Law & Order: Criminal Intent (TV Series) A Murderer Among Us (2003) User Reviews

Bringing Attention to a horrible truth

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 13 April 2015]

This episode is one where Samantha Buck rides temporary shotgun with Vincent D'Onofrio as they attempt to solve the case of a woman originally from Argentina who was found slashed to death. The deceased did one extreme act to bring attention to the fact that her husband Thomas G. Waites was killing people of the Jewish faith.

Her death results in the iconoclastic Detective Robert Goren discovering a pattern of death of Jewish men that probably only Goren and Adrian Monk could have figured it out. Courtney Vance as ADA Ron Carver is really impressed and that man is not easily impressed as his Captain Jamey Sheridan.

Waites has a thing about Jews from childhood. But some recent news really put him over the top and started this construction contractor on a killing spree.

Interesting story here with D'Onofrio at his iconoclastic best.

Sephardic blooper

[billfalls-1 · 8/10 · 7 February 2011]

I liked the episode generally, especially the direct confrontation of antisemitism in a family and neighborhood and the pathos of the mother and daughter surrounded by hate they don't share.

Part of the plot revolves around unknown Jewish ancestry revealed by a few words of Ladino Spanish and by a document showing a Jewish surname changed a generation earlier. Only problem: the Jewish name is Ashkenazic not Sephardic. A few Sephardic Jews have Northern European names due to an ancestor's marriage, but the choice here is absurd. Perhaps the writers were clueless, or maybe it was easier to use a name that the antisemitic U.S. characters would recognize instantly as "Jewish" (as people in Spanish-speaking countries would recognize a Sephardic surname).

The ugly truth

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 9 July 2020]

The first half of Season 3 was generally a solid first half, with the best episode being "But Not Forgotten" (by some way) and even the lesser ones such as particularly "Pravda" were still decent. Also really like the previous two seasons, particularly the first with a higher number of brilliant episodes and being more consistent, and the first half of Season 3 was nearly if not quite as good. With the previous two seasons getting going a little quicker quality-wise.

"A Murderer Among Us", what a great creepy title, is a very good episode on the whole and a good example as to why the first half of Season 3 works well. It doesn't succeed enough in changing my mind on the chemistry between Goren and Bishop and Bishop herself, and there are one or two hard to ignore logic lapses. Something that is very seldomly complained about by me and usually don't like it, as it does sound nit-picky, but one in particular stuck out like a sore thumb.

Starting with what is not quite so great, there are a couple of logic lapses. Especially with Lena using non-standard Spanish, well actually Ladino, despite not knowing that her parents were Jewish, which would have caused suspicion of her identity quite quickly but wasn't picked up upon that fast.

Bishop is still a little bland and doesn't gel again with Goren as much as Goren did with Eames. Sorry for the comparison but it is hard to when those two made, and did so again when re-united, such a major impression together.

However, "A Murderer Among Us" does contain great acting from Vincent D'Onofrio, dominating effortlessly the entire time he's on screen without being too much of a show off. Also great is Thomas G. Waites, creepy as one of the most loathsome supporting characters of the third season and even of the early seasons. The script is typically taut and intelligent while not taking itself too seriously.

Furthermore, the story may be complicated yet it is never incoherent, and it is also absorbing, tense and continually unpredictable. The ending is quite shocking but also ingenious, with a hair-raising interrogation scene between Goren and Brody that is one of the classic ones of the whole of 'Criminal Intent'. Eames also has two telling scenes, rivalling Goren almost when it comes to how she perceives people. They do betray a bit though how she is a vastly superior character to Bishop.

Summarising, another very well done episode. 8/10

Claire is Super Hot

[ardisventuresllc · 10/10 · 21 July 2021]

The best part of this episode was the daughter, Claire. She is soooo hot. I wish. The whole episode was devoted to Claire!!