Recap / Law & Order S8 E3 "Navy Blues"

As per Tv Tropes policy, this page is Spoilers Off on any and all plot points. You Have Been Warned!

Directed by Jace Alexander

Written by Kathy Mc Cormick & Dick Wolf

The episode begins with the body of Navy Chief Petty Officer Robert Stroud being discovered. Briscoe and Curtis determine that he was shot, and that he was a notorious womanizer. His wife, who is an enlisted crewman, is also in New York. She had found out he was having an affair with Lieutenant Kristen Blair - the poster girl for female F-14 Tomcat pilots. Stroud was assigned to Blair's aircraft as ground crew. The detectives examine Blair's car and find that a bullet was fired through the window from inside.

The Navy asserts jurisdiction and won't hand over Blair for arrest. She gives a sworn statement saying that she shot Stroud in self-defense after he tried to rape her. But the evidence shows she's clearly lying. A judge grants the DA's office jurisdiction, and the case goes to trial. McCoy's case is that Blair was obsessed with Stroud and killed him after he ended the affair to save his marriage. Blair's lawyer demonstrates to the jury that Stroud had a long history of sexual harassment complaints that were swept under the rug.

McCoy and Ross locate Blair's previous training instructor, Lieutenant Ottenberg. He says that her poor safety record should have prevented her from qualifying, but the Navy made an exception because they were under political pressure to qualify more female pilots. In court Blair repeats her story that she killed Stroud in self-defense, and didn't report it because she knew no one would believe her. To bolster that, she presents a cold, calculating and decisive persona to the jury. She says that she can't afford to be rash or sentimental in her position.

McCoy disproves this by producing a tape recording of a training session six months previously. When Blair couldn't handle a test flight, she lost her temper and verbally abused Ottenberg. Subsequently, McCoy tells a press conference that Blair has accepted a plea for manslaughter and will serve at least 12.5 years in jail. Blair attempts to spin this as the system being stacked against her because she is a woman. Ross, who greatly admired Blair, is disappointed to find that her hero is so corrupt.

Tropes found here are

• Affirmative Action Girl: The navy wanted Blair to be one, as they were under immense pressure to qualify a few more female fighter pilots.
• Broken Pedestal: Discussed by Jamie and Jack after they reveal Blair wasn't The Ace she seemed to be
  Jamie: It's like finding out Amelia Earhart flew to Bakersfield and hid out for 50 years.
  Jack: I got over Pete Rose.
• False Rape Accusation: Blair falsely asserts she killed Stroud in self-defense because he was trying to rape her.
• If I Can't Have You…: Why Blair killed the victim.
• Informed Attractiveness: When verifying Blair's alibi, literally every man she interacted with comments on her beauty.
• Jackie Robinson Story: What the navy hoped for with Blair.
• Jurisdiction Friction: Between the DA's office and the navy as to who should handle Blair's case.
• Know When to Fold 'Em: Blair uses this justification for her guilty plea.
• Not So Stoic: Blair, as revealed in an audio transcript.
• Performance Anxiety: Blair freaks out while attempting a night carrier landing. This is used to impeach her character.
• Really Gets Around: The victim.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: When Blair botches yet another approach for a night trap and is waved off, she demands to be diverted to a land based airfield. The Landing Signal Officer refuses.
• Slave to PR: The navy defends Blair throughout because she is excellent PR for them. Schiff is also aware that the case will have a huge impact on the public image of the DA's office.
• The Smurfette Principle: Blair is one of very few women to reach her rank in the navy.
• So Beautiful, It's a Curse: Blair's alibi is sunk when (a) No one remembers seeing her at places she claimed to have been—"And this is a woman you'd remember!"—and (b) People remember seeing her in places, as well as with the victim, in places she denied being.
• Stalker with a Crush: Blair was one.
• The Stoic: Blair presents herself as one.