Law & Order
word of advice : SPOILERS before forLaw & Orderseason 24 , episode 13 , " In God We Trust . “An overused trope deaden the excitement during an vivid scene inLaw & Orderseason 24 , episode 13 , titled " In God We Trust . " Many ofLaw & Order ’s best episodesoffer spectacular court showdowns . When a attorney who practiced in New York City is detect dead in his nursing home , all eyes apace work to the church - based community he used to belong to to . The Baylor Church Community limits touch with the outside world and requires members to follow strict religious rules or be unchurch . The copper eventually arrest the subgenus Pastor ’s boy , Jacob ( Luke Slattery ) .
The DA ’s office is determined to prosecute , but their case is on shaky ground after a judge shake off the defendant ’s confession out . This problem leads to one of the most intenseLaw & Orderseason 24courtroom scenes . Price ’s ( Hugh Dancy ) fount depends entirely on testimony from the dupe ’s female parent that she see Jacob burning her son ’s clothesin the midriff of the dark . However , the attestator denies this on the rack and declares that nobody from the community views the trial as logical .
Almost Every Law & Order Season 24 Witness Has Recanted On The Stand
This Trope Is So Overused It’s Become Predictable
It is unsurprising that the viewer recants on the stand , reckon that it take place in almost everyLaw & Orderseason 24 episode . As soon as a looker tells Price or Maroun ( Odeyla Halevi ) something imprecate , it ’s almost warrant that they will say the opposite once they ’re sworn in . This type of deportment is as unrealistic as it is predictable . In real life , people are more likely to lie down in private than under expletive , especially if the DA can grow an affidavit proving they are entrust perjury — a crime that could conduct significant jail clock time .
Law & Order season 26 , episode 10 skipped a tradition that ’s become cliche for the adjective , but this was the wrong clock time to exchange its formula .
The recanting witness figure is meant to add drama to the court case , specially if the criminal prosecution depends on that looker ' testimony . However , it ’s not exciting when it go on almost every week . Furthermore , the DA ’s bureau should be prepared for this possibility , considering how often they have dealt with witnesses recanting vital testimony once they get in front of the jury . or else , Leontyne Price often seems at a loss as to what to do next when he could easily file perjury charges , play a tape of the looker ' original testimony , or otherwise counteract this predictable strategy .
Law & Order Season 24, Episode 13 Witness Recanting Felt Flat
This Climatic Moment Was Already Overplayed
The witness recanting shot should have been the most sinewy minute of " In God We Trust . " This adult female is distraught over her son ’s destruction . She tells the DA that although she did n’t like that her child had abandoned the biotic community , she was beaming he was happy and thought he was safe . She is shocked and heartbroken that Jacob , who she had know and trusted all her life , could do such a thing to her fry , and eager to come forward about what she saw — only to refuse under oath that she ever pick up anything at all .
alas , the prospect falls flat because the same thing has been done so many time before .
This heartwrenching decision could have made a powerful point about the influence that religious leaders have in insulated communities like the Baylor Church Community , especially on mass who are naturally timid and hesitant to speak up . Unfortunately , the scene falls flat because the same thing has been done so many times before . Rather than shock or anger , this scene inspires boredom and a sense of inevitableness because it is the same predictable trope that has been part of many old episode .
What Law & Order Can Do Instead Of This Trend
There Are Several Other Ways To Create Courtroom Drama
The in effect means to reverse this problem is to mix up the tropes used in the courtroom . Law & Orderwill be less predictable if the same thing does n’t fall out every week . rather , cases could use one of several recurring scenarios , such as witnesses refusing to collaborate from the get - go , judges making bad ruling , or the defense presenting a new idea at the last minute . Most of these happen all the sentence , soif the classic law procedural picks image for each installment without any discernible convention , it will help keep thing fresh .
There are several way Law & Order can course correct and recover viewership despite a meaning decline in its ratings compare to previous season .
to boot , Law & Ordercould lean into the fight between Price and Baxter ( Tony Goldwyn ) rather than focusing on court illusion . Price and Baxter have been at odds since Sam Waterson’sMcCoy leftLaw & Order , and their disagreement about how to fight for justice are more interesting than the obstacles in court . Focusing more on these bigger questions would do away with the recanting viewer trope from some episodes , making it shocking or else of expected on the occasions when it occurs .
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