Part of L&O's charm, and a huge part of why I love it, is that it focuses mostly on the characters' jobs instead of on their soapy "personal lives." While that may be part of the reason SVU is still on the air and the "mothership" series isn't, I'll always appreciate the latter's gritty, classy, fearless focus on plot over insipid clichés (most of the time, at least!). It's a show that's content to let character moments ooze through the cracks of individual plotlines, rather than smacking viewers over the head repeatedly with, say, season-long arcs centered on their love lives.
So when L&O does decide to slightly tweak its formula and focus more on the backstories one of the main cast members, it's usually worth sitting up and taking notice. Here, it's all about Detective Logan and a pedophile priest from his past played by Bill Raymond, along with a dead sex crimes detective Logan was friends with as a kid.
Chris Noth is more than up to the task, showcasing a more vulnerable side to his tough guy character. Dann Florek makes a welcome reappearance too as Donald Cragen; he helps Logan reconcile his complex feelings regarding what was done to him as a child and new revelations about his dead cop friend Marino. And Carolyn McCormick is here as Dr. Olivet, providing insight into the psychological tricks pedophiles use to ensnare their victims.
It's great stuff, and the DA's office has lots to do as they try to nail Father Joe Krolinsky for a growing list of decades-old crimes.
Ultimately, though, this is Logan's episode; the camera lingers on him before the end credits roll, his mind processing the preceding whirlwind events of "Bad Faith." Will he find closure? Watch and find out!
So when L&O does decide to slightly tweak its formula and focus more on the backstories one of the main cast members, it's usually worth sitting up and taking notice. Here, it's all about Detective Logan and a pedophile priest from his past played by Bill Raymond, along with a dead sex crimes detective Logan was friends with as a kid.
Chris Noth is more than up to the task, showcasing a more vulnerable side to his tough guy character. Dann Florek makes a welcome reappearance too as Donald Cragen; he helps Logan reconcile his complex feelings regarding what was done to him as a child and new revelations about his dead cop friend Marino. And Carolyn McCormick is here as Dr. Olivet, providing insight into the psychological tricks pedophiles use to ensnare their victims.
It's great stuff, and the DA's office has lots to do as they try to nail Father Joe Krolinsky for a growing list of decades-old crimes.
Ultimately, though, this is Logan's episode; the camera lingers on him before the end credits roll, his mind processing the preceding whirlwind events of "Bad Faith." Will he find closure? Watch and find out!