Undaunted Mettle
Encyclopedia
"Undaunted Mettle" is a third season episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent
.
episode, Detectives Goren
and Eames
investigate the murder of a promising young student architect
, Noah Preston, who had collapsed in Penn Station from a stab in the neck with a screwdriver.
The murder initially appeared to be carjacking
related until Goren and Eames investigate further. They discover that the student's bold design for a new and prestigious downtown building resembles another design created by an ambitious and celebrated skyscraper
architect, Ben Laurette, who is also Preston's mentor.
The detectives figure out the architect is a polygamist — he is simultaneously maintaining relationships with three current wives. The detectives discover that the pregnant archivist, Meredith Breen, is actually one of his wives and is the only wife who knows all three relationships (naturally since she had archived the architect's personal and professional lives). She, along with her unborn child, intends to carry on the architect's legacy.
In the final scene, the detectives pit the pregnant wife and the polygamist architect against each other. Goren reveals to the unknowing architect that the slain student, who shared Laurette's architectural vision, was actually his son whom he had long ago sired in one of his past affairs. Breen had killed the student to eliminate competition. Enraged, Laurette confirms to the detectives that she had indeed phoned him from Penn Station, thus, placing her at the scene of the student/son's stabbing.
The unusual family arrangement in this episode was inspired by the life of noted architect Louis Kahn
, who also had three families (none of whom knew about the others).
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Law & Order: Criminal Intent is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it was also primarily produced. Created and produced by Dick Wolf and René Balcer, the series premiered on September 30, 2001, as the second spin-off of Wolf's successful crime drama...
.
Plot summary
In this third season premiereSeason premiere
In North America, a season premiere is the first episode of a new season of a given television show. It often airs in September or October, after several months of reruns.-Evaluating the changes:...
episode, Detectives Goren
Robert Goren
Det. Robert "Bobby" Goren is a fictional character featured in the NBC-USA Network police procedural and legal drama television series Law & Order: Criminal Intent, portrayed by Vincent D'Onofrio....
and Eames
Alexandra Eames
Det. Alexandra "Alex" Eames is a fictional police detective with the NYPD Major Case Squad featured in the NBC-USA Network Law & Order: Criminal Intent, portrayed by Kathryn Erbe...
investigate the murder of a promising young student architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
, Noah Preston, who had collapsed in Penn Station from a stab in the neck with a screwdriver.
The murder initially appeared to be carjacking
Carjacking
Carjacking is a form of hijacking, where the crime is of stealing a motor vehicle and so also armed assault when the vehicle is occupied. Historically, such as in the rash of semi-trailer truck hijackings during the 1960s, the general term hijacking was used for that type of vehicle abduction,...
related until Goren and Eames investigate further. They discover that the student's bold design for a new and prestigious downtown building resembles another design created by an ambitious and celebrated skyscraper
Skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
architect, Ben Laurette, who is also Preston's mentor.
The detectives figure out the architect is a polygamist — he is simultaneously maintaining relationships with three current wives. The detectives discover that the pregnant archivist, Meredith Breen, is actually one of his wives and is the only wife who knows all three relationships (naturally since she had archived the architect's personal and professional lives). She, along with her unborn child, intends to carry on the architect's legacy.
In the final scene, the detectives pit the pregnant wife and the polygamist architect against each other. Goren reveals to the unknowing architect that the slain student, who shared Laurette's architectural vision, was actually his son whom he had long ago sired in one of his past affairs. Breen had killed the student to eliminate competition. Enraged, Laurette confirms to the detectives that she had indeed phoned him from Penn Station, thus, placing her at the scene of the student/son's stabbing.
Cast
| Vincent D'Onofrio Vincent D'Onofrio Vincent Phillip D'Onofrio is an American actor, director, film producer, writer, and singer. Often referred to as an actor's actor, his work as a character actor has earned him the nickname of "Human Chameleon"... |
Det. Robert Goren Robert Goren Det. Robert "Bobby" Goren is a fictional character featured in the NBC-USA Network police procedural and legal drama television series Law & Order: Criminal Intent, portrayed by Vincent D'Onofrio.... |
| Kathryn Erbe Kathryn Erbe Kathryn Elsbeth Erbe is an American actress known for her role as Det. Alexandra Eames in Law & Order: Criminal Intent, a spin-off of Law & Order, and death row inmate Shirley Bellinger in the HBO series Oz.-Personal life:... |
Det. Alexandra Eames Alexandra Eames Det. Alexandra "Alex" Eames is a fictional police detective with the NYPD Major Case Squad featured in the NBC-USA Network Law & Order: Criminal Intent, portrayed by Kathryn Erbe... |
| Jamey Sheridan Jamey Sheridan James Patrick "Jamey" Sheridan is an American actor. He was born in Pasadena, California.He has had a prolific acting career in theater, television, and feature film productions. Born to a family of actors, he made it to Broadway and earned a Tony nomination in 1987 for his performance in the... |
Capt. James Deakins James Deakins Captain James Deakins is a fictional character on the NBC-USA Network U.S. television series, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, played by Jamey Sheridan.On the show, Deakins supervises New York City's Major Case Squad... |
| Courtney B. Vance Courtney B. Vance Courtney Bernard Vance is an American actor. He was formerly a regular on the NBC/USA television series Law & Order: Criminal Intent as Assistant District Attorney Ron Carver. He was also a series regular on the ABC series FlashForward. As of 2011, he appears on the TNT series The Closer as Chief... |
A.D.A. Ron Carver Ron Carver Ron Carver is a fictional character on the NBC-USA Network series, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, played by Courtney B. Vance.Carver often works in conjunction with detectives Robert Goren, Alexandra Eames, Mike Logan and Carolyn Barek of the Major Case Squad. He graduated from John Jay College of... |
Fact
In this episode, Eames (who is single) mentions that she had embarked upon a surrogate pregnancy, as a favor to her sister who was too fragile to carry her own baby, leaving Goren with the possibility of having a new partner during her absence.The unusual family arrangement in this episode was inspired by the life of noted architect Louis Kahn
Louis Kahn
Louis Isadore Kahn was an American architect, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. After working in various capacities for several firms in Philadelphia, he founded his own atelier in 1935...
, who also had three families (none of whom knew about the others).