Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 4 Episode 1 Review: Memory Lane

One of the things we can always count on from the OCCB is that a day’s work will never be boring. Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 4 Episode 1, “Memory Lane,” does a great job of dropping us into where the team is currently while also paying mind to the elephant in the room — Jamie’s absence.

Often when a show kills off a character or ends a previous season on an intense moment, it struggles to pick up the pieces moving forward. Thankfully, “Memory Lane,” isn’t one of those instances. In fact, there is a nice balance between moving forward and looking back.

It’s never easy to lose one of your own, especially in the traumatic way OCCB lost Jamie. That kind of loss leaves behind traces of trauma — a trauma that needs to be addressed without holding back the overall vibe of the show.

Post-Jamie Whelan’s Death

Going into this premiere, I was nervous that the writers would just skate over the loss of Jamie. That, there would be a time jump, and the team would be all put back together without any exploration of their grief or trauma. 

Much to everyone’s surprise, the episode doesn’t gloss over anything. The team is still very much in their grief, and Bell is doing her best to keep everything together.

What is most interesting is how each member of the team is handling it. For Stabler, he chose to immediately go undercover, Jet closed herself off to everyone else, and Reyes simply buried himself in his work.

It’s great to see that this unexpected and devastating loss is still being felt some months later (we aren’t exactly sure how much time has passed). The wounds have never been officially dealt with, and so they sit there open and hurting.

Bell herself seems to be struggling to keep everything together while not showing her team any sign of weakness. She begrudges Stabler for up and leaving instead of staying to help everyone through. 

It shows that no matter how much progress Stabler has made with regard to coping and mental health, he still falls back on old habits when faced with intense emotions. This time, his duck-and-cover routine has caused irreparable harm to the team as a whole. 

The disjointed nature of OCCB that currently exists is going to cause them to run into more and more trouble as the season progresses. 

Los Santos vs OCCB

Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 4 Episode 1, “Memory Lane,” also does a great job of bringing in a completely new case for them to cover. The strong point about this Law & Order spin-off is that it isn’t a case-of-the-week type of dynamic.

It is very clear that despite making headway on the location of Los Santos’ drug lab operation, there is still so much more for them to uncover. After all, the heads of the operation are still out there, and drugs are still being transported.

I personally appreciate the show covering the very real Fentanyl epidemic currently plaguing this country. It’s the perfect kind of case for the OCCB to work because it stretches from China to New York and the United States at large. 

This is also a great opportunity for the show to bring the subject of AI to the forefront of how policing is handled. While Dr. Vargas’ technology does help the team find the lab more quickly than they normally would have it does pose some other questions.

For example, where do we stop when it comes to using technology for identification purposes? How much is too much when it comes to aiding in a job that still needs a largely human touch?

It’ll be interesting to see just how long Dr. Vargas remains part of the team. Bell and Jet might be receptive and supportive of his work, but Stabler and Reyes are not.

While that is fine for now, considering how disjointed everyone is anyway, it won’t be fine for long.

Stabler and His Mother

Another great element of Law & Order: Organized Crime is Stabler being given the space to mend his relationship with his mother. Fans of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit know that when we first met Mrs. Stabler, her relationship with Elliot was cold at best.

Now that she has been diagnosed with dementia, her son has stepped up to ensure she gets the best care. This has allowed their relationship to blossom, and they’re now close enough that she lives with him.

What’s sad about “Memory Lane,” is Stabler is obviously trying his best to care for her himself, and instead of being appreciated for it, she insists on leaving. Listening to her constantly tell him that she would rather live somewhere else because she doesn’t want to be a burden is hard.

It’s hard on us, and it’s hard on Stabler. The real kicker comes at the end when she insists that she would rather have Elliot’s brother, Randall, care for her.

It’s a great introduction to this sibling we’ve never really heard about, but why does it have to be at the expense of Stabler’s heart?

Stray Thoughts:

• Jet having a hard-on for Dr. Vargas’ work is so fun to witness.
• Did anyone else’s heart stop beating for a second when Jet got woozy after the skin shop adventure? Just me? Okay.
• The dynamic between Stabler and Jet continues to be affectionate with that whole AI exchange.
• Was not expecting that Jet and Reyes moment at the end, but I’m not angry about it.
• Stabler just needed to hear Olivia’s voice and then he smiles at the TV when Olivia gets mentioned. I can feel EO happening…it’s on the horizon.

 

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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