User Reviews

All the previous Season 16 episodes ranged between pretty good to outstanding, this is one of the few seasons of the original 'Law and Order' where there is no episode that is less than decent. The premise does sound quite ordinary on paper, but have said a number of times about 'Law and Order' often in its prime years doing incredibly well at making something special or at least more complex out of premises that sound less so. In the right hands, "Cost of Capital" had potential to be one of those episodes.

Thank goodness it turned out to be exactly that. To me, the second half of Season 16 was even more consistent than the very good first and "Cost of Capital" for me was one of the best. The story does sound familiar (there are many episodes of the 'Law and Order' franchise that have dysfunctional families with dark secrets), but the execution didn't feel so much, thanks to the strong supporting characters and the truly shocking revelations in particular. Making for one of the season's most disturbing outings.

Maybe the list of suspects was narrowed down a little too early.

Otherwise, "Cost of Capital" is great. It's an intelligently and tautly written script throughout, especially in the latter stages, and sympathetically directed. The production values are slick and have a subtle grit, with an intimacy to the photography without being too claustrophobic. The music isn't used too much and doesn't get too melodramatic.

Furthermore, the acting all round is never less than very good. Can't fault the regulars, Sam Waterston faring best, but the supporting cast are even better in more colourful roles. Lisa Zane and Keir Dullea really unsettle. The supporting characters are interesting and their dynamic is hard to forget.

While the story starts off a little too on the simple side, it actually quite quickly became quite twisty without being too full of turns and they don't feel confusing. The episode contains the mos dysfunctional family of the show in a long time and the secrets contained here are some of the show's most twisted, they actually disturbed me.

Summing up, great. 9/10.

Two black guys noticed a dead body under a bridge with fancy clothes. He was an investiment banker and the reason was not for sure the robbery (he still had a lot of money in his pocket). He was killed by a wine bottle broken to his head. His female boss stated he was better than the others in doing his job and his father was really proud of him. The victim was romantically involved with the married senior partner (anyway she recently filed for divorce): detectives found out the husband SUV had traces of victim's blood. They found even blood stains in a carpet belonged to him, but he swore to have just helping her in hiding the corpse. Anyway something tormented McCoy: the fourteen years old daughter (Sarah Steele) might have played a role in the murder or maybe she had just heard something from her bedroom.

The defendant is the classic trust-fund baby who has no respect for anyone: she called McCoy and Borgia "second rate lawyers", but she's not the only one in the family who deserves to be confined behind bars.

Another episode during what I consider the "dark" period of Law & Order, Farina and Parisse just don't do it for me, but at least Jesse martin is there.

An investment banker is found murdered in the wrong part of town. When infidelity is discovered, of course the husband (Martin Donovan) is suspected. But, secrets remain to be exposed and Keir Dullea is the one that has them all. The key to these secrets is his daughter Sophia (Lisa Zane), who is a rising star on Wall Street.

Waterston ends up disgusted at the whole bunch and just wants them all in prison.

Dennis Farina and Jesse Martin catch a case of a young investment banker being found dead in a really bad neighborhood before he got stripped of credit cards and considerable cash by passersby. If he had been so stripped this might have gone down as a robbery and the truth would never have been known.

It's pretty bad, the deceased had been sleeping with his female boss who was estranged from her husband Martin Donovan. It's the boss Lisa Zane who is eventually charged with the homicide because the estranged husband helped move the body.

Donovan had reasons of his own and they had to do with the custody of their daughter. More I cannot say, but this is one twisted and dysfunctional family going back at least three generations to Zane's father Keir Dullea.

Zane is the most twisted of all and her victimization has led her to do some horrible things in business and in life. More I cannot say.