With a compelling case, Law & Order crafts an engaging narrative while sensitively and effectively exploring these crucial themes.

When the investigation surrounding Natalie Wallis’ murder takes a surprising turn, Detectives Riley and Walker change their investigative methods to uncover the truth.

Natalie Wallis’ murder has many potential possibilities because of her unique life as an employee at a high-tech security company that is secretly the biggest privacy invader in the world.

Everyone in Natalie’s life is a suspect, which establishes a thrilling chase to the truth because of the countless outcomes.

The high number of male suspects points to the issue of violence against women. Whether it is Natalie’s wealthy boss, a crazed video gamer, or a colleague in Natalie’s field of work, they all have their own motive, perfectly setting up where the investigation leads.

However, the suspect list narrows down considerably once Riley and Walker learn that Natalie was raped a month before her untimely murder.

Once Riley and Walker arrest Marius Cole, “The Enemy of All Women” becomes an episode about men who use a feminist façade to hide their violent and abusive habits.

It seems like Marius Cole fits the episode title by secretly being the enemy of women while hiding behind fake allyship. The narrative further cements this title when Marius is on the stand, weaving a false tale of a secret romance to the jury.

However, nothing is ever that simple on Law & Order, so it is no surprise when it turns out that the “enemy of all women” is actually a woman herself—Natalie’s best friend, Vanessa.

The only way for the State to convict Marius is to get Vanessa to testify, a complex situation because of the NDA she signed after Marius sexually assaulted her.

Law & Order‘s “The Enemy of All Women” utilizes Vanessa’s NDA experience to illustrate how different each sexual assault survivor’s experience is, and how there is no such thing as the perfect victim.

Vanessa does the unthinkable. After being sexually assaulted by Marius years prior, she signs an NDA and leaves the company, allowing Marius to prey on other women.

Of course, Marius’ violent actions are not Vanessa’s fault, but it does not change the fact that everyone will see her as an enabler, partially responsible for Natalie’s death.

It does not matter that Vanessa endured her own trauma at Marius Cole’s hands. Her reasons are irrelevant because people will only see Vanessa as someone who stays quiet about her own assault at the expense of other women.

Vanessa has to live with the most brutal what-ifs now that her best friend is gone. She will always feel responsible, wondering if her best friend would still be alive if she had not signed the NDA.

Samantha Maroun: A wolf in sheep’s clothing is gonna kill more sheep if you give him the chance.

ADA Samantha eventually comes to understand Vanessa, even if she would not make the same decision. It is a lovely moment of character development for Samantha, having initially fallen under the trap of having an idealized version of what a sexual assault survivor looks like.

Samantha and Vanessa’s emotional and compelling conversation is easily the highlight of Law & Order‘s “The Enemy of All Women.”

In addition to the character development, the scene presents another opportunity for Samantha to play devil’s advocate with Nick and Nolan.

At this point, a Law & Order episode is not complete without a devil’s advocate moment for Samantha. It could not be more fitting as she pushes Nick and Nolan to respect Vanessa’s wishes not to testify.

“The Enemy of All Women” ends on an intriguing note, leaving audiences to ponder a potential scenario.

The two prosecutors successfully get Marius to agree to a plea deal, using Vanessa’s potential testimony as a bargaining chip without actually having her testify.

Of course, Samantha asks Nolan what he would have done if Marius and his lawyer had not agreed to a plea deal, wondering whether he would force Vanessa to testify against her will.

Naturally, Nolan does not have an answer, but given his history of refusing to back down in controversial situations, it is more than likely that he would have pressured Vanessa to testify, ultimately betraying her.

It is an interesting possibility to consider, especially because it could have caused a potential rift between Samantha and Nolan. Luckily, it does not happen, but Law & Order teasing the idea suggests that something like this could happen in the future.