Decided a while back (three years ago) to review all the episodes of the original 'Law and Order', 'Special Victims Unit' and 'Criminal Intent', being someone who really likes all three shows in their prime/early years. Really loved a lot of the early seasons episodes of all three shows, while also finding all three less consistent later on (with the original not feeling the same post-Briscoe and even began to lose consistency in Season 11, 'Special Victims Unit' was the one that declined the most though).
A lot of tough topics were dealt with in Season 18 and that for "Betrayal" is no exception to this. Mostly they were executed very well indeed and even brilliantly in the best cases, with some quite hard hitting episodes in the season when it found its footing. Very few of them were dull or heavy handed. "Betrayal" is one of the hard hitting episodes and one of the finest examples. To me, it is one of the best episodes of Season 18 and one of the few where there were no real reservations.
Production values continue to remain high, while the direction lets the dramatic intensity of the second half to blister. The music doesn't sound melodramatic and the direction has momentum while also having enough breathing space when necessary. The acting is very good all round, especially in the legal portion. One of the biggest surprises of the episode, and in a good way, was seeing Moira Kelly in a way one has never seen her before and do it so well.
Story is absolutely riveting, pulls no punches and never comes over as too simple or over-complicated. Especially the legal scenes, which have come on a long way since the season first started. The tension and emotion factors are high and a major selling point in "Betrayal" is the truly shocking ending, the most shocking of Season 18. The characters are written well and don't feel like stereotypes. "Betrayal" never comes over as dull and it doesn't feel routine.
Overall, outstanding. 10/10.
A lot of tough topics were dealt with in Season 18 and that for "Betrayal" is no exception to this. Mostly they were executed very well indeed and even brilliantly in the best cases, with some quite hard hitting episodes in the season when it found its footing. Very few of them were dull or heavy handed. "Betrayal" is one of the hard hitting episodes and one of the finest examples. To me, it is one of the best episodes of Season 18 and one of the few where there were no real reservations.
Production values continue to remain high, while the direction lets the dramatic intensity of the second half to blister. The music doesn't sound melodramatic and the direction has momentum while also having enough breathing space when necessary. The acting is very good all round, especially in the legal portion. One of the biggest surprises of the episode, and in a good way, was seeing Moira Kelly in a way one has never seen her before and do it so well.
Story is absolutely riveting, pulls no punches and never comes over as too simple or over-complicated. Especially the legal scenes, which have come on a long way since the season first started. The tension and emotion factors are high and a major selling point in "Betrayal" is the truly shocking ending, the most shocking of Season 18. The characters are written well and don't feel like stereotypes. "Betrayal" never comes over as dull and it doesn't feel routine.
Overall, outstanding. 10/10.