After a solid Season 1, there were high hopes on first watch for Season 2 and high expectations on the most part were very much met. That opinion holds up still now. Despite it going through a lot of changes, that must have caused a little unsettlement behind the scenes, the season opener episode "Wrong is Right" was very solid and deals very well with the numerous firsts the show underwent at this point of its run, which can't have been easy.
Season 2's second episode "Honor" is just as strong and is a very good episode in its own right. Actually think that it is a better second Season 2 episode than the original 'Law and Order's' ("The Wages of Love", still a good episode), which also followed on from an episode with just as many changes but didn't feel as settled. In my view though there are better 'Special Victims Unit' episodes and better episodes in the season itself too, which just goes to show considering to me this is still a very episode how great the superior episodes are.
Will agree that the ending is predictable, will admit that it was not too hard to predict halfway through. Agree too that the team showed more professionalism in a vast majority of previous episodes' climaxes.
The father also is not written in the most subtle of ways, in fact he is the person one dislikes quite intensely from the very start.
However, as ever "Honor" looks slick and stylish, with again a sharper look compared to the previous season. The music lets the dialogue properly speak and when it is used it doesn't come over as melodramatic or obvious. The writing throughout is full of intelligence that makes one think and is tautly structured.
Furthermore, "Honor's" story is absorbing, especially the first half which is actually pretty brilliant, and definitely has the shock factor, more so than most of the Season 1 episodes have. One doesn't need to have been in the situation the victim went through and had the family problems to be shocked and relate to what happened.
All the performances are very good, regulars and guest stars. The regulars are all strong, and Marshall Manesh does a great job making his character wholly hateable.
Concluding, very good once again. 8/10