The idea for the story did fascinate and had the potential of making for an unsettling episode. Will agree though that it did also sound as if 'Law and Order' was running out of ideas, with religion being something re-visited quite a lot in not just the original but also the whole franchise with very varied success. There was the worry of seeing how the subject would be executed. On first watch, "Sects" was very good with lots to recommend though didn't blow my socks off.
"Sects" is another episode of 'Law and Order' that was liked very much on first watch and also liked very much every bit as much on rewatch. Perhaps even better, as it came over this time as more unsettling and the perpetrator burned in the memory even stronger than the first time. The subject intrigued but could have gone either way in story execution, and "Sects" handles the subject unyieldingly but also in enough good taste.
It is at its weakest in the first quarter, which compared to the rest of the episode was on the bland side. Nothing new really and the pacing doesn't immediately come to life too.
Photography while very close up doesn't come over as too static or filmed play-like, while the production values are typically solid and have subtle atmosphere while not being drab and keeping things simple. When the music is used it is haunting and has a melancholic edge that is not overdone. The episode is sympathetically yet uncompromisingly directed and all the performances are very good, Deborah Hedwall's unforgettably chilling performance standing out and David Thornton does smarmy so well.
Writing is thought provoking and suitably gritty, while also not taking itself too seriously. The story could have been too bizarre, heavy handed and sleazy in the wrong hands, but actually turned out to be quite disturbing and actually did freak me out at points. Especially with the perpetrator, scary at how there are people that look so respectable and seem respected yet actually are capable of the sort of inhumanity that is shown here. The legal scenes are riveting, especially when things become twistier.
Overall, very good. 8/10.