Warning: SPOILERS ahead forLaw & Orderseason 24, episode 13, “In God We Trust.“An overused trope dampens the excitement during an intense scene inLaw & Orderseason 24, episode 13, titled “In God We Trust.” Many ofLaw & Order’s best episodesoffer dramatic courtroom showdowns. When a lawyer who practiced in New York City is found dead in his home, all eyes quickly turn to the church-based community he used to belong to. The Baylor Church Community limits contact with the outside world and requires members to follow strict religious rules or be excommunicated. The cops eventually arrest the pastor’s son, Jacob (Luke Slattery).
The DA’s office is determined to prosecute, but their case is on shaky ground after a judge throws the defendant’s confession out. This problem leads to one of the most intenseLaw & Orderseason 24courtroom scenes.Price’s (Hugh Dancy) case depends entirely on testimony from the victim’s mother that she saw Jacob burning her son’s clothesin the middle of the night. However, the witness denies this on the stand and declares that nobody from the community views the trial as legitimate.
Almost Every Law & Order Season 24 Witness Has Recanted On The Stand
This Trope Is So Overused It’s Become Predictable
It is unsurprising that the witness recants on the stand, considering that it happens in almost everyLaw & Orderseason 24 episode. As soon as a witness tells Price or Maroun (Odeyla Halevi) something damning, it’s almost guaranteed that they will say the opposite once they’re sworn in. This type of behavior is as unrealistic as it is predictable. In real life, people are more likely to lie in private than under oath, especially if the DA can produce an affidavit proving they are committing perjury — a crime that could carry significant jail time.
Law & Order Season 24, Episode 10 Breaks A Cliche Tradition For The Worse
Law & Order season 26, episode 10 skipped a tradition that’s become cliche for the procedural, but this was the wrong time to change its formula.
The recanting witness trope is meant to add drama to the court case, especially if the prosecution depends on that witness' testimony. However, it’s not exciting when it happens almost every week. Furthermore, the DA’s office should be prepared for this possibility, considering how often they have dealt with witnesses recanting vital testimony once they get in front of the jury. Instead,Price often seems at a loss as to what to do next when he could easily file perjury charges, play a tape of the witness' original testimony, or otherwise counteract this predictable strategy.
Law & Order Season 24, Episode 13 Witness Recanting Felt Flat
This Climatic Moment Was Already Overplayed
The witness recanting scene should have been the most powerful moment of “In God We Trust.” This woman is distraught over her son’s death. She tells the DA that although she didn’t like that her child had abandoned the community, she was glad he was happy and thought he was safe.She is shocked and heartbroken that Jacob, who she had known and trusted all her life, could do such a thing to her child, and eager to come forward about what she saw — only to deny under oath that she ever saw anything at all.
Unfortunately, the scene falls flat because the same thing has been done so many times before.
This heartwrenching decision could have made a powerful point about the influence that religious leaders have in insulated communities like the Baylor Church Community, especially on people who are naturally timid and hesitant to speak up. Unfortunately, the scene falls flat because the same thing has been done so many times before. Rather than shock or anger, this scene inspires boredom and a sense of inevitability because it is the same predictable trope that has been part of many previous episodes.
There Are Several Other Ways To Create Courtroom Drama
The best way to reverse this problem is to mix up the tropes used in the courtroom.Law & Orderwill be less predictable if the same thing doesn’t happen every week. Instead, cases could use one of several recurring scenarios, such as witnesses refusing to cooperate from the get-go, judges making bad rulings, or the defense presenting a novel idea at the last minute. Most of these happen all the time, soif the classic law procedural picks tropes for each episode without any discernible pattern, it will help keep things fresh.
8 Ways Law & Order Season 24 Can Save Its Fledgling Season
There are several ways Law & Order can course correct and regain viewership despite a significant decline in its ratings compared to previous seasons.
Additionally,Law & Ordercould lean into the conflict between Price and Baxter (Tony Goldwyn) rather than focusing on courtroom tricks. Price and Baxter have been at odds since Sam Waterson’sMcCoy leftLaw & Order, and their disagreements about how to fight for justice are more interesting than the obstacles in court. Focusing more on these bigger questions would eliminate the recanting witness trope from some episodes, making it shocking instead of expected on the occasions when it occurs.
