The Best Season Finale Of Law & Order: Criminal Intent

[TMC]

https://www.looper.com/845714/the-be...iminal-intent/

Season 8's finale sees viewers sympathize with the criminal's intent

In the episode, Marxist revolutionary Axel Kaspers (Stephen Lang) and his daughter Shelley (Tania Raymonde), attempt to fuel the anger of the 99% and incite a workers' revolution by committing a series of violent acts. When their attempt to kidnap a major player from one of the more vilified, bailed-out banks goes awry, one of Kaspers' amateur henchmen kills both the crew's hostage target and his driver. This sets off an investigation that eventually leads to Kaspers' capture and a tense stand-off between Shelley and law enforcement, the latter of which culminates in one of the more heart-breaking finales in the franchise's history.

"Revolution" first aired in the summer of 2009, while most Americans were still reeling from a housing market crash that led to a recession, as well as increased awareness of both corporate corruption and the potential dangers of unchecked capitalism. The episode sees the anonymous criminals garner widespread support from a disillusioned and angry public. Part of the brilliance of the episode lies in the fact that, at the time, there were undoubtedly scores of viewers who, similarly, found themselves sympathizing with Kaspers' cause, if not his approach. Another part of that brilliance lies in their sympathy not for Kaspers, but for his protégé. When the Major Case squad eventually tracks down and arrests Kaspers, his daughter Shelley holds twelve people hostage inside a major bank, and threatens to set off a bomb with a "tilt switch" attached to her body if her father isn't freed and put on a plane to Cuba.