The stakes are higher than ever on Law & Order: Organized Crime, with the Organized Crime task force closing in on the Kosta Organization and the KO not having much of anything to lose by going rogue. The explosive cliffhanger at the end of the latest episode was the result of some big reveals and even bigger betrayals, with some breaking “besa” while others stuck with the family. The biggest betrayal resulted in the KO getting enough of a warning of the NYPD closing in to run. Caroline Lagerfelt, who plays Agnes Bogdani on Organized Crime, broke down what happened and the coming fallout.
Everything started to fall apart as soon as Reggie found out that “Eddie” was actually an undercover cop, and Reggie broke after the NYPD brought in Agnes and heard with his own ears that Albi wanted him dead. Even after the promise of witness protection to get them safely away from the rest of the family, Agnes found a way to warn the family with an ill-fated court reporter who would be murdered for her efforts. Caroline Lagerfelt weighed in on whether Agnes knew that the court reporter was doomed to die in carrying the message to Albi, telling CinemaBlend:
I personally think that Agnes is one of the brainiest people in the whole operation. And I think that she definitely knew that there was a possibility, a strong possibility. She had no way of knowing who was going to be in that office, whether it was going to be Albi. I mean, she was sending her to Albi, but whether Kosta was going to be there. And I think that yes, because besa is the most important thing in Albania, not just in the mafia. But everywhere. The code of honor, the sense of honor imbues the lives of Albanians and of Kosovo Albanians. So I'm afraid that she had a pretty, pretty good idea that it very probably would happen.
The court reporter was in over her head with Agnes as soon as Agnes got a look at her coffee grounds, but it’s hard to blame the woman for not seeing it coming. Fans certainly didn’t expect Agnes to suddenly shift from a woman seemingly dependent on her son to somebody with nerves of steel who could and would do what was necessary for besa. And, as the final scene between mother and son in the latest episode proved, even Reggie didn’t see it coming.
In fact, his apology for what he thought was making her break besa resulted in Agnes managing to speak two words out loud: “I didn’t.” Viewers already knew that Agnes had gone against Reggie’s intention and gotten word to Albi, but it was certainly news to him. When I mentioned to Caroline Lagerfelt that Agnes saying “I didn’t” was powerful as her first line of the whole series, she said:
I know, wasn't that? When I did it, I remember, we did it several different ways. We had me looking at him, we had me not looking at him. We had her saying it sort of in different ways. And I think that the director and Dash [Mihok] were very helpful. I remember a couple of takes, I said it and I stayed sort of looking at him. And I think it was Dash or the director, one of the two, who suggested 'Why don't you just go back to your magazine after you say that?' And so I did. And I think that was just a killer moment. You know? There's one other phrase that you'll see in the next episode, which you can also sort of understand what I'm saying. There's only two sentences in the whole show, I think, that you understand what I'm saying. But they're both very important ones, I think to her, so she makes a big effort to get them out clearly, and to overcome her embarrassment about her speech defect. And what her face looks like and her scar and all of that.
Agnes isn’t done speaking despite the difficulty in forming full sentences, and it’s clear that she doesn’t put herself through that strain unless she has something important to say. Whether or not that’s a good thing for Stabler and Co. remains to be seen. After all, as of the end of the episode, Agnes and Reggie were still planning on witness protection. So who really betrayed whom in the worst way in this scenario? Was it Agnes betraying Reggie by going behind his back and warning the family, or was it Reggie betraying the family by breaking besa to save his own life? Caroline Lagerfelt shared:
I think that Reggie was the big betrayer and didn't try any alternatives. I think when Agnes does the bribe, and the note, I don't think she's given up on getting Reggie out of this mess. I don't think she's given up on that at all, because she still thinks that they are going to, once all of this stuff comes out, I think she is working and planning how to get them both out of this mess, especially her son. And you'll see in the next episode, you know, they're being put into [witness protection], or in this episode, you saw they're in the witness protection program. Agnes doesn't know she's going to be arrested. She doesn't know that they're going to solve the problem of who tipped the organization off, that besa had been broken. The police were coming.
As Caroline Lagerfelt pointed out, Reggie really didn’t try out many options before agreeing to flip on the family. Admittedly, he didn’t exactly have many options other than betray the KO or die, but he really seemed to give up once he realized that his sketchy arsonist pal Eddie was actually a cop. Still, Agnes didn’t give up on Reggie even though she more or less sabotaged his intent to help the NYPD bring in Albi, Kosta, and the rest. And the other shoe has yet to drop for Agnes. Lagerfelt continued:
I think she is somebody who thinks on her feet. You see that in the scene where she's doing her written testimony. You know, she looks at the young court reporter, she sees she's wearing cheap shoes, you know, cheap worn bag. She's bored. She hates her job. She's watching her the whole time and trying to think, 'Can I? Yes. She obviously needs money.' I mean, she sees that she's poor. She's vulnerable. She has a horrible, boring job that she hates. And I think that she thinks on her feet. I mean, that's what I was doing during that scene. 'Okay, what can I do? Is she vulnerable? Yeah, she probably needs money. Let me make it so big she can't say no.' And so she does. And I think she's thinking on her feet the whole time. How to get her son out of it, and how to get herself out of it. And then you'll see, you know, in Episode 8, she gets arrested. But she wasn't planning on getting arrested. I think she's planning all along, to get away with her and her son. But she's not going to betray the organization.
Agnes may not be able to speak in the conventional way, or communicate clearly without Reggie on hand or a pen and paper, but the latest episode proved that she’s very observant, and not somebody to be crossed. While she may have spent her earlier appearances cooking and reading tea leaves, she showed that she is as much part of the family and part of besa as any of the rest. When I noted to Caroline Lagerfelt that Agnes managing to warn Albi proved that she was smarter than anybody gave her credit for, the actress said:
Thank you! It was so funny, because – I can't post it on Instagram because my son said fuck – but we were watching the episode.... We were watching the episode together, my son and a few of his friends. And after that scene, he went, 'Fuck, Mom, you're the smartest one of the whole group! Are you running besa? Are you running the whole organization?' And I said, 'I'm not saying anything. You're going to have to watch next week.' [laughs] He had the same reaction. He thought that I was cleverer than most of them.
I think it’s safe to say that even if not all viewers were dropping f-bombs in front of their televisions when Agnes started pulling strings, there were plenty of us on the edges of our seats! Apparently, in the world of Law & Order: Organized Crime, you should think twice before trying to back Agnes Bogdani into a corner. Or at the very least, keep a close eye on her. Despite appearances, she clearly still has plenty of bite.
Whether or not she’ll actually be able to do any more for the family before the end of the KO arc remains to be seen. Stabler and Co. will presumably want to keep a closer eye on her after figuring out that she had to be the way that Albi and the others got the word to run, so she may be out of the fight for the family. Then again, if the latest episode taught viewers anything, it’s never to count Agnes out.
See how Law & Order: Organized Crime resolves the story of Agnes and the rest of the Albanian mob group on Thursday, November 11 at 10 p.m. ET on NBC, following a new episode of Law & Order: SVU. Check back with CinemaBlend for more Organized Crime, and take a look at our 2021 fall TV premiere schedule for what to watch and when to watch it!
