Thelatest set of crimes from Trial & Retribution continues the battle of a Law & Order British squad tackling tricky cases and attempting to put the criminals that they (and we) know are responsible for heinous crimes. Unlike American Law & Order shows, these cases allow more of a take from the police and the lawyers involved, while the show's creator, Prime Suspect author Lynda La Plante, allows the audience more of a peek into the world of the police, the culprits, and their victims than any show I've seen on American television. While the result of each case isn't necessarily what's hoped for or expected, they do keep you on the edge of your seat, anticipating justice but expecting the worst.

In "The Lovers," a woman resolutely believes that her husband hasn't just wandered off, leaving her abandoned and alone. The police and her family don't believe her, but surveillance cameras end up revealing a strange man in the vicinity. While the audience knows that he's guilty after a brief "is he or isn't he" interlude, it's up to DCS Mike Walker (David Hayman) and DCI Roisin Connor (Victoria Smurfit) to bring him to the courts for justice. Meanwhile, DS Satch (Dorian Lough) deals with his wife's pregnancy and new birth while trying to do his job. While that's not the main thrust of the episode, it was interesting to watch a man go through the need for paternity leave, balancing new responsibilities, etc. at home; that is a dilemma regularly held for female characters, and it was nice to see it from the man's perspective.

In "Sins of the Father," Connor tries to discover the truth behind the death of a beautiful teenager, while Walker deals with his own son, struggling with the psychological breakdown within their family and the boy himself. Some of the finest moments in the show explore the pain that Walker endures while trying to get his family straightened out, and the way that both stories are resolved is mightily powerful. While the ending allows the audience to see the "truth," the justice of the situation leaves something to be desired.

The final story in the trilogy, "Closure," finds Walker and Connor butting heads, as a current case may have ties to a string of school girl murders, and an American profiler embroils himself in the case. While the two cops have their share of problems sorting out their own interactions, the way that Connor botches the case (and then Walker involves himself and it gets bloody) makes this one a less-than-favorable take on police procedure. It's ironic: while this seems like an obvious one-off on Law & Order, the drama between the proponents of the law is rarely this fierce, and the justice usually finds its way to the fore.

While the cops chase their criminals, the way that the lives of those involved get "untucked" and pushed into each of their investigations makes Trial & Retribution a departure from the average American procedural. Who we are as people bleeds through our careers and the roles we play, and the way that we try to duck our responsibilities (or roles) sometimes makes our lives more confusing than they need to be. Dealing with who we are in our entirety allows us to be true to ourselves, our families, our careers, and our faiths—even when it doesn't look pretty.