Helpless (Season 3, Episode 6)
Premise: The squad’s own psychiatrist accuses a prominent gynecologist of sexual assault, and her decision to gather evidence herself puts the case at risk.
- Air date
- Season/Episode
- Season 3, Episode 6
- Detectives
- Sgt. Phil Cerreta (Paul Sorvino), Det. Mike Logan (Chris Noth)
- ADAs/DA
- Exec. ADA Ben Stone (Michael Moriarty), ADA Paul Robinette (Richard Brooks), DA Adam Schiff (Steven Hill)
- Guest stars
- Carolyn McCormick as Dr. Elizabeth Olivet, Paul Hecht as Dr. Alexander J. Merritt, Tovah Feldshuh as defense attorney Danielle Melnick, Felicity Huffman as Diane Perkins, Tracey Ellis as Nurse Miriam Gregg
- Director
- James Frawley
- Writers
- Michael S. Chernuchin & Christine Roum
Summary
The Investigation
“Helpless” opens with Dr. Elizabeth Olivet telling Cerreta and Logan that her gynecologist, Dr. Alex Merritt, molested her during an exam. The charge would be a misdemeanor, but the detectives look for other complaints. The state medical board cleared Merritt when a patient, Laura Todd, said he performed laser surgery on her without anesthesia, and billing records lead to former patients who stopped coming. One, Donna Marks, describes a consensual affair and says fear excited him. Another, Diane Perkins, is recovering from a suicide attempt and cannot give a clear account.
Merritt’s first wife says he abused her, and his second wife died of an overdose in his office wearing a leather hood; it was ruled a suicide. Cragen says none of it is a crime. With the DA’s office unwilling to proceed on her word alone, Olivet goes back for a biopsy with a hidden tape recorder. Merritt gives her an injection that leaves her unable to move and rapes her. Cerreta assures prosecutors she was not acting for the police, and Merritt is arrested.
The Trial
Defense attorney Danielle Melnick argues entrapment, stressing that Olivet is paid by the NYPD and that Perkins is her patient. Judge Keith Silver bars any mention of Perkins, and Olivet admits to Stone that she referred Perkins to Merritt. Nurse Miriam Gregg testifies that Olivet flirted, and Merritt says the sex was consensual. The jury convicts him of first-degree rape, but Silver overturns the verdict with a trial order of dismissal, ruling that police conduct induced the crime.
The detectives learn Gregg has two drug convictions and push her with the threat of an accomplice charge; she says Merritt assaulted Perkins on his own. Perkins tells Olivet what happened, but Olivet says testifying would harm her. Stone has Merritt rearrested in front of reporters, and Merritt boasts on camera.
Spoiler, the ending: After the news coverage, 54 women come forward saying Merritt raped, molested or abused them. Melnick asks what Stone wants, and he says he will settle for Merritt spending the rest of his life in prison; the episode ends before any plea is entered. Olivet admits she is struggling to focus on her patients.
Why it stands out
- Dr. Olivet, the recurring police psychiatrist, is herself the victim, and her rape is raised again against her in “Point of View” three episodes later.
- The judge sets aside a unanimous guilty verdict with a trial order of dismissal.
- It drew about 17.5 million U.S. viewers.