Season 16's penultimate episode "Hindsight" saw the return of Green's temporary replacement at the end of the previous season Nick Falco. Will admit to not being a fan of Falco in those episodes, feeling that he didn't have much of a personality and that he and Green had little chemistry together (or at least it didn't gel). Did not actually have doubts about the episode being at least good, as the premise was very intriguing and the season was a very good one.
"Hindsight" is a great penultimate episode and a great one for Season 16 too, one of the better ones of its second half and one of the episodes where the first and second halves are as good as each other. It did do a great job too with Falco's character development to the extent of that my perception of him changed. Is it one of the finest episodes of 'Law and Order?' No. Is it a good representation of it? Oh yes, more than that.
A little rushed at the end, but there is very little to fault here.
It is well made, intimately photographed and slick with no signs of under-budget or anything. The music didn't sound melodramatic or too constant and the direction is accomodating while still having pulse.
Script is smart and tautly structured with no extraneous fat and melodramatic soap, easy to do for an episode centered around a very personal story. The story sounds simple to begin with, but quickly becomes one of the season's most complex and twistiest, twisting and turning in ways not expected and not doing so at a dizzying rate. A lot happens but it doesn't feel too much, and there is enough tension to satisfy.
Did like the heavier emphasis on the policing and investigation, and they were very intriguing and taut with an interesting dynamic. Falco's character development, in the one episode of the four he appeared in where he was interesting and rootable, was appreciated and he was in a rootable and tense situation. Of the four episodes, Michael Imperioli gives by far and away his best performance, here showing intensity and a personality. The acting is with no problem.
Overall, great episode. 9/10.