Have loved the original 'Law and Order' for a long time, particularly the earlier seasons, and consider it my personal favourite of the 'Law and Order' franchise. "Bad Girl" on paper immediately intrigued, to some (not me) it may seem too basic and ordinary. 'Law and Order' do have a good track record at making something great and more complex than expected out of stories that don't sound out of the ordinary on paper and understandably one expects similar from "Bad Girl."
"Bad Girl" is one of the best Season 8 episodes and the best since "Divorce". It is another episode to be consistently attention grabbing and high quality throughout the entire duration but be even more special in the second half. Am saying that after seeing some 'Law and Order' episodes lately where the second halves were better than the first, a few quite a bit so. "Bad Girl" does have one of the most unsettling female perpetrators of the early seasons, but no matter how bad she is the episode is far from that. The complete opposite.
The production values are still fully professional, the slickness and subtly gritty style still remaining. The music is sparingly used and is haunting and thankfully non-overwrought. The direction shows some nice tension in the legal scenes. The script is well balanced, taut and intelligent, and handles complex themes tactfully yet with unyielding grit.
Moreover, "Bad Girl" has a compelling and clever story that delivers on plenty of unexpected and plausible twists and turns. Also excelling in raising uncompromisingly but also sensitively intriguing questions regarding the death penalty (again showing both sides of for and against and equally strongly) and whether the perpetrator really has changed. This was done with tact and edge.
Did also love Briscoe's role, his subplot isn't soapy and was very illuminating and heart-tugging. Jerry Orbach, once again showing how good he was at conflicted anguish, stands out of the regulars and Isabel Gillies is a chilling revelation as a reprehensible character.
Overall, brilliant. 10/10.
"Bad Girl" is one of the best Season 8 episodes and the best since "Divorce". It is another episode to be consistently attention grabbing and high quality throughout the entire duration but be even more special in the second half. Am saying that after seeing some 'Law and Order' episodes lately where the second halves were better than the first, a few quite a bit so. "Bad Girl" does have one of the most unsettling female perpetrators of the early seasons, but no matter how bad she is the episode is far from that. The complete opposite.
The production values are still fully professional, the slickness and subtly gritty style still remaining. The music is sparingly used and is haunting and thankfully non-overwrought. The direction shows some nice tension in the legal scenes. The script is well balanced, taut and intelligent, and handles complex themes tactfully yet with unyielding grit.
Moreover, "Bad Girl" has a compelling and clever story that delivers on plenty of unexpected and plausible twists and turns. Also excelling in raising uncompromisingly but also sensitively intriguing questions regarding the death penalty (again showing both sides of for and against and equally strongly) and whether the perpetrator really has changed. This was done with tact and edge.
Did also love Briscoe's role, his subplot isn't soapy and was very illuminating and heart-tugging. Jerry Orbach, once again showing how good he was at conflicted anguish, stands out of the regulars and Isabel Gillies is a chilling revelation as a reprehensible character.
Overall, brilliant. 10/10.