Philadelphia

'Law and Order: Special Victims Unit' varied when it came to balancing cases with personal life subplots. There have been many cases of both the case and personal life subplots being equally compelling and balanced and being illuminating for the character(s) it centres round. There are also just as many cases of the personal life subplots getting in the way of the case or dominating too much and being soapy. On first watch, "Philadelphia" was a mix of all those things.

Giving it a few more rewatches over time when 'Special Victims Unit' airs every evening (often as a triple or quadruple bill), "Philadelphia" is one of those episodes that got better with each viewing and is a lot better than initially remembered. Especially everything with Olivia. It is not one of my favourite episodes overall of 'Special Victims Unit', but it is one of Season 8's best episodes and when it comes to the Stabler and Olivia partnership "Philadelphia" is one of the more satisfying ones of the season.

"Philadelphia" is excellent in nearly all areas. It is shot with the right amount of intimacy without being claustrophobic and that the editing has become increasingly tighter over-time has been great too. Nice use of locations too. The music doesn't get over-scored or overwrought, even in the more dramatic revelation moments. The direction doesn't try to do too much and is understated but never flat or unsure.

The performances are impeccable, especially that of Mariska Hargitay who does vulnerability so well. Absolutely adored the chemistry between Olivia and Stabler, those who ship their partnership will be in heaven. Just love how sympathetic and supportive Stabler was towards her, very different to how they behaved towards each other in the episodes between "Fault" and this, and their poignant scene in the car is one of their finest moments.

Moreover, Olivia's personal life subplot while featuring heavily works remarkably well (a lot more so than initially remembered) and has vast emotional impact. It is also illuminating character development for Olivia and wasn't too soapy, certainly not to the extent that Stabler's personal life was in Season 7.

While the case is not focused as heavily upon or as memorable (quite), it is still very compelling and tense. The script is taut and thoughtful, with the psychological scenes being insightful and seamlessly interwoven with the rest of the story. Loved the insight into Stabler and Olivia's perspectives.

Only one thing wasn't quite right, Cragen's shocked reaction at the end didn't really ring true all that much considering that the closeness between Stabler and Olivia was quite obvious actually since "Fault" (despite being apart for the first quarter of the season).

Concluding, great. 9/10.

I didn't like Simon from the start so on that front, this episode was fine. His story went on a little long, but came to a definitive end.

But the way Olivia acts and the way she treats Cragen is absolutely ridiculous. She shows no respect for him and does whatever she wants. Cragen even tells both her and Stabler that he has stuck his neck out for them many times. Neither one of them says a word.

The beginning of a very slippery slope for Olivia.

This SVU has Olivia Benson meeting the half brother she never knew she had through one of tose ancestry websites where you send a sample DNA in so your background can be traced.

As we know Olivia was the result of a rape that happened to her mother. So when she meets Michael Weston she finds he's in a jackpot over in New Jersey over a sex crime. In all the episodes Weston appears in he's always in some kind of jackpot, SVU viewer are always left with the question is it his nature? New Jersey police captain Kim Delaney takes a personal interest in him.

In the meantime the squad is investigating the kidnapping and forcible sodomizing of men. When they do capture the perpetrator he has one sad case to tell.

Olivia does indeed have a family.