WARNING! SPOILERS ahead for Law & Order season 24, episode 16, "Folk Hero."I was excited that Law & Order season 24, episode 16, titled "Folk Hero," took on the real-life Luigi Mangione case, but the ending was frustrating. This long-running procedural was the first to perfect the idea of basing stories on real-life cases and has done so for decades. Many of Law & Order's best episodes over the years have taken their inspiration from current events. In "Folk Hero," after Ethan (Ty Molbak) fatally shoots the CEO of Optishield, a fictional health insurance company, the cops have a hard time tracking him down because witnesses view his crime as vigilante heroism.

When Ethan is finally arrested, Price (Hugh Dancy) and Maroun (Odeyla Halevi) have an uphill battle to secure a conviction. In one of Law & Order season 24's most intense court battles, the defense attorney argues that Ethan's behavior was in defense of millions of others who have been harmed by Optishield's refusal to cover certain medical treatments and the judge is sympathetic to the cause. I was eager to learn which way the jury would go and why, but instead, the episode ended right before the forewoman read the verdict.

Law & Order Season 24, Episode 16's Real-Life Inspiration Explained

Luigi Mangione's Case Is Ongoing

"Folk Hero" is based on the real-life case of Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old who allegedly shot and killed United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson on December 4, 2024. In real life, as in Law & Order, the crime took place on a New York City street as the CEO was about to head into an investors' meeting. Mangione was caught on video but was wearing a mask and fled the scene. It took five days for the authorities to find and arrest Mangione for the crime; he was caught when a McDonald's employee in Altoona, Pennsylvania identified him and ed police.

As reported on by AP News, a majority of Amercians polled about Luig Manigione's murder of Brian Thompson blamed insurance profits and denials alongside the killer in the UHC CEO's death.

Mangione's arrest has been controversial partly because some people sympathize with him because his victim was a wealthy health insurance CEO whose company has issued policy denials that cost lives. The government added fuel to the fire by charging Mangione with terrorism along with other crimes that make him eligible for the death penalty if convicted. Unlike Law & Order's Ethan, Mangione's case is still ongoing, and there has been speculation that the reason for the ambiguous ending to this episode is that Dick Wolf Entertainment didn't want to unduly influence the jury in the real case.

Why Leaving Law & Order Season 24, Episode 16 Ending On A Cliffhanger Is Frustrating

"Folk Hero" Feels Unfinished

Law & Order set up one of its most interesting courtroom battles, only to end the episode without making it clear how it ended. The judge warns spectators to stay calm no matter which way the jury goes, but the episode cuts off as the foreperson says, "We find the defendant..." This ambiguous ending forces the audience to fill in the blanks about what the jury decided and how people reacted afterward.

It's frustrating that "Folk Hero" doesn't end with a clear outcome to the intense court battle.

I appreciate that this ambiguous ending avoids the obvious problem of forcing the writers to take a stand on a controversial issue. However, it's frustrating that "Folk Hero" doesn't end with a clear outcome to the intense court battle. The cards were stacked against Price, but he refused a plea deal because he thought he could win a conviction — and "Folk Hero" doesn't tell us whether he was right. This non-ending also cuts off future storytelling, such as Baxter experiencing consequences from big donors to his campaign if the case doesn't go his way.

How Law & Order Season 24 Should Have Handled Its Luigi Mangione-Inspired Story

Law & Order Should Have Approached The Ending With Nuance

The Law & Order season 24 writers didn't want to tell the audience what to think or influence potential of the real jury in the Mangione case. However, there was an obvious solution. The jury supposedly kept coming back with questions that made it clear they were grappling with their conflict between what the law said and what they felt in their heart was the right thing to do. Thus, the most realistic solution would have been for the jury to deadlock because they couldn't agree on whether to go with the statute or their gut instinct.

A deadlocked jury is always a strong recipe for drama throughout the Law & Order universe. While this might have felt redundant because Law & Order: SVU recently used this trope, it would have been the logical way to end this story. If the procedural had used this trope, Law & Order could have still made the point that this case is complicated and has no real answers without using a cliffhanger that will never be addressed in future episodes.

Source: AP News

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