Greetings,
It is difficult to be tasked with taking us back to the Golden Age of any long-running series. After several years with an ADA that many people were not fond of and a small stint with a timid but lovable one, we needed to bring back the more aggressive but admirable type of woman we grew to love in years past. This is why, at the start of Season 17, we clasped our hands together, looked to the Heavens and said "Thank You, Lord, for Connie Rubirosa".
Connie Rubirosa was portrayed by Alana De La Garza from Season 17 through Season 20. I don't even know where to start on what a joy this woman was to have around. Well, let me start with some basic info about the character. Connie Rubirosa has one of the most interesting character back stories of this series. Apparently, she was a kindergarten teacher, and, as someone who is not a kid person, I certainly understand how one can find dealing with criminals and whatnot less stressful than dealing with children. She joined the DA's office in 2004, pre-show, and served under Jack McCoy, who was still Executive ADA in Season 17. Then, when McCoy got promoted to actual DA, she got promoted to Executive ADA. Oh, wait. You'd THINK that's what would have happened, but she just got handed off to the person who actually got that job - a boy! Okay, to be fair, I like Michael Cutter and he probably had seniority over her, but still. Why not one extra moment of glory for the ladies?
Anyway, as a Hispanic woman, she is the first minority ADA we have had on this show since Paul Robinette. And, like with him, this was not even an issue on most days. Of course, certain cases would come up where ethnicity or race was a factor, and it couldn't help but come into play. That's something that Law & Order always handled quite well, and with Connie, it was no exception. Oh, also, the occasional jerk racist may have made comments about her ethnicity, as they do, but she always knew how to handle them. Not in a way that would have required the actor to use a stunt double, as I would have preferred, but she did fine, nonetheless.
As far as her politics go, she seemed to lean towards the Liberal side, and she was an advocate for women's right. On one occasion, though, (spoilers) an abortion doctor had been murdered and his procedural methods were being called into question. By "procedural methods" I mean he killed a newborn baby who had birth defects that were most likely life-threatening, at the request of the mother. McCoy did not want this information to be known by the defense, as they were prosecuting the killer. He expected Cutter, who leaned more towards pro-life, to possibly let the information out, but it was Connie who did it. I bring this story up because they used her character in this situation to exhibit what a perfect balance the show was politically. Despite her personal beliefs, you could see the inner struggle that Connie went through in this case. I give credit for how great this was to both the writer and Alana's acting.
Of course, even with all her good qualities, Connie made her share of faux pas over the years. Don't we all. I'd say the most glaring error was getting involved with former DA office worker, Marcus Woll. I already talked about him when I talked about an episode he was in. To refresh, he was pretty much the worst. Just an awful person. Not even close to being good enough for our sweet Connie. And she paid for her mistake. One payment might have been when she got duped - Yeah, I said duped! - into defending this really obnoxious guy who was clearly guilty. This put her at odds with the people she normally worked alongside, making them opponents. It was vicious. But, despite, the occasional oopsy, Connie Rubirosa was a shining example of what a lawyer can and should be. No wonder they let her move out to California for Law & Order:LA.
I will wrap this up by saying, once again, I love this character and I love the woman who played. For real, she is getting the slow clap. You know what I mean. The 80's and 90's sports movie slow clap? Oh, yeah. She is totally getting that. I, honestly, never failed to be entertained by her. She was a strong, intelligent, funny, beautiful woman, and she brought a special light to Law & Order that it needed.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
