Legislation & Order has been mixing up its ordinary method in latest weeks of the 2025 TV schedule, with a ripped-from-the-headlines story ending with out a verdict after which Reid Scott’s huge episode concluding on a loss for the great guys. That episode, known as “A Excellent Household” and out there streaming with a Peacock subscription now, didn’t present Riley’s response to the jury’s ruling, however the star spoke with CinemaBlend about what the detective would have accomplished and the perks of an ending that isn’t essentially completely happy.
The case hit near house for Riley in “A Excellent Household,” with the loss of life of a younger woman making him consider his personal teen daughter. Luckily, the case didn’t turn into so private that Bridget Riley ended up concerned, nevertheless it wasn’t simply one other regular investigation for her dad. Problems arose when the police realized that the younger sufferer had been killed by her mom, whose postpartum psychological well being had been severely uncared for by her domineering husband.
There was no downside in proving the mom’s involvement, however the trickier query was whether or not DA Baxter, ADA Worth, and ADA Maroun may get a conviction of the husband for manslaughter. The person finally was exonerated after Worth determined towards placing a the sufferer’s younger sister via testifying in courtroom after which dropping her final remaining mum or dad.
The episode ended with Worth telling Maroun that the daddy can be punished by figuring out what he’d accomplished regardless that he wasn’t convicted within the courtroom of legislation, however neither legal professional appeared completely satisfied. This additionally meant that the ultimate credit rolled with out revealing Riley’s response to the exoneration. Once I spoke with Reid Scott concerning the huge episode, he shared his tackle what would occur if his character reacted on display:
I feel he’ll fly right into a rage, to be trustworthy. Not solely as a result of he is a man that may’t abide injustice, however due to the character of the crime itself. Basically a parent-on-child crime is one thing that I feel he simply finds completely inhuman. And I like when Legislation & Order does that, once they serve up a quote–unquote ‘unsatisfying ending.’ They try this in myriad methods. Typically the prosecution loses. We have had one other episode this season with our company murderer the place we do not even serve up a verdict in any respect, and to see the viewers’s response to that was completely astounding. I used to be actually, actually stunned pleasantly, however I simply love that it sparked a dialog.
Legislation & Order didn’t neatly tie off all of the ends of “A Excellent Household” with a closed case, convicted dangerous guys, and the attorneys and detectives with one thing to rejoice. Regardless of all of the work from Riley and Co. on the NYPD aspect, Nolan and Co. finally couldn’t get the win in courtroom with out placing a younger woman via one thing horrible, resulting in a person escaping justice however nonetheless offering a house for his remaining daughter.
It undoubtedly wasn’t a win for the great guys, however I’ve to agree with Reid Scott that it’s fairly attention-grabbing when the present is prepared to ship an ending that’s “unsatisfying.” In spite of everything, what’s not enjoyable for the characters to endure could be enjoyable for followers to observe from house! The actor, who lately paired up with visitor star Jesse Metcalfe whereas Mehcad Brooks missed an episode as Detective Shaw, went on:
However on this explicit episode, I am hoping that [with] a case like this, we’ll see and the viewers will acknowledge when it reverberates for Riley, as a result of actually it would. I feel these moments serve not solely the story that we expertise them in, however they turn into a part of the bigger tapestry in a present like this. And now that the present could be very eager on exploring the non-public lives and the inside emotional lifetime of our heroes, I feel these moments are crucial for us to have simply within the general context of the present.
Different members of the Legislation & Order forged additionally opened up concerning the present digging into private lives and character improvement extra in Season 24, with Mehcad Brooks previewing again within the fall what would really feel “up to date” within the new season and Hugh Dancy shared the backstory for Worth that he may lastly embrace within the episode that launched his brother.
For his half, Reid Scott obtained his first huge shot of 2025 with “A Excellent Household,” and I for one loved the introduction of Riley’s daughter after the debut of New Amsterdam’s Ryan Eggold as Riley’s brother final yr.
NBC has a deal with developing for followers of the complete franchise, with Legislation & Order crossing over with Mariska Hargitay’s Legislation & Order: SVU for the primary multi-parter in a number of years on Thursday, April 17. As an added perk, the primary episode of Christopher Meloni’s Legislation & Order: Organized Crime Season 5 will air within the present’s previous 10 p.m. ET time slot, though the remainder of the season can be out there streaming completely on Peacock.