The story, when it comes to the concept, sounds very been there done that initially, or at least that is the case with the first quarter. There are a good deal of 'Law and Order: Special Victims Unit' episodes, and episodes even in the 'Law and Order' franchise, that have stories and themes done before, but they do something a lot less simple and more complex than it seems with them. They are though themes that are worth addressing and need to be.
"Loophole" mostly executes its story very well. It is an uneven episode and a case of one half being better than the other, but when it is good it is very good indeed. It is not as good as "Infiltrated" and "Burned", but it is leagues better than the underwhelming previous outing "Outsider" and has a lot to recommend. Most of them the usual things and "Loophole" does get better when things become not what they seem initially. So a good episode but not great.
Will start with the not so good things, which is not many things but the not so good things are major quality-wise. The first 15-20 minutes are fairly standard, and while it does hit hard certainly (how could it not do with the subject) it is not much different to other episodes with this theme or similar.
Also felt that the gear change when things turn out to not be what they initially seemed is on the jarring side, making it feel like a different episode in one. Especially with the truth being nearly unrelated.
Fortunately, the rest of "Loophole" is much better, with there being more complexity and more shocks. Have seen criticisms of the episode making it too clear what its point of view on the subject is (primarily in the second half) and for being heavy-handed in doing so. Well, subtlety is not a strong suit sure, but other 'Special Victims Unit' episodes since have fared far worse in this (some from Season 7, such as "Strain" and "Alien" were the same).
Second half actually struck me as very informative and even quite scary. Script is tense, concise and beautifully balanced with no waffle. The performances are very good and more, especially from Mariska Hargitay (apart from the unbelievable fainting) and chilling Ray Wise. "Loophole" 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 accommodating while still having pulse.
In conclusion, good but not great. 7/10.
