Excalibur (2008) User Reviews (3)

Heads Up

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 11 August 2013]

The incorruptible new DA Sam Waterston decides to do a solid for the governor who appointed him. When his name comes up peripherally in a murder investigation, Waterston goes to Governor Tom Everett Scott to give him a heads up. All this does is give impetus to a running feud that starts for several episodes.

Eric Sheffer Stevens who is the spoiled son of gold merchant Len Cariou kills his brother-in-law who now runs the family business. The victim would not let him launder money through the business. Stevens runs a high end escort service and during the investigation it is discovered that Scott is a client.

The Feds even jump into this one as they've got their sights on this governor. The parallels of Scott's character to Elliott Spitzer are too obvious to ignore. The feud between Waterston and his patron starts here and continues over several episodes.

It's a good episode where justice is done for some and postponed for others.

Scandal

[TheLittleSongbird · 9/10 · 19 October 2022]

'Law and Order's' shortest season Season 18 was an uneven one but pretty solid, with none of the episodes being terrible or below average and with a small handful of outstanding episodes. It was a season that to me started off rocky, with "Misbegotten" and "Bottomless" disappointing, but it improved significantly from "Quit Claim" onwards (with "Betrayal" and "Burn Card" being the standouts). Cutter and Bernard came over very well this season, Lupo started very well but seemed less confident after Green's exit.

"Excalibur" is an excellent final episode and among the better ones of Season 18's second half, which, with the exception of two still decent episodes ("Bogeyman" and "Personae Non Grata"), was very high quality and far superior to the first half. Not a 'Law and Order' high point or one of the show's best season finales, but as an episode to round off a season there is a huge amount to admire and it was fitting, not needing a potentially over dramatic major event.

Do still find that Lupo and Bernard's chemistry has not gelled yet or has much spark, it is early days sure but see how quickly Briscoe settled and gelled with pretty much all his partners so gelling quickly with a new partner is not unheard of on the show.

However, the good things are numerous and the best of them great. It looks professional and the camerawork is neither overblown or static. The music has a haunting and not too melodramatic presence. The direction keeps things tight while allowing time to breathe. The script is intelligent, layered, lean and provokes a lot of thought. The story is compelling and is intricate without being convoluted, the moral dilemmas of the case are intensely and thoughtfully handled.

Conflict has tension and the kind where a result, and the right kind, is rooted for, while the approach to the subject is uncompromising and suspenseful while not being preachy. It was fantastic to see more of McCoy after being underused for too much of the season. The character interaction is spot on, especially in the twisty and tense second half, and the acting is fine, Linus Roache has a lot of authority.

Overall, great finale. 9/10.

Family is the most important thing. Family and public service.

[Mrpalli77 · 6/10 · 16 March 2018]

A dead body was found inside a factory burnt to death inside a furnace. The factory's business melt gold and the victim was the owner's son-in-law. Detectives thought money laundering was behind the business. The victim booked a room in a fancy hotel with an escort, a 24 years old blond girl. Police used her (with an hidden camera) and a secretary to blame victim's brother-in-law, who ran a prostitution ring online. Other information were taken from a brazilian escort named Chanel (Paloma Guzman). Investigation could frame a "big fish" very close to McCoy (Fbi is involved as well) and Jack's career is at stake as a result, he could forget to be appointed as DA next year (they intimidate him).

The episode is focused on McCoy's character (he took a back seat for all this eighteen series); it showed what really happened backstage; people had rather plead guilty instead of ruin the family name and politics is very dirty beyond any law.