Want (Law & Order: Criminal Intent)
| "Want (Law & Order: Criminal Intent)" |
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Want is a fourth season episode of the television series Law & Order: Criminal Intent.
Plot summary
In this episode, Detectives Goren and Eames investigate the murder of a night club stripper found beaten to death with part of her calf missing. John Tagman, a shy, lonely young man, becomes the focus of the investigation. When another woman escapes his clutches, Goren and Eames track down this deeply sick man driven to torture, murder, and cannibalism by overwhelming despair and loneliness. It's possible Goren relates to the man's loneliness and awkwardness. When he gets into Tagman's mind, Goren surprises his partners with a passionate plea that the man be spared the death penalty, and engineers the confession that could save his life through a plea bargain. Goren clashes and urges Carver to seek life in prison rather than the electric chair. After Goren coerces Tagman into an emotional confessiona, Carver arranges a deal. In an unexpected twist ending, it is revealed that Tagman has been beaten to death by another prisoner, prompting Eames to remark to both Goren and Carver: "It looks like now everybody has what they want".
Cast
| Vincent D'Onofrio | Det. Robert Goren |
| Kathryn Erbe | Det. Alexandra Eames |
| Jamey Sheridan | Capt. James Deakins |
| Courtney B. Vance | A.D.A. Ron Carver |
| Leslie Hendrix | Dr. Elizabeth Rodgers |
Facts
- The episode Want, written by Elizabeth Benjamin and René Balcer, won the 2005 Edgar Award for Best Television Episode Teleplay. Neil Patrick Harris guest stars as John Tagman.
- Interestingly, in this episode the personality of the murderer revealed close resemblances to the life and crimes of Jeffrey Dahmer, a notorious serial killer, who was convicted of 17 murders involving rape, necrophilia and cannibalism.
- Furthermore, serial killer Edmund Kemper is noted for cannibalism, specifically cutting flesh from the legs of two victims and consuming it in a macaroni casserole. In Want, John Tagman consumes part of the calf muscle of a victim. Goren mentions that Tagman prepared it "with potatoes and onions."