Home'Law & Order' recap: Ed Green turns in his badge
Apr 24, 2008, 11:21 AM | by Alynda Wheat
Categories: Mini TV Watch, Television
Try as it might, Law & Order still can’t fully break a nasty habit. Jesse L. Martin worked his final case as Det. Ed Green in last night’s episode, and the show just couldn’t resist one more gotcha exit. (Go ahead and start singing Roberta Flack's "Jesse," if you must. I'll wait.)
As I was saying, there’s a pattern here -- consider the history. Poor Claire Kincaid (Jill Hennessy) was smashed in a car crash. Alexandra Borgia (Annie Parisse)? Sliced by a psycho and dumped in the trunk of a car. Serena Southerlyn (Elisabeth Rohm) and Adam Schiff (Steven Hill) were the lucky ones — L&O just outed Serena as a lesbian and killed off Adam's unseen wife. To be sure, not everyone gets so dramatic a send-off (notice how quietly they packed off Milena Govich’s one-and-done Nina Cassady?), but L&O does like its exclamation points. So we shouldn’t exactly be surprised that Green turned out to enjoy the company of croupiers.
As Green explained it, back in the dark days after the death of Lenny Brisco (the forever missed Jerry Orbach), he reignited a gambling habit that had him frequenting an underground casino in Harlem. Bad luck for him, the latest victim-of-the-week turned out to have a connection to Ed’s old nemesis from the tables. It all came crashing down when said thug ended up dead in the street with Ed’s bullet lodged firmly in his back. Cue the grand jury, strike up the indictment… a good cop ends up off the force.
Ah, but not dead. Or in jail. Or even all that sullied, really. Instead of nicking an artery, Law & Order let Ed Green walk out the door dignified and chivalrous (nice touch, having him protect the honor of a lady). “The man’s been in my office 100 times,” said Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston). “I just kind of assumed he wasn’t a murderer.” Murderer? Let’s see, he recovered admirably from an addiction, defended a troubled woman, and dispatched a homicidal freak. Any other city they’d be running him for mayor.
But this episode wasn’t only about giving fans and Martin — an L&O vet of nearly 200 episodes — a fitting send-off as he steps out the door to star in the Marvin Gaye biopic, Sexual Healing. It was also a chance to learn more about Jeremy Sisto’s Det. Cyrus Lupo, and meet his new partner, Kevin Bernard (Anthony Anderson). Verdicts? Well we know we dig Lupo because he has a cute dog, and we’re easily swayed by puppies. But Bernard? Let’s just say Anderson gonna have to keep bringing his special sauce, because so far B.'s investigative skills are iffy. Still, it’s a curious pairing, and perhaps the most dynamic since Brisco met Logan (Chris Noth). And bottom line, it’s probably best to go ahead and decide right now that we like them. I mean, what are we gonna do? Pick season 18 to suddenly stop watching?
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