While a little disappointed in Season 3's first episode "Skin Deep", being slightly bland and over-obvious at first but still pretty solid stuff. Lifted by its much stronger second half and one particularly great performance (Lorraine Toussaint). Season 3 was not a consistent-level one, it is rare for any episode for anything to be consistently great or the opposite but it was always worth watching. Just like its previous two seasons and its best episodes were pretty brilliant. Again, like Seasons 1 and 2.
"Conspiracy" sees Season 3 kick into gear in an episode as good as the best of the previous two seasons. It is a great episode, a great representation of what prime-'Law and Order' was best at and one of the best of the third season. Have always admired it when the show tackled particularly heavy themes and had moral dilemmas, as well as having the ripped from the headlines kind of cases. "Conspiracy's" themes and subject were among the heaviest of Season 3 and of the early seasons and among the most controversial, and they are handled extremely well as are the moral dilemmas the characters face.
It is a very complex case and perhaps did get a bit too over-complicated later on, but there is not really anything wrong here in my view (it may not be true for others though) and instead so much to admire.
The episode is not an easy watch and has an uncompromising approach, but that is a good thing. The themes (race, politics, reasonable doubt) and concept are heavy and need a kind of execution that takes no prisoners. The story is harrowing and has a lot of tension when the case goes to trial, it's done very seriously but doesn't get overly so that it becomes dreary. It is so easy for such difficult and still relevant themes to be dealt with heavy-handedly, but actually to me they were done in a way that was tactful and not near as one-sided or judgmental as they could easily have been. With the episode having that kind of story. The politics are not laid on too thick and didn't go over my head that much, while all the legal scenes are edge of the seat and don't feel unrealistic.
Much of the dialogue is some of the best of the season, hard-boiled, intelligent, tight, hard-hitting and complex. The investigative parts with the police are intriguing and have a much tighter pace and more surprises than the first half of the previous episode "Skin Deep", nothing is too ordinary here and the tension is there from the start in a well staged opening and builds. Do agree that the calling out of Koblin's charges scene really haunts the mind. One also thinks long and hard, just like the lawyers and jury, as to whether Koblin is guilty or not. The ending is one of those open to interpretation ones, but it is one of those cases that in my mind calls for that kind of ending.
All the acting is excellent, particularly from Michael Moriarty and Richard Brooks while Jeff Gendelman creates genuine unease expertly. The character interaction is very well handled too, Robinette has great moments here. "Conspiracy" is made slickly and the music is unobtrusive while helping give big moments their impact. The direction is alert enough while not rushing through, letting the tension of the courtroom parts sizzle such as with Otis.
Overall, great episode and an improvement over the previous one. 9/10
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