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Post by Summerfield on Oct 24, 2005 19:24:02 GMT -5
"But this oneā¦murder taking place in a church with pool of blood hiding new clue that leads detectives to a schizophrenic homeless man as a prime suspect, which in turn leads them to a new suspect. Clergy member hiding big secret and running from past mistake by devoting life to save poor souls." Not everyone watching remembers that particular episode. Give some of the newbies a chance.
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Post by NikkiGreen on Oct 24, 2005 19:41:20 GMT -5
For me the similarities between this episode and The Faithful started and ended with the murders occuring in a church and the mentally unstable men. The rest of the stories were quite different. And the only similarity between One and Diamond Dogs was the fact that the catalyst fueling the actions of the involved parties was diamonds. I think that CBV was great in this. As was Larry Gilliard, Jr. (Eddie). Both performances were subtle, yet powerful. One of the more memorable scenes was where Carver was offering Eddie a deal and Eddie states that he'll have one of "those trials" (referring to justice being delayed by 40 years where the guilty spent their lives as free men...) ETA: If I might be nosey for a minute, Observer...which is the other episode?
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Post by mimi1802 on Oct 24, 2005 20:14:50 GMT -5
Not everyone watching remembers that particular episode. Give some of the newbies a chance. ...Yes, but my post wasn't about your views on the episode they were about mine and I remember that particular episode. For you it might be fresh and new, and I can see in other people's post the things they've enjoyed in this episode because I felt the same thing. But when some elements of the writing doesn't satisfy me; I will express my concerns because the writing is the primary reason why I watch.
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Post by darmok on Oct 24, 2005 22:29:08 GMT -5
I liked this episode, too. A lot of good lines, and a very good and emotional plot.
First, the good lines that haven't been mentioned:
Goren: Was he big like me? Sister Edwina: Not so big. And not so ... caucasisan.
"Alex Eames thinks he's a big phony."
Nun: I'll have to charge you a nickel. (for the copy)
The plot was very good in this episode. I thought everything, though complicated as usual, fit together. When they're talking to Olivia in the kitchen, Olivia said : "I'm not like them. I made choices." An allusion to her past. She still lives with her guilt (as we'll see later in the episode).
I also think that Vance was just right in this episode. It's Carver who notices the medications the brother is taking. At the end, whether he wants to or not, he's representing his whole race in Sister Olivia's mind: "Please forgive me. Will you forgive me?"
I agree that Goren is definitely going after her in the last scene, although he is still sensitive toward her. Sister Olivia: "Angie DelMarco's gone away. " Goren: "But you know what she saw." He is acknowledging that she's changed, but he is still pushing her into confessing what she did. He could have been easier on her; once she confessed to seeing the beating, he didn't stop. He forced her to confess everything.
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Post by Techguy on Oct 25, 2005 0:35:16 GMT -5
For some reason, I wasn't as aware of any similarities between this episode and "The Faithful" as I was of the diamond connection in "One" and "Diamond Dogs." Perhaps because the riveting acting I observed in "Acts of Contrition" makes the episode seem fresh and new, adding additional drama to the moral and legal issues in this episode.
The flatness in the performance of Annabella Sciorra in her debut in "Diamond Dogs"--and ensuing lack of any emotional pull by hers or any of the other characters--might be the reason why I fixated on the diamond deja vu back to "One." In contrast, "Acts of Contrition" affected me on a far deeper level than "Diamond Dogs" did.
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Post by Jefferaldo on Oct 25, 2005 5:53:53 GMT -5
...the only similarity between One and Diamond Dogs was the fact that the catalyst fueling the actions of the involved parties was diamonds. Not really, I thought it was fueled by drug addiction, although both parties did steal diamonds.
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Post by Patcat on Oct 25, 2005 9:29:03 GMT -5
What I liked about this episode was that it allowed Goren, Eames and Carver to take sides in a case that had a great deal of moral ambiguity and to respect each other's opinions. They've reached a point in their professional relationships where they can express differences and attempt to work them out.
I didn't see Goren letting Sister Olivia off. Once he recognized that she had led the young man into the attack I believe he was in full pursuit mode.
Patcat
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Post by NikkiGreen on Oct 25, 2005 13:50:08 GMT -5
Not really, I thought it was fueled by drug addiction, although both parties did steal diamonds. I guess I must be thinking of another show. I thought that One was where Karl Atwood had the elaborate plan to steal millions in diamonds.
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Post by popularlibrary on Oct 25, 2005 14:23:02 GMT -5
I thought the episode was a return to the high quality we used to expect as a matter of course. What fascinated me, given all the L&O shows' highly Catholic world view, was the way it showed how sin, left unconfessed, spreads unintended evil and destruction throughout the community. Angie tries to atone for her sin, but not by properly using the sacrament of Confession, which would not grant her forgiveness without restitution and complete acceptance of responsibility. She tries to escape that necessity and substitute her own version of 'acts of contrition' as Sister Olivia.
This leads not just to the escape of the two murderers, and the complete failure of justice, but to Eddie's years of rage, to his attack on Sister Dorothy, and to Sister Dorothy's death. Angie's refusal to truly atone, like all unforgiven sin in Catholic theology, affects everyone around her, causing terrible sin in others as well. And she is as responsible for this as she is for the original crimes against Eddie's brother.
It was notable that Sister Olivia's confession is clinched when the priest walks in as Goren presses her. In this particular episode, he, like Sister Dorothy, represents the Church as it is supposed to be. (And yes, Pat, I am sure she was named in honor of the great Dorothy Day.)
This is not to disagree with any of the previous analyses of Goren and Carver's parts in the drama. Both operate as instruments of truth - after all, in the world of L&O's lapsed Catholic creators and writers, the police and the criminal justice system have become the substitute Church.
Elena
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Post by Patcat on Oct 25, 2005 15:36:53 GMT -5
Elena;
Wow--the idea of the police and courts taking the place of the Church--worth several essays, I think.
I've read several essays that have suggested that the detective--particularly detectives along the lines of the Victorian era practitioners like Sherlock Holmes, who tended to be celibate, believers in logic--take on a priestlike role. Perhaps they're doing the same in the L&O world. Although Logan would be appalled.
Patcat
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Post by janetcatbird on Oct 25, 2005 17:41:08 GMT -5
I haven't had personal experience/practice with formal priesthood confession. But I think the thing about personal accountability and living decently is a running theme through any Christian code. I'm not sure that Angie/Olivia specifically caused Sister Dorothy's death by her silence--Eddie Roberts made his choices, just like she did. And he will take responsibility by agreeing to the plea, we just don't see it in such personal exploration. (Although I want to say again, to Dick Wolf, Rene Balcer, etc.: Yo, there ARE religions besides Catholicism! Protestants can be sincere/hypocritical/dramatic story elements too! But I digress...)
Criminal Justice system as substitute church: nicely analyzed Elena! Ya know, according to Freud in "The Future of an Illusion", religion has always been the moral enforcer of society. He thought that it actually served some good--even if it was a distortion/projection of Oedipus and sibling rivalry. So while science and modern education were better overall for society, the trouble was people had for so long equated religion with morality that you ran into all sorts of "You're not religious, you're a bad person!" The trick was to find an equally effective moral enforcer for the lower classes, who upon finding out that God/religion/whatever were false would, he assumed, reject the standards that allowed them to live in peace without killing each other off as part of the whole package. (The educated, civilized upper class would not have a problem phasing out the silly beliefs but retaining the codes of peaceful coexistance.) Of course, that was over a hundred years ago when he wrote.
See what happens when you let college students shoot their mouths off? Stupid Philosophy class...
--Catbird
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Post by VDOGrl on Oct 25, 2005 17:52:23 GMT -5
I myself, am not a fan of the Catholic church. I was raised in it...but got out, even after making all the sacraments, except marriage.
I just don't like what goes down.
I respect the traditions and rituals, but not the ruling body and whatever else.
Let me get this straight: One of the pimps killed Sr. Dorothy, thinking it was the younger one?
And the younger one, was witness to the beating of that weird guy's brother?
What was his whole part in it? Or did he help with the murder? I was still a little confused on that one.
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Post by darmok on Oct 25, 2005 22:49:52 GMT -5
VDOGrl,
Eddie Roberts (the brother of the beating victim) killed Sister Dorothy. It was accidental. He was trying to find Angie DelMarco (aka Sister Olivia).
Angie had witnessed the beating. However, it was more than that. She is the one who set him up and she was yelling at him. All this was to impress her boyfriend.
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Post by Sirenna on Oct 26, 2005 11:59:42 GMT -5
What fascinated me, given all the L&O shows' highly Catholic world view, was the way it showed how sin, left unconfessed, spreads unintended evil and destruction throughout the community... Angie's refusal to truly atone, like all unforgiven sin in Catholic theology, affects everyone around her, causing terrible sin in others as well. And she is as responsible for this as she is for the original crimes against Eddie's brother. ... in the world of L&O's lapsed Catholic creators and writers, the police and the criminal justice system have become the substitute Church. Elena Elena, it's so good to hear your thoughts on the show again. Your point about Olivia's lack of true atonement is why I felt more keenly the pathos surroundng Eddie's family than any affinity for the sister. I also felt that a warped justice or revenge played out against Sister Dorothy. Eddie offered her the chance to expose Sister Olivia's past regression, but she refused even to listen to him. It's your last point that disturbed me about Goren's part in this. I certainly saw him as judge rather than enforcer in the way he looked at Olivia's involvement in Eddie's crime, Not that he was harsh on Eddie. He was his usually compulsively obsessive self ;-D ) But that he wanted to be lenient with Olivia. That just seemed so wrong to me, so unfair.
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Post by LOCIfan on Oct 26, 2005 13:12:59 GMT -5
Coming late to the party here, but wanted to weigh in on this episode. I enjoyed it greatly. Mimi, you know aside from the fact that both episodes involve murders in churches and revolve around the Catholic Church, I found them overall quite different. The nature, spirit and motivations of and for the crimes were so different. Also, the characters in both episodes are so well drawn, and so individual and different from one another that I wasn't bothered by the similarities you point out.
The acting was superb throughout. And I was extremely impressed by the way in which Carver was woven into the story. It could easily have been heavy-handed, but it struck just the perfect note for me. Terrific ep!
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