Law & Order Season 23 Episode 10 Review: Inconvenient Truth

When it comes to Law & Order Season 23 Episode 10, “Inconvenient Truth,” the inconvenient truth is that this episode is one of the slowest hours of television in a long time.

Nothing really happens, aside from the murder of a chef, and the conclusion to the case is exciting but comes way too late and lacks real payoff.

Once again, the talents of Brooks and Scott are being wasted on an investigation that fails to capture our attention or consideration. These two actors have the talent to really go at a case hard and show off what makes their characters so dynamic and unique, and yet they are fed these horrendous storylines.

It’s clear early on that since the victim was wrongfully accused of something his case will end up in a false identification as well. Sure enough, we wait around long enough, and the truth comes to fruition.

The False Identification Isn’t So Shocking

While it does seem cut and dry from the moment, Jordan Bryant’s lawyer gets thrown into the mix. There is something that nags at the back of our brains and just won’t go away. 

Most of it definitely rests on how unsure the eyewitness is the whole time about what he saw. Once Shaw and Riley bring a photo lineup, he starts to feel more sure of himself, but even that could easily be dismissed.

It’s so glaringly obvious that this man’s identification is going to be called into question that it doesn’t come as a surprise when Palmer’s lawyer does just that at trial. It doesn’t even surprise ADA Price, who is hinging his whole case on this guy’s testimony. 

The writing for this whole setup is probably the sloppiest we have ever seen from Law & Order. A show that once boasted memorable courtroom scenes and compelling investigations is now giving away the conclusion long before the hour is up, thanks to bad writing.

As soon as Maroun and Price start to hammer out the specifics with Baxter, it is obvious that this case is going to end with someone else being found guilty. In all honesty, having a false identification in a case where the victim had just been released from prison due to being wrongly accused would’ve been a fascinating case.

If it had been handled properly and only been revealed as being a false ID at the end of the trial. Instead, we are given hints that this will be the conclusion from the early moments of the investigation.

Nolan Price Might Be The Saving Grace

Once again, Hugh Dancy’s performance as ADA Nolan Price might be the one thing saving the bad dialogue and shoddy story setup. He breathes life into what would be a very dull twist in the hands of someone else.

He makes us believe that the DA’s office truly is going to dismiss the case entirely from his facial expressions alone. Dancy is truly so much better than this show, but we won’t look a gift horse in the mouth the longer we get to keep him.

If only Law & Order would give Dancy the material he so deserves. We could get back to the glory days of Sam Waterston blowing our minds one court case after another.

Unfortunately, we are left scraping from the bottom of the barrel and being grateful that ADA Nolan Price is being played by as talented an actor as Hugh Dancy. It’s just a shame that even Dancy’s few moments to shine at the end of this episode aren’t enough to make us care about the result.

After all, we knew the minute that traffic ticket was entered into evidence that it wasn’t Keith who killed Jordan but that it was definitely someone with access to his hats and his BMW. A fact that can lead to only one logical conclusion: his wife, Amanda.

So far, Season 23 has been a major wash of a season with only a few shining moments. Considering how few episodes we have left, I’m not holding my breath for it to end on a high note.

 

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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