Law & Order: Organized Crime Review: I Got This Rat (Season 1 Episode 6)
The drama starts right away on Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 1 Episode 6, “I Got This Rat.”
Instead of beating around the bush regarding the startling news revealed on Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 1 Episode 5, “An Inferior Product,” Elliot immediately arrests Angela for Kathy’s murder. Angela not seeing it coming makes the scene that much more delicious to watch.
Kudos to Elliot for not questioning if Angela was the culprit, especially after their highly inappropriate kiss. The best scenes from the episode are between these two. Their sexual innuendo is hard to stomach for Elliot/Olivia fans, so this turmoil is a refreshing dynamic for the pair.
But, what is going to happen to Angela Wheatley after all this? She does not deny the murder, so she is most definitely going to prison. If she does stick around, maybe she can pop up as an informant that can bring down her ex-husband. Elliot will most certainly not like this, which will only bring even more drama to this stellar series.
What really works on Law & Order: Organized Crime is the presence of Elliot’s family. These are characters we have been following since 1999, so it is great to see them again. What’s even better is the actors playing Kathleen and Dickie are the same ones from Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, albeit Allison Siko is Kathleen Stabler number two.
However, Eli Stabler is way older than he should be. We didn’t forget that Olivia delivered Eli after a car accident in season nine of SVU back in late 2007. That means Eli is now 13-years-old. The actor playing Eli looks to be about five years older than that.
Aging Eli by a few years does help with Elliot’s family story. Eli is the one witnessing the toll that Kathy’s death is taking, and that is something harder for someone younger to comprehend. Hopefully, Eli will get more age-appropriate teen angst stories in future seasons.
What does not work on Law & Order: Organized Crime is the presence of Wheatley’s family. The characters are not interesting, and they do not move the Wheatley story forward in a compelling manner. The focus needs to shift back to Angela and Richard’s rocky past relationship to make this story work.
It is also confusing to figure out Wheatley’s backstory.
One day he is dabbling in stolen COVID-19 vaccines, the next he is selling drugs. He is involved in so many illegal acts, but the Organized Crime Unit is unable to arrest him for any of these crimes. This is not plausible and causes the story of the week to be lost among the rest of the episode.
Several items that were a bit confusing from “An Inferior Product” are thankfully being clarified. Bell’s nephew may get the justice he deserves after his run-in with two rogue police officers. It is great to see this backstory involving Bell’s personal life moving forward, although only shown briefly.
And there is finally more of the supporting Organized Crime team.
Washburn, Morales, and Slootmaekers are starting to appear more helping to crack the case of the week. Hopefully, we will start to see situations that allow Washburn and Morales to work the perps like detectives on Dick Wolf’s other series (Chicago P.D. and FBI).
The case of the week does have one interesting moment. Bell and Stabler entering the men’s bathhouse is quite exhilarating. The fight scenes between Elliot and the naked man are quite reminiscent of the 2007 film Eastern Promises. It is shocking how much skin can be shown on network television these days.
And RIP to Gina Cappelletti.
Now it makes sense why Charlotte Sullivan is not in the opening credits. Though it is not clear she dies from Richie’s gunshots, it seems pretty hopeless that she will be back. But who does not love a good and unrealistic plot twist? After all, the informant did say he is going to take care of the body. Yes, take care of her by going to the hospital ASAP!
What did you think of this episode of Law & Order: Organized Crime? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Law & Order: Organized Crime airs Thursdays at 10/9c on NBC.
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Tim Gerstenberger
Tim Gerstenberger received a BA degree in communication from Saginaw Valley State University and a MSA degree in human resources from Central Michigan University. His past work has been published on Yahoo!, Examiner and TV Overmind. He has had a passion for TV since an early age and some of his favorite shows include: Friends, The Office, Parks and Rec, Saved by the Bell, Happy Endings, Schitt's Creek, Friday Night Lights, Law & Order: SVU, The Good Wife and The One Chicago franchise. He currently works in Public Relations at Ally Financial and resides in Michigan.