What To Know
- Ryan Eggold returns as Matt Riley in the October 30 episode of Law & Order, reuniting with his brother Vince (Reid Scott) after Matt’s release from prison.
- The episode explores the tense but evolving relationship between the Riley brothers, highlighting their differences and showing them have to support one another.
- Scott explains why Riley struggles with trusting Matt.
The Riley brothers are together again on Law & Order. Ryan Eggold returns as Vince’s (Reid Scott) brother Matt in the Thursday, October 30, episode, and TV Insider has an exclusive sneak peek.
Last time the brothers were together onscreen, Riley was arresting Matt after he didn’t testify like he’d said he would to get out of trouble. Now, in “Brotherly Love,” Matt’s been released from prison. And in our clip, the brothers are seeing each other for the first time in “a while,” as Matt notes.
Riley apologizes for never making it out to visit him, and Matt assures him he gets it. “It’s a long drive, plus the old prison jumpsuit thing,” he says. Still, Riley makes sure his brother knows, “Glad you’re out.” When Matt offers to pay for dinner, Riley protests, then questions what he’s doing that he’s “making good money.”
“There it is,” Matt says. “The lack of trust.” Watch the full sneak peek above for more between the brothers.
“It’s always tense between these two brothers because they could not be more different. But this time, when we see Matt played by Ryan Eggold, who’s just so great at this character, and he and I have such a blast working together, they’re a little more simpatico,” Scott told TV Insider at the beginning of the season. “We find Matt, he’s out of prison. He seems to be doing well. He doesn’t have too much time left on his parole, and they end up having to sort of support each other as they, in a sense, work together.”
He continued, “I love that. I love peeling back that layer and really getting to see that side of Riley because a whole different side of him comes out as one does when you’re amongst your family. You behave differently. His Brooklyn accent comes out a little bit more. He gets a little more hot and bothered, where he usually is pretty kind of subdued, purposely with his emotions, but Matt really gets under his skin, so they feud quite a bit. But it’s just been a real joy to sort of play with that sibling dynamic.”
But Riley will be questioning whether or not he can trust his brother, given what happened last time. “That’s the moral dilemma that he faces here, is that he certainly wants to, but after a life of being let down by this guy and always feeling responsible for him, I think he’s at the end of his rope with his brother, and he’s just desperately hoping that his brother comes through in this moment,” said Scott. “But to outright trust him, no, I don’t think he trusts him. … That’s what makes for a really fun episode, is seeing those faults and those fissures within the family dynamic.”
What are you hoping to see with Ryan Eggold’s return as Riley’s brother? Let us know in the comments section below.
Law & Order, Thursdays, 8/7c, NBC
