We are halfway through the season now, everyone. I'm enjoying it for the most part. I'm loving the addition of Liz (though I wish we'd see her more) and the cases have been entertaining so far. My only real gripe is the Diane storyline. But luckily, she gets to do something different this week. Well, mostly. Anyway, this week's case is about neo-Nazis and protesting, once again very relevant to society right now. We also get a focus on Adrian this week when he becomes a T.V. star. On to it.
Like I said, Adrian gets to go on T.V.! He's on a news talk show called Review of the Day. But he's not actually on the set, he is in a small dark room talking to an earpiece and a camera all by himself for all of three seconds. He has like three lines. I like that they showed how they do those outside contributor clips on these news shows. When it all comes together, it looks like he's right there responding to what the panel is saying. He's there to basically insult the lawyer of a high profile case going on for a guy named Dale Kuzma who runs a website called Paper News. Dale is so impressed with what Adrian says that he fires his lawyer and wants Adrian to replace him.Another man impressed with Adrian's television appearance is a guy named Franz Mendelssohn, a big-time lawyer known for buying out small firms. But that's not what he's here for, he's here about the Wilk Hobson case. If you remember, last week we found out Will Gardner's former rival Wilk Hobson died by hanging. Now, the police declared the death a suicide, but Will's partners believe he was actually a victim of the "Kill all lawyers" murder spree. They're having a big secret meeting with other law firms, the biggest ones in Chicago, to discuss this problem. Franz wants our firm to be there too.
Julius is back! He's another one I don't see enough of. He, Diane, and Adrian are aware of Lucca's pregnancy, I'm guessing because of her growing baby bump. They're concerned about it but can't say anything to her about it for legal reasons. Since Julius can't outright push Lucca out of her cases, he goes through Maia. On this big case they're working on, Lucca was supposed to be first chair in the pre-trial motions, but Julius assigns Maia first chair instead. He claims it's not because of Lucca's 'condition,' but rather to give Maia a chance to show her chops. Maia has the unfortunate job of telling Lucca this, and as you can expect, it does not go over well. Lucca's afraid she's being thrown off the partner track, so Maia suggests she tells the partners about her pregnancy so they can't legally throw her off and claim it's about something else.Adrian and Diane take on Dale's case. Apparently, Dale published on his website a woman's address because her son, who is living with her, is a neo-Nazi who protested the taking down of a Confederate statue. Oh, boy. Because of this, it later was burnt down with the woman's dog inside. Oh, boy. RIP Puffy. A little note: The judge, played by the awesome and wonderful Matt Walsh, talks to the jury as if he's a guide and they're on a jungle safari, telling them about what's going to happen and what's not going to happen. He doesn't want them to think this case is going to be as dramatic as it is on T.V. Just wait, Mike. Just wait.
At the meeting of the Secret Society of Rich Lawyers, Diane and Adrian get a taste of the big life. Everyone is unhappy about not just about this murder spree but about the fact that the police aren't doing anything about it. The lawyer, the really smug woman who is actually representing the neo-Nazi's family, is there and suggests an idea, but Adrian shoots her down with a better one. Shots fired.Adrian is invited back on the show and he feels like a fish out of water until the moderator reveals there was another lawyer murdered by their client last night, Donna Evans, someone Adrian knew. He rips into a comically conservative lawyer, Chuck, who victim-blames Donna for getting involved with representing who he thinks are Islamic radicals whose Mosque was desecrated. Adrian ends his tirade and his television career by revealing the guy's salary on live television, a big no-no.
Back in court, the neo-Nazi says he's not a neo-Nazi but someone who cares about preserving history and honoring fallen soldiers. Uh huh. Diane suggests Adrian take on the kid instead of her because Adrian's newfound fame has gotten the attention of the jury. Adrian uses evidence on the contrary to rip apart this kid as badly as he did Chuck, earning the awe of the jury, and also destroying every attempt made by the judge to convince the audience that courtrooms are nothing like they see on T.V. They even clap for Adrian when he's done.
Lucca takes Maia's advice and tells all of the partners about her pregnancy and how it won't interfere with her job. It seems to go well, Diane says they're behind her and support her. She's even reinstated as first chair on her case. She's relieved about the state of her job until she gets to the pre-trial motions. At it, she's going up against Colin, who uses her pregnancy as a way to disrupt the case. He asks for a continuance until the week Lucca's due to give birth. My first thought was he is angry about that proposal rejection, but Lucca figures out it's so he can go up against the novice, easy to defeat Maia, while Lucca is gone for that time period. Lucca reveals this to the judge (Bebe Neuwirth !!!!) who is not putting up with their nonsense. She denies the continuance. After, Colin says he was only concerned about the health of the baby with her continuing to work, and Lucca tells him not to. He's really not happy about being left out of this situation, which I understand, but I also understand Lucca wanting to take care of this herself. It's her body after all.
Back at the Secret Society, a higher-up with a strong connection to the police is brought in to discuss their lack of action. The guy admits the police hate lawyers because of all the lawsuits against them. They want them to stop. This is mainly directed at Diane and Adrian since their firm is the one that handles most of these lawsuits. Discussing this with the other partners later, they are disgusted with the suggestion that they stop taking these cases. It's not right.Back on the Adrian Boseman show, he is putting on quite the performance for the courtroom, showing off his entertainment skills at every corner. He's questioning Dale and talking to the jury at the same time. The judge is pissed off and cuts them to a commercial. He takes them back to his chambers and tells Adrian to stop showboating, but Diane sticks up for him and argues against the judge's call. Adrian is not doing anything legally wrong, so unless the judge came come up with something he is, she wants "A ruling that I can appeal," quoting Will Gardner. Aww. Also, dang Diane, pissing off a judge. She really doesn't care anymore.
The Super Secret Society of Rich Lawyers meets again. Thanks to Marissa doing her own investigating (which incidentally leads to her getting that 10% raise she asked for in the season premiere) Frans' dastardly plot is revealed to be him stopping these firms from pursuing police brutality cases for the benefit of his new client, The Chicago Police Department itself. His fellow lawyers turn against him when Diane reveals this. Diane and Adrian virtually drop the mic and leave.Diane and Adrian find themselves back in court when it turns out the woman who burned down the neo-Nazis house has been arrested. In court, she is brought on as a witness and says she found out his address from a random photo online, not from Paper News, so Dale can't be held responsible for what happened.
Adrian is brought back to the show despite his faux pas. Adrian is asked without being asked to be the 'angry black man' on the show, replacing the previous 'angry black man.' Adrian is not playing that game, though. He refuses to be baited when they try it on the show, and they're mad about it afterward. But he doesn't care. Oh, and because they couldn't let it go for one episode, Diane at the very end has another hallucination of Trump. Yep. Almost made it.
They're taking Adrian's storyline in a fascinating direction I didn't see coming. Is he going to become some famous contributor or was this just for this episode? I guess we'll see. I did enjoy seeing more of Adrian come out. He's a smart guy, a great lawyer, but he's also a bit of a grandstander. Is that going to turn him into something worse? I have to wonder from that look he gave himself in the mirror in the last shot of the episode. Like he's becoming something he's not sure he wants to be. Also, more Bebe Neuwirth and Matt Walsh if possible, please.
That's all! What did everyone think and how are you all enjoying the season so far?
