'Law and Order: Special Victims Unit' did vary when it came to character studies or when primarily focusing on one character. This is particularly true with Stabler, the earlier ones were intense, moving and insightful but the more Stabler started to unravel and crack under pressure some of the writing got soapy and took over the case too much. Sonya Paxton is one of the love her or hate her characters, personally liked her while understanding why others don't.
"Solitary" is the third episode of Season 11, which started off surprisingly well with the previous two episodes despite reservations. To me, this was on the uneven side and weaker than the previous two. Some good ideas here, a few done quite well, and nice character writing and moments, but the episode doesn't quite come together as an overall whole and felt disjointed. That is not to say that "Solitary" is bad, it absolutely isn't. Just that it could have been better.
Am going to start with the good. The production values continue to be slick and has a nice grit to it, it is very intimate too but not too much so that it becomes claustrophobic. The music doesn't overbear and is not overused. The direction keeps things moving well while letting the drama breathe. The script is tight and thought provoking enough. The acting is excellent, with a powerfully intense performance from Christopher Meloni and Christine Lahti continues to be both entertaining and headstrong. Great chemistry between the two of them. Stephen Rea gives a very compelling and affecting guest turn, despite his overreaction that caused Stabler's situation part of me felt bad for him.
It was absolutely great to see Munch back, after missing him in the previous two episodes, and he offers a strong perspective worth pondering on and should have been respected more as well as his usual dry humour. Also love the chemistry between Stabler and Paxton, the tension is not over-baked and has intensity and is quite fun to watch. My opinion of Paxton is much higher now than it was on my first watch, she comes over as refreshing and while she is pushy and at times rude her viewpoints have been understandable here and in the previous two episodes (more so than the SVU). She has some nice development, instead of being the stock opposition.
Having said all of this, "Solitary" feels disjointed. Feeling like two cases in one, and one is much stronger than the other. Nowhere near enough is done with the initial crime which is sidelined and quite forgettable. The second, which dominates the episode, is absorbing and has some nice tension, but the truly unprofessional behaviour of the detectives (especially Stabler with his too drastic conclusion jumping without evidence and going over the top in how he deals with it) spoils it. While it has harrowing moments, the solitary confinement subplot was where the episode was at its least interesting, feeling drawn out with not much insightful to say and Stabler's unhinging happens too quickly.
Very like the previous two episodes, the ending is dramatically forced and comes over as wrong morally. Olivia is underused and has little presence due to her being too toned down.
Concluding, has a lot to like but uneven and doesn't quite come together. 6/10.
"Solitary" is the third episode of Season 11, which started off surprisingly well with the previous two episodes despite reservations. To me, this was on the uneven side and weaker than the previous two. Some good ideas here, a few done quite well, and nice character writing and moments, but the episode doesn't quite come together as an overall whole and felt disjointed. That is not to say that "Solitary" is bad, it absolutely isn't. Just that it could have been better.
Am going to start with the good. The production values continue to be slick and has a nice grit to it, it is very intimate too but not too much so that it becomes claustrophobic. The music doesn't overbear and is not overused. The direction keeps things moving well while letting the drama breathe. The script is tight and thought provoking enough. The acting is excellent, with a powerfully intense performance from Christopher Meloni and Christine Lahti continues to be both entertaining and headstrong. Great chemistry between the two of them. Stephen Rea gives a very compelling and affecting guest turn, despite his overreaction that caused Stabler's situation part of me felt bad for him.
It was absolutely great to see Munch back, after missing him in the previous two episodes, and he offers a strong perspective worth pondering on and should have been respected more as well as his usual dry humour. Also love the chemistry between Stabler and Paxton, the tension is not over-baked and has intensity and is quite fun to watch. My opinion of Paxton is much higher now than it was on my first watch, she comes over as refreshing and while she is pushy and at times rude her viewpoints have been understandable here and in the previous two episodes (more so than the SVU). She has some nice development, instead of being the stock opposition.
Having said all of this, "Solitary" feels disjointed. Feeling like two cases in one, and one is much stronger than the other. Nowhere near enough is done with the initial crime which is sidelined and quite forgettable. The second, which dominates the episode, is absorbing and has some nice tension, but the truly unprofessional behaviour of the detectives (especially Stabler with his too drastic conclusion jumping without evidence and going over the top in how he deals with it) spoils it. While it has harrowing moments, the solitary confinement subplot was where the episode was at its least interesting, feeling drawn out with not much insightful to say and Stabler's unhinging happens too quickly.
Very like the previous two episodes, the ending is dramatically forced and comes over as wrong morally. Olivia is underused and has little presence due to her being too toned down.
Concluding, has a lot to like but uneven and doesn't quite come together. 6/10.