Narrative Utility Over Emotional Depth

“Guardian” opens not with a bang, but a bludgeon. A 15-year-old basketball prodigy, Omari Kemp, is found dead—pipe to the skull, no robbery, no motive that makes sense. Just a boy with a gift, a heart, and a hundred-dollar bill handed to a panhandler minutes before his life was taken. The episode insists it’s about justice, but it’s about narrative utility: introducing Theo Walker (David Ajala), Detective Vincent Riley’s (Reid Scott) new partner, and revisiting the racial tropes Law & Order can’t seem to retire.

“Guardian” – LAW & ORDER, Pictured: David Ajala as Det. Theo Walker . Photo by: Virginia Sherwood/NBC @ 2025 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved

Blood, Old Habits

Walker arrived at the 2-7 with a kind of swagger and a nose for

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