Law & Order: Criminal Intent (TV Series) Cold Comfort (2003) User Reviews

A Sad Legacy

[ccthemovieman-1 · 8/10 · 28 December 2006]

There are some really strange doings in this episode, such as:

A famous old senator who dies and who, along with his daughter want to frozen (cryogenics) so they can re-unite sometime down the road; a son who is running for Senator not wanting this to happen; the son winning a quick court battle over it and then having his father's remains cremated; the father's brain apparently removed by someone for research; Goren and Eames finding out the son really isn't the son of the senator but of his mother's old bodyguard..... on and on.

Overall, it's a tale of someone who thinks more of his legacy than of human life and his family. Sad.

Didn't leave me cold

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 30 April 2020]

"Cold Comfort's" story on paper is an intriguing one, one of the more intriguing ones of the season, but also quite bizarre. One does wonder about how the show would pull it off without it sounding implausible. Will admit that on first watch the episode didn't wow me, loved the performances but the story execution was less convincing. On re-watches, being somebody who thinks 'Law and Order: Criminal Intent' was a great show in its prime, it fared a lot better.

By all means "Cold Comfort" is not one of the best episodes of 'Law and Order: Criminal Intent' (or even of the overall solid Season 2) and not everything works, but a lot does and a large part of me does appreciate it. "Cold Comfort" admittedly is a very odd episode, how could it not be with the premise, and not always easy to follow. It is also one that is very sad, not an easy watch if not as uncompromising as other episodes, and leaves one deep in perceptive thought after. Just had to say that just in case what was said before made it seem that to me that it is a bad episode, which to me it isn't.

It can be far-fetched at times, especially towards the end. It can also get over-complicated and the medication and surgical instrument discussion lacked depth and was overdone.

How Eames reacted to the latter and their purpose didn't come over as realistic to me.

There is so much to like though. Goren is fascinating as always, without dominating too much. Have always loved his chemistry with Eames, who has some fun lines. Vincent D'Onofrio (the heart of the show) and Kathryn Erbe can't be faulted, and they are brilliantly supported in difficult roles in context of the subject matter by a poignant Jay Goeke and intense Josef Sommer. "Cold Comfort" is slickly made, sympathetically directed (especially in the character interaction) and not overbearingly scored.

Dialogue is intelligent and crisp, with some quirks and the story has many twists and turns, most plausible and always intriguing, and again like much of Season 2 has an admirable intricacy. Parts did leave me misty-eyed too, especially with the character of Nicholas who is in such a sad situation. Could not bring myself to completely hate the perpetrator.

Summing up, solid and one of the better that improved on re-watches but doesn't wow me. 7/10

A legacy of lies and pride

[stewiec85 · 8/10 · 14 March 2022]

What would make a rich man go to such lengths to try to save his son from Alzheimer's disease but never told him he had it? If I were the son, I be more betrayed than heartbroken, more angry than hurt and more used than helped. I know if I have kids and I found out first they show symptoms or been diagnosed I tell them. But damn what an episode to find out your father kept a secret, betrayed you and even exploited you for his own selfish intentions. This was a good episode either way and seeing the detectives reveal the man's diagnosis and the lies his father told him was just heartbreakingly real bc they feel bad for the man and had to be professional too.

One of my favorite episodes...

[missj-20260 · 10/10 · 10 November 2019]

I've watched this one several times.Perhaps my initial interest was with my own mother's struggle with illness. The plot starts with many twists and turns but is neatly drawn together in the end. Why I enjoy watching this one so much is the acting of D'onofrio, with great lines written for him and Erbe, but also, I must include Jay Goebe's incredible performance, which shows the pain his character is going through; So totally awesome, it moved me to tears. It's a sad story, but so well done. I absolutely loved it.

Just one thing

[CrimeDrama1 · 9/10 · 4 January 2022]

This is my favorite TV crime drama ever and it had a lot less continuity and believability issues than other shows have had. The only thing that bothers me about "Cold Comfort" is the female assassin. No effort at all to bring her to justice? I don't get it. Goren and Eames deduce right away that the victim wasn't targeted for her purse, killing her was the purpose. How hard would it be to find a female assassin?

The Durning Legacy

[pepper_f · 8/10 · 21 March 2022]

Cold Comfort is an episode with an interesting premise in my opinion. On first watch, it was a bit hard to follow which is one of my gripes with this plot. One other gripe I have is why they never found out who the hitwoman was at the beginning of the episode. However, though, on re-watch, it grew on me especially with the subject matter and the characterization along the way. With a premise like this episode's, it could've easily been overdone however to my expectations, it didn't. Overall, "Cold Comfort" is a pretty decent episode in my opinion albeit it surely isn't one of CI's best episodes.