Re: Law & Order "A Price to Pay" 2/27/2025

On 2/28/2025 2:19 PM, Adam H. Kerman wrote:

Arthur Lipscomb <arthur@alum.calberkeley.org> wrote:
 

Law & Order - "A Price to Pay" - I was half asleep towards the second
half of the episode so I wasn't paying full attention.  But from what I
saw team L&O investigated the murder of an actor.  I slept through the
motive part of the episode, but I think I saw the end which switched
focus from the killer to a reluctant witness.

 You fell asleep during the bestest episode ever! The script was well
plotted and gave everybody clear motivations!
 In part it was based on the death of Matthew Perry,

Good catch. With so many celebrity deaths over the past few days, I was surprised to see this as the plot of the episode.
  but why this actor,

perfectly healthy while Perry wasn't, used a hell of a lot of ketamine
made no sense. How the cops came across the drug dealer made no sense
either.
 Shaw encountered his old training officer at a retirement party for a
detective from his previous precinct, but the guy hadn't been a cop in
decades. The timing made no sense. He must have been a cop for 15 years
to be a T.O. Then he joined the Marines in his mid to late 30s? It would
make sense if he had some sort of professional specialty but he wasn't
even a military police officer or shore patrol.
 How long has Shaw been a cop, 10 years?
 There were several people preying on the actor, including a corrupt
doctor writing ketamine prescriptions. The doctor was all set to take a
plea and testifyy against the drug dealer, but Price's case got ruined
because the witness for the prosecution committed suicide.
 

Why did he kill himself?  Didn't his lawyer negotiate a sweetheart deal for him?

Price asked the judge for a two-week continuance, but she gave him till
the next commercial break.
 Riley and Shaw did negligible investigation. But Detective Yee did all
the work, miraculous finding evidence in video footage. I've never
understood how she finds so much video footage, never physically leaving
the police station.
 In The Plot Twist You Never Saw Coming, Shaw spots his old T.O. in the
footage Yee found. He's a customer of the murderer.
 You know? It's almost a relief when the episode goes from mediocre to
relentlessly awful as we all expect this to happen.
 Due to PTSD, the Marine has some sort of light duty assignment in New York
with subsidized housing, but he's receiving zero medical care. He decided
that ketamine will treat his PTSD. But he'll get discharged from the
Marines and will lose his subsidized home if his bosses learn any of this.
 As a former detective, he sees that his drug dealer has blood on her
shoes, the very shoes she disposed of, which is why Price is prosecuting
a case with no circumstantial evidence. Price doesn't do this all the
time, just the prosecutions he does on Thursdays.
 Shaw, Riley, and Brady approach Baxter, begging him not to use him as a
witness. Shaw argues the unfairness, 'cuz no one cared that the actor
abused significant amounts of ketamine whereas the Marine is using just
enough to keep his symptoms at bay.
 Now, Shaw's argument is beyond stupid. The actor isn't losing his career
and isn't being prosecuted for one reason: He's the murder victim. He
may have been a drug abuser and stiffed his ex wife on alimony but he
was murdered because he didn't pay his drug dealer.

I think I slept through that detail.  But if they murder him, then how do they expect to be paid? Seems like they could get a lot more money out of him if he was alive and using.
Cops and prosecutors

are supposed to send a strong signal to society that murder is taken
seriously and that they seek justice on behalf of the dead.
 Baxter wants the witness on the stand regardless of consequence.
 Now, Price and Maroun have been directly informed that this witness will
not come forward voluntarily, and they know that as a former detective
he can recognize evidence of foul play and STILL didn't come forward,
that they need to immediately supeona him.
 Maroun decides to wait 18 hours to serve the supeona.
 Off screen, Shaw warned him off. He talked his bosses into transferring
him to Okinawa.

I think I must have slept through that bit too.  I thought the friend testified or am I misremembering it?
  Price and Baxter discuss whether he can be forced to

return to take the stand but Price again emphasizes that the judge won't
agree to a continuance.
 Uh, he might have asked anyway.
 Baxter orders a plea. Man 2
 The actors relatives are disappointed. Price confronts Shaw, and tells
him he can be prosecuted for witness tampering. Shaw smarmily justifies
his behavior. Episode ends before Price picks up the LART to pound the
clue into the side of Shaw's skull.
 I nominate this episode as Shaw's must unethical behavior yet.

Thanks for the summary!  A lot of times if I fall asleep I'll rewind back and rewatch the next day.  I must have slept through more than I realized or I wouldn't have hit the delete button at the end.