Law & Order (TV Series) The System (2022) User Reviews

The System

[bobcobb301 · 8/10 · 11 December 2022]

This was a strong episode of Law and Order that deviated from the typical formula a little to tell a very complex story. From the inept defense attorney to everyone questioning their role in the system this episode had it all.

My only real gripe about this was the idea of the confession. How far did the detective push to elicit that confession when it seems like that goes against a very good portion of his existence and his mindset?

This set the stage for an exciting hour of TV and wrapped up the fall half of this season in a good way. Hopefully the start of Law and Order being back to its original form and quality.

Sum of the parts and the whole

[safenoe · 6/10 · 7 February 2024]

Chaundre Hall-Broomfield plays Troy Booker who is sadly under the thumb of injustice of The Man in The System, and whilst there were good intentions here and all, I'm not sure if the some of the parts made up the whole and all that if you know what I mean with that analogy.

Milauna Jackson chews the screen as Defense Attorney Jackson, and I think Milauna would be in the running to be in a future cast of Law and Order as a D. A. for instance. Connie Shi plays Detective Violet Yee, and it's good to see her getting screen time.

Anyway, the ending was very bittersweet and won't satisfy everyone init.

Two Wrongs don't make a right!

[labenji-12163 · 7/10 · 29 April 2023]

Public defenders like social workers are overworked and understaffed. Too many criminals or people doing stupid crap in society. I'm sorry, unless there is physical proof that a confession was extracted unlawfully then you are just a dumb ass for admitting to a crime you did not commit.

Stop using the race card every time you do something stupid. No one wants to take responsibility for their actions today.

It's always someone else's fault or the system, government., etc.

Secondly, there is a lot going on that the viewer is not given a reason for. Like what happened that made the guard escorting him to the court house draw his gun with the defendant was handcuffed. The video shows an exchange between the guard and the defendant that we are not given a reason for.

Nevertheless, to escape and take a hostages is inexcusable, if it were you he took hostage at gunpoint would you feel sorry for him. The system failing you is no excuse for you to then commit multiple crimes. As an AA female, I am tired of people using the race card every time a person of color is convicted of a crime.

The world is full of criminals, delinquents and down right evil people of all colors, that commit unspeakable crimes against society, and the only people that stand between law biding citizens and criminals is the police. Not all police officers are all good, nor are they all bad.

Bottom line in this episode, two wrongs don't make a right!

Right to a speedy trial

[garywholland-91484 · 2/10 · 3 January 2023]

This episode continues a recent trend where the writers create several problems that complicate a relatively simple case. Paramount to the story's legal irony is that the defendant has been imprisoned for 18 months without a trial. There is no good reason given for the delay except that it is somehow the ADA's fault.

Also, the defense attorney reveals that this is her first case and only got the case a few days earlier. While testimony shows a defense attorney had visited the defendant several times at Rikers, no explanation is provided as to why that defense attorney has vanished.

Finally, a video of the initial incident magically appears that clearly shows the defendant's innocence. Where did the video come from, and who found it?

The System is messed up.

[kwdghbh · 1/10 · 31 December 2022]

After that hour of complete dimwittery, it's a reminder that the characters in this show who want to uphold the law are privileged self righteous automatons who can't own up to their F-ups. It's a reflection of what happens IRL, but they did this guy dirty. Can't see the protagonists as the good guys anymore after this. Oh well. There are two other L&O shows to make up for this.

Other than that I give the defense attorney props for not just rolling over and taking it - pushing for her client because she seemed to be the only one besides his mother that cared.

This is the last episode of this show I'm going to watch.

Policing Black Bodies

[rfndayitabi · 10 December 2022]

They denied him the Sixth Amendment benefit, the ADA screwed up, the cop coerced a confession, the C. O. is a brutal thug, what could go wrong?

The origins of modern-day policing are traced back to the "Slave Patrol." The earliest formal slave patrol was created in the Carolinas in the early 1700s with one mission: to establish a system of terror and squash slave uprisings with the capacity to pursue, apprehend, and return runaway slaves to their owners. Tactics included the use of excessive force to control and produce desired slave behavior. It's enough to replace slave with " African-American" or POC (to a lesser extent) and you have the basis of this story! Following the Civil War, slave patrols were replaced by militias groups who were empowered to control and deny access to equal rights to freed slaves. They relentlessly and systematically enforced Black Codes, strict local and state laws that regulated and restricted access to labor, wages, voting rights, and general freedoms for formerly enslaved people. The criminal justice system is heavily impacted by the bias of police mentality and outdated judicial precedents. The system is largely driven by racial disparities and the Black community continues to be a target. The results are brutal and long lasting. The fact that a cop is a person of color cannot compensate an entrenched culture.

Derp and Lurch Try to Arrest the State Farm Guy

[bkkaz · 2/10 · 10 December 2022]

Not really, but the guy could play his brother. This is an episode that tries to sound a lot smarter than it is.

What do they think this is? SVU?

Here's a sample:

Derp (or Lurch . . . They're interchangeable based on function) finding conveniently available fast food receipts (after finding conveniently available white shoes with blood on them): The receipt says 11:43.

Lurch (or Derp): It's 11:48. We just missed him.

Noooooooooo, really? Golly, who would have thought a few minutes was a close call? Good thing they clarified that. Thanks, Derp (or Lurch).

Anyway, this episode has some more action in it. The really severe looking computer nerd wears a sweater that appears to be based on a plate of succotash. Camryn Manhands bobs and weaves while delivering her lines because that makes everything more dramatic. There's bookstore shenanigans that includes such intense scene chewing (including loads of gnashed teeth) that it could be a used in a class on overacting.

This is another episode where the main characters do something wrong -- in this case, railroading an innocent man who then murders someone trying to escape the violence of prison -- and it becomes all about them trying to put it right rather than simply having to face up to their actions and take their lumps. In other words, rather than being drama, it's melodrama, if not wishful thinking. Just once it would be so brave for them to let, say, Benson on SVU endure lasting repercussions on her career for her various soap box hypocrisies and that call out all her tedious performative do-gooding.

Here, the garden gnome messes up yet again and rather than be held accountable, there's a lot of legal rationalizations why that's okay. In the meantime, as usual, other characters pay the price. At least AOC is smart enough to speak little.

The episode does question racism, yet once again, it's limited to the same dynamic we've seen over and over and over when racism is faced by so many groups in this country. According to TV, nobody else has a problem from the police when it comes to race. Talk about science fiction. But then there's a big cop out at the end, too, that's meant to be a tragedy. It is because only some who deserve punishment get it.

That's not a law or police procedural. That's a Lifetime soap opera for people who think The Masked Singer is taut drama. The music is so heavy handed, it could be played in one of those ASPCA commercials. Derp and Lurch Try to Arrest Jake from State Farm.