Alexandra Cabot, beautifully played by Stephanie March in Seasons 1-early Season 5, was a great character once her personality was gotten used to. She was last seen in the truly powerful "Loss", one of the outstanding episodes of Season 5 and among that season's and to me the whole of 'Law and Order: Special Victims Unit's' high points. Especially for her performance in that episode and that hearts ripped into two-worthy ending. Anybody that loves her character will be psyched to see her again in Season 6's "Ghost".
In an episode that has links with "Loss" in terms of story. While not quite as brilliant as that episode, "Ghost" is still great and among the stronger episodes of the second half of a mostly very impressive Season 6. It sounds great on paper and is every bit as much in execution, with almost everything working. With an ending that satisfied more, "Ghost" actually for me would have been a perfect episode and was this close to being. So close.
There are so many great things in "Ghost". It is absolutely wonderful to see Cabot back and "Ghost" doesn't waste her in any way. Quite the opposite, it was actually like she had never left. She and Novak work with each other absolutely beautifully, their dynamic grabs the attention throughout and is not one dimensional. Neither being too perfect straight away or taking too long to respect each other. Novak also had enough of a strong personality by now and had a lot of presence in the courtroom, enough to be Cabot's equal. So there was no feeling of one being more compelling than the other which would have weakened the dynamic.
Luckily, the case is also just right. It has enough twists to satisfy, turns that are not obvious and are plausible. It is also suspenseful enough, helped significantly by a villain that really unnerves and enhances the tension. The script is intelligent, especially later on when things get twistier and creepier.
Furthermore the acting is uniformly excellent, especially from Stephanie March, Diane Neal and a genuinely terrifying Bryan F. O'Byrne. The production values are slick and have a subtle grit, with an intimacy to the photography without being too claustrophobic. The music isn't used too much and doesn't get too melodramatic. The direction is sympathetic but also alert.
Only one aspect disappoints a little and felt oddly unsatisfying. "Ghost" could have done better at the end at tying up any previous loose ends, in an ending that was slightly anti-climactic and didn't have quite the same amount of emotional power as the near-unequalled emotional impact of the ending of "Loss".
Concluding, great. 9/10
In an episode that has links with "Loss" in terms of story. While not quite as brilliant as that episode, "Ghost" is still great and among the stronger episodes of the second half of a mostly very impressive Season 6. It sounds great on paper and is every bit as much in execution, with almost everything working. With an ending that satisfied more, "Ghost" actually for me would have been a perfect episode and was this close to being. So close.
There are so many great things in "Ghost". It is absolutely wonderful to see Cabot back and "Ghost" doesn't waste her in any way. Quite the opposite, it was actually like she had never left. She and Novak work with each other absolutely beautifully, their dynamic grabs the attention throughout and is not one dimensional. Neither being too perfect straight away or taking too long to respect each other. Novak also had enough of a strong personality by now and had a lot of presence in the courtroom, enough to be Cabot's equal. So there was no feeling of one being more compelling than the other which would have weakened the dynamic.
Luckily, the case is also just right. It has enough twists to satisfy, turns that are not obvious and are plausible. It is also suspenseful enough, helped significantly by a villain that really unnerves and enhances the tension. The script is intelligent, especially later on when things get twistier and creepier.
Furthermore the acting is uniformly excellent, especially from Stephanie March, Diane Neal and a genuinely terrifying Bryan F. O'Byrne. The production values are slick and have a subtle grit, with an intimacy to the photography without being too claustrophobic. The music isn't used too much and doesn't get too melodramatic. The direction is sympathetic but also alert.
Only one aspect disappoints a little and felt oddly unsatisfying. "Ghost" could have done better at the end at tying up any previous loose ends, in an ending that was slightly anti-climactic and didn't have quite the same amount of emotional power as the near-unequalled emotional impact of the ending of "Loss".
Concluding, great. 9/10