"In God We Trust" did nothing for me on first watch. Did find myself intrigued by it at first, before becoming incredibly preachy and unrealistic with the second worst episode of Season 15. Prime 'Law and Order' (Seasons 1-10) is fantastic, and there were still many fine episodes during the Briscoe and Green period. Many of Season 15's episodes have been worth watching, but a few didn't do it for me on first watch or on rewatch.
The biggest example of this being "In God We Trust", which gets my vote as the weakest episode of the season. The idea was good and intriguing on paper and 'Law and Order' and religion have actually gelled well in the past, but the execution was very sloppy. This sounds like it's being called a terrible episode, it isn't with the first half saving it. There are just too many major things wrong, and a couple of them bring "In God We Trust" down very badly.
Am going to start with the good. It is as ever shot with the right amount of intimacy without feeling too up close, even with a reliance of close up camerawork. The music isn't over-scored, manipulative or used too much. There is intimacy and tautness in the direction in the first half.
Which is quite promising and intriguing. Would have liked more presence from Michael Imperioli but he and Dennis Farina, who's fine, works better than it did in their previous two episodes, but that is it with the issues for this half. The script has enough moments where it is intelligent and made me think. The acting is very good all round, with Jim True-Frost bringing effortless unease to his role.
Really did wish that the second half maintained that promise and intrigue, but sadly "In God We Trust" goes down south once the case comes to trial and gets worse with each minute. Found the second half dull (from over-stretching), lacking in suspense, predictable and also incredibly preachy in how the perpetrator's defense is written.
Not to mention having very little realism, with such a hard to swallow verdict. The second worst ending of the season (the least plausible one) after "Ain't No Love", and one of not many 'Law and Order' episodes to end in a way that made me feel cheated. The character interaction didn't seem as fully connected as it usually is while the script had too much of a talking down quality in the climactic moments particularly.
Concluding, promising first half but a mess of a second. 5/10.
7 out of 8 found this helpful.
Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink