Law & Order Review: The Great Pretender (Season 21 Episode 9)
What starts off as fascinating case of fake identity, turns into a confusing mess of fighting the opioid crisis on Law & Order Season 21 Episode 9, “The Great Pretender.” Viewers are left scratching their heads wondering where the episode went so wrong.
While the opioid crisis is definitely a very real, and very relevant case to cover right now it doesn’t tie in well with the start of the episode. Honestly, a fake heiress is much more fascinating than trying to tie her murder into pharmaceutical negligence.
With only a tie in from the guy who killed Ella/Mary, this case seems better suited to stand on its on in a different episode. Instead, the show tries to cover two very current case types in one — which creates a mess.
Is She Ella? Or Is She Mary?
Bernard and Cosgrove’s initial investigation is a fun one. They follow the trail thinking they are dealing with a member of a well-to-do, old money family.
When it turns out that the girl is just pretending in order to live the high life, things get a bit more complicated. On the one hand it’s fascinating to see that she cons a ton of people into paying for things.
However, where the episode starts to fail, is in the dissolution of her fake life much too quickly. The investigation finds the killer a bit too quickly and without much flair, which already has us wondering what is still out there once Cosgrove makes the arrest.
It could have been interesting to learn more about her motives for becoming this heiress and deciding to basically deny her own parents. There are just so many ways this case could’ve been the only major focus of the episode.
So many twists could’ve been made regarding who killed her and their motives.
Price’s Background Chipped Away
The further we go into this season, the more we learn about the ever stoic Price. From the start he’s been very closed off about his personal life and there isn’t much to tell about why he is that way.
However, switching this case from a murder trial for a young woman to a negligent homicide case for big pharma is something we don’t see coming. Even more so, we don’t see Price’s adamant determination to make this a big pharma case coming based on his previous leanings.
It’s not a very relevant case to their current murder, so why does he push so hard to give their murderer a deal in exchange for testimony against a pharmaceutical company? We find out that Price lost his brother to opioids and then everything else falls into place.
While it’s fascinating to chip away a little bit more at Price’s walls, this doesn’t excuse Law & Order from trying to do too much in one episode.
The Verdict That Shouldn’t Have Happened
I’ve already made it abundantly clear that this case should have never been the one on trial — at least not for “The Great Pretender.” However, seeing the trial play out makes us even more frustrated because the verdict itself doesn’t seem logical.
Based on the evidence presented it’s an iffy case at best, especially considering their star witness should actually be on trial for murder and was currently high while testifying. Sure, Price and Maroun made it go away with accusations of hearsay, but still Maroun made sure he was “presentable for court” meaning Maroun gave him his drugs.
Honestly, I went into the trial expecting it to end in a mistrial or a not guilty verdict because the case presented has many holes and room for doubts. So, when a guilty verdict is handed down we are left not satisfied.
Sure, it’s refreshing to see a pharmaceutical company go down for the awful things they allow to happen in the name of making money. However, based on the case presented the judgment doesn’t fit.
I guess that’s the beauty of TV though, things can work out perfectly and get tied up in wishful little bows despite it not making sense.
What did you think of this episode of Law & Order? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Law & Order airs Thursdays at 8/7c on NBC.
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Mads Misasi
Mads is a part-time entertainment journalist and full-time marketing content creator. They love any and all TV Dramas with a few sitcoms mixed in. Join in the fun talking about TV by following them on Twitter: @dorothynyc89.