So close, and yet so far away.
On Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 2 Episode 7, the cops got overconfident, leading to Albi and Kosta slipping through their fingers.
This isn’t over yet, even if they did manage to arrest 95 percent of the Kosta Organization.
Before getting into the nitty-gritty of this story, let’s pause to appreciate how good Christopher Meloni looked in that suit. I hope Benson has the chance to see Stabler all dressed up like that sometime!
Back to the episode itself, this was a tension-filled hour, but I knew it couldn’t end yet since it was only episode 7 of an 8-episode arc.
Kudos to the cops for trying and for almost closing the case despite the death of their star witness.
But the woman interviewing Agnes should have suspected something when Agnes knocked over her drink so that the interviewer had to leave the room temporarily.
That was one of the oldest tricks in the book, and Agnes has been part of a notorious mob family her entire life.
If the shooting that left her practically voiceless didn’t get her to turn against the KO, what made the cops think that threatening Reggie would make a difference?
That was a procedural error that never should have happened. In addition, the cops should have kept a close eye on the transcriptionist since she was in the room alone with Agnes and made arrangements to use Agnes’ request to trap Kosta.
The transcriptionist’s death was unnecessary and could have been prevented by the police using common sense when it came to Agnes.
Still, though, the operation was impressive.
I wasn’t sure that Stabler revealing himself as a cop to anybody was a good idea, but Kosta probably figured it out by the time he ordered the hit on Reggie anyway.
I find it hard to believe that a man as well-connected as Kosta hadn’t figured out that Reggie was in jail and that Stabler had put him there until he got Agnes’ message.
Either way, Stabler shouldn’t have been involved in trying to arrest Kosta. Men like that are most dangerous when cornered, and “Eddie” betrayed him.
As it was, Kosta appeared to have set a trap for Stabler and the other cops. Stabler will get out of it all right — there isn’t much of a show left if he doesn’t — but he and Bell might both suffer serious injuries.
I hope that Reggie does get his witness protection deal, though.
Organized Crime has this way of making viewers fall hard for characters they should despise. Reggie became a sympathetic character — the black sheep of the Kosta organization that wanted to fit in but was seen as stupid and expendable.
I almost felt sorry for him, and I enjoyed his friendship with “Eddie.” I didn’t want him to go to jail for the rest of his life.
Meanwhile, there was plenty of intra-office drama mixed into the big operation!
Bell and Nova’s conversation was one of the more compelling scenes of the hour.
Bell can’t trust Nova, especially since Nova only answers to Brewster at this point.
But that wasn’t the biggest takeaway from that scene.
Nova’s look said it all when Bell acknowledged that the other woman she’d been with was her wife.
Nova didn’t say a word, but her grief and resentment shone through that Bell’s wife is still alive while hers is dead.
I wonder if she’ll be willing to work for Bell and whether the two will ever learn to trust each other. Nova and Bell’s relationship has always been adversarial, and Nova’s heartbreak over her partner’s death hasn’t helped that.
Brewster isn’t entirely trustworthy, either. He always keeps his cards too close to his chest and is often at odds with Bell, not understanding how she’s running this operation.
And now she’s going to have to report to him. This is a disaster waiting to happen.
With only one episode to go to finish up this arc, there are bound to be a ton of last-minute twists and turns.
I’m especially curious about what’s going to happen with Kilbride. He’s tied both to the Albanian mob and the Wheatleys, thanks to Richie having made a friend with one of Kilbride’s associates in prison.
He’s also responsible for getting Bell and her wife a fair settlement in their nephew’s case.
That ties Bell to him, plus he’s in a position of power. Will those two facts allow him to get away with everything dirty he’s been involved in?
The Wheatley connection is also interesting. Wheatley hasn’t been seen on-screen since his arraignment, but Dylan McDermott announced on social media that his character would be back in December 2021.
Once the Albanian mob case is wrapped up, some of the perps may cross paths with the Wheatleys in jail, and Richard will not accept any attacks on his family.
Reggie and Agnes appeared to be in the same hotel where Angela Wheatley was poisoned the first time.
Could the supposed end of the Albanian mob case open the door for more malfeasance on the part of the Wheatleys?
What do you think, Organized Crime fanatics? Will the Albanian mob cross paths with the Wheatleys? Is this case as close to wrapped up as it seems? And did anyone else feel sorry for Reggie?
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Law & Order: Organized Crime airs on NBC on Thursdays at 10 PM EST/PST.
Jack Ori is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. His debut young adult novel, Reinventing Hannah, is available on Amazon. Follow him on Twitter.