A woman claims that a Puerto Rican man kidnapped her infant daughter while she was in a church confessional. However, she later confesses to killing her baby and cremating her body.A woman claims that a Puerto Rican man kidnapped her infant daughter while she was in a church confessional. However, she later confesses to killing her baby and cremating her body.A woman claims that a Puerto Rican man kidnapped her infant daughter while she was in a church confessional. However, she later confesses to killing her baby and cremating her body.
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- Leah Coleman
- (as Elizabeth Hanly Rice)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe episode appears to be based on two separate cases:
- The 1994-1995 Susan Smith case. In October 1994, she drowned her two toddlers by driving her car into a lake. She appeared on TV, sobbing, with her ex-husband, begging the African-American man who she claimed carjacked her at a stoplight to return her boys. She broke down about a week later and confessed her crime. She was sentenced to 25 years in prison. The Susan Smith case is even referenced in this episode, though not mentioned by name, when Curtis initially defends the mother in this case, saying: "You're not gonna find her baby in a car at the bottom of some lake".
- The 1968 Brewer v Williams case, in which a police officer "mentions" that he hopes the child's body is found so she can have a "Christian burial." This statement persuaded the murderer to lead the officer to where the victim's body was. This became a US Supreme Court case about Miranda warnings (of right to counsel and right to not incriminate oneself) and the validity of confessions outside of formal interrogation proceedings. A later landmark Supreme Court case, Rhode Island v Innis addressed similar issues and shares key facts with this episode.
- Quotes
Claire Kincaid: [to McCoy] Admit it, Jack, you were a little tough on that priest.
Jack McCoy: When you're raised by the Jesuits, you end up obedient or impertinent.
[the waiter sets a drink down in front of McCoy]
Jack McCoy: I didn't order this.
Waiter: It's on the gentleman at the bar.
[points to the bar and McCoy turns to see Fineman raising a glass to him]
Jack McCoy: [to the waiter] Take it back.
Claire Kincaid: Can't forgive anyone, eh?
Jack McCoy: No, I can't. Besides, that was bourbon. I'm drinking scotch.
- ConnectionsReferences The Oprah Winfrey Show (1986)
Season 6 was not a consistent season up to this early stage of it, with some episodes being better than others, but none of the previous episodes are bad and a lot of them are even brilliant. "Angel" has a very interesting, if not exactly novel, idea for a story that sounds incredibly shocking and hard hitting when hearing of it. And that was exactly how the execution of the story was. While not one of my very favourite episodes of 'Law and Order', it is among Season 6's better episodes in my view.
The production values are solid and the intimacy of the photography doesn't get static or too filmed play-like. The music when used is not too over-emphatic and has a melancholic edge that is quite haunting. The direction is sympathetic enough without being leaden. The script is beautifully balanced tonally, tight and clever, that has some hard-boiled yet also entertaining exchanges between Briscoe and Curtis, thought-probing insight into the moral dilemmas that come with the case (prime 'Law and Order' was always very good at this) and the perpetrator's state of mind and some deliciously outrageous irony.
"Angel's" story is a fine example of what 'Law and Order' and the whole franchise at their best were so good at doing (and better than most shows before, during and since), tackling heavy and controversial topics and doing so in a way that hits hard. The story drew me right in and never let go, with a lot of emotional impact of genuine shock and poignancy. The truth is truly disturbing and utterly unthinkable in normal circumstances. The policing is some of the most intriguing and entertaining of the season.
Curtis is the most interesting and likeable here he was up to this early stage of his stint, especially in his pivotal scene with Leah where he is fiercely firm yet also empathetic. The legal scenes leaves one pondering afterwards and did like how the approach to the topic was not too one-sided, even with the pretty laughable defense argument (it was also though entertainingly ironic). The characters are interesting, especially the perpetrator. All the regulars are great, while Fisher Stevens has fun in his somewhat annoying role and Elizabeth Connors does unnerving and occasionally pathos with ease.
Overall, great. 9/10
- TheLittleSongbird
- Feb 3, 2021