Really enjoyed 'Law and Order: Special Victims Unit' in its early seasons, despite the later season episodes, which to me generally aren't as good but there are still gems, seeming to air more at this present time. Season 2 was on the most part just as good as the first season (which had a high number of very good and above episodes and only two disappointments), and felt more settled generally (or at least settled quicker) than the second season of the original 'Law and Order'.
It was not immune still to disappointments, and for me one of the disappointments was this episode "Asunder". Don't get me wrong, it is still a decent episode and there is a good deal that is done right. It just felt rather bland and to be honest it is not my favourite type of case. It is very difficult to make something interesting out of a "she said, he said" sort of case in my view, and also to do it with tact, and "Asunder" could have done better on this front. Am really hoping that is not being disrespectful.
"Asunder" does do well in a number of things. Have, and never really have done (the odd exception aside), no issue with the production values, as slick as ever. Nor the music, which knows when to stop and when to not be too dramatic, letting the dialogue do all the talking. There is a lot of dialogue, but it doesn't ramble and provokes thought.
The character interaction within the regulars is spot on, Stabler and Olivia's chemistry adds a lot to the show's heart, and they work cohesively as a team. There are intriguing moments in the story, interesting too to see a change of pace as at that point of the show it was a different kind of case, and the acting is solid from all. Jeffries' exit is handled well in one of the more tense scenes of the episodes, though it was inevitable. The friction with the other cops was well done.
On the other hand, part of me felt like there could have been more of that. When it was present, it did give the tension not present enough in the rest of the episode and intrigued. It however did need to play a bigger part in the storyline. In general, the story had its moments but needed more tension and felt too run of the mill and repetitive, not an awful lot exciting here.
Despite being well played, there were far more interesting and better fleshed out guest stars before and especially after this episode. The husband and wife felt too cliched and lacked distinction. More of Munch and Fin would have been nice, when they do appear Munch's dry wit and sarcasm gives "Asunder" welcome levity as usual and it wouldn't have hurt to have had more of it. If this all sounds nit-picky, that's not the intention.
Summing up, not a bad episode at all but a bit disappointing. A lesser Season 2 episode and am not meaning any possible disrespect here. 6/10
