Law & Order Season 22 Episode 20 Review: Class Retreat

At what point do we look at a person and decide they are old enough to be held accountable for their actions? Law & Order Season 22 Episode 20, “Class Retreat,” aims to answer that with one of the most complicated cases of the season.

It comes down to the cold, hard fact that no one wins when a child kills someone. Especially when the killer is acting on an impulse that is influenced by their immaturity.

What makes this case even more complex is the personal nature in which it hits the Cosgrove family. We don’t often get to focus on the personal lives of our detectives, so this is a nice step outside the norm.

Detective Cosgrove Lays It All On the Line

From day one, we have all known that Detective Cosgrove is a passionate family man. In fact, his persona is the a-typical white father type that puts his family above all else, he’s hardly the first of his kind within the Law & Order universe.

(Stabler is another prime example of this archetype.)

Therefore, it doesn’t surprise us that Cosgrove goes to the ends of the earth to protect his daughter from the harsh realities of a murder trial. She’s always grown up around his job and knows the ins and outs better than her peers, but in his eyes, she still needs sheltering.

It makes for a more compelling episode because it gives viewers the opportunity to get a glimpse into the other side of this stoic detective. The side of him that rarely makes an appearance within a story, but that we know exists.

Cosgrove the father is almost a 180 of Cosgrove the detective and we wouldn’t have it any other way. He puts his reputation on the line to keep his daughter out of the courtroom but fails to see what she actually needs from him.

Jeffrey Donovan really shows off his emotional depth with “Class Retreat.” Most of the time his performances don’t need to be more than one note, but for this case, he had to bring his A-game — and he did.

This case is a learning opportunity for a character who barely ever grows beyond what we’ve always seen him do. Maybe now he will show more compassion toward other cases involving younger suspects.

Perhaps we will also start to see more of Cosgrove’s family loyalty take precedence over his job. We’ve seen it before during Law & Order Season 22 Episode 4, “Benefit of the Doubt” when Cosgrove knows his mentor messed up their case, but he puts his relationship with him over reporting it to his colleagues.

At What Point Do We Seek Alternative Punishments?

One of the biggest issues for Price with this case is that he doesn’t feel comfortable going balls to the wall on an emotionally unstable teenager. Usually, he is the more logical of the group, so this emotional hesitation is surprising for him.

Equally surprising is Maroun’s siding with McCoy stating that you can’t pick and choose how you interpret the law because you feel for the killer. It’s hard to decide which side you want to land on because ultimately the kid did kill a man.

There has to be some kind of happy-medium solution where the teen still sees consequences for his very serious actions. And still doesn’t have to be thrown in a prison cell for something he did within the confines of his emotional immaturity.

Yes, he is 17 and legally an adult, but as this case reveals, he is also extremely unstable. He loves Sophia to the point of thinking he has to protect her at all costs — instead of just talking to her.

Prior to his breakdown that leads to murder, this teen had hacked Sophia’s phone to ensure she wasn’t being unfaithful to him. Everything about him points to being emotionally incompetent. 

He needs serious mental help and throwing him in prison shows a concerning lack of empathy in that regard. Seeing Price question that gives us hope that he is becoming a more rounded ADA that will eventually make different decisions.

If Law & Order really wants to make a statement with a case it would show a resolution that involves trying to help the suspects instead of condemning them to never learning from their actions. 

—

What did you think of this episode of Law & Order? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Critic Rating:

User Rating:

 

Law & Order airs Thursdays at 8/7c on NBC.

 Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram!

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!

Vote for Your Favorite TV Shows and Performers! The 2023 Tell-Tale TV Awards (Round 1)