A man is accused of raping and killing his girlfriend's sister and another victim. Prosecutors make a deal with the girlfriend for her testimony against the accused, but they also suspect th... Read allA man is accused of raping and killing his girlfriend's sister and another victim. Prosecutors make a deal with the girlfriend for her testimony against the accused, but they also suspect that she was a willing participant in the murders.A man is accused of raping and killing his girlfriend's sister and another victim. Prosecutors make a deal with the girlfriend for her testimony against the accused, but they also suspect that she was a willing participant in the murders.
- Peter Williams
- (as Samuel Ball)
- Detective Elliot Stabler
- (as Chris Meloni)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis episode appears to be based on the true story of Canadian serial killers Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka (aka "The Ken and Barbie Killers"). Bernardo (aka "The Scarborough Rapist") and Homolka were arrested in 1993 and by 1995, Bernardo was convicted of the murder of two teenagers: he received life in prison and a dangerous offender designation, the full maximum sentence allowed in Canada. During the 1993 investigation, Karla Homolka told investigators that Bernardo had abused her and that she had been an unwilling accomplice to the murders. As a result, she struck a deal with prosecutors for a reduced prison sentence of 12 years in exchange for a guilty plea for manslaughter. On the Psychopathy Checklist, Homolka scored 5/40 in contrast to Bernardo's 35/40. However, videotapes of the crimes were later found that demonstrated that she was a more active participant in the crimes than she had claimed. As a result, the deal that she had struck with prosecutors was dubbed in the Canadian press the "Deal with the Devil." Public outrage about Homolka's plea deal continued until her high-profile release from prison in 2005.
- GoofsWhen Laura Kendrick is recorded asking about her bracelet, the video played later is an alternative take.
- Quotes
[last lines]
A.D.A. Abbie Carmichael: Police found the other two girls. Killed the same way as Anneke Ullman.
Executive A.D.A. Jack McCoy: Know who they were?
A.D.A. Abbie Carmichael: Two runaways from Indiana.
Executive A.D.A. Jack McCoy: We'll use it Peter Williams' sentencing.
A.D.A. Abbie Carmichael: What about Laura Kendrick?
Executive A.D.A. Jack McCoy: Parole board will hear about it twenty-five years from now.
A.D.A. Abbie Carmichael: How do you wash it off, Jack?
Executive A.D.A. Jack McCoy: I wish I knew.
- ConnectionsReferences Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999)
Was a bit worried that "Fools for Love" would be a bit too ordinary, as it did sound formulaic structurally and other Season 10 episodes tackled far bolder and heavier themes. As said a few times in reviews for previous episodes, 'Law and Order' has actually shown more than once that it can do something interesting and at times special with ordinary-sounding premises. The "doing something special" category is not quite achieved in "Fools for Love", but the episode succeeds in "doing something interesting" with the subject.
The ending did feel a bit rushed and over-crowded, a lot is revealed in dialogue and information and more time to reveal it would have made it easier to get the head round.
Peter Ball agreed has a fairly limited range here and is quite bland.
Bland is not a word that could be used summing up Ellen Pompeo's performance, she has the most well fleshed out character and plays her with cunning and venom. Jerry Orbach and Jesse L Martin are indeed excellent, and their chemistry has gelled beautifully in humour and grit, but Pompeo for me gave the best performance.
Moreover, the production values are still fully professional, the slickness and subtly gritty style still remaining. The music is sparingly used and is haunting and thankfully non-overwrought. The direction shows some nice tension in the legal scenes. The script is thought provoking and smart, thankfully not rambling or too complicated that it makes things confused. A lot of the legal scenes' dialogue really probes thought and pulls no punches, which prime-'Law and Order' often excelled at brilliantly. It's not just non stop seriousness though, there are also humorous moments here and there such as Briscoe's one-liners. The story is an interesting and well paced one that is a lot less ordinary than it sounds, parts are suitably creepy too.
Overall, very good. 8/10.
- TheLittleSongbird
- Nov 24, 2021