"Lowdown" is another "ripped from the headlines" type of episode. 'Law and Order: Special Victims Unit' showed in both previous and succeeding episodes that it could do these types of stories very well, just as much as the uncompromising approach to difficult subject matters which is saying something. It proved that in the wonderful previous episode "Sick". On my first watch, "Lowdown" struck me as a powerful episode and the supporting performances really stuck with me.
On rewatches (have watched over a long period of time, we're talking over a decade, every episode of the original 'Law and Order', 'Special Victims Unit' and 'Criminal Intent' at least twice, even those that didn't do much for me and in some cases still don't), "Lowdown" is every bit as wonderful as remembered. Perhaps in fact even better now, with everything that was so good before still present and even stronger now. To me it's actually a much better episode than a good deal of the other Season 5 episodes with a higher rating here as of now (i.e. "Manic" is rated higher but it is to me one of the season's lesser episodes).
This is a strong example of an episode where everything about it works. And brilliantly. 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 lets the drama breathe while making sure that the tension and emotion never slipped.
Moreover, "Lowdown" is a very tautly yet sympathetically scripted episode, with some nice entertainment value with Fin, the tension between Novak and Zeirko, all the intriguing insight revolving around the victim and his relationship with the perpetrator and the emotional impact of the final scene. It is especially good in the second half. The story grabs the attention from the get go and the truth that shocked me so much on first watch has still not lost any of the "clap hand to the mouth"-worthy feeling. The final scene is a tear-jerker.
While the leads are all strong, especially Diane Neal and Mariska Hargitay (Ice-T is both tough and amusing too), "Lowdown" is yet another episode where the supporting cast are even better. A suitably smarmy Peter Riegert is fun casting and Michael Beach, no stranger to the 'Law and Order' franchise having given a brilliant performance in the original's Season 5 episode "Purple Heart", is excellent as well in a role different to that one. Absolutely agree with the acclaim for Bethany Butler, giving a emotional powerhouse of a performance that became particularly heart-breaking in the final third.
Concluding, another wonderful episode. 10/10