -- Pictured: Hugh Dancy as A.D.A. Nolan Price – (Photo Courtesy of NBC.)
Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 2411 of ‘Law & Order’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
Eventually in this life… there is a switch in family dynamics. Wherein the children become the parent and must care for their folks with the same delicateness they received when they were young. Because sadly, old age makes life difficult for our parents and they require a helping hand to get through the day, with one unfortunate caveat, however. In that, there will also come a point where it is up to the children to make a decision that their parents never had to. Wherein they must think deeply upon what their parent’s final days are going to look like and what kind of care they need to receive as they prepare to leave this life. Which is tough to think about but necessary. Thanks to what time does to us. Which has brought forth great debates in our modern world, the kind that relate to whether or not we should consider euthanasia as a standard when quality of life gets so poor that keeping someone alive might be considered cruel. Not to mention there is debate as to how that should happen since this is a life we are dealing with, something that we cherish deeply. If anything, the debate over such matters is top of mind today, simply because it was featured in a unique manner during last night’s episode of Law & Order on NBC. A feat that ‘The Hardest Thing’ accomplished by way of a wild case for the NYPD and DA’s office to handle. Wherein a wealthy and seemingly normal man died execution style in his home one night, apparently as a result of a robbery. But the keen eye of Lieutenant Brady helped everyone to understand... this was a murder, and the robbery aspect was staged. Which pushed Shaw and Riley to look at the man’s children, who stood to make millions of dollars from their father’s passing, and their fine work helped them to learn that the daughter was responsible for this act and just like that… it was off to trial and into the world of surprises when a dark truth about the deceased was revealed. In that, he had a terminal illness. One that was going to eat away at his cognitive functions and well, this happened because he asked for it to happen. For euthanasia was not and is not legal in the state of New York, so a staged robbery would have and should have easily allowed for his daughter to escape charges and get some money along the away. A reality that changed the dynamic of the case and prompted Baxter to ponder upon a plea deal. Since no jury would see this as murder one. But Price fought that, hard in fact, because he was facing his own family crisis. For his father was also dying, and as proxy he had to make his own decisions regarding quality of life, and he really believed that there was a path and a nobility we needed to follow for such matters. But the death of his dad, under harrowing and suffering circumstance, changed his tune and helped a plea deal to come into play. All of which spoke to a bevy of topics. Such as the central theme of how children become the caregivers and whether or not euthanasia should be a thing. Which is something this show says… should. Because there is no real need in 2025 to watch a parent or a loved one wither away when their diagnosis is terminal. For we can offer better solutions, and we should. Because it’s not about being tough or powering through pain as Price tried to do here, it’s about doing what’s right for the sick, and not putting people in a position where they have to resort to extremes to bring their family peace. Which made for another poignant and timely episode from this series. One that left us with plenty to ponder upon regarding an unfortunate fact of life we will all deal with someday, in some capacity. Until next time. Watch ‘Law & Order’
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
April 2025
|
RSS Feed