McCoy takes on gay marriage at the state Supreme Court when a man refuses to testify in a case involving the death of the governor of Connecticut's wife, because he says that he is married t... Read allMcCoy takes on gay marriage at the state Supreme Court when a man refuses to testify in a case involving the death of the governor of Connecticut's wife, because he says that he is married to the defendant.McCoy takes on gay marriage at the state Supreme Court when a man refuses to testify in a case involving the death of the governor of Connecticut's wife, because he says that he is married to the defendant.
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- DA Arthur Branch
- (as Fred Dalton Thompson)
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Did you know
- TriviaThis episode appears to be based on four separate cases/incidents:
- The scandalous 2004 resignation of New Jersey Governor James McGreevey (which became effective five days after this episode aired).
- The 2004 scandal involving Connecticut Governor John Rowland (also resulting in his own resignation).
- The 2004 Jason West case.
- The brief period of gay marriages in 2004 that were permitted at the direction of San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and later annulled by the California Supreme Court.
- GoofsAll entries contain spoilers
- Quotes
Richard Kaplan: This is a waste of my valuable time. I'm gonna have my lawyers make a complaint to the chief of police.
Detective Joe Fontana: Hey, how come you rich guys always have to have your lawyers do your talking for you?
Rewatching "Gov Lov" though, my opinion of it now is not near as high. While liking the episode generally, it did shock me at how McCoy's handling of the prosecution didn't bother me because on rewatch it was the thing that brought the episode too much for me to consider it one of the best now. My only answer to that is due to knowing little about the subject on first watch but am more understanding of it now. "Gov Lov" was an episode that started off incredibly well and sensitively, but it is one of the few latter seasons episodes where the legal portion wasn't as strong.
"Gov Lov" does have a lot of good things, despite how all of that sounds. It is a slickly made episode as usual with the photography's intimacy not being too filmed play-like. The music isn't overused or overpowering and suits the tone of the show aptly. The direction is a mix of alert and accomodating and the dialogue is lean enough despite a lot going on and with the right amount of grit.
The episode also starts off incredibly well, in the one episode of the season perhaps where the first half is better than the second. The first half is tough as nails but also intriguing and entertaining, and Fontana and Green's chemistry has come on quite a lot since "Paradigm". As has Fontana himself, who is a lot more hard-edged compared to his first appearance. All the acting is excellent, Jeremy Webb kills it in a very challenging role. Elisabeth Rohm giving a contender for her best performance of the show here was a pleasant surprise too, this is a rare case where this viewer was on Southerlyn's side as well.
However, "Gov Love" loses its way in the second half. Which has the tension in the dialogue, some strong character interaction and some intrigue going for it, but the prosecution case itself is really flimsy (the flimsiest in a while) to the point that the case could easily have not gone to trial, with the evidence being so little and what there is of it pretty weak. Meaning that momentum drags.
Really didn't like McCoy's character writing here, he is more stubborn than usual and a jerk and his legal tactics were not just unrealistic but also reeked of desperation and insensitivity. Am personally not that surprised that some found the episode morally wrong. Regarding whether the subject was handled with tact, it was to begin with but the more desperate the legal tactics became it felt too much of one side.
Concluding, was well on its way to being one of the season's best but the handling of the prosecution case didn't sit right. 7/10.
- TheLittleSongbird
- Jul 26, 2022