Law & Order: Criminal Intent "Legacy" (2008)

Murder and intrigue abound in a exclusive private school that has Team A scrambling to put together all the pieces of the puzzle. I have to say that having gone to a private school much like this one that things were never so interesting. I couldn't even imagine the guys I went to private school coming with a scheme like this one that unfolds here that includes blackmail, manipulation and murder. Certainly I can imagine students who are full of themselves and believe themselves to be better than others, but there were no criminal masterminds at my high school. Although there was that one guy who ran a calculator theft ring, but I'm pretty sure no one died as a result of that. I will say that all of the twists and turns certainly drove the case in an interesting direction. To see that someone so young was able to mastermind and move the people around him like pieces on a chessboard was an impressive sight and of course he would want to take credit for it as his father believes he can't do anything without his help so the inevitable confession does not seem as forced. This case had me guessing all the way through and certainly never lagged as the detectives had to slowly reconstruct all the school rivalries and scuffles that lead to one hanging at the end of a noose.

TV's Lex Luthor (John Shea) plays the father of the perpetrator and I believe this is the second L&O I've seen him in this season. He played a role in a mother ship episode earlier this season and it seems this is his fourth foray through the L&O universe. He isn't given much to do other than urge on his son to play right into the detectives' hands. Although his overbearing presence on his son gives credence to the explanation for why he undertook the actions he did. He claimed he was only following his father's wishes in order to get rid of mediocre teachers who were corrupting the curriculum and loser students on financial aide who mooched off those who played full tuition. It's horrifying to think that a parent's random ramblings, probably made in frustration, could be taken to heart so coldly by their children. It's definitely a warning to watch what you say and how you act around your children if you don't want them doing the same things. Parental influences do get embedded in the children no matter how much it seems they're not listening.

Favorite moment: There's nothing better than seeing a cocky person get knocked down a notch. Having been forced to break into the suspects' lockers with bolt cutters because they would not cooperate, the girls' lacrosse ringleader gladly hands her laptop over to Goren and Eames because she thinks there is nothing on there that can incriminate her since she used a shredding program. Cut to TARU which immediately is able to pull up the video file she was trying to hide. I cannot stand people who act so smug and it's always a shining moment when they get caught completely unaware thanks to their own doing. Unfortunately she continued to act smug in her remaining scenes and was eventually cleared so it's not all's well that ends well on that front.