LAW & ORDER Post-Mortem: Jesse Metcalfe Reacts to the ‘Folk Hero’ Twist

[Warning: This post contains spoilers for the Thursday, March 20 episode of LAW & ORDER.]

The murder of a healthcare CEO caused turmoil in Manhattan on the Thursday, March 20 episode of LAW & ORDER, “Folk Hero,” as the cops tried to find their suspect and were stonewalled by uncooperative witnesses and people who wanted to assist the shooter’s getaway.

But things didn’t exactly get easier when Riley (Reid Scott) and Sergeant Danny DeLuca (Jesse Metcalfe) were able to apprehend the man, Ethan (Ty Molbak). 

Over objections from Baxter (Tony Goldwyn) and Maroun (Odelya Halevi), Price (Hugh Dancy) declined to try to cut a deal, and proceeded with the case…only to realize the judge was maybe a bit too sympathetic and he was losing the jury. Price tried to backtrack and make a deal, but Ethan’s lawyer, Stratton (Laila Robins), passed. 

Price admitted to Baxter he was worried as the jury was deliberating, especially in light of the questions they were sending out. But he acknowledged they might be able to win if people believed in the rule of law.

When word came out a verdict was reached, the forewoman was asked for the jury’s decision. “We find the defendant—” she said, as the episode ended, leaving viewers without a concrete resolution.

“I thought it was really cool,” Metcalfe shares with Give Me My Remote. “I thought it was really, really, really thought-provoking. A lot of times when you have an ambiguous ending to a television show like that, it can cause, maybe, the audience a little frustration. But I think, given the subject matter of this episode, it really works because it leaves it open-ended, and it leaves it open for debate. I think this episode is going to be widely talked about, and is going to be one of the most popular episodes of the season.”

With much of the police element showcasing the chase to find Ethan, the filming process felt like “one continuous scene,” to Metcalfe.

However, within that, he cites the cops questioning a barista who flirted with Ethan—and who refused to help—as one of his favorite things to film.

“It’s about just really finding those interesting little moments where, as law enforcement, we’re trying to wrap our minds around where these different people that we’re interviewing or interrogating are coming from,” he explains. “So there were a lot of cool reactions that I got to play in a lot of these moments.”

“There’s also a beat in the episode where I think that I find the suspect and I get to show a bit of frustration and aggression that I think played exceptionally well,” he continues. “There’s a lot of reactions between Reid Scott and I that I just think are great, that really inform the relationship, and inform our growing frustration in being eluded by the suspect.”

The actor has been open about the “love fest” he experienced while working on the show, and acknowledges he’d “obviously love to come back in any capacity.”

“Reprise this role or play another role in the Dick Wolf universe,” he says. “But I’m hoping they expand the storyline of Sergeant Danny DeLuca because I just think it’s a great fit for me. My grandfather grew up in Brooklyn. I’m Italian and an East Coast guy. This character, I feel like, was already in my blood.”

LAW & ORDER, Thursdays, 8/7c, NBC

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