Law & Order Organized Crime “Nemesis” Recap, Review, Discussion

Law & Order Organized Crime is still creating mystery and intrigue in this winter premiere episode of 2022.  This series continues to weave interesting, layered stories that makes one want more.  The cast has perfect chemistry; the only flaw may be Richard Wheatley, who still comes across as a cartoon caricature villain. 

Richard Wheatley is stirring up trouble again, this time arranging a hack that allows a prison break and known hacker Sebastian McClane to go on the run.  Wheatley is also “helping” the FBI, which gets him involved in helping Stabler, Bell, and the task force track down the prison hacker.  But Stabler is suspicious, thinking this is a case where Wheatley has started the fire and then makes himself look good by putting it out.  Stabler says he will prove it. 

Angela Wheatley also seems to be in cahoots with her ex-husband. We saw in the last episode that she has all her faculties – physical and mental – but still appears disabled to everyone else.  Stabler  may be on to her, as he sees her lightning fast reflexes when he knocks over a glass of water.  Her appearance at the secretive dinner with Wheatley and McClane surely looks like she’s been in on all of Wheatley’s criminal actions all along.  

Congressman Kilbride also is scheming to use the construction of a community library (in his name) to divert money to Webb, having the construction team orchestrate delays and cost increases.  He’s accepted what looks like a envelope stuffed with money for his trouble. Nova is still undercover and working for Kilbride, and is still in contact with Bell. One can only wonder  if this story, and Wheatley's, will connect down the road, and/or how Kilbride will try to use Sgt. Bell in the process.

Here is the recap: 

A man gets picked on in prison and another comes to his defense and helps him, knowing that the guy hacked the Fed.   Later,  that same man gets a message passed to him on a lid in a cup of sip o noodles that simply says 10PM.  At 10PM, many cell doors open and many prisoners escape,  including the hacker. 

Later, at a meeting of law enforcement, attended by Bell and Jet, the prison hack and escape is discussed. Five convicts remain at large – Robert “Beanie” Price, Vance Ginsburg, Cole Kocarian, Jacob Appleby, and Sebastian McClane – all felons serving upwards of 20 years.  They are not believed to be coordinating with one another. They may be armed and are dangerous. It may be ransom ware.  Jet thinks it is Sebastian McClain; he is the head of an infamous black hat hacking collective crnobog, his name came up 40 times in the TSC/terror nexus.  Bell is given the lead on the task force to  being him in. 

Later, Jet speaks with Detective Perez who thinks a prison employee clicked on a fraudulent site. Jet takes a photo of the script that triggered this. 

Elsewhere, Richard Wheatley is a guest on the podcast – Flexpoint – and Stabler arrives and observes.  The podcaster describes this as Wheatley’s opening act on his redemption tour.  As Wheatley talks, Stabler listens as Wheatley says he assisted the government as it is the right thing to do.  Stabler gets a call – it’s Bell – and he says Wheatley is still working for the FBI.  Bell tells him to get back to the task force and not where she doesn’t need him, which is where he is right now. 

Meanwhile, Sebastian Thaddeus  McClane is on the run.   Jet explains to the task force  that McClane is nicknamed Constantine, a triune being, a godhead to his fan boys.  He developed an aptitude for computers at a young age and served in the military and was honorably discharged, and went on to work as  systems analyst for the CIA.  His family fell on hard times when his sister’s medical school loans were incorrectly coded and hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt repayment disappeared overnight.  She was told she’d have to repay the debt starting from scratch.  She could not afford the legal battle, she killed herself.  As McClane’s parents cosigned the loan, the debt was passed to them.  McClane hacked into the banking systems computer and erased his sisters debt plus the loans of dozens of others he never met. For that he became a folk hero in the hacking community. He left the CIA, and along with a fellow hacker named Rogin Moon, he formed crnobog, a decentralized hacktivist collective.  In 2016 they hacked the Federal Reserve and inadvertently locked a janitor inside a gold vault;  he suffocated to death and McLane and Moon were arrested.  Moon cut a deal and walked and McClane is doing a five-year state bid and still has a 30 year fed sentence waiting.  They discuss that while the prison hack matches his MO, he has been behind bars with no access to computers, smart phones, or electronic devices. Bell thinks he is a master manipulator. 

McClane goes into a store bathroom and hits his head on the sink, bloodying his nose and making him look beat up. 

At the prison, Jet asks an officer about the communal computer in the library and is told it is offline and McClane can’t get near it.  She and another detective find the coded messages along with a sexy photo of the woman working there as a CO.  They later speak with the woman  who says Sebastian looked after her and she didn’t think of him as an inmate.  She didn’t know of his break out plan. She admits she let him use her phone a few times to call his mother, and Jet explains his mother has been dead for 7 years. 

Elsewhere, Stabler and Bell head to Moon’s home and he says he hasn’t spoken to him for 5 years.  He thinks McClane had to be stopped as he was taking things too far.  Moon’s phone rings and when he delays to answer it, Stabler asks if he is going to.  It had no caller ID and Moon says no,  but says he has to get to work; he is a data analyst for an insurance company. Bell and Stabler leave, Bell giving him her card, asking him to call if he hears from McClane.  Afterwards, Stabler and Bell watch Moon leave in a “fancy” car called an Innovus, a new electric car giving Tesla a run for its money. Stabler asks what’s a Tesla.  They follow Moon to what looks like an industrial area and see Moon get out of his car and someone wearing a hoodie get in. Bell sends a photo to Jet and she analyzes it and she says facial rec can’t ID him but that is him. Moon backs away from the car when he sees Stabler and Bell and follow the car as it drives off and Bell calls it in.  But a truck gets in the way of Bell and Stabler, but it moves off quickly.  Other officers stop the car and the car is trapped. Stabler and Bell draw their weapons but when they open the driver’s door,  no one is in the vehicle. 

Back at the task force, they discuss that the car was operated remotely. They see on a surveillance video that McClane exited the car.  Jet also explains facial recognition won’t work as his face is out of alignment.  They also interrogate Moon about him lying to them. He explains that McClane called him and then threatened him if he didn’t meet him with the car and a bag of cash.  He doesn’t know where he is.  They show him that McClane sent text messages using the prison guard’s phone.  Moon claims McClane felt guilty about hacking the Fed and the janitor.  He wanted to make amends with the janitor’s wife.  He told McClane he can’t get involved.  Jet shows him the code from the prison hack and Moon doesn’t recognize it.  He thinks it is not McClane’s style, it’s like nothing he’s ever seen before. 

Afterwards, Jet tells Stabler and Bell  not to make her do this, she can do it herself.  They said the clock is ticking but Jet says he lives off the grid.  Stabler says not any more, they have him under house arrest. 

Later, Jet goes to meet Mintock but he does not appear to be there, just evidence of him going back to identity theft and the ankle monitor on his cat.  But he quickly walks in with a woman. Mintock tells Jet  that Jet was breaking and entering but she says she could report him for violating his parole.  He doesn’t recall the woman’s name he walked in with.  Jet and Mintock make talk and he explains he works with women who are trying to escape domestic violence.  Jet mention the prison hack and break and she mentions McClane which seems to interest Mintock. 

Elsewhere, Stabler and Bell meet with Brewster and are told they are bringing in an OCTF specialist. Brewster introduces them to Sanford Bennington from the FBI – who is there with Richard Wheatley. Stabler looks displeased as does Bell.  Stabler storms out and Bell and Brewster follow. Brewster apologizes, knowing how Stabler must feel, but Stabler says his feeling have nothing to do with this – Wheatley is making a fool out of all of them.  Brewster says Wheatley helped them arrest Vladimir Mikahilov but Bell argues that Brewster could have given them a heads up but Brewster thinks they wouldn’t have shown up.  Wheatley walks up and says Stabler has been stalking him and he may be obsessed and hopes he can manage his emotions on behalf of the greater good. Stabler is silent.  Wheatley adds he doesn’t expect Stabler to accept or believe they are on the same team but he’s been engaged by the FBI to help solve the case which he would do for free; but unlike Stabler, he doesn’t hold grudges.  Stabler says he doesn’t hold grudges, but says here’s how it will work:  Wheatley will work with their tech team and he will have a detective pick him up at 8 AM. When Wheatley asks if it is his home address, and Stabler tells him they’re not going to tell the truth about where he is living these days so just make sure it’s an address where he will be waiting for the pickup. Stabler and Bell turn and walk off, as does Wheatley. 

Back at the task force, Wheatley arrives, and he says they brought him there in a blackout van.  Meanwhile, Jet and Mintock work on the computers as Stabler introduces them, saying he is there to help them find the hackers.  Mintock says they are in Russia but Wheatley doubts that. 

Later. Stabler meets with Angela Wheatley. He asks about Wheatley and she says she has no idea and even if she did she wouldn’t tell him.  He thinks that is interesting, but she says it is not as interesting as being told to pack her bags and get out of the safe house, she is no longer protected.  He says they won’t pony up the money to protect her, he tried.  She says she tried to and did her best in the court room. He brings up McClane and she says she doesn’t know him, her memory is still not what it used to be.   He offers to open her sugar packet but she declines, and does it herself, appearing to struggle slighting.  He tells her to be careful but she says she is okay and is getting better. He says he is talking about Wheatley, and tells her to be well, He gets up to leave and knocks over her water glass and she responds with lightning quick reflexes and he takes notice. 

Elsewhere, Congressman Leon Kilbride is at the groundbreaking of his named community library, with Bell and Denise in attendance.  He makes a speech and has his photo taken with both of them.   Nova approaches and tells him they have to go to his next appointment and he excuses himself. 

Later, Nova meets with Bell and Nova mentions that Kilbride is fronting like he’s doing the library alone but shows her a photo of Julian Adams who is Webb’s construction foreman. She doesn’t know much about him but he doesn’t like gays.  Bell tells Nova all she has to do  now is watch and listen as Kilbride is trusting her enough to make her his aid. She tells her to stay safe and Nova says the same.  The split up and leave.

Later, Kilbride arrives at another location to meet Julian and Julian gives Kilbride a fat envelope that he passes on to Nova.  Kilbride says he is ready and begins to speak to the others there about all the money that goes into the pocket of construction companies like Preston Webb’s.  He made sure Webb’s firm was given all the contacts to build the library.   Kilbride wants delays and work stoppages, anything to drive the cost up, just  make sure Webb has to go back and ask for more money. 

Back at the task force, Jet and Mincom still work on the hacker and Wheatley interjects comments and asks questions.   He thinks the hacker is in New York.   Stabler walks in and agrees because McClane is there.  Wheatley makes some suggestions and Jet tries it. But right as she does, the computers get messed up and a message comes in on all of them demanding a ransom of $500,000 in non-traceable crypto.  The account will appear on the screen in 30 seconds and if no payment is received within 12 hours, more inmates will be released.  From many more prisons on the east coast.  Bell asks what is the image on the screen which says CNOBOG, and Jet says it is the Slavic black god of chaos.  Wheatley and Stabler look on.   Jet and Mintock work to track the source and Bell and Stabler think Wheatley is playing them.  When Stabler asks why the ransom is only $500K,  Jet and Mintock explains that the lower the initial dollar, the more likely it will get paid and then the hackers just ask for more until they bleed you dry. Wheatley adds inmates outnumber guards ten to one and they won’t want an incident that scale on their hands. Wheatley offers using  his proprietary coin to pay off the ransom as it carries a geotag with it that they can trace.   Bell allows it and the transfer goes through. The money is accessed almost immediately and they trace the geotag to an ATM in Queens.  Wheatley jokes, asking where is that in relation to Russia? 

Stabler and Bell, along with backup, go to the location traced to the person making the transaction and or met with gunfire. As Bell radios it in,  Stabler and Maldonado head toward the back and apprehend someone trying to leave.  

Back at the task force, They find the hacker’s name is Carlos Martinez and he is no mastermind.  He works  billing in a dentist’s office and claims he was hired by someone and paid in bitcoin, and unlikely it was McClane.  They know where he was at the time of the hack and he had no computer access.  Stabler asks who just paid the ransom? And who just got a commendation from the FBI for helping them find Martinez?   Stabler says a man starts a fire to take credit for putting it out.

Elsewhere,  a man, whose head is covered in a hood, is led into a room where Richard Wheatley is waiting.  The hood is removed – it is McClane - and Wheatley asks McClain if he made good on his word or not. McClane states he did. Wheatley talks about the meal laid out on the large table and Angela walks in with a bottle of wine she chose. Wheatley asks if he wants to be called Sebastian or Constantine and McClane says Sebastian is fine. Angela shakes his hand.  Wheatley explains he met McClane on a prison transfer bus and McClane says Wheatley had a plan to break him out of prison and he thought he was crazy. Angela says Richard is many things but he is not crazy.  Wheatley says he can’t take all the credit, some of the code was written by the man himself, and wishes he could have seen the look on McClane’s face when the cell doors started popping open. Wheatley states McClane can stay there tonight but after that they will have to keep him on the move for a while. Right now, McClane is the most wanted in America. Wheatley raises his glass and says “Chenobog. Is that how you pronounce it?”  McClane says close enough.  

Back at the task force, Stabler looks out a window and says, “Man starts fire. I’m gonna prove it” as we cut to black.