My overall opinion on "Crashers" on first watch was extremely positive, with the acting immediately standing out as particularly noteworthy. Fairly recently overtime decided to rewatch the whole show and not too long ago completed the final season, and it was an interesting and on the whole very worthwhile experience with a few blips along the way (not unexpected). The subject is not an easy one and while the basic story is not original it did sound really intriguing.
And it was more than intriguing in execution, in one of the best episodes of the second half of Season 20. A vast improvement over the very disappointing previous episode "Brazil". The acting still is one of the biggest plus points and it still is very powerful and thought probing. "Crashers" on rewatch was every bit as good as my first viewing and actually one of not many episodes from Season 20 to be even better. High quality certainly hasn't crashed and even though not innovative perhaps there isn't too much of a running out of ideas feel.
"Crashers" absolutely wows in the acting department. S. Epatha Merkerson has truly shone throughout the season, especially in Van Buren's dealing with the cancer diagnosis, and it is another authoritative and heartfelt performance here. Kathy Baker is also dynamite in a performance that sears in many emotions that are not affected at all. Ben Schnetzer's performance is very nuanced, while Tony Roberts expertly makes one unsure of his guilt. The others are very, very good as well, if not quite as much.
It looks professional and the camerawork is neither overblown or static. The music has a haunting and not too melodramatic presence. The direction keeps things tight while allowing time to breathe. The script is intelligent, layered, lean and provokes a lot of thought. The story is compelling and is intricate without being convoluted, the moral dilemmas of the case are intensely and thoughtfully handled. The themes covered here are familiar but handled in an unyielding but never heavy handed way. The characters are all interesting and what easily could have been stock roles are actually of more than one shade.
Did think that the first quarter was a little slow and not as tight as the rest of the episode, but that is the one far from major nit-pick.
Excellent episode all in all. 9/10.