Law & Order: Organized Crime - Season 2 Television Review

I've been pretty busy lately so I haven't had much time to really work on the blog, but this series has been something I've wanted to remark upon for some time. Please be forewarned that there will be some ranting in this review and I plan to write a review for season one of this, but I'm wading through that atrocity for a second time to ensure I can properly catalogue all of its failings.

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Where to Find It: I saw this one on Amazon Video where it is available for rental/purchase, however it is also available for streaming on Peacock.

General Information 
Law and Order: Organized Crime season two originally premiered on 23 September 2021 with an expanded slate of episodes. Unlike season one's paltry eight episodes, season two boasts 22. From an accolades perspective, this one is pretty below-the-radar. It has a Metacritic page, but no score. Rotten Tomatoes is similar with no Tomatometer rating, but it does have a staggeringly suspicious 86% Audience Score.
 
The Story
Season two kicks off with a rushed close-out of season one after that it seemingly forgot to conclude its own plot. Detective Stabler (played by Christopher Meloni) has moved on from Richard Wheatley (Dylan McDermott) and is now working undercover against the Albanian Mafia. This case will test Stabler's mettle as he'll have to stay one step ahead of the hoods he's ingratiating himself with while also trying to dig up hard-hitting evidence of their misdeeds. The Albanians aren't the only threat the NYPD organized crime task force will have to contend with in this season though. Right around the corner is a hacker syndicate as well as a dangerous street gang aligned with a group of dirty cops.

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Stabler is in for a fight this season

Although I love the variety of cases this season tackles, it makes each story-line feel a bit rushed and disjointed from every other one. Without going into spoilers, the Albanian portion (arguably the most engaging) abruptly ends before the season is even halfway over and a new story-line is started. My assumption was that this might be a mid-season break, but it feels a bit too early and this same mistake is made again later in the season. The second half of the show barely (if at all) recognizes anything that happened in the Albanian segment.

With all of the change-ups in plot focus, one would think that other characters outside of Stabler would get some time in the sun, but this never really happens. Sergeant Bell (Danielle Moné Truitt) gets some great opportunities to take center stage when she begins a professional relationship with a dubious politician but it's never fully explored. The same can be said for Detective Slootmaekers (Ainsley Seiger), who is able to develop more as a character but misses out on some solid chances to shine. In essence, this show feels more like "Law & Order: Elliott Stabler" as it's clear he's the only one the show runners are interested in following.

Like season one, this show breaks from the standard Law & Order template by providing a serialized plot, but it feels as though it struggles to fully grasp this concept. Plot focus isn't the only thing that feels rushed, as many subplots and themes are left twisting in the wind too. This is arguably most egregious with the inclusion of a new character named Nova (Nona Parker Johnson), who explores concepts of conflicted loyalty, family, and revenge but it's all severely under-cooked.

Minor Spoiler Warning: A final item I need to get off of my chest here is that Richard Wheatley returns in this season and it nearly broke me. I'll be blunt: the Wheatley plot of season one was what made season one so bad that it started to become a comedy. His return and the plot surrounding him immediately shifted the tone of the season as it felt more like I was watching Arrow than Law & Order. It seems like Wheatley has been set up to be some kind of long-term foil for Stabler, but it doesn't work and it would benefit the franchise if we never see the techno-mobster again.

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Words cannot describe how I was both annoyed and overjoyed to see this man again

Special Effects/Atmosphere
One of the few areas season one actually executed well was in its special effects and sound design. Despite the franchise's gritty origins, season two is incredibly stylish when it comes to visuals. Everything looks really well put together and the action scenes are shot very competently. I was especially engaged with episodes five, eight, and twenty-one. If I had to compare the set-pieces to anything else, I'd say I get a lot of Taken vibes from this season.

Per IMDB, Rusk Williamson appears to lead the sound design (in regards to music) for the season. The background music really helps sell a lot of scenes in season two. There's some great variation that presents an almost a cyberpunk-like quality to the franchise. I was frequently reminded of the video game, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided's musical composers, Michael McCann and Sascha Dikiciyan. It's really quite good and I'd argue it's still the best part of the show.

The Acting
From what I've seen of Christopher Meloni's work, this may just be the best I've ever seen him throughout his time as Stabler. We get to see a lot of sides of Stabler that just didn't have the chance to flourish in Law & Order: SVU. It was great seeing Meloni grapple with a lot of Stabler's internalized trauma and conflicts without getting too hammy. I'm also happy to observe that Meloni and Truitt's chemistry is improving from season one, with the same being said for his interactions with Seiger. I don't have much to say about either actress, but I'm hopeful we'll see more of them in season three.
 
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Truitt and Seiger play their parts well, but their characters need more work

The original Law & Order always benefited from the inclusion of some great guest talent and season two cast some great ones. I've always been a fan of Mykelti Williamson and Vinnie Jones, who are both wonderful character actors. These two outperform all of the other "bad guys" in the season, which is saying something as Dennis Leary and Jennifer Beals are also in this.

One area that I'm not impressed with is the cast that plays Elliott's family and loved ones. I love Mariska Hargitay just as much as everyone else does, but I don't see the chemistry between her and Meloni that used to be present in Law & Order: SVU. Ellen Burstyn makes an incredibly poor first-impression as Stabler's mentally ill mother, but I primarily blame that on the writers. Lastly, I guess it was mentioned at some point in season one, but I didn't realize Nicky Torchia was trying to pass himself off as a teenager as Stabler's youngest son, Eli. Apparently, Nicky is actually quite young, but the dude looks like he's in his mid twenties and I assumed he was a college kid for half the show until he specifically brought up going to high school.

The Best of the Best: Episode eight is arguably my favorite of the season and probably should be where one would stop watching this season.

The Worst of the Worst: Any scene involving Richard Wheatley.

Calhooey Score: 5/10 - Average

Would I Recommend?
5
We may need to consider witness protection

Season two of Law & Order: Organized Crime is a major step up from season one, but it frequently stumbles. The inconsistent themes and poorly developed subplots weigh down some fun story-lines and quality actors. Some individual episodes would score as high as 7/10 for me, but there are others that would also hit 3/10. This can be a fun show as background noise or if you are invested in the Law & Order world like I am. If you're not interested in either of those, then I would suggest watching the first eight episodes and then bail out.
Spoiler Comments
  • It cracks me up that this season essentially opens with a quick five minutes to explain away the rest of season one with some nonsense exposition about Wheatley informing on the rest of the mafia (none of whom we actually saw). Sucks to be those invisible bad guys, but at least the DA is happy.
  • I love that our first scene of Stabler's mom is of her slapping a random child in Central Park.
  • I kept waiting for Reggie to show back up later in the season to possibly attempt some type of revenge play against Stabler for taking him down. It would've been a nice way to tie the first third of the season in with the rest, but I understand that might be a bit too much.
  • Well, Actually: The showdown at the gas station between the Mafia and the Albanians supposedly really happened in the early 2000s. Joaquin Garcia talks about it in his book, Making Jack Falcone: An Undercover FBI Agent Takes Down a Mafia Family.
    • I don't recall Garcia mentioning a rocket launcher being used in that face-off though...
  • James Cromwell is wasted in this show.
    • Also: what the hell was he doing when Wheatley's goons kidnapped Stabler's mom? Why did he suddenly have a change of heart?
      • Apparently, the latch on a glass balcony door is ineffective against an armed assault team.
  • When I saw Dylan McDermott re-appear in the credits on episode nine, I let out the most audible groan I could muster. Why is this show making me hate this man?
  • How did Stabler's dad's friend know Stabler was undercover? How did he know to call Donnelly?
    • I guess he just gets away with framing a kid back then too. I suppose Stabler's stern talking-to is justice enough.
  • I'm glad Stabler finally pays the price for never waiting for back-up.
    • Except he doesn't really pay the price as his vest miraculously saves him from all harm!
      • He also doesn't seem to learn anything as he refuses help in catching any of his three would-be killers!
  • I laughed out loud when Denise (Bell's wife) ignored Bell's warnings that Kilbride was corrupt and then was immediately like "how could this have happened?" when Kilbride was arrested.
  • The grand reveal that Nova killed Webb, quit the NYPD, and went to Chicago with her brother (that she shot by the way) was dumb, and I need people to know this.

References

(1) Karanam, S. (2021, September 22). Law & Order: Organized Crime cover image. Daily Research Plot. Retrieved from: https://dailyresearchplot.com/2021/09/22/law-and-order-organized-crime-season-2-release-date-and-time-possible-plot/.

(2) nbclawandorder. (2021, October 19). Albanian mob gif. Tenor. Retrieved from: https://tenor.com/view/scolded-ada-gabe-rezek-law-and-order-organized-crime-speechless-focused-gif-23489602.
(3) nbclawandorder. (2022, January 18). Richard Wheatley eating pizza. Tenor. Retrieved from: https://tenor.com/view/eating-pizza-richard-wheatley-law-and-order-organized-crime-snack-time-take-a-bite-gif-24556791.
(4) elliotoiivia. (2022, May 14). Seiger hugging Meloni gif. Tenor. Retrieved from: https://tenor.com/view/law-and-order-organized-crime-law-and-order-oc-oc-elliot-stabler-jet-slootmaekers-gif-25678776.
(5) nbclawandorder. (2021, December 13). Stabler consoling gif. Tenor. Retrieved from: https://tenor.com/view/were-gonna-work-it-out-me-and-you-right-elliot-stabler-law-and-order-organized-crime-we-can-make-this-out-right-were-gonna-make-it-work-right-gif-24126893.

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