LAW & ORDER: ORGANIZED CRIME Post-Mortem: Karen David on Diya’s ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ Twist

April 27, 2023 by Marisa Roffman

Law and Order Organized Crime Karen David

LAW & ORDER: ORGANIZED CRIME — “A Diplomatic Solution” Episode 319 — Pictured: (l-r) Karen David as Diya Laghari, Christopher Meloni as Detective Elliot Stabler — (Photo by: Zach Dilgard/NBC)

[Warning: This post contains spoilers for the Thursday, April 27 episode of LAW & ORDER: ORGANIZED CRIME, “A Diplomatic Solution.”]

Initially, it seemed like LAW & ORDER: ORGANIZED CRIME’s Diya (Karen David) came to New York in the Thursday, April 27 episode, “A Diplomatic Solution,” for an important speech.

But (seemingly) unbeknownst to her, Diya’s mission changed after she landed in New York: She was supposed to bring valuable stolen semiconductors back home.

“[This was] when one plan goes wrong and being caught in another plan—that she might not have not necessarily known about, or been privy to—and is in this very uncompromising position where she has to save face not only for herself, but also for her country,” David explains to Give Me My Remote of Diya’s pivot. “Her journey throughout this episode was, as an actor, so yummy for me to play.”

With Diya insisting to Stabler (Christopher Meloni) that she was blindsided by the change of plans, David does believe her character was telling the truth.

“For me, I personally thought it was really exciting to play it as if she genuinely didn’t know that she was there for one thing and all of a sudden, a plan unbeknownst to her, went pear-shaped and then became something so much bigger than what even she could handle,” she says. “It was such a sticky, challenging situation to be in, especially as a diplomat. Especially the implications that might involve her, in her position, and trying to keep up the good relations between the two countries. And all of the politics and challenges that come along with that. So I thought in my mind, it would be so much more interesting for her to genuinely not know.”

“It was such a lovely, very cheeky twist when she’s talking with Stabler in the car, and she says, ‘What do you propose? How can we solve this so that it’s a peaceful conclusion, without making headlines?’” she continues. “And for him to say ‘a diplomatic solution,’ was so perfect and so bittersweet, because only she could truly understand the weight of what his response was. And it’s sort of a slap on the hand as well. But in a way, he’s kind of looking out for her, too.”

But David did leave some ambiguity in Diya’s motivations—and is hoping fans will decide for themselves if the ambassador was telling the truth.

“It’s kind of like those storybooks that we read as children, where you get to choose the ending based on what you decide in the course of action,” David notes. “So I feel like that’s what we’re in with this situation: It’s kind of up to the viewer to decide whether they think she was genuine about it, or whether they think she knew about it all along.”

No matter what, David acknowledges that Diya is in for a headache when she returns home.

“This is where, hopefully, her diplomat and diplomacy skills and experience come to play,” she says with a laugh. “Because that’s what it was all about: trying to navigate through very challenging situations, and this one most certainly is. There will be plenty of repercussions. But at the same time, if I’m going with how I kind of approached it, it was the fact that she had no idea and now she’s being thrown into a situation that she wasn’t privy to, and had her hand forced to make very quick decisions where she hasn’t had the usual time of prepping.”

“So there will be repercussions on her end when she gets back, but knowing Diya, and knowing her background—that she comes from a very political, very powerful family—and also that she is ambitious, this is all part of her journey,” she continues. “Wherever her journey takes her, be it with politics and her political future. This is something that kinda is going to happen, I imagine over and over again in some shape or form. So, in many ways, it’s something that she has to learn from—learn from the mistakes and learn from what the situation was. It’s all a learning experience. We’re going to learn from those mistakes, and hopefully, avoid them in the future. So, I’d like to think that it wouldn’t be a straightforward path when she returns back, but she’ll pull through and she’ll make it work, where her career is not deeply affected.”

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A post shared by Karen David (@karendavidofficial)

Off-screen, David has absolutely delighted in getting to be part of the LAW & ORDER world, getting to indulge her inner fan (like taking her own recording of the stunt where the car blew up), and, of course, getting to work with the cast and the crew.

“Everything about being on this episode, my time in New York, my time with such a lovely cast and crew—I could not have hoped for a more dream scene partner than Christopher Meloni,” David enthuses. “So kind, so giving, so cheeky, and so funny. And we just bonded immediately. I’m a big tea fanatic, and so that would be our little ritual where we would have tea every day—I got some tea from England and biscuits and all of that. And it was just this bonding situation, not only with Christopher, but Danielle [Moné Truitt, who plays Bell] as well. And the rest of the gang. Everyone was just so kind and so incredibly welcoming.”

“To be part of a show, even for an episode, to guest star on, it’s just such a joy because I’m a huge fan of the universe,” she continues. “It was really magical. Most of my scenes were with Chris. So it was really lovely getting to know him. And we both swapped stories of remodeling our homes, sharing our scars and all from that experience and whatnot. But it was really, really lovely to just have that time with him, and to be on screen with them. It was just pure joy. I can’t stop smiling when I think about my experience there.”

And after dipping her toe into the Wolf Entertainment world, David acknowledges she’d love to appear on another show. “Now, to be introduced into the Dick Wolf universe, it’s like wow,” she says. “You get a taste of it, and you’re like, ‘Wow, this is lovely.’”

LAW & ORDER: ORGANIZED CRIME, Thursdays, 10/9c, NBC

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Filed under Law & Order: Organized Crime

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LAW & ORDER: ORGANIZED CRIME Post-Mortem: Karen David on Diya’s ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ Twist

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