Here we go, everyone. The Good Fight season 2 is here and it is ready to blow the roof off this post-Trump presidency world. Like, literally. In the new opening credits, a T.V. set playing a Trump press conference is blown to smithereens. Not only that but if you look at the title of this episode and the rest of the season, each number is the number of days Trump has been in office. Clearly, the creators are trying to make a point about how much the Trump presidency has impacted everyone. So just as you may guess by this, although he doesn't have much of a physical presence in this episode, his influence (and at one point, his voice) is everywhere. And just as the world has changed, so has the world of Reddick, Boseman, and Kolstad and all those who inhabit it. Let's get down to it, shall we?
As laid out throughout the episode, death is a big theme here. It starts out with a funeral for Reddick. Yes, Reddick has died and now his partners are left to scramble to keep his name and the clients attached to it. The main obstacle for this comes in the form of his daughter, who also happens to be Boseman's ex-wife, Liz, played by the always wonderful Audra McDonald.
Another big part of the episode is Maya. Maya has been released from prison on bail, as shown by the monitor she wears around her ankle. Madeline Starkey is back again keeping on Maya's tail to find out where Maya's father, Henry, is, but Maya isn't having any of it. She does not say a word to her. Instead, she records everything the FBI agent says, including a blurb about how they have evidence Maya knows where her father is. She plays the recording for Lucca, who suggests they find out what the agent knows. They confront her with the recording and she reveals to them the evidence they have. Apparently, at a bank in Dubai, a woman took out a large sum of money from an account set up by Maya's father. She thinks if they find this woman, they'll find Henry Rindell. She shows Maya a photo of this woman, who gasps in recognition.
One of the clients Adrian Boseman is working on keeping is a guy named Habercore, who is part of the building of Barack Obama's Presidential Library. While all is well at first, problems arise when while reading a eulogy at the funeral, Barbara Kolstad basically puts down her own firm by calling them a greedy, materialist firm with no ideals or morals. When Julius Cain talks to Habercore afterward, it's clear that this speech has put him off from wanting the firm anywhere near the presidential library. When they confront Barbara about this later, she is oddly indifferent about the situation her speech put them in.
Finally, we get to Diane's storyline for the episode. She actually doesn't have much airtime this episode, which I was surprised by since I've always considered her the star of this spinoff. It mostly revolves around her being stuck in court during the funeral because why? The judge, who to her and my surprise is former partner Howard Lyman. Yes, someone let him become a judge. And you bet that he uses his newfound power to do whatever he wants. When Diane asks for a continuance to go to the funeral, approved and agreed with by her opposing counsel Colin (who is still very interested in Lucca, by the way), he denies it because he doesn't like Reddick. During jury selection, he prolongs it by asking completely inane questions to the jury members. This only stops when a courtroom sheriff collapses.
Free of the courtroom, Diane is walking through a cemetery to the funeral when she is approached by Renee, a woman who last year turned down Diane for a job at her firm. Renee mentions she's coming from the funeral of one of her partner. Diane is bothered by the fact that not only has Carl died, but as she learned from Colin earlier, another named partner at another firm was killed in a hit and run, and now this. Three funerals in one day.
Lastly, we get to Marissa, whose main storyline is that she's interested in becoming an investigator for the firm. She's already passed her PI test, she just needs to ask Boseman for the job. Problem is he keeps blowing her off because of his own issues with the firm, but in the end, thanks to some advice from Jay and Diane, she forces him to listen to her and give her a chance at the job plus a pay raise. She doesn't get the pay raise, but she does get the job.
Maya has memory flashes of the woman, Rosalee, who was her tennis coach 12 years ago. She was her coach for a few months until her parents decided they were getting too close. Judging by the memory flashes Maya has during this, it looks like she was not only close to Maya but Henry as well. Maya and Luca go back to Madeline with a counteroffer to her proposed deal. Maya tells her who the woman in the photo is and the agent drops all charges. The agent refuses, so Maya and Luca say, "See ya," and prepare to walk away. Then, the agent pulls out a flash drive containing what is apparently proof that Henry is a bad man and shouldn't be protected. Maya takes it and leaves.
In Luca's car, Maya and Luca listen to the flash drive. It's a conversation between Henry and this woman. It sounds like the two are having an affair, which you could expect. What I didn't expect, however, is a mention at the end of the call of a Henry Jr. Henry's got a secret second family.
Diane and Barbara talk to Habercore and try to get him to stay. However, it turns out that the Obamas want to stay with the Reddick name, i.e. Liz, who after hearing Barbara's speech decided to quit her job and start her own firm. The Obama Presidential Library is going with her. After everyone discovers this, they argue about who to blame for the loss. Diane, however, has a different idea she discusses with Julius. If they want the library, then perhaps they should try to bring Liz into their firm. Julius doesn't think Adrian will be on board with working with his ex-wife, and he's right. He later tells Boseman about bringing Liz into the firm. He's definitely not on board, but Julius threatens to outvote him with the other equity partners.
Speaking of Liz, at the wake, she and Adrian have a talk about her starting her own firm and taking their client. After, Diane and Julius approach her as well. This conversation also namedrops Will and Alicia, which was a nice throwback to the mothership show. They make their offer, and Liz says she'll think about it and get back to them today.
Diane discovers that the hit and run victim was purposely killed by his own client, who says, "Kill all lawyers. All of them." Disturbing Diane enough to drown her sorrows in a drink. Even enough to listen to a bartender who offers her something stronger than a drink, mushrooms. She takes it for later. Renee talks to her again, offering her a partnership at her firm. Diane hesitates until Renee tells her Barbara is trying to remove Diane from the firm.
Maya has another memory flash which shows seeing her dad with Rosalee. But as we know from past experience, her memories aren't always correct. To confuse them further, Luca and Jay actually show her a program that shows how voices can be falsified. This leads to a pretty funny bit where they use Trump and Henry's voices to make it sound like they are having an affair. Anyway, Luca thinks the flash drive is a fake. After thinking about Rosalee's voice and relistening to the tape, Maya thinks it's a fake too. They talk to Madeline about it. They tell her they know where Henry is. In exchange for that information, they want full exoneration for Maya. Alas, it turns out to be a trick. They're using the voice manipulation software. Madeline figures that out when "Henry" says he is in Madeline's basement, and then they use Madeline's voice just to drive the point home. Madeline doesn't outright admit that the tape is a fake, but Luca tells her that it's not going to work in court.
That's about it for this episode. To be honest, the second season premiere feels like a stark contrast to the first season. While the first episode was more or less about getting second chances, this felt more ominous about the futures of the characters. With how much Trump is mentioned, I can't help but feel like we're getting set up inside of a brand new uncertain world. With that said, I felt it was a strong premiere. I look forward to seeing more Audra McDonald and her dynamic with Adrian and seeing how Maya's situation plays out. As a Diane fan, though, I feel as though her storyline is quite thin so far and I would like to see her play out a meatier role than just taking drugs and worrying about death, although I am curious to see where this death idea goes, if it does go anywhere.
What did everyone else think of the premiere?
