"Ann Lawson," a probation officer who recently was dating a college professor, is found dead, run over by a car three times. The left side of her face is not a pretty sight. The teacher has a late teen son who has been trouble and was once one of the cases for the murdered probation officer. The father then confesses to the crime, supposedly to protect his kid. Which one killed her, or was it someone else> This winds up being a story about "Travellers," a nomadic group which goes around the country committing scams on a seasonal basis. More specifically, it involves a young girl who is used as "restitution" for a debt of her dad's. It's another bizarre story. Movie star William Sadler guest stars as one of the leaders of this cult-like group.
3 Reviews
An outsider and a nomad
pepper_f25 March 2022
Warning: Spoilers
"Graansha" involves a woman found ran over and the detectives soon start looking into a community of travelers. This episode was pretty well-done in my opinion as it tries not to overreach especially with the subject matter at play here. The characters are pretty fascinating and I did like how Goren managed to get other people to implicate the perpetrator. As usual, the main cast is good although it would've been nice to see the usual chemistry Goren and Eames have.
Overall, this was a good episode because the plot and characters were fascinating. It is also not overdone and I did like how Goren managed to get the antagonist to confess.
Overall, this was a good episode because the plot and characters were fascinating. It is also not overdone and I did like how Goren managed to get the antagonist to confess.
"Being an outsider is not such a hot thing"
TheLittleSongbird20 May 2020
Will admit that my expectations before watching on first watch were very mixed and that the subject is not always my cup of tea, dependent on how it's executed. Episodes involving cult-like groups in a major role in the episode's plot can either be clever and creepy or bizarre and muddled. Plenty of examples of both instances about. Being somebody who has liked this show a lot for some years now and finding plenty of episodes better on re-watches, it was decided to give "Graansha" a couple of re-watches to be fair to it.
"Graansha" is another 'Law and Order: Criminal Intent' episode to be better on re-watch. Season 2 and 'Law and Order: Criminal Intent' overall had much better episodes in my view, and it doesn't quite change my iffy feelings (again depending on execution) on the particular story device talked about. Will agree that some of the episode is quite odd, namely with the travellers, but on the whole "Graansha" is very well done with a well crafted case.
A case that is not perfect in my view. It is sometimes more complicated than it needed to be, especially going into the middle act and it could have benefitted from trying to include a little less.
Everything with the travellers is intriguing and the dialogue for them is certainly better than in "Legion" for example as far as Season 2 episodes go, but doesn't always gel comfortably with everything else going in the story.
Much of the case though is very compelling and keeps one guessing the entire time. With there being a lot of suspects (perhaps a couple too many) and reasons for murder, nothing is simplistic or predictable. The method of murder is one of the season's most brutal and the ending is not one one expects, yet is easy enough to swallow (the motive is not a novel one, but it's a plausible one that doesn't make one go "they killed for that"). The script doesn't ramble or feel padded too much, it doesn't ring false and you can take it seriously at least.
Goren and Eames' dialogue is vintage them (their chemistry as ever shines and Goren, despite being the more interesting character and always has been, doesn't dominate too much) and the conversation between Goren and Fiona regarding outsiders has power. All the acting is on point, with strong work from William Sadler and Kelly Singer and Vincent D'Onofrio not putting a foot wrong once again. The episode looks good, it's solidly directed and the music fits tonally and not questionable in placement.
In summary, a lot to like here in "Graansha" but didn't leave me wowed. 8/10
"Graansha" is another 'Law and Order: Criminal Intent' episode to be better on re-watch. Season 2 and 'Law and Order: Criminal Intent' overall had much better episodes in my view, and it doesn't quite change my iffy feelings (again depending on execution) on the particular story device talked about. Will agree that some of the episode is quite odd, namely with the travellers, but on the whole "Graansha" is very well done with a well crafted case.
A case that is not perfect in my view. It is sometimes more complicated than it needed to be, especially going into the middle act and it could have benefitted from trying to include a little less.
Everything with the travellers is intriguing and the dialogue for them is certainly better than in "Legion" for example as far as Season 2 episodes go, but doesn't always gel comfortably with everything else going in the story.
Much of the case though is very compelling and keeps one guessing the entire time. With there being a lot of suspects (perhaps a couple too many) and reasons for murder, nothing is simplistic or predictable. The method of murder is one of the season's most brutal and the ending is not one one expects, yet is easy enough to swallow (the motive is not a novel one, but it's a plausible one that doesn't make one go "they killed for that"). The script doesn't ramble or feel padded too much, it doesn't ring false and you can take it seriously at least.
Goren and Eames' dialogue is vintage them (their chemistry as ever shines and Goren, despite being the more interesting character and always has been, doesn't dominate too much) and the conversation between Goren and Fiona regarding outsiders has power. All the acting is on point, with strong work from William Sadler and Kelly Singer and Vincent D'Onofrio not putting a foot wrong once again. The episode looks good, it's solidly directed and the music fits tonally and not questionable in placement.
In summary, a lot to like here in "Graansha" but didn't leave me wowed. 8/10
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