The King Solomon story sums up the case and its moral dilemmas so well. The script is tightly structured and intelligent, conveying a wide range of emotions, especially in the latter stages when the complexity comes in. The direction is sympathetic but also alert.
The music isn't used too much and doesn't get too melodramatic.
The production values are slick and have a subtle grit, with an intimacy to the photography without being too claustrophobic.
This is a subject that is not easy to tackle, the hard-hitting and controversial ones never are (but 'Special Victims Unit' was extremely good at tackling difficult issues in a way that resonates and disturbs), and "Birthright" explores it wonderfully and with full impact. One of the better season openers of the early seasons, and one of the most thought-provoking and poignant. "Birthright" didn't disappoint in a brilliant Season 6 premiere, that sees 'Special Victims Unit' return to form. A kind of story and theme that is vintage 'Special Victims Unit' and what it does well in. And the potential for that to be the case was big, as "Birthright" centres around a great concept and a theme that sparks much debate and still relevant and important today. So there was the hope that "Birthright" would be back to the outstanding quality that 'Law and Order: Special Victims Unit' at its best showed frequently. Despite really liking Season 5 on the whole, it did end disappointingly with its odd final episode.