On first watch, "Mama" stood out. Luckily, in this case it was for the right reasons (that's not been the case for a number of episodes from Season 19). The subject is one of the most disturbing, a very strong contender for the most, and on my first watch it was handled in a pull no punches and moving manner with only a couple of things that could have been better. It is also a subject that resonates with me, with a close family relation being in a care home and my first watch of the episode was around the time she was first admitted.
"Mama", the last good episode of the season before the very weak next two episodes, was every bit as very good on rewatch. Perhaps in fact even better, which has not been said for any of the other Season 19 episodes really. There were only two episodes in my view from the season that rose above good. The other being "Gone Baby Gone", which happened to be one of the episodes where expectations were mixed considering the subject. A couple of things could have been better, but the common problems that Season 19 had were not present here which was a relief.
Starting with what didn't quite work, Olivia's mischaracterising of women in nursing facilities didn't sit right with me, where she was describing them in a way that was a lot more negative than it really was and it came over a bit too generalised as well.
Also felt that more could have been made of the red herring, which is discarded almost as quickly as it was introduced.
However, there are a lot of things that come over extremely well. The production values are still slick and suitably gritty (without being too heavy in it). The music is not too melodramatic and is not used too much, even not being too manipulative in revelations. The direction is sensitive without being too over-deliberate. The script is very thoughtful and tactful, the subject is not trivialised or sugar coated but never did it feel preachy.
Furthermore, the case hit hard and both shocked and moved me, with it being a relatable scenario. Maddie is one of the most rootable victims of Season 19, actually for me the most rootable and one of the few of the season to be so. Also one of the most rootable of the show in quite some time. Fin isn't window dressing and is true to character, tough and amusing at times but also sympathetic. It was nice to see some open issues from previous episodes given closure, such as Fin and Dodds' issues from "Flight Risk". The team work is cohesive and well balanced in focus. The acting is some of the best of Season 19, with a particularly poignant performance from Fionula Flannagan.
Overall, very good. 8/10.
