While this episode arguably feels more personal due to the crimes being perpetrated on a member of the cast - in this case Carolyn McCormick as Dr. Elizabeth Olivet - it still reeks of plot contrivances and exploitative storytelling.
This is not Law & Order at its most classy or compelling. Rather, it feels schlocky and scummy, like any other bad procedural; the moment when Olivet willingly goes back to the sadistic OB-GYN's office, knowing that he is going to rape her, is sickening. She records this encounter and it's later used in court as part of the episode's examination of what does or doesn't constitute entrapment.
Those of a certain political bent would likely be outraged if this episode was produced today, and they might be inclined to use that nebulous and increasingly common label of "problematic." But I think that regardless of political persuasion, there's an argument here that this episode is simply slimy in its treatment of rape and contrived in its plotting.
There are, admittedly, some creative choices made by the DA's office towards the end of the episode to finally bring the bad guy to justice by preying on Dr. Merritt's ego (he's played wickedly, yet hammily, by actor Paul Hecht). I loved Schiff's description of the judge: "The Honorable Keith Silver. Wrote the book on the rights of the accused. He thinks Miranda is 5 pages too short." And the portrayal of the doctor's other victims being shamed into silence does carry some weight. But the first half of the episode tainted it for me, and there are more creative "order" segments in other episodes.
Additionally, most episodes of Law & Order move at a roadrunner's pace; I knew something was off when this one spent an unusual amount of time lingering on the graphic rapes (2 of them) from Olivet's perspective. It was clearly done to give our male lawfighters more motivation to pursue the villainous doc later on, but whether or not that outweighs some of the questionable creative decisions here will have to be up to the viewer to decide. In my opinion, Law & Order can (and did) do so much better than this.
This is not Law & Order at its most classy or compelling. Rather, it feels schlocky and scummy, like any other bad procedural; the moment when Olivet willingly goes back to the sadistic OB-GYN's office, knowing that he is going to rape her, is sickening. She records this encounter and it's later used in court as part of the episode's examination of what does or doesn't constitute entrapment.
Those of a certain political bent would likely be outraged if this episode was produced today, and they might be inclined to use that nebulous and increasingly common label of "problematic." But I think that regardless of political persuasion, there's an argument here that this episode is simply slimy in its treatment of rape and contrived in its plotting.
There are, admittedly, some creative choices made by the DA's office towards the end of the episode to finally bring the bad guy to justice by preying on Dr. Merritt's ego (he's played wickedly, yet hammily, by actor Paul Hecht). I loved Schiff's description of the judge: "The Honorable Keith Silver. Wrote the book on the rights of the accused. He thinks Miranda is 5 pages too short." And the portrayal of the doctor's other victims being shamed into silence does carry some weight. But the first half of the episode tainted it for me, and there are more creative "order" segments in other episodes.
Additionally, most episodes of Law & Order move at a roadrunner's pace; I knew something was off when this one spent an unusual amount of time lingering on the graphic rapes (2 of them) from Olivet's perspective. It was clearly done to give our male lawfighters more motivation to pursue the villainous doc later on, but whether or not that outweighs some of the questionable creative decisions here will have to be up to the viewer to decide. In my opinion, Law & Order can (and did) do so much better than this.