Law & Order: Criminal Intent (TV Series) Amends (2007) User Reviews

Karthryn Erbe Gets To Grab The Spotlight In Good Season Opener

[ccthemovieman-1 · 9/10 · 5 January 2009]

This seventh season debut episode kind of features "Det. Alex Eames" (Kathyrn Erbe) over the rest of the cast. It isn't that she has a lot more lines; it's just that this case has a lot of ramifications to one nine years earlier in which her husband was shot and killed.

Erbe gets an opportunity to show us (again) what a good actress she is by being emotional-but under control-several times in this story. She's good enough that you really get involved with her character and sympathize with her during this episode.

It all begins with two cops park on the street so one of them can go out and take "a bathroom break." While he's away, someone comes to the window and shoots the driver....twice. That cop, it turns out, was the former partner of Eames' husband. During the story, we find out more and more about how these shootings are related, and why. It's a trying time for "Eames," especially when she discovers the man who was arrested for shooting her husband/cop might have been the wrong guy!

This is another well-acted and interesting Criminal Intent episode, and a solid season-opener.

Kathryn Erbe is Absolutely Superb in this Very Personal Episode

[JohnLeeT · 10/10 · 22 April 2013]

Put quite simply, Kathryn Erbe gives one of the finest performances of her excellent career in this episode. The script calls for her to reveal the heart and soul of the character of Eames in subtle ways that few other actors could do so superbly. The scene at the funeral and in the car leaving the wake are deeply moving and unforgettable. Another scene involving Eames' sorting through some clothing of her murdered husband brings tears to our eyes as she finally becomes emotional. While many seem to miss it in Erbe's portrayal of Eames, this is only one of many times that she touches the viewers in this way. Although in the first season the producers had not yet found a solid footing for the character and several villains were gunned down without a second thought, in the future Erbe showed incredible depth whenever she reluctantly was forced to draw her weapon and fire it. Often times on these occasions, tears could be seen in her eyes and she was visibly shaken following a shooting. Her co-star may have been the brain of Law and Order:Criminal Intent, but Ms. Erbe was the heart and played it beautifully.

Maybe they got the wrong guy?

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 13 November 2014]

This CI episode digs into some very old matters involving the killing of two NYPD detectives. The one that Vincent Donofrio and Kathryn Erbe are assigned and the killing of Erbe's husband from years ago. Both late detectives were assigned the same partner Holt McCallany.

The current case involves McCallany leaving the squad car for some 'personal' business and the partner being shot sitting in the driver's seat in the same car. Obviously he was shot and surprised from ambush.

The man arrested for the killing of Detective Eames's husband Luis Solis has always maintained his innocence even though Solis's partner in drug dealing fingered him.

Being an iconoclast and being Robert Goren is a redundancy. But Vincent Donofrio's insistence on probing into the old murder is certainly causing stress and anxiety in Kathryn Erbe. Her beautiful performance in this story, maybe the high point of her stint with the show, exhibits every bit of several emotions working in her.

As it turns out both murders were committed for some truly stupid and impulsive reasons. A must for CI fans and others.

Putting things right

[TheLittleSongbird · 10/10 · 25 March 2021]

When it comes to talking about the previous seasons of 'Law and Order: Criminal Intent', Seasons 1-4 were very good as an overall whole, the weakest episodes still being decent and the best being absolutely outstanding and 'Criminal Intent' high points. Seasons 5 and 6 were a lot less consistent, especially 6 which was like an out of control see saw and also boasted the show's worst episode up to this point ("Bombshell", which was a misfire but not a terrible one).

Season 7 gets off to a more than promising and actually outstanding start with "Amends". When talking about the Season 7 premieres of the original 'Law and Order' ("Causa Mortis", very good), 'Special Victims Unit' ("Demons", disappointing) and this, 'Criminal Intent' had by far the best Season 7 premiere of the three shows with it being the only one that was above very good. Anybody that loves powerful stories and acting will not be short changed here.

"Amends" is outstanding in every way. The production values however are slick and professional, never cheap or gimmicky. The music is haunting without being overbearing or melodramatic, not being too constant or too loud. The direction both keeps things at a tight pace while keeping things controlled.

The script is a taut, constantly thought-probing, emotionally impactful and at times entertaining one. The story has a very intriguing, well paced and clever case that is never too simple or too complicated. The ending was far from a predictable one. There are emotional moments, such as Eames going through her dead husband's clothes which would break the heart of anybody who has lost a loved one.

Eames and Goren are great characters with strong beautifully contrasted personalities and their chemistry as always is on fire. They work well as a team, they play off each other entertainingly and they clearly care for one another. Did not like Ross on the whole in Season 6, didn't have an issue with him here. While Vincent D'Onofrio is terrific as usual, the best performance comes from a very poignant Kathryn Erbe who moved me to tears.

In conclusion, brilliant. 10/10

You know that today they only need a trace of DNA

[Mrpalli77 · 9/10 · 29 September 2017]

A cop (Gerald McCullouch) was murdered while performing his duty. He was posted in a Jamaican neighborhood, protecting a witness in an upcoming drug trial. He turned out to be Eames' husband old partner and this caused the detective a little breakdown (her husband, Joe, was an uncover officer shot dead by gangs years before). The victim was also the star witness in Joe's trial and after the perp shot the second (and last) witness, a local low profile drug dealer, it was easy to find out the connection between the two murders. Eames started digging in the old evidences and thanks to improvements in DNA checking, she was able to prove the wrong guy spent nine years in prison. At the end both murder cases were solved.

A nice episode, illustrating the pressure that sometimes detectives must face to find as soon as possible the cop killer. They had to put the blame on someone right away, making mistakes in the process.

Great Episode! Bring back Mike!

[limpcreed316 · 10/10 · 18 October 2007]

Wow, I've been watching Law and Order for a number of years, and this episode was one of the best I've ever seen. I was just surprised that the partner was not seen again after the funeral. But other than that, really, this episode was very well done, including the somewhat shocking ending. I really didn't see that coming at all. I really didn't seeing the kid as being the killer, I thought it even might have been the partner. Also, Mike the CSU Tech is a fantastic character, please keep on her on more regularly! I've only seen her on Albatross and this one, she should be on more. She's great and adds a different dynamic to the show. Also, she has great chemistry with cast members that some of the other supporting cast members don't show all the time. I'm a college student and don't watch Law and Order all that much anymore because it seems like all the characters are much older than me, but Mike is definitely young and sexy and I don't know about other college students, but having her on more regularly would definitely lead me to watch more.