Villainess Review: Valerie Cooley (The Equalizer)

I had never seen the original Equalizer series, but I had heard about it for a while. I did, however, watch both Equalizer films starring Denzel Washington, so I wasn't too unaware when I heard news about a reboot series. I was definitely in; even more so when I learned that Queen Latifah would be playing the titular role: Robyn McCall. The series premiered after CBS' coverage of Super Bowl LV on February 7, 2021, and it would be two weeks later that we would be treated with the appearance of the series' first villainess. First, the setting.

The episode was titled, "Judgment Day," and it centered on Dale Aldridge, a convicted killer who escaped from prison after serving a decade behind bars, and found his former cellmate, Tommy Venti, murdered. Robyn was approached by Dale's defense lawyer, Nic Palermo, to take Dale's case, with Robyn turning him down due to not working with criminals, only to be informed that he was innocent. Dale was accused of killing Carol Walton, a nurse, inside her home, and the episode's progression saw detective Marcus Dante encounter both D.A. Avery Gratton and judge Valerie Cooley, the latter of the two having prosecuted Dale ten years prior.

Valerie voiced her stance that the city of New York was in danger due to Dale being on the loose, as she was certain that he was a killer. It didn't help Dale that Tommy Venti, a former cellmate of Dale's, was found murdered in his home, and that his own son wanted nothing to do with him and believed his father's guilt...to the point where he actually turned him in. However, Dale's innocence was proven to be factual, as Robin and her crew had discovered that the actual killer was Connor Geraghty, a doctor. As it turned out, Connor was running a pill mill that had been discovered by Carol, who ended up killed by Connor to prevent her from talking. It gets better. The group also discovered that Connor had a very powerful friend: Valerie Cooley.

That discovery came after it was uncovered that certain witness statements had been thrown out by Valerie on trial, and the climax saw Palermo and later Avery demand that Valerie recuse herself from sending Dale back to prison. When Valerie flatly refused, all of the sordid details came out.

Connor was actually good friends with Valerie's son, and after finding about Connor killing Carol, Valerie decided to cover up for him, doing so by tossing out witness statements putting him in Carol's home that night. As for why Dale ended up scapegoated, it was due to the fact that he was Carol's handyman, and Valerie used him to further her narrative that lower-class citizens were killers--doing so to further her career. Valerie became a prominent judge following her successful conviction, but after hearing about Dale's escape and his working with Tommy to help find the actual killer, Valerie turned heel again and plotted to eliminate both men to continue her cover up.

Valerie's plan included clearing all charges against a street thug named Trent Sawyer, and then sending him to kill Tommy and Dale, successfully eliminating the former. Valerie attempted to deny the claims, but when that failed, the villainess confessed and claimed that she was threatened by Connor and that Sawyer was only supposed to talk to Tommy, not kill him. Of course, her story isn't bought, and Valerie is arrested.

"Judgment Day," was the third episode of The Equalizer, and aired on February 21, 2021. Amy Hohn appeared as the evil Valerie Cooley, and this was a terrific performance from Hohn. Again, Valerie Cooley was the first villainess from the Equalizer reboot, and what a villainess she was. Valerie was immensely ambitious and deceptive; using an elitist mindset to send an innocent man to prison to further her career. The depths of Valerie's evil ways increased with Dale's escape, as she resorted to becoming a murderous criminal mastermind to cover up her villainous secret. Valerie was very ruthless, indeed, and as for Hohn, she played Valerie's arrogance very well in the entire episode.

Hohn has appeared in several different CBS series, including multiple episodes of Bull as the not-so-corrupt Judge Volk. She has also appeared in episodes of Person of Interest, Madam Secretary, and Evil.

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