Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 3 Episode 2 Review: Everybody Knows The Dice Are Loaded

Let’s go!

Stabler’s on a new case featuring a Godfather-like family that believes it owns all of New York City.

Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 3 Episode 2 introduced the Silas family, and they seemed like realistic uber-wealthy people who are used to getting whatever they want.

This case felt more like a real mob case than previous installments of this series. Wheatley had crossed over into supervillain territory long ago, and some other cases involved taking down one man who controlled everything.

This time, the mob wasn’t involved in anything huge. Teddy Junior decided to eliminate one old man who was in his way and didn’t think anyone would look too closely at what happened to him.

This was a refreshing change of pace and made for a more compelling story than some of the more over-the-top stuff from the past.

There’s more to this family than meets the eye. So far, we’ve only hinted at the dynamics between Teddy Sr. and Teddy Jr.

Younger Silas: Why were they here?
Teddy: Because I invited them. You want to take the reins of this city? You need to be able to ride any kind of animal.

Teddy Jr appears desperate to please his father, who claims to be hard on him because he loves him. The younger Teddy most likely is not great mob material and enjoys the idea of power but may not understand how his father got it.

Pearl is also an interesting character. She’s onto her husband, at least to an extent, and Teddy Sr disapproves of her. These weaknesses seem suitable for exploitation!

Thankfully, Stabler won’t be the one doing the undercover work this time. That trope was so overused on Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 2 that it was not believable. Every bad guy in town should have known him after the first time he took down Wheatley and not fallen for his act.

Instead, Organized Crime finally hired an undercover agent. Reyes ‘ infiltration of the unit while they were waiting for a traditional interview was hilarious.

It doesn’t bode well for their security that he could easily set himself up with a fake repair order and a disguise as an electrician. Maybe he can give them some tips for improvement.

But Jet should be fangirling him as hard as she did the rat researchers. He’s one of the few people who can out hack her.

The jury is still out on the other new guy.

Stabler: Who is this?
Bell: Detective Jamie Whalen.
Stabler: When does he go through puberty?

.

Unlike Stabler, I don’t care about Whalen’s youth. But his inexperience seems to make him hotheaded. Bell was only half joking when she said he could be the next Stabler.

We already have one impulsive rule breaker, so we don’t need another.

I’m also not sure yet we can trust him. He claimed to want to be part of the team because he hates dirty cops. But are we sure the Brotherhood is completely disbanded?

A mole who wants to cause trouble might present himself as the proverbial good cop who stands up to bad cops, although it’s equally possible I’m being paranoid.

As for Bell’s annoyance that Stabler went against her orders… um, she’s known Stabler for how long now?

He’s so used to doing what he wants and getting nothing more than a mild lecture for it that he probably interpreted her telling him not to investigate Henry’s death without permission as tacit approval of him going behind her back!

Anyway, he was right. There was no time to lose. Not only did the ME want to issue a report, but the Silases wanted to demolish Henry’s building.

Without designating the apartment as a crime scene, the evidence would have been blown up in minutes.

This jilted, not-ready-to-divorce Bell isn’t having it, though. She’s taking her frustration with her marital situation out on Stabler.

I’m not sure how I feel about this divorce. Denise’s decision to leave seemed impulsive and stupid, and it’s unclear how much time has passed since then.

There’s been nothing on-screen to make her seem more reasonable. Yes, Bell spends a lot of time at work, but Denise knew that going in.

And her declaration that Bell abandoned her and the baby when she’s the one who left seemed spurious.

The kind of work that Bell and Stabler do takes dedication. It’s a shame that detectives on these shows often must choose between their career and their families. They do essential work that always ends up viewed as an unfair burden for their partner to carry.

Bell: Maybe Denise was right. All I ever cared about was my career. Was it worth it?
Stabler: I was married a long time and all I can tell you, if I’m being honest, is that it worked because Kathy made it work. I was a crap husband.

I liked Bell and Stabler’s conversation about that, though. Stabler is right that Kathy kept their marriage and family together. It’s impressive that they had five kids under the circumstances.

Benson also played a role. She always encouraged Stabler to work things out with Kathy.

Of course, there is no Kathy anymore, so where does that leave Stabler now? He probably also wonders whether his sacrifices were worth it, considering how everything turned out.

Your turn, Law & Order: Organized Crime fanatics! Hit that big, blue SHOW COMMENTS button and share your thoughts!

If you need to review the twists and turns first, watch Law & Order: Organized Crime online.

Law & Order: Organized Crime airs on NBC on Thursdays at 10 PM EST  / PST.

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Jack Ori is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. His debut young adult novel, Reinventing Hannah, is available on Amazon. Follow him on Twitter.

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