Homicide Episode Guide: Justice, Part 1

Written by David Rupel, Story by Tom Fontana and Henry Bromell

Directed by Michael Radford

    About the only positive thing of the demotion of Megan Russert back to detective was that it gave the long wandering in the  wilderness John Munch a partner for the first time in a few months. It is still clear that Munch really misses Bolander (he doesn’t like it that Russert had usurped his desk) and it’s clear Russert isn’t thrilled being teamed with this layabout. With all this tension between them and their obvious social and political differences we finally have two detectives NOT working as a well oiled  machine. This leads to some interesting  sparks when the two of them investigate their first big case in ‘Justice’, the murder of  retired Baltimore cop Edgar Rodzinski.

     To add to the tension they are under intense scrutiny from Gee, concerned as always about his police family and the bosses. More than  that Rodzinski’s son is also on the police force and a personal friend of Meldrick Lewis,  both of whom are more than a little pissed when the investigations putters around with no real leads.

     Considering Lewis and Jake’s relationship, another cop show might have the two of them working together to catch his father’s killer. This is still Homicide, however and Jake’s effort to ‘help’  only lead to him being suspended and arrested. Watching Meldrick’s interaction with Jake we get even more of a look at Lewis as a person. With Kellerman out of state attending a wedding, Johnson lets us in a little more into the past of this underused detective.

     Also  very notable is the work of Bruce Campbell as Jake Rodzinski. Best known for his work with Sam Raimi in the Evil Dead movies and Hercules and Xena TV franchises Campbell is basically known for slapstick bordering on camp. This is one of the few ‘straight’ roles that he has done and he shows that he is more than up to the psychological drama of Homicide.

     After a lot of ‘sensational’ cases the investigation of Rodzinski’s murder is comparatively low-key. There are, however, melodramatic flourishes, a couple of chase scenes and more than one occasion when the detectives draw their guns. We also have the investigation come to a dead halt, the finding and arrest of a suspect and then  his trial in less than a week’s time. Some would say that this unrealistically fast but considering some of the other occasions where Homicide  has screwed around with the calendar (last year’s shooting of the three detectives comes to mind) it’s hard to  raise real objections.

     For the first time in a very long time (the crossover with Law and Order excluded) Homicide  goes to trial. The case against the killer Kenny Damon seems relatively strong. They have a clear indication of motive and opportunity, his fingerprints are found on Rodzinski’s car, and the murder weapon (with DNA evidence on it) is in the trunk. However a good lawyer could  poke holes in this and Darin Russom (proving again he will represent anybody) does so—pointing out that one of the witnesses did not come forward with critical evidence until a cash reward was offered, that Detective Lewis found some of the evidence, and that a lot of the evidence was circumstantial. We then get to see a real sign of frustration as Jake and the others wait for a verdict, adding an unusual level of edginess.

     The kicker comes, however, when the verdict comes back ‘not guilty’. Jake corners a juror in the hall and begs to know why they found Damon innocent.  The reason is pretty simple— the jurors were basically indifferent and they all wanted to get home for the weekend.

The look of devastation on Jake’s face when he hears this is absolutely shattering.  A technicality ca be understood, if not accepted, but this--- this is heart wrenching stuff. This almost (but not quite) makes his  later actions understandable, if not excusable.

     There are more than a few melodramatic flourishes to   ‘Justice, Part One’ not the least of which are two unrealistic (if dramatically effective) scenes where Jake Rodzinski confronts his father’s killer before and after his trial and acquittal. But for the most part the episode is more realistic and believable than some of the more hyped up episodes earlier in the season. This one really does make you want to see the next episode in a hurry.

My score: 4 stars.