Near the end of Law & Order: Organized Crime 3×19, Detective Stabler works out, as the episode title implies, “a diplomatic solution” with Madam Laghari. But when the diplomat leaves the consulate with the stolen semiconductors, it’s a little bit unclear how much she knew about the plan and when. Certainly, she makes a decision at some point. But, throughout the episode, the character also seems genuinely concerned. That’s not just for her own safety but also that of others and really just…the whole situation. When we interviewed Karen David, we discussed those loose ends, the challenging nature of diplomacy, and much more.
(If you missed the first part of the interview, you can find it here.)
Choose your own ending
With regards to the when and how of Diya’s choice to try to take the stolen military equipment back home, David told us she “would like to leave it up to the viewer to kind of decide. Did she know about this all along? Or didn’t she. For me…it was exciting for me to play on the idea that she didn’t know and that she was there to carry out this task of delivering the speech at the UN on behalf of her country. And all of a sudden, another plan, unbeknownst to her, went pear-shaped. And she had to find her feet, navigate through a very sticky and challenging situation.” Additionally, Laghari had to “try to save face not only for herself, especially as a diplomat, but also to save face for her country.”
But, especially given how she initially underestimates Detective Stabler, it’s certainly possible there was more to the story. Maybe she did know — maybe she did play us all — all along. “At the end of the day,” the actress said, “I kind of often think about this episode as the ending being decided by the viewer. Where they get to choose the ending.” At this point, she referenced Choose Your Own Adventure books. (But, unlike when we bring them up in reference to a certain ship, this was a positive and fun — not frustrating — comparison.) At least in the case of Laghari’s involvement in the whole scheme, “it’s more exciting to the viewer…to [get] to decide. But yeah, that’s kind of how I played it.”
The case for not being in on the plan
If we’re to believe Laghari only chose to take advantage of the situation once she found out what her head of security was after, there’s certainly plenty of evidence to support that idea. For instance, there’s the obvious: “things going completely awry, right in the beginning with the car bombing.” After all, “that’s the last thing that any — any person wants, let alone a diplomat trying to keep good relations between two countries.”
Furthermore, there’s the very genuine concern Diya has for her assistant, Sita. Asked about how Madam Laghari responds here, including how she slips away from Elliot to visit Sita in the hospital, David told us, “I think anyone would do the same thing.” There is still, however, a deeper connection there. “This is an assistant who has known Diya for a very long time, who has been so loyal to her — almost like a sister. And there’s nothing that she wouldn’t do for Diya.”
In fact, it’s very similar to how the Organized Crime team responds when one of their own is in danger. Because Sita and Diya are “practically like this work family, but also like friends, as well.” (Sound familiar?) “So, it’s just such a horrifying moment when this bomb explodes. And Diya is absolutely petrified and concerned that her assistant is in the front car.”
Long before the hospital visit itself, we see that fear. For example, in the immediate aftermath of the attack, Diya seems more worried about her assistant’s wellbeing than her own. That shouldn’t be surprising either. As David put it, “[in] traumatic moments like that, the first — the first knee jerk reaction is to get out of the car and just see if she’s okay.”
Going back to what happens with the trip to the hospital, “not knowing was just agonizing for her.” So, finding a way to get to Sita makes perfect sense. “She was at the consulate, and she had her own security detail. And she also knows that Stabler would be heavily involved…occupied with trying to navigate through what was happening at ground zero. So, in her mind, it was like, ‘well, I have my own security detail. Let’s go.’”
On ambition
We could also, if we want to be entirely cynical, decide that Madam Laghari is just a really good actor. Or, maybe her worries are more of a guilt thing. Likely not, but it’s a fun trip to take with our Choose Your Own Adventure story. But, even without taking the most negative view possible, there are still some scenes that keep us guessing.
One of our favorite scenes in “A Diplomatic Solution” is the one where Laghari discusses her ambition. When we spoke with Karen David about it, we asked about what that scene, specifically, could say about her character. “Diya does allude to the fact that…being a woman, especially in politics and in government, is very difficult,” she told us. For one thing, there’s “the misogyny — the constant misogyny — that she faces. And I’m sure many women face [that] in different working environments. It’s…that’s something we can all relate to.”
That conversation wasn’t all about difficulty, though. “At the same time, Diya was trying to say that she can’t apologize for being an ambitious woman.” But should we automatically consider the character’s unapologetic approach to this as a bad thing? Not if you ask Karen David. “Ambition is a beautiful, beautiful trait. And I feel like, in many ways, sometimes because there have been, sort of diluted examples — or poor examples — of what people may think is ambition,” we might interpret the scene in a negative way. But “there’s a difference between what ambition is, and then, self serving purposes.”
So, sure. Diya may have big dreams, but who doesn’t have their passions? “We all have our own individual parts of where we want and hope for our lives and our journeys to take us.” And, even though “Diya’s just the same way,” it’s not easy for someone who “comes from a very political family.” Like she tells Stabler, “‘diplomats advise, politicians decide.’ That’s the bane of her existence as a diplomat…she has to learn to be neutral. She has to learn how to pacify very difficult situations and navigate the situations. That is part of her journey.”
So, regardless of when we think Diya may have known about the plan to take those semiconductors home, she did what she had to do. Or, at least, she tried to until Stabler presented her with an opportunity to save face for both India and the US. In a job like hers, “there are going to be many times where you have to agree to disagree. And that can be even within whichever existing government is in power.” That’s “always going to be the job of a diplomat and sort of this, this crucifix” for someone like Diya to “carry on their shoulders.”
The opportunity Organized Crime 3×19 gives us to reflect on that concept, even as we’re wondering about that open ending, simply works. Not just for us but also for the actor. “I love that — that Law & Order love to educate and entertain at the same time. But they are fictional stories, and it also keeps things timeless, as well.”
Keeping in line with the idea of the stories being a bit timeless, she likened the idea of “trying to take two polar opposites, and we meet, you know, somewhere in the middle” to a real-life political role. “I often think about our former Queen Elizabeth (bless her soul).” She needed “always to keep the peace,” even living “through many, many different politicians in power and governments.” It’s certainly not the exact same situation. “But in many ways, there are some similarities.”
So, all this is to say, basically, there isn’t a definitive answer. “If we’re alluding to the ending of [the episode], and whether she knew or not about this, and having to get herself out of a situation that was deeply, deeply compromising for her,” maybe it’s best not to know if Madam Laghari was purely good or just purely organizing some crime. Real people aren’t all one or the other anyway. Which makes the outcome much more satisfying. And, in Karen David’s world, that “was really interesting, and exciting, and thrilling for me as an actress to play.”
Thoughts? Was Diya in on it all along or not? When do you think Madam Laghari got involved? And do you agree with Karen David about leaving the ending open? Leave us a comment!
Law & Order: Organized Crime airs Thursdays at 10/9c on NBC.
