'Dr. Laura' is definitely one of the best episodes of season 2, in fact the whole series. It's not only because the spotlight on Jessica explores her character but because it gives lots of room for character development for others too. Even if the ending is obviously a "happy" one, the fact that it was a very narrow win (well, deal) lingers. I didn't expect Laura to be the murderer at all so that was a nice twist. It's unfortunate to have poor Jess lose yet another close friend. Jeri Ryan was superb and some of her looks spoke volumes, more than what words could have said. Jessica vs Cutler was a classic moment, I love whenever those two (or Cutler against Stark) go against each other. It was also great to have the episode end with Jessica leaving Laura and that last exchange between them was the result of great writing, just like the whole ep.

Considering Jessica Devlin is my favorite character, I was especially looking forward to this episode. That MAY have contributed to the fact that it left me rather disappointed. This was a golden opportunity to further explore her character but it ended up rather average. Nevertheless it did portray certain character traits I love about Jess. The appearance of Kevin Pollack was also an added bonus because whenever he appears, there's tension and this is drama after all. He just pulls that off so great.

I thought Jeri Ryan did an amazing job as well and so did James Woods of course. The episode wasn't bad at all but I think it could have been much better. One of the major reasons for my disappointment was that the writers either messed up some character back story or they just forgot to include that on Shark a DA's term is not four years (considering the time frame doesn't work out according to what Stark says about Jessica's career. It was established in s2 ep4 Dr. Laura that she served two years as a DA). Nitpicking? Maybe. But when it comes to a show like Shark, I think details are crucial and this definitely was a mess up.