Although the original 'Law and Order' will always be the best of the franchise to me, 'Law and Order: Special Victims Unit' has grown on me re-watching it. Do feel though that the earlier seasons are quite a lot better than the later ones in general (with the odd disappointment here and there), do prefer the writing and felt that the storylines were more interesting and balanced. The later seasons did have some great guest stars though.
The previous 'Law and Order: Special Victims Unit' episodes ranged between very good ("A Single Life") to superb ("Payback"). So it is very sad for me to say that it has its first disappointment with "Wanderlust". Does that mean that it is bad? Of course not. Actually did like a vast majority of things. But there were also a few things that did bother me that should not have been there, which is what is frustrating about "Wanderlust" and especially because none of the previous four episodes have any of the problems.
Will start with the good things. Mostly did like the case. It was gripping, after a great start that does disturb in a way, and did have its fair share of unexpected twists and turns. Including an ending that did satisfy after questioning throughout whether the character in question was innocent or guilty without knowing which. The fighting between Stabler and Benson intrigues and it is good that it is not obvious which side to take, the show in its prime did very well at this.
As always for 'Law and Order: Special Victims Unit', "Wanderlust" is suitably slick and doesn't look too drab, suiting the gritty tone more than convincingly. The taut and intelligent dialogue is allowed to do all the talking and is not drowned out by constant and over-obvious music, which is used sparingly and generally low-key apart from in major revelations. The main theme is not hard to forget.
Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay are still solid as rocks in the lead roles, and they are supported very well by Patricia Richardson and especially Lynn Collins. Lisa Tharps' character's frustration is very easy to relate to and Tharps is careful not to go over the top.
However, was somewhat mixed on Stabler's family scenes. Always good to see some development, but with a difficult scenario they were somewhat irrelevant and added little other than to show why Stabler thinks the way he does here.
Do think too that the writers should have known better than to use the word used to describe an unhealthy interest in children (considered sensitive so that's why not used) and then misuse it, at this point that was uncharacteristically sloppy of them.
My biggest gripe though with "Wanderlust" was with Olivia Benson, she did come over as ignorant and unprofessional when trying to say she's right with no proof and just jumping to conclusions. And usually in the show she's the sympathetic one. Stabler may come over as biased here, but one can actually understand why in a sense and at least he acknowledges it.
Overall, not bad at all but 'Law and Order: Special Victims Unit's' first disappointment. 6/10
The previous 'Law and Order: Special Victims Unit' episodes ranged between very good ("A Single Life") to superb ("Payback"). So it is very sad for me to say that it has its first disappointment with "Wanderlust". Does that mean that it is bad? Of course not. Actually did like a vast majority of things. But there were also a few things that did bother me that should not have been there, which is what is frustrating about "Wanderlust" and especially because none of the previous four episodes have any of the problems.
Will start with the good things. Mostly did like the case. It was gripping, after a great start that does disturb in a way, and did have its fair share of unexpected twists and turns. Including an ending that did satisfy after questioning throughout whether the character in question was innocent or guilty without knowing which. The fighting between Stabler and Benson intrigues and it is good that it is not obvious which side to take, the show in its prime did very well at this.
As always for 'Law and Order: Special Victims Unit', "Wanderlust" is suitably slick and doesn't look too drab, suiting the gritty tone more than convincingly. The taut and intelligent dialogue is allowed to do all the talking and is not drowned out by constant and over-obvious music, which is used sparingly and generally low-key apart from in major revelations. The main theme is not hard to forget.
Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay are still solid as rocks in the lead roles, and they are supported very well by Patricia Richardson and especially Lynn Collins. Lisa Tharps' character's frustration is very easy to relate to and Tharps is careful not to go over the top.
However, was somewhat mixed on Stabler's family scenes. Always good to see some development, but with a difficult scenario they were somewhat irrelevant and added little other than to show why Stabler thinks the way he does here.
Do think too that the writers should have known better than to use the word used to describe an unhealthy interest in children (considered sensitive so that's why not used) and then misuse it, at this point that was uncharacteristically sloppy of them.
My biggest gripe though with "Wanderlust" was with Olivia Benson, she did come over as ignorant and unprofessional when trying to say she's right with no proof and just jumping to conclusions. And usually in the show she's the sympathetic one. Stabler may come over as biased here, but one can actually understand why in a sense and at least he acknowledges it.
Overall, not bad at all but 'Law and Order: Special Victims Unit's' first disappointment. 6/10
