This is a good Law and Order episode in which for one of the few times Sam Waterston is totally buffaloed by the perpetrator in this case, Jay Sanders. This man pushed a woman on a subway track because she recognized him in his previous identity. What had happened was that Sanders had fled New York State after a custody hearing went against him in a dispute with his ex-wife and took their two daughters with him and started a new life with a new identity in Cincinnati. The victim was the college roommate of the ex-wife who of course knew Sanders back in the day.
Jerry Orbach and Benjamin Bratt uncover the story. And it's a scary one. The two daughters are the psychological prisoners of an anal retentive man to the extreme. If the pillows are fluffed wrong, Sanders has a conniption. They so can't imagine a world without dear old Dad that the younger daughter, Tracy Spindler, confesses to the crime in order to save him.
Hence the conundrum for Sam Waterston. He and Angie Harmon decide to stretch the statute and prosecute Sanders for kidnapping instead. It's the only time on Law and Order I ever saw them go for a lesser charge because they can't make the murder case.
The real star of this episode is Anne Bobby who plays Sanders's second wife and stepmother to the girls. It's a frightening portrait of a meek and docile woman who caters to her husband's every whim. She's called by Jack McCoy as his witness and her testimony on the witness stand is a brilliant piece of acting. She's a rebuttal witness that McCoy pulls out at the last minute. Bit by bit he shows her the kind of Stepford existence she's made for herself with this man. In the end she sinks Sanders.
McCoy may have been buffaloed, but I do love Angie Harmon's comment at the end that some cosmic justice will be meted out to someone who likes to control and now will have his every movement controlled for 24/7.
It's one of the best Law and Order episodes.
Jerry Orbach and Benjamin Bratt uncover the story. And it's a scary one. The two daughters are the psychological prisoners of an anal retentive man to the extreme. If the pillows are fluffed wrong, Sanders has a conniption. They so can't imagine a world without dear old Dad that the younger daughter, Tracy Spindler, confesses to the crime in order to save him.
Hence the conundrum for Sam Waterston. He and Angie Harmon decide to stretch the statute and prosecute Sanders for kidnapping instead. It's the only time on Law and Order I ever saw them go for a lesser charge because they can't make the murder case.
The real star of this episode is Anne Bobby who plays Sanders's second wife and stepmother to the girls. It's a frightening portrait of a meek and docile woman who caters to her husband's every whim. She's called by Jack McCoy as his witness and her testimony on the witness stand is a brilliant piece of acting. She's a rebuttal witness that McCoy pulls out at the last minute. Bit by bit he shows her the kind of Stepford existence she's made for herself with this man. In the end she sinks Sanders.
McCoy may have been buffaloed, but I do love Angie Harmon's comment at the end that some cosmic justice will be meted out to someone who likes to control and now will have his every movement controlled for 24/7.
It's one of the best Law and Order episodes.