Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Law & Order Season 25, Episode 1.<em>Law & Order </em>is officially back with its Season 25 premiere, “Street Justice.” Season 24 had its ups and downs, but for me, one of the best parts of the year was Sam Maroun’s personal struggles and how Odelya Halevi turned them into some of the strongest performances we’ve seen since the revival. What I’ve always loved about this show is that it isn’t afraid to leave things messy, but I’ll admit last year’s abrupt wrap-up of Jessica Brady’s (Maura Tierney) arc felt like a missed opportunity. That’s why I was relieved, and honestly a little surprised, that this premiere picked up right where the finale left off. Carter Mills (Jordan M. Cox), the man who killed Sam’s sister and walked free on a technicality from another murder, has been shot on the street. And the question hanging over everything is whether Sam finally snapped and took justice into her own hands.

The Season 25 Premiere of ‘Law & Order’ Picks Up From the Season 24 Cliffhanger

The premiere began with Nolan Price (Hugh Dancy) still wrestling with the possibility that Sam might have killed Carter. Even Nick Baxter (Tony Goldwyn) doesn’t seem entirely convinced she’s innocent. Meanwhile, Sam is literally boxing out her anger, refusing to give a straight answer about whether she had anything to do with Carter’s death. Then the evidence starts piling up: street cameras capture a woman fleeing the scene, Brady discovers Sam owned the same type of gun used, and suddenly there’s a search warrant for her apartment. For a while, all signs point directly at Sam.

What made this work for me is that the writers let Sam be vulnerable without turning her into a cliché. Halevi absolutely nails the scene where Sam admits to Nolan that she did want to kill Carter, even left her apartment with her gun in hand, but stopped herself by throwing it into the East River. That admission makes her so painfully human, because honestly, who wouldn’t want vengeance in her shoes? Even Brady acknowledges that if it had been her sister, she might have felt the same way. That kind of honesty is when Law & Order is at its best: when the people who live and breathe the law also admit they can see the other side. I was glad they gave Sam that moment, because it didn’t just clear her of the crime, but it also gave her even deeper layers.

The Case Gets Complicated in the Season 25 Premiere “Street Justice”

Once Sam is officially cleared (the witness confirms the shooter was taller), the real suspect comes into focus: Julia (Christine Spang), Carter’s girlfriend. At first, she seems like just another devastated partner, but then it’s revealed that she and Carter had broken up days before the verdict, and surveillance footage shows her buying a gun the day he walked free. Nolan moves to charge her with murder, but her testimony flips everything on its head. Julia details how Carter turned violent, choking and raping her, and threatening to kill her the night she shot him. It’s a gut-punch not just because of what she endured, but because Sam is clearly reliving her sister’s story through Julia’s words. Julia swears she ran into Carter on the street and had no choice but to defend herself, but the real question is whether it was fear in the moment or premeditated payback.

This is where the Nolan/Sam dynamic really shines. Nolan, ever the rule follower, wants to stick to the letter of the law, while Sam can’t ignore that the system (and Nolan by extension) failed, and that if Carter had been convicted, Julia wouldn’t have been in that position at all. Their back-and-forth over law versus justice is exactly the kind of storytelling I love from this show.

Then comes the twist. They offer Julia a plea for manslaughter, but she blurts out to Sam that she did wait outside Carter’s condo, blowing a hole in her defense. Nolan overhears, leaving Sam with a choice: bury the truth or go forward anyway. What I loved is that she does come clean to Nolan, but she also argues they should still push the plea, recognizing that “winning” at all costs isn’t the same as justice. Surprisingly, Nolan agrees, and I think her being honest with him was a make-or-break moment for their relationship, which has quietly become one of my favorite parts of the series.

New episodes of Law & Order premiere every Thursday on NBC in the U.S.

Change is In Store for Season 25 of ‘Law & Order’

The episode also quietly explains Shaw’s (Mehcad Brooks) departure: Brady tells Riley (Reid Scott) that he took a job at the 88 in Brooklyn, the precinct he always wanted to return to. I’ll admit, it’s a bummer to lose Brooks, who’s been such a solid part of the ensemble the last few seasons, but at least the exit felt natural. And there’s hope on the horizon since David Ajala has been announced as the new detective, and while he didn’t debut in the premiere, I’m curious to see what he brings to the mix.

Overall, I thought “Street Justice” was a really strong way to kick off the season. It wrapped up last year’s cliffhanger without dragging it out, gave Odelya Halevi another showcase as Sam, and let Nolan grapple with the messy space between law and morality. Law & Order feels at its best when it balances character depth with the procedural elements that made the franchise iconic, and this premiere struck that balance perfectly. If the rest of the season follows suit, we’re in for a compelling ride.

Law & Order airs Thursday on NBC and is available to stream the next day on Peacock.