| "Suite Sorrow" | ||
|---|---|---|
| ← | CI, Episode 2.12 | → |
| Production number: E3212 First aired: 2 February 2003 | ||
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| Teleplay By Warren Leight Story By René Balcer & Warren Leight Directed By Jean de Segonzac | ||
Detectives Goren and Eames investigate the death of a wealthy and matronly owner of a magnificent hotel, found naked and drowned - or it so appears - in her bathtub.
Plot[]
The episode begins with an old woman, Nan Turner, asking how much she needs to pay to a young man, Kenneth Rayfield, who replies that she should double whatever number she is comfortable with. Nan frowns but nonetheless cuts the check. The man is later seen flashing said check to a young woman, revealed to be Nan's daughter, Julie, and saying that he could not continue forward with their engagement. He rips up the check in front of her and returns his engagement ring. Julie is visibly distraught. She brings the issue to her mother and father separately. Her mother brushes it aside while her father can only provide words to console her. Later on, Nan turns up dead in her bathtub. The detectives quickly deduce that Julie killed her own mother, but they cannot fully establish a motive.
Goren and Eason attempt to create a timeline explaining the catalyst for Nan's check to Kenneth. They determine that in a previous case where Julie's supposed love was paid to go away, Nan had presented photo evidence to Julie of the man's infidelity. They speculate as to why she did not present evidence to Julie this time of Kenneth's wrongdoing. They narrow the timeline down to a weekend where Kenneth was in the city alone and visited a cafe. They go to the cafe where Goren notices a wall of Polaroids which were taken by an employee who informs them Kenneth got his picture taken kissing another man. Outside the cafe, the detectives go through what they've learned. Shocking though it would have been to learn her fiancé was unfaithful with another man, it is still not enough for Nan to avoid showing Julie irrefutable evidence unless there was another level of humiliation that would have broken her daughter completely.
Goren and Eames confront Julie with their theory: her own father, Mr. Turner, was the second man in the photo with Kenneth. At first, she refuses to believe them until Goren gets through her denial by speaking to her of her childhood. She breaks down and accepts the reality that her own father's actions led her to kill her mother so that he could claim ownership of everything once Julie was put away for the murder. She helps the police set Mr. Turner up for a taped admission of guilt. She lies to Mr. Turner that she is pregnant with Kenneth's child, and they intend to marry. He panics and attempts to persuade her against this by revealing a clause in her trust. If she is incapacitated by illness or incarceration, administration of her trust would pass to her child or her child's guardian Kenneth. Ultimately, he reveals to Julie the truth her mother sought to protect her from without admitting it was himself in the picture. This much is enough to confirm the detectives' and Julie's suspicions, but Nan's are proven right above all. Unable to accept the depth of her father's betrayal, Julie stabs him to death before the police can stop her. The episode ends with Goren blaming himself and not deducing her murderous intent early enough.
Cast[]
Main cast[]
- Vincent D'Onofrio as Detective Robert Goren
- Kathryn Erbe as Detective Alexandra Eames
- Jamey Sheridan as Captain James Deakins
- Courtney B. Vance as A.D.A. Ron Carver
Recurring cast[]
- Leslie Hendrix as Dr. Elizabeth Rodgers
Guest cast[]
- James A. Baffico as Derwin Cooper
- Michael Hayden as Kenneth Rayfield
- Hal Linden as Mr. Turner
- Colin McPhillamy as Lloyd Prescott
- Amy Ryan as Julie Turner
- Cristina Soler as Mercedes
- Patrick Welsh as Penton
- Nancy Opel as Nina
- Bryan Batt as Hugo
- Manny Alfaro as Carlos
- Andrew Cassese as Reporter #1
- Betty Ouyang as Reporter #2
- David Drake as Jason
- Mariane Ebert as Marisol
- Pete Macnamara as Assistant Medical Examiner
- Judith Roberts as Nan Turner
- Tom O'Rourke as Peter Behrens
- John Horton as unknown
References[]
References
Quotes[]
- Robert Goren: Botox works by paralyzing the nerves around the facial muscles, doesn't it?
- Alexandra Eames: Does it look like I'd know?
- Ron Carver: The evidence against Julie lays out in a nice straight line. Juries like straight lines.
- Robert Goren: What's one check, when you can marry the checkbook?
- Salon Owner: I'm not licensed to dispense botox.
- Robert Goren: We've found that a lot of people do things they aren't licensed to do.
- Robert Goren: Not only does he remove hairs, he splits them.
- Elizabeth Rodgers: Death by botox. Live slow, die old, and leave a good looking corpse.
- Kenneth Reyfield: It wasn't an accident. Is that what you're inferring?
- Robert Goren: You mean 'implying', the listeners 'infer'.
- Alexandra Eames: And detectives 'speculate', since we don't know the cause of death yet.
Background information and notes[]
- A portion of the filming transpired around the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel (A Hilton property) located at 301 Park Ave, especially near the North Wing located at East 50th Street where one can see the "leak windows" (or pierced stonework, using Western Architectural terminology, leaked window is more of a Chinese description) of St. Bartholemew's Church, in the background, during a few scenes. As for the design of said windows it is most likely Byzantine or Romanesque.
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"Suite Sorrow" Law & Order: Criminal Intent Season 2 |
Next episode: "See Me" |