Legacy (Law & Order: Criminal Intent episode)
Encyclopedia
Plot summary
In this episode, Detectives GorenRobert Goren
Det. Robert "Bobby" Goren is a fictional character featured in the NBC-USA Network police procedural and legal drama television series Law & Order: Criminal Intent, portrayed by Vincent D'Onofrio....
and Eames
Alexandra Eames
Det. Alexandra "Alex" Eames is a fictional police detective with the NYPD Major Case Squad featured in the NBC-USA Network Law & Order: Criminal Intent, portrayed by Kathryn Erbe...
investigate the case of Paul Phillips, a student at an elite private school, found dead, hanging from overhead pipes in the boiler room.
The detectives survey the crime scene and meet a Renaissance art teacher, Mrs. Anna Nobile, who found the boy's body. They learn that she has a daughter, Tessa, who also is a student at the school. Preliminary findings indicate that the death appears to be suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
, until Goren looks below the surface. He discover fresh mud on Paul's sneakers, while Eames adds that the knot was a sailing knot and Paul's cellphone and backpack are missing. They tell Captain Ross about the victim. His father is a corporate raider, known for toughness, as Goren theorizes the man was embarrassed by his son. Then, the detectives meet with the victim's parents. The mother says he was looking forward to his school prom, but she doesn't know how it went because they went out of town to a regatta. The father does not respond well, insulting them. At the morgue, Dr. Rodgers informs detectives that the cause of the young man's death was asphyxiation by hanging, but his skull was bashed in. Rodgers shows them the two to three day old bruises all over his body, concluding the victim was brutally beaten before his death.
Goren and Eames go talk to Jack Walker, a boy the grief counselor said Paul might be friends with. At home, Jack shows the detectives a make-out, grotesque cartoon the victim made. Later, a police computer technician shows them the video of a girls group, wearing sports goggles and masks, attacking Paul, knocking him down, kicking and punching him furiously. Nevertheless, the investigators cannot prove their theories until meticulous research yields a lost clue that could be the missing link to resolve the case.
Cast
| Vincent D'Onofrio Vincent D'Onofrio Vincent Phillip D'Onofrio is an American actor, director, film producer, writer, and singer. Often referred to as an actor's actor, his work as a character actor has earned him the nickname of "Human Chameleon"... |
Det. Robert Goren Robert Goren Det. Robert "Bobby" Goren is a fictional character featured in the NBC-USA Network police procedural and legal drama television series Law & Order: Criminal Intent, portrayed by Vincent D'Onofrio.... |
| Kathryn Erbe Kathryn Erbe Kathryn Elsbeth Erbe is an American actress known for her role as Det. Alexandra Eames in Law & Order: Criminal Intent, a spin-off of Law & Order, and death row inmate Shirley Bellinger in the HBO series Oz.-Personal life:... |
Det. Alexandra Eames Alexandra Eames Det. Alexandra "Alex" Eames is a fictional police detective with the NYPD Major Case Squad featured in the NBC-USA Network Law & Order: Criminal Intent, portrayed by Kathryn Erbe... |
| Eric Bogosian Eric Bogosian Eric Bogosian is an American actor, playwright, monologist, and novelist of Armenian descent.-Personal life:Bogosian, an Armenian-American, was born in Woburn, Massachusetts, the son of Edwina, a hairdresser and instructor, and Henry Bogosian, an accountant. After graduating from Oberlin College,... |
Capt. Danny Ross |
Fact
- This episode bears many resemblances to a controversy over appropriate disciplinary action in incidences of online misbehavior on FacebookFacebookFacebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
, where students of Horace Mann SchoolHorace Mann SchoolHorace Mann School is an independent college preparatory school in New York City, New York, United States founded in 1887 known for its rigorous course of studies. Horace Mann is a member of the Ivy Preparatory School League, educating students from all across the New York tri-state area from...
were implicated in making racistRacismRacism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
and sexistSexismSexism, also known as gender discrimination or sex discrimination, is the application of the belief or attitude that there are characteristics implicit to one's gender that indirectly affect one's abilities in unrelated areas...
comments, and derogating specific teachers in those terms (see Horace Mann School Controversy).