Of all the episodes from Season 18 when watching the whole season for the first time some years back, "Darkness" was one of the ones that stuck out to me the most along with "Burn Card". Primarily because of the opening scene and the rescue, if less so the final third (which is usually where 'Law and Order' is particularly good). The previous episode "Called Home" was an encouraging if uneven episode, so was hoping that "Darkness" would be as good on rewatch.
And you know what, it is on the whole and my reaction is more or less fairly similar to first watch. It's not a great or perfect episode and one section is a lot weaker than the rest, but when "Darkness" is at its best it's very good indeed and there are a lot of good things. It continues the encouraging if not entirely settled quality set by "Called Home", which was good to see, if not quite the improvement that was hoped for. Liked the episode, didn't love it.
"Darkness" is slickly made, with a very atmospherically shot and lit opening that really gives off a sense of dread. The music is not used too much and isn't melodramatic when it is and the direction is on the most part assured and has the right amount of momentum at the halfway mark. The script is generally taut, not feeling talky and provokes thought. The story is on the whole very compelling, with an unsettling opening scene and a tense rescue.
Jesse L Martin shows no signs of fatigue as Green and has proven that he is every bit as good as main lead as he as a co-lead. Jeremy Sisto fares well too and certainly has a lot more personality than Cassady (character development-wise he was a lot more interesting). While Martin and Sisto don't scintillate together, they do work well as a team and there is some nice grit and entertainment value to their interactions. Alana De La Garza has a lot more spark here and Linus Roache is fine.
For me though, the final third wasn't as good as everything that came before. The tautness and tension go and it becomes on the dull and predictable side, the truth wasn't that much of a shock.
The writing also isn't as taut and the edge isn't as strong. It isn't disastrous, just that something was missing.
Concluding, solid if uneven second episode. 7/10.
And you know what, it is on the whole and my reaction is more or less fairly similar to first watch. It's not a great or perfect episode and one section is a lot weaker than the rest, but when "Darkness" is at its best it's very good indeed and there are a lot of good things. It continues the encouraging if not entirely settled quality set by "Called Home", which was good to see, if not quite the improvement that was hoped for. Liked the episode, didn't love it.
"Darkness" is slickly made, with a very atmospherically shot and lit opening that really gives off a sense of dread. The music is not used too much and isn't melodramatic when it is and the direction is on the most part assured and has the right amount of momentum at the halfway mark. The script is generally taut, not feeling talky and provokes thought. The story is on the whole very compelling, with an unsettling opening scene and a tense rescue.
Jesse L Martin shows no signs of fatigue as Green and has proven that he is every bit as good as main lead as he as a co-lead. Jeremy Sisto fares well too and certainly has a lot more personality than Cassady (character development-wise he was a lot more interesting). While Martin and Sisto don't scintillate together, they do work well as a team and there is some nice grit and entertainment value to their interactions. Alana De La Garza has a lot more spark here and Linus Roache is fine.
For me though, the final third wasn't as good as everything that came before. The tautness and tension go and it becomes on the dull and predictable side, the truth wasn't that much of a shock.
The writing also isn't as taut and the edge isn't as strong. It isn't disastrous, just that something was missing.
Concluding, solid if uneven second episode. 7/10.
