- Alexandra Eames
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Det. Alexandra Eames Law & Order character 
First appearance Season 1: "One" Last appearance Season 10: "To the Boy In the Blue Knit Cap" Portrayed by Kathryn Erbe Time on show 2001–2010, 2011 Preceded by G. Lynn Bishop (as temporary replacement while on maternity leave)
Megan Wheeler (as Zack Nichols's partner)Succeeded by N/A Partner Robert Goren Information Nickname(s) Alex, Eames Occupation Police Detective Title NYPD Senior Detective Family Jonathan Eames (father)
Unknown (mother)
Elizabeth (sister)
Unknown (brother)
Joe Dutton (husband) (deceased)Det. Alexandra "Alex" Eames is a fictional police detective with the NYPD Major Case Squad featured in the NBC-USA Network[1] Law & Order: Criminal Intent, portrayed by Kathryn Erbe. Eames is the partner of Detective Robert Goren.
In 2008, Erbe received a Satellite Award Nomination for Best Actress: Television Drama Series for her portrayal.
Contents
Career
Eames is a police detective with Manhattan's Major Case Squad. Eames entered the police academy in 1993. Senator Maureen Pagolis spoke at Eames' graduation from the academy. Eames greatly admired her as a role model for women. Before joining Major Case, Eames was with Vice for five years. For two years of that time, she was stationed in Chelsea.[2]
Eames is kidnapped in the sixth season premiere episode "Blind Spot" by Jo Gage, the daughter of Dr. Declan Gage, Goren's mentor. After the incident, Eames returns to duty, but (in the episode "Siren Call") it is revealed that she is seeing a therapist to deal with the trauma.
Eames began partnering with Zack Nichols (Jeff Goldblum) in the season eight episode "Major Case" as Nichols' regular partner, Megan Wheeler (portrayed by Julianne Nicholson), goes into labor.
In the Season 9 premiere "Loyalty," she and Goren are pulled off a pair of homicides by Ross, who has been working undercover for the FBI on a case involving one of the victims. When Ross is subsequently murdered, Goren and Eames team up with Nichols to find his killer, only to be stonewalled by the FBI. Goren soon gets into a physical altercation with the prime suspect, leading to his suspension and Eames' decision to covertly help him with his own investigation.
After a year's absence, Eames and Goren again became the series's lead characters for its tenth and final season.
Partnership with Robert Goren
Eames is partnered with Det. Robert Goren, and is the senior partner of the two. Her pragmatic, analytical investigative style serves as a balance against Goren's often eccentric investigation and interrogation methods. She and Goren did not see eye-to-eye at first; puzzled by his interrogation methods, she asked her superior officer for a new partner. She soon learned to appreciate his investigative skill, however, and withdrew the request.
Although Goren and Eames have never been romantically involved, they both have shown professional and personal loyalty to one another. During Eames' absence due to her maternity leave, Goren makes the connection to the suspect missing his partner and compares his temporary partner unfavorably to Eames. In the episode Blind Spot, when Eames is abducted, Goren is in obvious distress over her welfare. When Goren is suspended and decides to go undercover, on his own, in a prison where his nephew has witnessed abuses ("Untethered"), Eames keeps in communication with him and asks for their Captain's help when his plans go awry.
In the episode "Purgatory", when Goren decides to go undercover during his suspension, he does not inform Eames of this decision which causes a considerable conflict between them when his actions are revealed. Goren apologizes and states that he wanted to keep Eames away from the situation, but she reacts angrily and implies that his actions were based on selfishness and that "all [his] wounds are self-inflicted." Additionally, in the season seven premiere "Amends", when the case of Eames' late husband is reopened (see "Joseph Dutton" section below), Eames is in obvious distress regarding Goren reviewing her late husband's case and tells him that it's "not one of [his] puzzles."
In the two-part season 9 premiere "Loyalty," Eames is offered a promotion to Captain of Major Case on the condition she fire Goren. She and Goren discuss this matter and agree that it's best he resign, as he believes his recent actions will soon have him dismissed anyway. He kisses Eames on the cheek and they share an embrace before he leaves; Eames herself then resigns from the force altogether.
After a year's absence, Eames and Goren again became the series's lead characters for its tenth and final season.
Personal and family life
Eames joined the NYPD to follow in the footsteps of her father, Johnny Eames, also a cop. Eames' younger brother has three kids all in private school, is part of the FDNY, and is married to a nurse. It was once stated in the episode "Vacancy" that her aunt, a promiscuous alcoholic, lived with them for a year. After she hit Eames' younger brother, Eames said they never saw her again. In "Vacancy", a suspect senses her anger towards alcoholics and uses her vulnerability to sabotage the case against him.
In 2003, Eames volunteered to serve as a surrogate mother for her sister's baby. This storyline coincided with Kathryn Erbe's real life pregnancy.
Joseph Dutton
Eames is widowed. In an interview with the Chicago Tribune in 2001, Erbe said of Eames, "Her husband was a cop who was killed in the line of duty. None of this you will probably hear in the show."[3] However, in the 2006 episode "The War at Home" and in subsequent episodes, it was revealed that her husband, Joseph Dutton, was killed in 1998. In the season seven premiere "Amends" Dutton's case needed to be reopened, and it is discovered the wrong man had been convicted; DNA evidence pointed to another suspect who was subsequently arrested by Goren and Eames.
References
- ^ http://www.usanetwork.com/series/criminalintent/community/mobile/
- ^ 6:14, "Brother's Keeper"
- ^ Chicago Tribune, Michael Kilian, November 1, 2001
External links
- NBC biography of Alexandra Eames
- USA's Law & Order: Criminal Intent site, including 18 "Character Insight" videos
- Detective Alexandra Eames at the Internet Movie Database
Law & Order: Criminal Intent Creator Detectives Robert Goren • Alexandra Eames • G. Lynn Bishop · Mike Logan · Zack Nichols · Carolyn Barek · Megan Wheeler · Nola Falacci · Serena StevensCommanding officers Other characters Seasons See also List of characters · List of episodes · List of actors and actresses who have appeared in the seriesCategories:- Law & Order: Criminal Intent characters
- Fictional New York City Police Department detectives
- Fictional characters introduced in 2001
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