On my recent re-watch of "Conscience", having not watched it for a while due to the later seasons being aired more frequently, it was an episode that made me think more than all my previous viewings as well as moved and shocked me more. It always did strike me as an extremely good and thought-provoking episode with interesting supporting characters and a very well crafted story. It always has stuck with me, if not quite as much as "Scavenger".
"Conscience" still holds up brilliantly and is even better as an episode today. More things in fact are more noticeable today than they were on previous watches, and everything that worked so wonderfully before are even more impressive today. It still is thought-provoking (especially in the courtroom scenes), shocking (including a major event that puts a new slant on things) and moving. Also saw one character and his way of thinking in that shocking event in a different light.
There are some truly excellent guest supporting performances for one thing. Jordan Garrett plays one seriously disturbed kid very unsettlingly. Even better is Kyle MacLachlan (in his first, and better, of two 'Special Victims Unit' appearances), for me his performance is one of the best supporting performances of the season as a character that has one constantly switching from feeling sympathy for to hating.
Can't fault any of the regulars, with an individual standout being Christopher Meloni in the aftermath of the shocking events in the courthouse (where it is obvious how much it shook him). It is a beautifully scripted episode, with Novak's closing argument summing up the case and its dilemmas so well. There is a lot of talk, expectedly, but to me it never felt long-winded.
While the story is always absorbing throughout, it is particularly good from the courthouse events onwards, becoming darker. "Conscience" is shot with the right amount of intimacy without being claustrophobic and that the editing has become increasingly tighter over-time has been great too. Nice use of locations too. The music doesn't get over-scored or overwrought, even in the more dramatic revelation moments. The direction doesn't try to do too much and is understated but never flat or unsure.
Summing up, wonderful and one of the season's best. 10/10
"Conscience" still holds up brilliantly and is even better as an episode today. More things in fact are more noticeable today than they were on previous watches, and everything that worked so wonderfully before are even more impressive today. It still is thought-provoking (especially in the courtroom scenes), shocking (including a major event that puts a new slant on things) and moving. Also saw one character and his way of thinking in that shocking event in a different light.
There are some truly excellent guest supporting performances for one thing. Jordan Garrett plays one seriously disturbed kid very unsettlingly. Even better is Kyle MacLachlan (in his first, and better, of two 'Special Victims Unit' appearances), for me his performance is one of the best supporting performances of the season as a character that has one constantly switching from feeling sympathy for to hating.
Can't fault any of the regulars, with an individual standout being Christopher Meloni in the aftermath of the shocking events in the courthouse (where it is obvious how much it shook him). It is a beautifully scripted episode, with Novak's closing argument summing up the case and its dilemmas so well. There is a lot of talk, expectedly, but to me it never felt long-winded.
While the story is always absorbing throughout, it is particularly good from the courthouse events onwards, becoming darker. "Conscience" is shot with the right amount of intimacy without being claustrophobic and that the editing has become increasingly tighter over-time has been great too. Nice use of locations too. The music doesn't get over-scored or overwrought, even in the more dramatic revelation moments. The direction doesn't try to do too much and is understated but never flat or unsure.
Summing up, wonderful and one of the season's best. 10/10