The CW has transformed, showcasing more true crime and procedurals, but Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent will likely be the biggest TV series it’s had.
The pressure is on since it has acquired part of one of the largest TV franchises. Given how The CW often runs Canadian programming, this could be a good opportunity for the network.
And Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent differs from the rest of the franchise for a few reasons, but mainly because it was filmed in Toronto. Fans will recognize the trademark landmarks and distinct neighborhoods.
Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent Season 1 Episode 1 takes advantage of this, and the episode opens with a massive party at the Royal Canadian Yacht Club.
Since It’s a New Series, We’ll Forgive the Long Cold Open
We’ve complained before about long, cold opens when they spend too much time on the victim’s life story before getting to the crime.
However, since this was a new series and part of the charm was seeing the yacht club on Lake Ontario, we’ll let it go.
It was also essential to see the Big-a-Plex workers in their element, since Daniel, Nick, and Ravi all interacted with the clients differently.
Daniel seemed to be gifted at smoothing things over, as we saw when he handed a disgruntled client 50K.
Ravi got along with everyone, but the tension was thick between Daniel, his wife Sophie, and Nick. There was such an undercurrent as she tended to him, and then the next thing we saw, Daniel was going overboard.
With everything going on with the company, it’s difficult to discern if he jumped, was pushed, or was shot and fell in.
It’s About Following the Money
The case mirrored the real-life story of Gerald Cotten, a Canadian crypto conman who duped clients out of millions before disappearing to India on his honeymoon with the access codes.
While authorities think he died there, they were suspicious that he had gone there to start a new life.
That’s initially what I thought about Daniel Siddiqui. Maybe he took a charter plane somewhere. It was similar to Murder in a Small Town Season 1 Episode 4‘s take on Gone Girl, making those who hurt him pay.
But then it seemed his marriage was happier than I thought, so I wondered if Sophie would join him. Inspector Holness didn’t trust Sophie and assumed she only married Daniel for his money, but she genuinely loved him.
It became a matter of who would benefit from Daniel’s death and who needed the money the most. Most of their investors needed the money, but wouldn’t actually hurt Daniel.
I wondered if Arlene Cox worked with Nick, since she only confronted him when she wanted money, and she had her thugs attack Daniel when she didn’t receive it.
She later felt bad about the beating, but her attitude matched Nick’s, except I don’t think she would cheat people.
I Guessed the Murderer Almost Immediately, and Liked Exploring the Motive
I suspected Daniel’s partner, Nick, almost immediately. He seemed territorial around Sophie, like he didn’t want the two of them alone.
Initially, I was unsure whether they had an affair or if Nick didn’t want Daniel to spill secrets about the company. It turned out to be a little of both.
I enjoyed how Graff could extract information from a nervous Nick. While Bateman could read people, Graff had a knack for using his facts and psychology to pry information at the right time.
Learning that the office was a shell company was a vital part of the evidence, as was the fact that the money was gone.
Whoever killed Daniel was cold and premeditated. They distributed enough pentobarbital in his champagne to kill him.
However, someone still stalked and threatened Sophie. It seemed like they were searching for the key to wealth, but it could have been more personal.
Sophie looked terrified by who hit her with the car, as if she knew the person. She also looked horrified when Nick visited her in the hospital, congratulating her on her new pregnancy.
He had inserted himself in her life, even though she was happily married. It seemed like he wanted Daniel to suffer because he got the girl.
It went deeper than that, though. The men knew each other in college; only Nick’s name was Mikolaj Milanosky, who had ties to organized crime.
He needed a clean partner to restart another business, and Daniel seemed like the perfect fit. Only Daniel became tired of cheating their clients and was about to tell all to an FBI agent.
Nick thought he had everything planned until Graff and Bateman found the key and tricked him into confessing. These two will be a lot of fun, and I’m looking forward to seeing them in action again.
This Canadian Law & Order Team Vibes Beautifully, and We Can’t Wait to See More
Det. Sgt. Henry Graff (Aden Young) and Det. Sgt. Frankie Bateman (Kathleen Munroe) work fantastically well as partners.
They complete each other, even though they’re opposites. Graff acts like a walking encyclopedia, spouting off theories, and Bateman often has to explain them to witnesses or suspects.
She excels at dealing with people and possesses a unique intuition for connecting with others.
While we haven’t learned much about their personal lives yet, the series hinted that Bateman was a single mom and that her ex was a jerk, but she was still a diehard romantic.
You could almost see why Inspector Holness paired these two. She’s the ideal police boss and strives to build the perfect team.
We haven’t seen much of Deputy Crown Attorney Theo Forrester (K.C. Collins) yet, as the series has focused more on the police aspect. Hopefully, some of the other episodes will feature the “order” part, since I liked his attitude.
I love that just like Law & Order: Organized Crime, this series has an experienced techie who can hack or solve anything. He’s the one who figured out Daniel cyphoned money, and I love recurring characters.
I’m looking forward to spending more time with this team.
Over to you, Law & Order Toronto Fanatics. Did you enjoy this new team? Are you planning to tune in again on The CW?
Let us know in the comments.
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If you enjoyed our Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent coverage and want to see more Canadian procedurials, yours truly covers Murder in a Small Town. We also cover many other Dick Wolf shows, including the rest of the Law & Order franchise. Interested in more analytical and passionate pieces? Check out our editorials and op-eds.
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