Despite being hugely impressed by the previous three episodes (especially "Killerz"), somehow "Merger" never quite clicked with me. Will admit to not being entirely excited by it before even seeing it on first watch, as the premise didn't really sell it to me. One of the few premises of the earlier seasons for that to be the case, there's not much exciting and it did sound like a very derivative episode on paper. Or at least that was how it felt on first watch.
My feelings on "Merger", as indicated by the first paragraph, haven't really changed all that much and is one of my least favourite episodes of Season 10. It is certainly not a terrible episode, it takes a lot for me to call any episode of the franchise that, and has its good things such as the acting. There are other episodes however that grab the attention a lot more and don't make the mistakes of trying to do too much, being not easy to follow and being unevenly paced.
There are good things and they shall be listed first. It looks generally slick especially in the typically intimate photography and the locations have a nice atmosphere. The music is used appropriately and didn't come over as overbearing. Some of the dialogue is thought-probing and lean in the early legal portion.
Best thing about "Merger" is the acting, especially when the legal team take over. Sam Waterston and Angie Harmon display a lot of authority as McCoy and Carmichael, Jerry Orbach can do no wrong and Jesse L. Martin has settled very well. Love his gritty chemistry with Orbach. The supporting cast are good, nice turn from Tom O'Rourke.
However, there are big drawbacks as well. It is too over-complicated, especially in the final quarter, and tries to cram too much in in too short a space of time. Making the episode hard to follow at times, especially when leading into the legal portion and the final quarter. Some jumping around in the story editing doesn't help. Some of it felt odd, because of too many under-explored and not very useful connections and too many motivations left vague. The direction felt rushing-to-meet-the-deadline-like.
Do agree about the ending being introduced too out of the blue and also rather rushed. Didn't find it easy to buy either, as for it to make sense or easier to get the head round it could have done with it being revealed about 10 minutes earlier. The script has moments but there was a sense that it was written in haste, as there are too many parts that sound intriguing and not followed through enough. While the supporting cast are good, the characters themselves are not that memorable.
Overall, watchable but patchy. Didn't quite click. 5/10.