Episode Summary

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8.6
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EPISODE RATING: Great
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McCoy and Carmichael risk violating the civil liberties of witnesses when they are forced to jail them in order to safely continue their investigation.
  • russian mob characters-not my thing

    1.0
    "Abysmal"
    I didnt really find this episode enjoyable. I dont know why, but Russian, or russian Mob characters just arnt appealing to me. i would love to see more Italian mob characters than any other group, mainly because were so attatched to them, and we find that italian-american stereo-type so fascinating. well, thats just my view
  • the perfect episode

    10
    "Perfect"
    Refuge Parts 1 and 2 are the epitome of what was good about 90s Law & Order- It's unlikely they'll ever make one like this again. Despite its complex plot, both halves of the episode are clear, enthralling and have since been imitated again and again on prime time crime dramas, but never so well.

    Between the child witness, threatened jurors, hitmen- there was enough material for a stand alone film- and contrary to the other reviewers opinion, I applaud their choice to not to use cliche Italian mobsters. Perhaps, the most resonant aspect of Refuge is the senseless murder of Antonella Ricci- a character who appears in only one episode but was so well written, deep, and interesting, that her death fills us with as much outrage as Jack McCoy.moreless
  • My favorite episode

    10
    "Perfect"
    I love this episode more every time I watch it. Why? It can be summed up in two words: Angie Harmon.

    This is one of the best episodes she was in, and one of the best episodes in the series. She was so convincing, portraying a woman who has had a close friend brutally murdered. The amazing thing is, we see the toughest ADA McCoy ever had crying more than once in the show. One of the best moments is at the end of McCoy's closing statements. The camera shows Abbie's face, with one single tear falling down her cheek.

    I think I like this episode so much because we get to see a softer side of Abbie. She experienced so much loss in her life, first with her rape in college and then the murder of a close friend and colleague. It's impossible not to feel some sympathy for her.

    L&O needs to make more episodes like this.moreless
  • Gripping Conclusion

    10
    "Perfect"
    This review is for the "Refuge" Two-Parter. McCoy and Carmichael, as well as the New York Cops find that there is a price to pay for going against the Russian Mafia as the mafia teams up with Colombians in an attempt to terrorize witnesses, including a poor boy whose only parent would then be savagely murdered by these menaces. This is all for an elaborate money-laundering scheme taking place right in New York's Backyard. My only regret of this episode is that the defendants are not put to death for their crimes, after all, they did order the murder of a witness and an officer of the court......moreless
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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • TRIVIA (0)

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  • QUOTES (3)

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    • Adam Schiff: I see. You're planning to violate three, no, five amendments to the Constitution. Jack McCoy: It's time someone talked to Mr. Volsky in a language he understands. Adam Schiff: And what language is that? Jack McCoy: Adam, unless you order me not to do it ... Adam Schiff: I'm ordering you! (Schiff leaves) Jack McCoy: (to Carmichael) Hand me that stack of arrest warrants.

    • Jack McCoy: They turned their country into a thieves' paradise. Now they're doing it to us.

    • Abbie Carmichael: The Russians are positioning themselves as money launderers to the world. Adam Schiff: Lenin must be spinning in his mausoleum.

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  • ALLUSIONS (2)

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    • This episode appears to be ripped from the headlines of the vast number of money laundering scams that took place in the 1980s and 1990s, where vast sums of money would be flown from JFK to Moscow but no one would ever interfere, in large part because they didn't want to take on the Russian mafia.

    • Schiff: Lenin must be spinning in his mausoleum. Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (1870-1924) was a leader of the Bolshevik revolution in Russia and the first leader of the Soviet Union. Lenin's body has been on display in a glass sided mausoleum in Red Square since his death. This mausoleum is one of the top tourist attractions in Moscow.

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