The Law & Order Season 25 premiere “Street Justice” is actually a continuation of the NBC show’s Season 24 finale. That episode saw the man who killed ADA Samantha Maroun’s sister being murdered, and EADA Nolan Price worried that his colleague had committed the crime. “Street Justice” is driven by the idea of Maroun as a murder suspect, but what could be an emotionally charged episode never gets there.

There are too many awkward moments in the episode that undercut the characters’ emotional arc. The biggest example is Maroun’s general unwillingness to cooperate with the investigation, such as telling the police to get a warrant if they want to test her firearm. Of course, there’s a certain amount of dramatic license; if Maroun is excluded as a suspect too early, there’s not as much at stake. But from a logical standpoint, it makes no sense for her to make herself look worse by not cooperating. Law & Order showrunner Rick Eid—who wrote the episode—may have been better off not hanging the story on Maroun’s innocence or guilt, and making that one part of a bigger narrative. After all, if actor Odelya Halevi was truly being written out of the show, chances are it would have been announced like the other cast departure, so fans have somewhat of a belief that Maroun is innocent all along.

But the dialogue also struggles to deliver the impact that it wants. For example, when Maroun is finally let off the hook, the police characters’ reaction is decidedly underwhelming. Detective Vincent Riley simply says that it’s good because “I like Sam,” and Lieutenant Jessica Brady responds in the affirmative. In earlier Law & Order episodes where main characters were on the hot seat (such as 1991’s classic “The Blue Wall”), there was more of a sense of support. In another scene, Maroun and Price have an attempted heart-to-heart that ends with Price awkwardly commenting, “That’s good to know, given how much time we spend together.” The scene is clearly an acknowledgement of the depth of their friendship, but it doesn’t move the audience the way it should.

Emotional and character-driven Law & Order episodes are uncommon, but not impossible to pull off. The most famous is, of course, “Aftershock” and how the death of ADA Claire Kincaid affected her colleagues. “Street Justice” could have been one of those episodes, even without spending its whole runtime on Maroun’s fate. Yet it feels restrained in its emotional moments, and then the plot it does have is a bit rushed, because so much space has been taken up by Maroun’s story. The best part of the actual case is The Night Agent star Amanda Warren playing the defense attorney of the week.

The Law & Order Season 25 premiere is also awkward in how it handles the departure of Mehcad Brooks, who played Detective Jalen Shaw. Brooks exited the series between seasons, after stepping in to replace Anthony Anderson in Season 22. Most Law & Order characters do not get a major sendoff and Shaw is no exception; it’s understandable that Brooks doesn’t appear just to leave, especially in an episode that’s focused on a different character. But Brady tells Riley that his partner is gone almost out of the blue, explaining that Shaw decided to transfer to another precinct. Riley takes this news in stride, saying that he knew Shaw wanted to go “back to Brooklyn” and that he’ll miss him. Brady doesn’t add anything. That moment could have been bittersweet but it’s just matter of fact.

At least Law & Order has a secret weapon in actor Connie Shi, whose Violet Yee becomes Riley’s partner for the episode. Violet had a growing amount of screen time in Season 24, so she slides right in. The bigger question is how long it will take the show to introduce actor David Ajala, who is replacing Brooks. He does not appear at all in “Street Justice,” and the opening credits have already been revised to remove Brooks, but they’ll have to be updated again when Ajala joins the cast. So did NBC redo the main titles for just one episode? Or will fans see more of Violet and Riley working together before Ajala’s character comes onto the scene? There’s no wrong answer here because Shi can easily fill in, but it’s a curiosity all the same.

Law & Order Season 25 appears to be on the same track as the seasons before it. The show is still full of very talented actors, and it’s clear what kinds of stories that it wants to tell. But the scripts have struggled to execute those ideas. “Street Justice” has great intentions and the actors are consistently watchable. Yet it’s a premiere that could have been so much more, if it had only done a few things differently.