"Service" in all honesty was watched with apprehension on first watch. 'Law and Order: Special Victims Unit' generally don't have the best of track records when it comes to cases centered around the military, and this type of case varied in the 'Law and Order' franchise too. It had some potential of being hard hitting and tense, but some of the franchise's military themed episodes have been heavy handed and one sided and with the plot summary there was potential for that to happen too.
On first watch, "Service" surprised me in a good way as it didn't fall into the traps the show's other military themed cases did. On rewatch, it still struck me as a good episode that is somewhere in the high middle category when ranking Season 19 and everything that was good and not so good about it were pretty much the same. Not a 'Special Victims Unit' high point by any stretch but a vast improvement over the underwhelming previous episode "Send in the Clowns".
A lot is done very well. The acting is very good from all, outstanding actually in the case of Marquise Vilson in one of the finest guest turns of the season. He particularly shines agreed when his character is on the witness stand in a powerfully written scene (one of the season's best courtroom scenes). "Service" 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.
The writing doesn't ramble, although as usual there is a lot of dialogue to digest, and really provokes thought. When it comes to the story, "Service" is one of the few military themed stories of the show to explore the subject with tact, no bias while also with enough uncompromising edge. Themes are sensitively and thoughtfully explored and the preconceived notions aspect of the story is not heavy handed or one sided, two things that the other military themed 'Special Victims Unit' episodes make the mistake of being.
It is not perfect having said all of that. The episode overdoes it with Rollins' pushiness and her combative nature, once or twice in the episode is fine but throughout and to the wrong people not so much. Too much of Olivia's dialogue is syrupy and patronising, have really not liked most of her character writing this season, which at its worst has been just as intolerable as her at her worst in Season 18.
Did feel too that it does try to cram in too much and the case was a lot more interesting and tactful than everything with Rollins.
Concluding, good but not great. As far as the franchise's military themed episodes go though, it's better than most. 7/10.
