Have very little bad to say about the surprisingly strong (for a stage for quite a number of shows that can be shaky in a couple or more components) but not completely flawless first season of 'Law and Order: Special Victims Unit', or of the previous episodes. "Wanderlust" and "Stocks and Bondage" disappointed, while still being watchable, but the rest of the episodes ranged from good to brilliant and don't consider any of the season's episodes bad.
"The Third Guy" is one of the very good episodes of Season 1. It is not one of the best episodes of the season and not perfect, but there is more good, or shall we say great, than not so good and it feels more like a 'Law and Order: Special Victims Unit' episode than the previous one "Entitled". That was also very good, though felt more like a 'Law and Order' episode with the 'Special Victims Unit' characters guest starring, which for me was not a bad thing necessarily but just a thought.
Regarding "The Third Guy", its only major problem really was that it felt over-stuffed. A lot of characters (a few too many) and a lot going on in a short space of time (so it could have slowed down and been a couple less revelations and developed a little more the crucial ones).
With that being said, it is a very compelling case with nothing being what it seems and with plenty of surprises. The characters may not be rich in development but still intrigue and are well written, one cannot completely hate the responsible. The writing is thought-provoking and taut, with some nice dry humour from Munch that doesn't come over as out of place, and love the chemistry between the regular cast.
Great to see Stabler and Olivia not being underused and seeing more of their chemistry that adds so much to the show's appeal, as well as how the case is solved by sometimes little things pieced together. The whole cast do a fine job (nice to see JK Simmons as Skoda, a recurring character on the original 'Law and Order' around that show's prime period and around the time when this first aired), while the quality of the production values and scoring remain high.
In summary, very good if over-stuffed. 8/10
"The Third Guy" is one of the very good episodes of Season 1. It is not one of the best episodes of the season and not perfect, but there is more good, or shall we say great, than not so good and it feels more like a 'Law and Order: Special Victims Unit' episode than the previous one "Entitled". That was also very good, though felt more like a 'Law and Order' episode with the 'Special Victims Unit' characters guest starring, which for me was not a bad thing necessarily but just a thought.
Regarding "The Third Guy", its only major problem really was that it felt over-stuffed. A lot of characters (a few too many) and a lot going on in a short space of time (so it could have slowed down and been a couple less revelations and developed a little more the crucial ones).
With that being said, it is a very compelling case with nothing being what it seems and with plenty of surprises. The characters may not be rich in development but still intrigue and are well written, one cannot completely hate the responsible. The writing is thought-provoking and taut, with some nice dry humour from Munch that doesn't come over as out of place, and love the chemistry between the regular cast.
Great to see Stabler and Olivia not being underused and seeing more of their chemistry that adds so much to the show's appeal, as well as how the case is solved by sometimes little things pieced together. The whole cast do a fine job (nice to see JK Simmons as Skoda, a recurring character on the original 'Law and Order' around that show's prime period and around the time when this first aired), while the quality of the production values and scoring remain high.
In summary, very good if over-stuffed. 8/10
