Anything race related is covered and depicted a lot, but that is in no way a bad thing. Racism, a major issue for decades, is a very brave and difficult topic. It also is a very important thing to address and explore and today it maybe should be addressed more with it being just as bad. A lot of admiration would have been had for even tackling the subject regardless of the execution, it being a subject that has been tackled variably on both film and television.
Despite every previous season of 'Law and Order' having at least one race-related episode, which goes to show how relevant it was/is and how big a problem it was and still is, it is a topic that warrants a lot of discussion, awareness raised and searching for ways to decrease it. Season 13's "Suicide Box" does a generally very good job with the topic, though there are other episodes of 'Law and Order' that handle it even more powerfully, namely Season 4's "Profile" and Season 5's "Rage".
Like quite a number of 'Law and Order' episodes, the second half is better than the first. The early portions of the episode are well done but are on the ordinary side. Elisabeth Rohm lacks personality as Southerlyn and has seldom looked comfortable.
It is agreed that it is very odd that McCoy objected to the defense argument so soon, which is pretty much the equivalent of not giving the defense a chance.
However, a lot is great here. Jerry Orbach and Jesse L Martin are typically great and have always loved their pairing, while Sam Waterston does authority and cunning so well. There are unsettling performances from Orie Faida Lampley and particularly Chad Tukker. His actions are uncondonable but the circumstances are pretty heart-breaking.
The production values as ever have slickness and grit, with an intimacy without being claustrophobic. The music has presence when it's used but does so without being intrusive, some of it is quite haunting too. The direction is also understated but the tension never slips, the second half being full of it. Script is taut and intelligent, while the story is lean, intense and emotional. Very little overwrought-ness or no preachiness, not easy with this topic to do.
Overall, very good. 8/10.
Despite every previous season of 'Law and Order' having at least one race-related episode, which goes to show how relevant it was/is and how big a problem it was and still is, it is a topic that warrants a lot of discussion, awareness raised and searching for ways to decrease it. Season 13's "Suicide Box" does a generally very good job with the topic, though there are other episodes of 'Law and Order' that handle it even more powerfully, namely Season 4's "Profile" and Season 5's "Rage".
Like quite a number of 'Law and Order' episodes, the second half is better than the first. The early portions of the episode are well done but are on the ordinary side. Elisabeth Rohm lacks personality as Southerlyn and has seldom looked comfortable.
It is agreed that it is very odd that McCoy objected to the defense argument so soon, which is pretty much the equivalent of not giving the defense a chance.
However, a lot is great here. Jerry Orbach and Jesse L Martin are typically great and have always loved their pairing, while Sam Waterston does authority and cunning so well. There are unsettling performances from Orie Faida Lampley and particularly Chad Tukker. His actions are uncondonable but the circumstances are pretty heart-breaking.
The production values as ever have slickness and grit, with an intimacy without being claustrophobic. The music has presence when it's used but does so without being intrusive, some of it is quite haunting too. The direction is also understated but the tension never slips, the second half being full of it. Script is taut and intelligent, while the story is lean, intense and emotional. Very little overwrought-ness or no preachiness, not easy with this topic to do.
Overall, very good. 8/10.
