Law & Order Headcanons: Love Languages Part 2
A continuation of my previous post about Law & Order characters and what I think their Love Languages would be.
This I am covering characters from seasons 3 to 7. Yes, this means the famous Lennie Briscoe, Jack McCoy and Anita Van Buren in this one!
Remember that these are my own personal headcanons and you are free to disagree and either comment or reblog to give your own thoughts. I would love to hear them.
Also, these are the seasons we get to learn and even see some of the personal lives of the main characters. This means I have more to go off than just interactions between co-workers/friends.
Primary: Acts of Service Secondary: Quality Time Unofficial: Puns and Jokes
Reasons: In the episodes that we see some old friends from Lennie's past and they betray him, like “Jurisdiction” (3x16) and “Kids” (4x15), it clearly gets to him. It also speaks volumes that at his age, he is still doing his part in investigations and doing his part for his partners. I think it is also worth noting that in "Aftershock" (6x23), he is obviously very touched that Claire was willing to drive him home. Clearly, thoughtful actions and pulling your weight mean a lot to him and betrayals hit him hard. Alongside actions, Lennie also seems to appreciate the time he spends with someone, leading to his secondary LL - Quality Time. Lennie seems to grow close with his partners and people he works with. Not only the ones we see in the show (Mike, Rey and Ed all said that they were effected in someway by Lennie's death {RIP Jerry Orbach}), but also his past ones that we meet, see above episodes for those. Another instance that points to this being one of his LL is in the episode "Scoundrels" (5x9) when Lennie, Mike and Claire are going through some files and Lennie jokes about law being an exciting profession and Claire says she "gets to hangout with you guys" and the camera cuts back to Lennie who gives a fond smile at the remark. Was Claire most likely joking, yeah, but I like to think Lennie's smile at least indicated that he agrees somewhat with her. This also leads nicely into Lennie's "unofficial Love Language" - Puns and Jokes. This one barely needs to be explained because this is a character trait of his, Lennie is famous for his dry and sarcastic humor; nearly everything he says is a joke or sarcastic comment. This means it is jarring when he stops making those jokes, like when his daughter Cathy died. But I also think that this is a way for Lennie to express his affection and friendliness towards people.
Primary: Quality Time Secondary: Acts of Service
Reasons: Throughout her time in the series, we see Lt. Van Buren take time to talk to her detectives about whatever cases they are working on, and while yes, Cragen did that you, Anita's approach is different, seemingly slightly less formal. We often see Van Buren joining in in barbs and jokes in ways that Cragen did not and we also see her eating and having lunch with them. Notable examples are in "Wager" (4x18), when both Van Buren and Lennie poke fun at Mike for how much they know about his dating life and in "Second Opinion" (5x1) she is seen eating pizza with the boys and talking in a jovial manner. Another possible example is in "Mayhem" (4x17) when Mike is bringing her up to speed on a case and they two are talking about it in a lighthearted manner until she gets a call that the guy died. Mike even sits down like he was expecting to be there longer. All these point to the fact that Anita enjoys the time she spends with her detectives and they also seem to enjoy it with her. This points to one of her Love Languages being Quality Time. As for Acts of Service, Anita Van Buren is no stranger to pulling her weight, and it also speaks to how she expresses her love - this includes her love to her detectives. In "Profile" (4x4) she is shown to be out on the street with Mike and Lennie helping them catch a serial killer, could also speak to Quality Time. The same happens in "Slave" (6x19) where she sets up an ambush and helps Lennie and Rey take down a suspect Mike Logan Style tm. Years later, in "Acid" (16x10) she does everything in her power to get justice for the daughter of her old friend.
Primary: Quality Time Secondary: Acts of Service
Reasons: Claire's time on the series was interesting as she was the first female ADA on the show and she was also one of the first characters who had romantic relationships that affected some of the story-lines - specifically her affair with Judge Thayer and her relationship with Jack McCoy. These relationships, how they started and how they developed, helped determine her Love Languages as Quality Time and Acts of Service. For both Joel Thayer and Jack McCoy, Claire spent a lot of time working with them - Thayer as a clerk and Jack as his assistant. In both instances, she spent a lot of time with them and began to feel in love them. Claire also showed this towards her colleagues. As previously mentioned in "Scoundrels" (5x9) she makes a comment that she at least gets to spend time with Lennie and Mike. Again, this is framed as a joke, but it clearly shows how she valves time spent with certain people. This is shown again in "Savior" (6x16) where she plays squash with her old friend, Margot Bell, at the end of the episode. Another way she seems to express how much she appreciates is by doing helpful things. In "American Dream" (4x8) she goes into the office on her days off to help Ben with case and in "Censure" (4x14) she does everything in her power and then some to get Joel Thayer convicted, even after being censured.
Primary: Quality Time Secondary: Physical Touch
Reasons: Jack McCoy was really interesting to look at, because he is one of the first L&O characters where 1) his love life is frequently brought up, and 2) we actually see him be in a relationship (even if it is technically in subtext). This made is a bit easier to figure out his Love Languages. For me, Jack McCoy seems like the type of person where he wants to both spend a lot of time with you, but also needs some kind of stimulation - mentally and physically. Time spent and mental stimulation is where Quality Time comes in. As mentioned quite a few times in this post, those who have Quality Time as their LL communicate said love by spending a lot of time with you - undivided attention, setting aside time to spend together, and actively listening. He also stated in his first appearance, "Second Opinion" (5x1), “I hardly think I should apologize for finding some of my co-workers more stimulating than the women I meet at the gym.” Jack is also shown to be someone with strong opinions, but he also seems to like the thrill of debating them - it makes sense that he would find someone who is willing to spend time debating with him attractive, especially if they are on a similar level to him in knowledge and expertise. As for Physical Touch... you look me in the eye right now and tell me that Jack McCoy does not have Physical Touch as a LL. There are MULTIPLE scenes where he and Claire are standing hair lengths away from each other. Like a gentle breeze would cause them to collide. Enough said.
Primary: Acts of Service Secondary: Physical Touch
Reasons: Like Claire and Jack, Rey is another character where we see his romantic relationships affect the story line. In his case, his affair in the season 6 final "Aftershock" (6x23). I think it is worth bringing up that, while an affair of any kind is a betrayal, Rey was in a very emotionally vulnerable headspace at the time. He just watched a man die and probably needed comfort, but was worried about bringing that weight home to his wife and young daughters. Still, he regretted it and tries everything to make up for it, even later quitting field work to take care of Deborah. But still, why did he fall to that specific temptation? Easy, Physical Touch is one of his Love Languages. While he is never super physically affectionate with Lennie, we do see him be physically affectionate with his wife and daughters. In "Paranoia" (6x6) when we first met Deborah, we see Rey kiss Deborah and their girls goodbye. However, I don't see this as Rey primary LL. No, that I think goes to Acts of Service. Rey clearly sees actions as important and meaningful, with some notable examples being in "Corpus Delicti" (6x11) where he is more mad at the possibility of a father purposely killing his daughter's beloved horse than the horse's actual death, in "Menace" (7x11) he comes clean to Deborah about his affair, and is following episodes is seen doing whatever he can to make it up to her, including at the end of "Showtime" (7x17) where he declines to celebrate with the others in favor of dinner with Deborah. This eventually culminates in him leaving the force at the end of season 9, in "Refuge (Part Two) (9x24) to care for her once her M.S. gets bad enough. This is a major Act of Service on Rey's part and it shows how much he loves her and their family despite his big (and I mean big) mistake.
Primary: Acts of Service Secondary: Quality Time
Reasons: Both Quality Time and Acts of Service as Love Languages have been discussed at length many times in this post, so I'll just get right into the evidence that point towards these being Jaime's LL. Before joining the DA's Office, Jaime worked with her ex-husband at his law firm as a criminal defense lawyer. This alone is a major indication that Jaime 1) wants to spend time with people she loves, and 2) considers doing things for them another way to show her love. Even though their current relationship is super contentious, there must have been a time when Jaime and Neil Gorton were really in love. Obviously they were married and have a daughter together, but they also worked together - they must have had long nights going over cases together and they had defended at least 1 client together - James Carper. In her first episode, "Causa Mortis" (7x1), Jaime admits that she put her coat over Carper's lap to hide his erection from the jury, only to kill another woman 3 months later. She also states that Neil build his firm on the infallibility of DNA only to switch sides at he sight of Carper's bank account. These instances show that Jaime is willing to go the lengths for those she values and how deep a 'betrayal' cuts for her. She is also shown to be protective of her time with her daughter, Katie, and eventually leaves the DA's Office to spend more time with her.
