Shall never forget my first viewing of "Dominance" some years ago and equally shall never forget being very disturbed by it, in a way that was in no way expected. The subject alone is enough to make the stomach churn and on my first watch the execution equally shocked (even more so actually), while in no way undermining the episode's brilliance. If anything, it is the subject and how "Dominance" executed it that made it stand out amongst the rest of Season 4's episodes.
On my couple of repeat viewings, "Dominance" still has its shock value and actually through older eyes it struck me as more disturbing than on first watch. It is one of the best episodes of Season 4 and of the early seasons, and as far as Season 4 goes (in a season full of episodes that hit hard atmospherically and emotionally for various reasons) it is a very strong contender for the most shocking and certainly the most twisted. It is one of those once seen, never forgotten episodes and is not for the faint hearted, but has enough rewatch value because everything is done so brilliantly.
"Dominance" does everything right. As always, it's a slickly made episode, the editing especially having come on quite a bit from when the show first started (never was it a problem but it got more fluid with each episode up to this stage). The episode is also interesting for having more locations than usual up to this point of the show's run. The music is sparingly used and never seemed melodramatic, the theme tune easy to remember as usual. The direction is sympathetic enough without being too low key on the whole.
The script is hard-boiled and tense while also thought-provoking and not sleazy. The story and its atmosphere are what make "Dominance" stand out. With it having one of the show's highest body counts, not many 'Special Victims Unit' episodes started with a quite horrific quadruple murder (at this point of the show's run, this was quite unique) and a truly twisted modus operandi (one of the show's most twisted), this is one shock to the system. One does expect to be disturbed from reading the synopsis but, with the responsible being one of the early seasons' most sadistic and one of the show's and franchise's most frightning relationships, being this shocked was not as expected.
In "Dominance", one may guess some of the truth later on, did actually have some inkling of the responsible's identity halfway through, but not this level of depravity that is really quite chilling at the end. All handled in an intelligent, creepy and suspenseful way. The team character writing, especially for Fin, and interaction are spot on and the episode contains one of the show's most dysfunctional ever families. The acting is great from all, the regulars are all dead on and Ian Somerhalder is particularly unnerving.
Concluding, brilliant episode. 10/10
On my couple of repeat viewings, "Dominance" still has its shock value and actually through older eyes it struck me as more disturbing than on first watch. It is one of the best episodes of Season 4 and of the early seasons, and as far as Season 4 goes (in a season full of episodes that hit hard atmospherically and emotionally for various reasons) it is a very strong contender for the most shocking and certainly the most twisted. It is one of those once seen, never forgotten episodes and is not for the faint hearted, but has enough rewatch value because everything is done so brilliantly.
"Dominance" does everything right. As always, it's a slickly made episode, the editing especially having come on quite a bit from when the show first started (never was it a problem but it got more fluid with each episode up to this stage). The episode is also interesting for having more locations than usual up to this point of the show's run. The music is sparingly used and never seemed melodramatic, the theme tune easy to remember as usual. The direction is sympathetic enough without being too low key on the whole.
The script is hard-boiled and tense while also thought-provoking and not sleazy. The story and its atmosphere are what make "Dominance" stand out. With it having one of the show's highest body counts, not many 'Special Victims Unit' episodes started with a quite horrific quadruple murder (at this point of the show's run, this was quite unique) and a truly twisted modus operandi (one of the show's most twisted), this is one shock to the system. One does expect to be disturbed from reading the synopsis but, with the responsible being one of the early seasons' most sadistic and one of the show's and franchise's most frightning relationships, being this shocked was not as expected.
In "Dominance", one may guess some of the truth later on, did actually have some inkling of the responsible's identity halfway through, but not this level of depravity that is really quite chilling at the end. All handled in an intelligent, creepy and suspenseful way. The team character writing, especially for Fin, and interaction are spot on and the episode contains one of the show's most dysfunctional ever families. The acting is great from all, the regulars are all dead on and Ian Somerhalder is particularly unnerving.
Concluding, brilliant episode. 10/10
