Sarah Hyland in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999)

Yeah, I've gone two days without sleep... only thing I murdered at the end of it was my pillow.

I knew a cop who worked double homicide for 41 hours straight, went home and went to bed. He had an asthma attack and reached for his inhaler, but he grabbed his service revolver instead. He put it in his mouth and blew his brains out.

Mariska Hargitay and Gabriela Modorcea in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999)

Christopher Meloni

Mariska Hargitay

Richard Belzer

Charley Davis

The death of a teenage mathematics prodigy sheds light on some disturbing and unhealthy practices taking place among a group of competitive students at a prestigious academy.

Peter Leto

Hothouse

In the hothouse

&quot;Hothouse&quot; stayed in my mind for a long while on first watch, namely because of one scene (one of the best ones of the season) and Sarah Hyland&apos;s performance. Also that it was one of not enough Season 10 episodes to focus primarily on the case and in delving into the mind of the character it centres around rather than going into soap opera melodrama and having too many behaviours and decisions that frustrate and distract.

It still is a great episode. Only five episodes of the mixed to disappointing Season 10 were properly great in my view, with a few more nearly so, and &quot;Hothouse&quot; is one of those great, even outstanding, episodes. What stood out as particularly good still sticks out and there is very little to criticise, only one really and it was one that was a common major problem with Season 10. That fortunately is vastly outweighed by everything else being so brilliantly done.

Am going to get that not so good thing out of the way first. It is good that Greylek&apos;s role isn&apos;t massive here, but that is not enough to disguise that she has no personality whatsoever and is the kind of DA that one wonders how they even got the job in the first place. She is also very unsympathetic and treats a troubled teen as if she is a monster, the actions are monstrous but the person behind them isn&apos;t really when you take into account the circumstances.

That is pretty much it with the not so good. Hyland&apos;s performance is a marvel, one that ripped my heart out of my chest in its intensity and emotion. She is especially good in the confession scene, which is an unforgettable gut wrenching scene and one of the season&apos;s and mid-seasons period&apos;s (for the show) best. Her outburst has the shock factor. Misha Kuznetsov is unsettling.

On a visual level, the episode is solid and the intimacy of the photography doesn&apos;t get static or too filmed play-like. The music when used is not too over-emphatic and has a melancholic edge that is quite haunting. The direction is sympathetic enough without being leaden, while having enough momentum to make the drama sing in its atmosphere. The script is taut and thought-provoking.

Much of me felt for Hyland&apos;s character, her actions are uncondonable but the truth of what drove her to it was upsetting and being someone who tried to achieve a lot and pushed myself in school it is always disturbing to see that that mentality can push even students over the edge in such a way. She is actually not the character one hates at the end of the episode. The story is very sad and anger-inducing, in a good way and in a way that chilled me and brought tears to the eyes.

Concluding, absolutely great and proof that Season 10 was capable of greatness. 9/10.

Law &amp; Order: Special Victims Unit: Hothouse

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTBkY2ZjYTgtNjM4Zi00NTg3LWI2Y2ItNGNkYmUwZjkzNzUyXkEyXkFqcGdeQVRoaXJkUGFydHlJbmdlc3Rpb25Xb3JrZmxvdw@@._V1_.jpg

"Hothouse" stayed in my mind for a long while on first watch, namely because of one scene (one of the best ones of the season) and Sarah Hyland's performance. Also that it was one of not enough Season 10 episodes to focus primarily on the case and in delving into the mind of the character it centres around rather than going into soap opera melodrama and having too many behaviours and decisions that frustrate and distract.

It still is a great episode. Only five episodes of the mixed to disappointing Season 10 were properly great in my view, with a few more nearly so, and "Hothouse" is one of those great, even outstanding, episodes. What stood out as particularly good still sticks out and there is very little to criticise, only one really and it was one that was a common major problem with Season 10. That fortunately is vastly outweighed by everything else being so brilliantly done.

Am going to get that not so good thing out of the way first. It is good that Greylek's role isn't massive here, but that is not enough to disguise that she has no personality whatsoever and is the kind of DA that one wonders how they even got the job in the first place. She is also very unsympathetic and treats a troubled teen as if she is a monster, the actions are monstrous but the person behind them isn't really when you take into account the circumstances.

That is pretty much it with the not so good. Hyland's performance is a marvel, one that ripped my heart out of my chest in its intensity and emotion. She is especially good in the confession scene, which is an unforgettable gut wrenching scene and one of the season's and mid-seasons period's (for the show) best. Her outburst has the shock factor. Misha Kuznetsov is unsettling.

On a visual level, the episode is solid and the intimacy of the photography doesn't get static or too filmed play-like. The music when used is not too over-emphatic and has a melancholic edge that is quite haunting. The direction is sympathetic enough without being leaden, while having enough momentum to make the drama sing in its atmosphere. The script is taut and thought-provoking.

Much of me felt for Hyland's character, her actions are uncondonable but the truth of what drove her to it was upsetting and being someone who tried to achieve a lot and pushed myself in school it is always disturbing to see that that mentality can push even students over the edge in such a way. She is actually not the character one hates at the end of the episode. The story is very sad and anger-inducing, in a good way and in a way that chilled me and brought tears to the eyes.

Concluding, absolutely great and proof that Season 10 was capable of greatness. 9/10.

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