Law & Order Season 25 Episode 7 Review: Guardian

David Ajala makes his debut as Detective Theo Walker on Law & Order Season 25 Episode 7, “Guardian,” in a case that explores the use of racist tactics in a defense.

Law & Order does an excellent job of establishing Theo’s complexities. As such, he is already on his way to becoming a fan favorite.

Detectives Theo and Vincent team up to investigate the murder of 15-year-old Omari Kemp. Their investigation pulls up multiple suspects, establishing various paths that the narrative can take.

The investigation into Omari’s murder turns a bit slow after a while, but when Theo and Vincent finally zero in on Omari’s adoptive father, Jim Pickett, the episode quickly becomes exciting again.

David Ajala fits right in with the cast. Theo has excellent chemistry with Detective Vincent Riley and Lieutenant Jessica Brady. “Guardian” even provides Ajala the chance to work with Hugh Dancy and Odelya Halevi since Theo is a witness during the trial.

Theo Walker: You know one thing I’ve learned is that good people make mistakes. 

The new detective is skilled at reading and understanding people, a talent Vincent sometimes has trouble with. On the other hand, Theo can get too emotionally involved, which Vincent can rein in.

Theo and Vincent’s strengths and weaknesses balance each other out, illustrating that they will make a great team. 

However, Theo is not used to working as a team, and it becomes most apparent when he lies to Nolan and Samantha about a security tape from Omari’s school.

Jim Pickett’s defense is rooted in racism — his lawyer argues that he killed Omari out of fear for his own life. As a result, Pickett’s lawyer attempts to paint Omari as a violent Black man.

Unfortunately, society is entrenched with bias, and the jury might fall for the trap of stereotyping Black men as violent and dangerous if they see that there is concrete proof of Jim’s story.

After all, there is historical evidence of painting Black men as violent in murder trials. Trayvon Martin, George Floyd, Eric Garner, and Daniel Prude are all Black men who have been arguably vilified and portrayed as violent by the media, even though they were the ones killed.

Theo never tells anyone about the security video, but Vincent finds out anyway, and his response to Theo’s decision is refreshing. Vincent knows Theo did the right thing, but he needs to keep Vincent informed going forward. Otherwise, their partnership will never work.

Only time will tell if Theo heeds Vincent’s advice, especially since Theo has been on his own in narcotics for so long.

However, there is a lot of potential for a genuine friendship to develop between the two detectives, and their dynamic will likely become a regular highlight of the show.

And Samantha Maroun finally returns as the second chair on the prosecution team.

However, Samantha participates as an equal co-counsel rather than just sitting in the background — a nice change from Law & Order. Hopefully, the show will continue to utilize Samantha in this way rather than leaving her out to dry.

“Guardian” is a compelling episode with a strong start for David Ajala’s Detective Theo Walker and the thrilling return of Samantha Maroun after her recent absence.

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

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