Furthermore, 'Contagious' is well made, intimately photographed and slick with no signs of under-budget or anything.

Love Stabler and Olivia's chemistry and it is very clear that she cares for him. It was good and very tactful to see the subject told from a non-biased point of view, where everybody's remorse and pain is noted and felt deeply. Stabler's subplot is equally powerful and realistic, showing what stress can do in such a difficult job and with an increasingly difficult family situation to cope with as well without being too soap operatic or dominating too much. The case is gripping and hard-hitting emotionally, that not only shows the devastating after effects of child/sexual abuse but also having much to say about how difficult it is to prosecute when the real truth comes out and how too quickly we judge people. It was very interesting seeing Daniel Hugh Kelly playing a character that one doesn't actually hate for once and Kelly plays him very well. Especially from Christopher Meloni, in an intense yet also heartfelt performance, and heart-wrenching McCurdy. Season 6 of 'Special Victims Unit' was the most consistent, certainly the least bumpy, of the Season 6s of it, the original 'Law and Order' and 'Criminal Intent' and 'Contagious' is this close to being one of the best episodes. Due to having more to appreciate and due to taking more in of what the episode has to say about a very difficult subject that it explores absolutely beautifully. It's still thought-provoking, shocking and very moving with terrific performances and it's one of those episodes that has gotten better overtime. It always struck me as a wonderful episode and one that does almost everything right. 'Contagious' still held up on my recent rewatch. All those feelings were present in subsequent rewatches whenever the season aired (with 'Law and Order: Special Victims Unit', which overtime has actually grown on me as a show but has for a while been a case of the earlier seasons being a lot better than the later ones, being the show often watched on weekday nights). Was very captivated by Jennette McCurdy and it left me thinking hard. On my first watch of 'Contagious' did get me emotionally and had the shock factor.

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