Ep 12. Progeny

In the fifth season of the hit crime drama Law & Order, viewers are treated to another gripping episode in episode 12 titled Progeny. This episode follows the story of a group of university students who end up on the wrong side of the law when their hazing ritual turns deadly, leaving one of their pledges dead.

The episode begins with the discovery of the body of a young college student who has been brutally beaten to death. The detectives assigned to the case, Sergeant Max Greevey (George Dzundza) and Detective Mike Logan (Chris Noth), quickly discover that the victim, David, was going through a hazing ritual for a fraternity at the university.

As they begin to investigate the case, they soon learn that David was not the first victim of this type of hazing ritual. In fact, there have been several other incidents in which students have been seriously injured or even killed while participating in the fraternity's hazing process.

Despite the fact that the other students involved in the hazing ritual are reluctant to provide any information about what happened, the detectives are able to piece together what happened on the night David was killed. They discover that the pledges were blindfolded and taken to a remote location where they were subjected to various forms of physical abuse and humiliation.

As the investigation progresses, the detectives are able to identify the students responsible for David's death. However, they quickly discover that the students come from privileged backgrounds and are able to use their connections to avoid prosecution for their crimes.

Determined to bring the students to justice, the detectives enlist the help of Assistant District Attorney Claire Kincaid (Jill Hennessy), who is equally driven to see the perpetrators of this heinous crime punished. Working together, the detectives and the ADA are able to build a strong case against the students and bring them to trial.

The trial is intense, with emotional testimony from witnesses, including some of the students who participated in the hazing ritual. The defense attempts to paint the students as victims of a system that encourages hazing and bullying, but the prosecution is able to show that the students' actions were deliberate and malicious.

In the end, justice is served, but not before the detectives and the ADA are forced to confront the reality of the situation - that hazing rituals like the one that claimed David's life are far too common, and that the culture of silence that surrounds them must be broken.

Progeny is a powerful and emotional episode of Law & Order that delves into the issue of hazing and bullying on college campuses. The story is gripping, and the acting is top-notch, with standout performances from the entire cast. It's an episode that will leave viewers thinking long after it's over, and serves as a stark reminder of the dangers of hazing and the need for change.