Update May 17, 2024
This season of Law & Order Organized Crime didn't resonate with me at all. The season finale was, in my opinion, a mess and a disappointing end to the season. I've completely lost interest in this series and there's a good chance I won't be watching it next season when it moves to Peacock. I disliked it so much that I almost didn't spend the time to write any comment. It's a shame, the first two seasons were fairly good. I think there is too much to fix here; it sounds harsh but they should have just canceled it.
Is it just me or do others agree that this part of the storyline (from episode eleven to this episode) seemed to be rushed? I thought this episode was good as a stand-alone, but I felt like they should have focused on one criminal for this storyline (Angus Boone OR Julian Emery). Or, even allow Boone to appear in the final two episodes of this season, at least, so we have more screen time with both characters. Personally, I liked Boone (Stephen Lang) more than Emery (Tom Payne), but if they had more scenes together, I think this storyline could have been more cohesive.
ReplyDeleteAs this season concludes, it is by far a step up from season 3. I am glad season 4 included longer storylines despite being a shorter season. I think the Bonner/serial killer storyline is the best one this season. Chris (and others who are interested in commenting) - what storyline/case is your favorite this season?
By the way, I am glad the series is renewed for season 5, but this episode seemed like a series finale (especially with the beginning and the end).
Terrible season finale. I don't care about the Stabler family and they spent so much time on it. As far as the case, the "ending" was flat. I could be because I couldn't care less about Stabler's brother so I didn't care what was happening with him. That's the biggest problem I had with OC this whole season, I didn't care about ANYBODY. This cast had no chemistry this season. With this move to Peacock I won't be watching next season, or at least I'm not going to pay a streaming service to watch. They should have canceled this show or transferred Stabler to another arm of law enforcement where he could do a show where the cases wrap up in one episode, like the other two Law & Orders. Maybe a Criminal Intent reboot with Meloni at the helm? I know there are fans out there who would only accept D'Onofrio and Erbe in a reboot but I'd be open to Meloni.
ReplyDeleteThey didn't know what they wanted this show to be from the very beginning and it has shown throughout all three seasons. I dropped off in the second season and haven't looked back. It's simply not Law & Order. With it now moving to Peacock, I see it lasting two more seasons, it that. I really think this was a case of halting production on Law & Order: For the Defense and Meloni wanting to come back. Unfortunately this just sours his legacy and reputation as Stabler even more.
ReplyDeleteI just loved this season! The finale did not disappoint either. I think of everything I've been watching this year, including on other streaming sites, this is the show I've been enjoying the most. I'm gonna miss it
ReplyDeleteI love that the person w Alzheimer's is the one to figure out the pregnancy within a sec of mtg Eli's gf lol That was so good for so many reasons Bernadette Stabler has always been an interesting character going all the way back to the Neal Baer days. The writers, the actor herself hv really nurtured Bernie in OC and made her all the more compelling.
Guest characters, cast characters- they all add a lot to the story. Nobody w a speaking role feels like they're there as an afterthought. Stabler's caregiver doubling as Joey's detox nurse, for example, is the content I didn't know I needed lol. As for Joey, I'm worried abt him. I think Emery knows he is the informant.
Hooray for leaving all the Bensler stuff out this season. As someone who has been a bit indifferent to Stabler I feel way more invested in his story now. I'm not against Liv appearing in future eps. I just think this season had great momentum without having to attend to that. We were spared the corny stuff like "who was that 'I love you' said out into the ether directed to?" I think when it's time this current team will handle Bensler better. But I also think that this season proves that the show can captivate audiences without having to name drop Benson or delve into the Bensler question. I'm sure the fandom would want me drawn and quartered for saying all of that but for me I really did enjoy the reprieve from Bensler.
Also, earlier in the season I said I prefer the shorter arcs. I still do but I hv enough confidence in the current team now that I would be ok w longer arcs. My fear in the past was too many moving parts. I remember coming here a number of times to read Chris' recaps to try and understand who a particular person was, their connection to the story. Chris' recaps were my Cliff notes. This season has been so easy to follow along w and that def boosted my interest.
This show continues to be the right amt of everything. Special mention to the humor. I literally find myself laughing at the well-played jokes, too many to list. I got them all. I enjoyed them all. The show has wit, drama, thriller stuff that stresses you out in a good way. It's all there. My one complaint is that I hv to wait for the next season. Not sure when it is scheduled to premiere but I hope it's in the Fall. S6 can launch in January:)
Hi SH. Now seeing the questions you put to the forum. I only got around to typing out my own comments this evening. I also prefer to post my own thoughts before I read other opinions. It just helps me to stay clear on what my own opinion is. So only now having a read of everybody's comments.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I needed for Boone to replace Emery. The progression makes sense to me. Like the Boones were one phase of the investigation and now the Emery stuff is another. I think this type of progression works in a show called Organized Crime. It's not going to hv one bad guy per case. Its organized crime so we're more often than not going to be looking at syndicates. And part of the cohesion of these types of criminals is that they're not just organized within their own syndicate but there is likely to be collaboration w other syndicates. In this case the Boones were working for Emery and his ppl. The team is still working on the same case. They've dealt w the Boones side of things (the medium sized fish if u will) now it's time to go after the big fish. To this end, the moving on from the Boones makes sense to me. On a personal, purely entertainment note I could hv watched stuff abt Mama and Angus much longer.
I say that and at the same time I think it's good to know when to move on to the next thing. U see this sometimes w fan fiction. A writer intends for a story to be just a few chapters but its so well received that they keep going. Suddenly it's at 30 and 40 chapters and the story makes no darn sense! The xters are moving around in circles. The main plot has been lost. Things are confusing. The Good Place on NBC came on w the creator knowing he just wanted it to be 4 seasons. Never waivered on that despite it's triumphant success. SVU is abt to go into it's 26 yr but is that really a feather in it's cap at this pt? So much of it is a disaster.
So yes, wouldn't hv minded some more of the Boones drama but I respect the self-control to not overkill on smthg the fans like. Rollisi comes to mind w SVU. It was ok at first but then became overkill. Her dad dying, her kidnapping- it was all just a backdrop for Rollisi and thats a shame. We could hv gotten some really good stories otherwise.
I thought the same abt the opening scene- that it felt a bit like an opener for a series finale. My guess is it was done that way to leave options for how to end the episode depending on if they had been renewed or not.
At the risk of being repetitive- I've enjoyed the Stabler family stuff. That's not a dig at ppl who feel otherwise. I just count myself as one who has been enjoying it. And it hasn't been my cup of tea prior to S4. And I don't mean this at all in any hostile way but while the majority on here has been opposed to OC and its renewal all season I haven't seen that elsewhere. I like hearing what ppl like and don't like abt these shows so I really don't mind the negative opinions. Just an observation that it is a complete 180 on other sites. When u read those comments you see that the show is not hanging by a thread. It's being well received actually. From what I understand 80% of it's viewership is already on Peacock so I don't think the show suffers significantly from the shift. Manifest got canceled by NBC for low network viewership, went on to Netflix and was their number one show for a long time. With many ppl having never heard of it till it got to Netflix. 2 more seasons were made. It continues to do well on Netflix. I guess that has my been my only worry is OC not going to a bigger platform like Netflix or Max but I'm still rooting for it's success