Season 19 started off so well with two excellent episodes, before reaching disappointment with "Lost Boys". Thank goodness that post-"Falling", the season returned to goodness and the rest of it was near-consistently good to brilliant. Did like the idea, a very sad one, of "Falling" quite a bit and Michael Kelly (so good in 'House of Cards') is always worth watching. My feelings on this were mixed on first watch, liking one half but eh on the other.
My feelings on rewatch sadly are pretty much the same. Some 'Law and Order' episodes that weren't so great on first watch did go up in my estimations, was hoping that "Falling" would do so considering the subject but it doesn't. Just wish that one half was a lot stronger and that one major aspect didn't unbalance the episode so badly, which stopped "Falling" from being the potentially great episode it had potential to be. A long way from bad, not great either despite having great elements.
"Falling" has a number of good things. As usual, the production values are solid and the intimacy of the photography doesn't get static or too filmed play-like. The music when used is not too over-emphatic and has a melancholic edge that is quite haunting. The direction is sympathetic enough while also taut.
Moreover, the script challenges enough without being too much of a challenge in terms of understanding what's going on. It is not routine in the policing scenes, showing a real improvement in the dynamic between Lupo and Bernard, and still does have thought probing moments when it comes to court. The story hits hard and is very sad, not too simple or too complicated. Got a lot of respect for McCoy here too in how he deals with Cutter. The acting is very good all round from the regulars and Kelly's performance is powerful.
Really do wish that the second half was better. It has thought probing moments, but it is unbalanced by Cutter's attitude. Actually like Cutter a lot but not here, absolutely agree that he is a complete jerk here for no reason and acts unprofessionally (even more so than in Season 18's "Tango"), particularly towards Sandra.
The second half also suffers from a lack of tension and surprises and do think too that the subject could have been explored more and had more under the surface. The prosecution case is pretty flimsy and Cutter's attitude in regard to the allocution was completely over the top in a too melodramatically written scene.
Concluding, above average but could have been so much better. 6/10.
My feelings on rewatch sadly are pretty much the same. Some 'Law and Order' episodes that weren't so great on first watch did go up in my estimations, was hoping that "Falling" would do so considering the subject but it doesn't. Just wish that one half was a lot stronger and that one major aspect didn't unbalance the episode so badly, which stopped "Falling" from being the potentially great episode it had potential to be. A long way from bad, not great either despite having great elements.
"Falling" has a number of good things. As usual, the production values are solid and the intimacy of the photography doesn't get static or too filmed play-like. The music when used is not too over-emphatic and has a melancholic edge that is quite haunting. The direction is sympathetic enough while also taut.
Moreover, the script challenges enough without being too much of a challenge in terms of understanding what's going on. It is not routine in the policing scenes, showing a real improvement in the dynamic between Lupo and Bernard, and still does have thought probing moments when it comes to court. The story hits hard and is very sad, not too simple or too complicated. Got a lot of respect for McCoy here too in how he deals with Cutter. The acting is very good all round from the regulars and Kelly's performance is powerful.
Really do wish that the second half was better. It has thought probing moments, but it is unbalanced by Cutter's attitude. Actually like Cutter a lot but not here, absolutely agree that he is a complete jerk here for no reason and acts unprofessionally (even more so than in Season 18's "Tango"), particularly towards Sandra.
The second half also suffers from a lack of tension and surprises and do think too that the subject could have been explored more and had more under the surface. The prosecution case is pretty flimsy and Cutter's attitude in regard to the allocution was completely over the top in a too melodramatically written scene.
Concluding, above average but could have been so much better. 6/10.
