In the world of Organized Crime season 5, in particular, has seen a much darker tone and element to its stories, as the show has moved to Peacock, and one of the Bureau's most devoted detectives, Det. Bobby Reyes (played by Rick Gonzalez) continues to play a pivotal role in the team led by Det. Elliott Stabler (played by Christopher Meloni).
Reyes, who ed the team in Organized Crime season 3, has experienced a significant amount of growth since ing Stabler's team while also confronting the demons of his past caused by the behavior of his foster father towards him and his foster brothers. With new and more violent conflicts taking place in New York City, Reyes finds himself deeper undercover than ever before, and after the departure of Jet Slootmaekers (played by Ainsley Sieger) early in season 5, he finds himself as a new right-hand to Stabler as they continue to track down the Camorra.
ScreenRant interviewed Gonzalez about Reyes' growth through the seasons of the Law & Order spinoff, the effect of the departure of Sieger's Slootmaekers on Reyes personally, working with Christopher Meloni and guest star Jason Patric, and what makes Reyes the best undercover detective in the NYPD.
Gonzalez Explores The Reason Why Bobby Reyes Is So Good At Being Undercover
"It Allows Him To Alleviate All That Trauma And All That Pain"
As a character study, Det. Bobby Reyes has a violent and turbulent history, suffering through a traumatic childhood and navigating his way out of his environment and into the NYPD. While reflecting on what makes Reyes so good at being undercover, Gonzalez says that Reyes has taken his ability to camouflage himself, a tactic that some trauma survivors utilize for the purposes of their own safety, and parlayed it into an effective and successful career.
"I think maybe the trauma he's been through," Gonzalez says. "I think what I loved about the character is the idea that he's been through so much pain and so much trauma, so much struggle, that it allowed him to feel like a daredevil, like someone just willing to go to the limits. Even as a father, which is insane, even as a father and a husband. But there's this disregard to just go so hard for the case, and doing undercover work is really dangerous."
He can escape it all for a second, and the work allows him to not really think about himself and what he's going through...
"It was just something about this idea of him having to just lose himself in that world," Gonzalez continued, explaining the lengths Reyes will go to keep the darkness from his life and in his mind at bay. "For me, it just felt like, 'wow, this guy is really just in a really dark space and allows himself to just lose himself there,' and maybe just for a little bit, it allows him to alleviate all that trauma and all that pain."
He can escape it all for a second, and the work allows him to not really think about himself and what he's going through and allows him to just be singular in going after information and connecting with people because you have to be when you're undercover. You can't think of anything else but getting that information. So I think that, in a way, maybe it saves his life sometimes so the depression doesn't really sink in.
Gonzalez Says Jet's Departure Will Impact Reyes Throughout Season 5
"This Is Just Another Straw To Add To The Pile"
In a shocking twist in the first two episodes of season 5, Det. Jet Slootmaekers, played by Ainsley Sieger, leaves the Organized Crime Control Bureau after taking a job with the FBI after an intense interaction during an investigation of 3 Kings Haulage and their involvement with a trafficking and serial killing spree. Gonzalez says that with Jet's departure, Reyes will find himself back in a similar situation he's found himself in during his life; being alone.
"I think he is someone who's dealt with a lot of loss in his life, and this is just another straw to add to the pile," Gonzalez says. "She brought a safety net to him, this situation that they had. Now that he doesn't have that comfort, that safety net with her, it's more loss."
Law & Organized Crime Season 5 Introduces Jet's Replacement But It Isn't Looking Good
Law & Order: Organized Crime season 5, episode 4 demonstrates that Vargas isn't a great replacement for Jet now that she's left permanently.
"I just think I see Reyes as someone who's going to always push down these emotions and these things that he should be dealing with, but he doesn't," Gonzalez continued, discussing the potential ripple effects that Jet's loss will have on Reyes personally and professionally. "The interesting thing is that it makes him a better cop in some ways because he does rise to the occasion a lot. It'd be interesting to see if we could see how he handles that stuff at home or what does that mean for him emotionally. I mean, it's always going to be there. I think those emotions are always there."
Gonzalez Says Working With Christopher Meloni And Jason Patric Is Incredible
"This Won't Be The Last Time That We See McKenna And Reyes Confront Each Other"
With Gonzalez in his third season on Law & Order: Organized Crime, and with the departure of Ainsley Sieger from the principal cast, Det. Reyes now finds himself in a closer position to work with Det. Stabler. Gonzalez says that getting the opportunity to work closer with Christopher Meloni is like coming to class to learn something new every day.
"I've always ired Chris and respected him," Gonzalez says, complimenting Meloni as an actor and individual. "I do love when I get to work with him in scenes and stuff. It allows me to see his process. Chris is a trained actor, studied with Sanford Meisner, and he's just a really good actor at listening. For me, I'm always willing to learn and to grow, and I definitely treat the show as like an acting class, and I'm just there, just ready to just throw myself in there. So working with him is always coming to class and ready to just like, 'All right, what are we doing today?'"
"He's very much a captain," Gonzalez continues about Meloni and his presence on and off the screen. "He cares about writing and tone and how we're going to block these scenes. I just allow him to push things forward, and I just watch, and then it becomes a dance at the end of the day. I think what was nice is [in episode 6], we felt as characters, we felt a little more connected. There was this idea of like, 'okay, we got to do this together. Maybe we got to get our hands dirty together,' and I like that because I think that's what Reyes is there for, to do that with him. I love working with Chris, and I think I feel as though we do trust each other."
A new character was also introduced in episode 6: Det. Tim McKenna, played by Jason Patric, becomes integrated in the search for a violent member of the Sinaloa Cartel known as "El Diablo," Miguel Olivas (played by Emilio Rivera). McKenna's sketchy past comes back to haunt the Organized Crime Control Bureau, and Gonzalez says that the new character is a fantastic interpretation of the new energy of the show, now on Peacock, and working with Patric was a dream.
I will say that this won't be the last time that we see McKenna and Reyes confront each other.
"First of all, working with him was awesome," Gonzalez says about working with Patric. "I think he's a fantastic actor. I was always a huge fan of his work. From the moment he showed up on set, he changed the energy of the scenes. The intensity of Tim McKenna, and what he means as a friend to Stabler and to this case - immediately that we felt that impact. We felt that energy, and as actors, we came together, and we allowed him the space to create this energy. I had a great time working with him.
"I will say that this won't be the last time that we see McKenna and Reyes confront each other," Gonzalez continues, foreshadowing future involvement by Det. McKenna in the OCCB. "Tim McKenna is indicative of the energy of our show for this season. This episode encapsulates the energy of our move to Peacock and us moving in that direction and even getting more darker and more edgier in our tone."
Law & Order: Organized Crime season 5 releases a new episode every Thursday, exclusively on Peacock.
Check out our other interviews here:
Source: Screen Rant Plus
Law and Order: Organized Crime
- Release Date
- April 1, 2021
- Network
- NBC, Peacock
- Directors
- John Polson, Jean de Segonzac, Jon Cassar, Stephen Surjik, Sharon Lewis, Simón Brand, Bethany Rooney, Jonathan Brown, Milena Govich, Ken Girotti, Gonzalo Amat, Tess Malone, Alex Hall, Anna Dokoza, Brenna Malloy, Monica Raymund, Sarah Boyd, Nelson McCormick, Leslie Hope, Rob J. Greenlea, Oz Scott, Michael Slovis, Alex Zakrzewski, Kate Woods
Cast
Christopher MeloniDet. Elliot Stabler
Danielle Moné TruittSgt. Ayanna Bell
WHERE TO WATCH
- Writers
- Amy Berg, John Shiban, Liz Sagal, Nichole Beattie, Will Pascoe, Emmy Higgins, Candice Sanchez McFarlane, Katrina Cabrera Ortega, Bridget Tyler, Davon Briggs, Alec Wells, Michael Konyves, Josh Fagin, Sean Jablonski, Gwen Sigan, David Graziano, Daniel Beaty, Katie Letien, Rick Eid, Nick Culbertson, Jean Kyoung Frazier, Christina Piña
- Creator(s)
- Dick Wolf, Matt Olmstead, Ilene Chaiken
Your comment has not been saved