'Law and Order' was a great show in its prime and there has always been a preference for the earlier seasons over the more commonly aired late-Briscoe and post-Briscoe episodes. Not only love the show for its compelling cases and terrific writing and acting in the Briscoe and pre-Briscoe years. But also its admirable tackling of difficult subjects and themes (the 'Law and Order' franchise at its best was very good at that), their cases often based upon real-life ones and the moral dilemmas raised.
"Forgiveness" is just one example of all of the above. Is it one of the best 'Law and Order' episodes? No, in my view it's not near close to being one of the very best. Is it even one of the best of Season 3? Not quite but nearly. Is it good? Yes, very and it is nearly great even. Not as good, talking about it compared to the previous episodes, as "Conspiracy" (though not as uncompromising to watch), but better than the solid but initially slightly bland season opener "Skin Deep".
There is nothing inherently wrong here in "Forgiveness". It is a case of the second half being better than the first. The first half is still intriguing, if a slight slow starter and it doesn't have the tension and dramatic power of what comes later. There are some very interesting questions and ideas here, and the episode would have been even better if a few of those went into more detail.
While the supporting cast are more than competent and act with commitment, only two properly stand out in the only fleshed out roles.
However, the production values are slick and sharp, without being too dark or overly-bright. The music is not over-emphasised or overused. The script is tightly written and doesn't ever come over as too confused or over-wordy (despite the show in general being quite dialogue heavy) . Nor does it come over as juvenile or glossed over, with a little more meat to what is addressed it would have been even better. The story has plenty of tension and dramatic and emotional power in the second half, with an ending that makes one deep in thought and feeling more than one emotion. Especially in the debate with what the charge should be and the sentence imposed, which will evoke strong opinions on what they should be.
It is spot on in the character interaction, especially in the second half. Stone and Robinette are juicy characters. Cerreta and Logan's chemistry took time to completely gel in Season 2, due to the season having to go through the amount of changes it did, but by this point they work very well together. All the regulars are fine, Michael Moriarty could do no wrong when on the show and Richard Brooks grew from strength to strength each time. Paul Sorvino and Chris Noth do nice work, Sorvino may not have lasted longer but he did admirably in filling in quite big shoes. Luis Antonio Ramos doesn't resort to any stereotyping or anything like that and he doesn't make the character too obvious. The supporting cast standout is Laurence Luckinbill doing fine work.
Overall, very good if not quite a season high point. 8/10
"Forgiveness" is just one example of all of the above. Is it one of the best 'Law and Order' episodes? No, in my view it's not near close to being one of the very best. Is it even one of the best of Season 3? Not quite but nearly. Is it good? Yes, very and it is nearly great even. Not as good, talking about it compared to the previous episodes, as "Conspiracy" (though not as uncompromising to watch), but better than the solid but initially slightly bland season opener "Skin Deep".
There is nothing inherently wrong here in "Forgiveness". It is a case of the second half being better than the first. The first half is still intriguing, if a slight slow starter and it doesn't have the tension and dramatic power of what comes later. There are some very interesting questions and ideas here, and the episode would have been even better if a few of those went into more detail.
While the supporting cast are more than competent and act with commitment, only two properly stand out in the only fleshed out roles.
However, the production values are slick and sharp, without being too dark or overly-bright. The music is not over-emphasised or overused. The script is tightly written and doesn't ever come over as too confused or over-wordy (despite the show in general being quite dialogue heavy) . Nor does it come over as juvenile or glossed over, with a little more meat to what is addressed it would have been even better. The story has plenty of tension and dramatic and emotional power in the second half, with an ending that makes one deep in thought and feeling more than one emotion. Especially in the debate with what the charge should be and the sentence imposed, which will evoke strong opinions on what they should be.
It is spot on in the character interaction, especially in the second half. Stone and Robinette are juicy characters. Cerreta and Logan's chemistry took time to completely gel in Season 2, due to the season having to go through the amount of changes it did, but by this point they work very well together. All the regulars are fine, Michael Moriarty could do no wrong when on the show and Richard Brooks grew from strength to strength each time. Paul Sorvino and Chris Noth do nice work, Sorvino may not have lasted longer but he did admirably in filling in quite big shoes. Luis Antonio Ramos doesn't resort to any stereotyping or anything like that and he doesn't make the character too obvious. The supporting cast standout is Laurence Luckinbill doing fine work.
Overall, very good if not quite a season high point. 8/10