“Law & Order: Criminal Intent” is back for the summer season. It was recently handed over to USA Network as a failing member in the “Law & Order” family and it has taken off. The original pair of detectives, Goren and Eames, has been joined by Detective Logan (Mike Noth) who came from Manhattan via Staten Island, as well as Logan’s seemingly endless string of partners.

When we last saw Eames and Goren, Bobby had been relieved of duty. He was under suspension for taking it upon himself to go undercover in a mental hospital upstate. Eames worried about him, but continued on with her job- which included welcoming a new, temporary partner. They were trying to solve the murders of a pair of tourists. While they were doing this, Goren was going undercover again in an effort to get his badge back. Eames was completely unaware of Goren’s involvement with her case.

Goren goes to work for a drug dealer, who also has more cops on his payroll. He is incredibly convincing as a cop gone mad. His new boss and crime cohorts don’t suspect a thing. At one point Goren is in the room when a young drug dealer pays for some product and is then turned in by his boss. When the drug dealer is subsequently arrested by another cop who’s trying to get her detective stripes back, he turns on Testarrosa. He agrees to wear a wire and get information on him and all of the cops he’s got on his payroll.

Of course, Testarrosa finds out the guy snitched and takes his thugs over to the apartment. Goren frisks him and finds the bug, which Goren ignores. When the wire is discovered, Testarrose tests Bobby by demanding that Goren shoot the young man in the head. Just in the nick of time the S.W.A.T. team enters- lead by Detective Eames. Bobby is immediately arrested and the thugs are carted off to jail.

At the holding cell, Goren comes clean with Eames. He was doing what he needed to do to get his badge back, he explains. But Eames doesn’t care. She’s angry that he went undercover without telling her. She tells him that they’ve been partners for 8 years and she hopes it was worth throwing that away. When Goren goes back to the station he receives the cold shoulder from his co-workers as well as his partner. He’s just trying to get his job back, but the other cops aren’t buying it. When he opens his drawer to put some files away he discovers a dead rat that was left for him.

Eames and Goren are going to be working together, but is their relationship going to heal? Eames seems to think that her old partner needs more help and that he’s not the same person she used to know. Goren is battling with some serious personal demons and he seems to be losing to them. Though the “Law & Order” family originally started as simply cops and robbers type thing, this one is becoming increasingly more personal. It’ll be interesting to watch if Goren devolves (because his family has a history of serious mental illness) or if he somehow manages to catch himself before he ends up like his mother and brother.