The subject matter immediately is enough to grab the attention. It is a very sensitive and difficult topic to discuss, and if anybody has doubts about whether the execution would be tactful enough without being preachy, one-sided and too heavy that is understandable (those are common traps with this kind of topic and similar). Anybody though that has always admired how 'Law and Order' approached tough subjects and how it did so will be intrigued.
"Great Satan" could easily have been preachy and one sided and have seen episodes and films that tackle similar topics or the same and are exactly those two things. Not the case with "Great Satan", which turned out to be enormously absorbing, complex and full of suspense and for me among the best episodes of the season and certainly of the consistently solid first half of it. Yes, terrorism has been covered quite a lot in the franchise but quite variably, they have covered many topics more than once (racism being very common) but that goes to show how important it is to address what is addressed. This was an important and relevant topic at the time and there should be no limit in how often it's covered.
My only real issue here is that the police don't always come over as very smart, especially blaming Sameer for something that was actually their fault.
Everything else is great. As usual for 'Law and Order' and its spin offs, 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 without being leaden.
Furthermore, the writing is thought probing and intriguing. Particularly in the second half. The story absorbs and has a lot of tension and intrigue in the second half. The subject is not easy to pull off, but it does have a harrowing edge at least and has urgency, the relevance of it is scary.
Can't fault the acting, with Ben Youcef absolutely marvellous and manages the difficult task of balancing sympathetic and conniving adeptly. He plays a character who could easily have been a stereotype as is too often the case with terrorist and informant portrayals, but he manages to make Sameer surprisingly complex.
All in all, great. 9/10.