"Witness" left a big impression on me when younger, it was not an easy watch but was very moving and really made me think about the topic conveyed. 'Law and Order: Special Victims Unit' covered a lot of very difficult subjects, some familiar and some not so familiar, and in the early seasons it dealt with them extremely well and uncompromisingly. It varied in the mid-later seasons. The subject here was new to me and something not handled before in the show.
Although the episode did laudably with what is shown and it is appropriately harrowing, it could have handled it better at the same time. "Witness" is a good and admirable episode and really appreciated what it tried to do, but it is also a somewhat uneven one. Which is the biggest danger of having more than one story in one episode and trying to cram in a lot, something that Season 11 did a fair bit with variable success. Luckily, "Witness" succeeded more than it failed.
The best aspect is the performance of Saidah Arrika Ekulona, which is absolutely fantastic and so powerful. Her character is one of the most interesting and rootable supporting characters of the show in a long time and one of the witnesses that is immediately impossible to not feel for once it is revealed what she went through (which shocks, disgusts and moves). One of the best scenes of Season 11 is that of her testimony, which is heart-wrenching and one of the few scenes of the season to make me cry my eyes out. Diora Baird plays one of those characters that one is not sure about in regard to whether to believe her but in the end what happens is saddening and anger-inducing, the outcome of her story wrenches the gut too.
Production values are still slick and suitably gritty (without being too heavy in it). The music is not too melodramatic and is not used too much, even not being too manipulative in revelations. The script is taut, not too talky or flowery and makes one think. It has grit too and it doesn't feel trivialised. The script isn't perfect, but is generally thoughtful and not too heavy on the talk or indulgent. The story also isn't perfect, but is tightly paced and both stories are both harrowing and poignant. The acting from the regulars is very good, with Stephanie March being outstanding in the second half and it is sad saying goodbye to her for a second time. The ending resonates, it was good for the teamwork to not be unbalanced and that one doesn't have to worry about unprofessionalism and exaggerated flaws.
For all those great things, "Witness" isn't perfect. Some of the story involving the atrocties in the Congo makes its points too heavily, which made some of the latter stages on the heavy handed and almost sermonising side. The episode does feel like two stories in one and the gear change from one to the other is not as smooth as it could have been (too much of a disjoint), but at least these two stories are actually related rather than being two separate ones.
Didn't buy Olivia being at the victim's side in such close contact, one that was dying from one of the most contagious diseases known to man.
Overall, good but not great. 7/10.