Jack McCoy was a very interesting and commanding character once he fully settled and his personality appealed more, was a bit mixed on him in some of the first half of Season 5 but since then it is not hard to see why he went to be one of the 'Law and Order' franchise's most longest serving characters. It is always nice to have a change of pace once in a while, and "Trophy" provides that with a case that centres heavily around McCoy's personal life and past.
Something that was handled extremely well, in for me an episode that is among the best of the first half of Season 6. While there were even better episodes before and since in the season, "Trophy" is infinitely better than the previous three episodes, which were three disappointments in a row. Is "Trophy" a perfect episode? Not quite. Is it great? Oh yes. For me it is the best 'Law and Order' episode since "Angel" and is possibly even better than that.
Will start off with mentioning the one problem had with the episode, regarding some logic issue. Realistically considering that her relationship with McCoy is here professional and personal, Kincaid would not have been allowed to prosecute due to bias.
"Trophy" is never less than great everywhere else. There is great acting from Sam Waterston and Jill Hennessy, unsurprisingly so. Waterston was always reliable, even in the early period of Season 5 when McCoy was not so easy to warm to, and Hennessy is one of the actors that should have lasted longer on the show as Kincaid was a good character (she was professional and intelligent with great chemistry with McCoy and when she opposed something it was easy to see her point of view, such as her stance on the death penalty in "Savages"). Laila Robbins is both alluring and calculating, but the acting honours indeed go to a truly chilling Isiah Whitlock Jr.
Moreover the case keeps one guessing from the get go and is twisty enough without being confusing or over-loaded. Despite the situation being very bleak, it was very easy for me to root for McCoy and for him to get out of a seemingly hopeless situation. "Trophy" is tautly and intelligently scripted, especially later on. It was very fascinating to see more of McCoy's personal life revealed and for it to play a major and crucial role in the case, in a nice change from the "ripped from the headlines" stories in the previous episodes.
Production values are still slick and suitably gritty (without being too heavy in it). The music is not too melodramatic and is not used too much, even not being too manipulative in revelations. The direction is accomodating yet with momentum.
Altogether, absolutely excellent. 9/10