 The Times @-@ Picayune writer Benjamin Morrison praised the " unexpectedly understated " performance of Williams and praised the episode for not being simple or formulaic . He suggested viewers who were crime victims themselves would be particularly moved by the script . Hal Boedeker , television critic with The Miami Herald , called the episode an " uncompromising hour " and " the highest order for network TV " . He said Williams " astonishes in every scene " , and praised the script for not racing over topics as many television shows do , but rather taking " full measure of the weight of grief " . Elaine Liner , television critic with the Corpus Christi Caller @-@ Times , described Williams ' performance as " heartbreaking " , but particularly praised the writers for " taking the show to a higher level " by making the perpetrator sympathetic and three @-@ dimensional , not only the victim . Liner said , " Fontana succeeds in fleshing out the characters on both sides of this tragedy . " Bob Langford of The News & Observer called the episode " brilliant " and praised it for focusing not on the crime but on the effects of it , as well as the realistic portrayals regarding race , such as concerns the crime would keep away white tourists . Langford said it was occasionally preachy , but said " Sometimes , a good sermon is what we need . Amazing that one this powerful can come from a TV show . " 
