The Good Fight - The One Where the Sun Comes Out - Review

With Murphy Brown being canceled by CBS (despite several lower rated shows getting the go-ahead for another season), The Good Fight is the only series that remains which shines a light upon the insanity of the current political administration in the US and how dreadful it can be to live under it. The show is a significant outlet of criticism that, in my humble opinion, should be protected at all costs.

Last week’s episode once again turned out to be a masterpiece. With Maia’s return, Blum’s fall and Diane’s big break with the Book Club another hour of top-notch television was created.


Blum, Rindell & Associates

Blum waltzes into the depressing offices of “Consult a Lawyer” to hire Maia as his office manager. She declines the offer, she has no interest in working as his gofer in the sex dungeon he calls an office. Instead, she wants to set up a real office for him, in a real building. Blum keeps losing money as no one is keeping track of his expenses and he keeps losing clients since he cannot be bothered to answer his phone. Maia wants to take these trivial tasks off his hands. All she needs is his trust and some of his money to get the office up and running. Reluctantly he agrees. Blum, Rindell & Associates is created. When Maia finds out about the subpoena Blum was served with she is furious. He neglected to inform her of the fact that Reddick/Boseman is trying to have him disbarred for suborning perjury. This could mean the end of their firm before it even had the chance to get off the ground! Blum prompts Maia to handle the situation somehow. After all, she used to work for Reddick/Boseman, she knows their weaknesses. Blum believes that him knowing about the fact that the old Reddick raped his secretaries is why they are trying to get him disbarred. Maia does not believe a word he says.


Maia, Marissa and some sexual tension

After Blum’s claim that Carl Reddick raped his employees, Maia texts Marissa to meet up in a bar. It is not clear if her intention was to get more information about the rape but the timing simply makes it likely. The two ladies spent a few wonderful hours together. Marissa even shortly contemplates sleeping with Maia. There is some sexual tension there, something I never really noticed before and usually, I am the very first one notice it. They are both clearly tipsy when Maia asks about the Reddick allegations. Marissa gives herself away by staying quiet for too long. She eventually spills the beans and tells Maia everything. This is when the young lawyer realizes that all of this is wrong. She needs to leave. Marissa is her best friend and Maia is about to use the confidential information she had just shared with her to save herself and Blum. Or at least it will seem like it in the end. Before Maia disappears into the night she presses a kiss to Marissa’s mouth.

Maia: “I called you because I really wanted to see you, Marissa, because I was happy, okay? Not because I wanted to know anything.

Marissa: Okay. I-I don't understand.

Maia: I have to go.

Marissa: Why?

Maia: Because everything that we talk about from now on, you're gonna blame me for.

Marissa: Why would I do that?

Maia: Cause I'm not at your firm.

Marissa: Right, but why does that matter?

Maia: You're gonna hate me. Just remember: this has nothing to do with us. Okay? I love you. I wish everything was different.

At first, Maia keeps telling herself she is not actually betraying her friend since Blum already knows about the rape allegations anyway. She is not delivering new information to him. By asking Marissa about it she was merely confirming that the allegations actually exist. After all, Blum tends to alter the truth on a regular basis. But as much as Maia wants to believe she did not break Marissa’s trust there really is no sugarcoating it. She texted Marissa the moment she got to know about the allegations against Reddick. If her intentions had been to only spend a night out with her friend, she would not have asked about Carl Reddick. She knew very well what Marissa would think the moment she found out Maia works for Blum.

The lawyer ends up crying in her office that night. She suspects that she has betrayed her friend but cannot be entirely sure about it. She seems to have lost the ability to identify betrayal.

When Marissa finds out that Blum knows about the rape, she is gutted. She breaks down in tears and calls Maia. The lawyer attempts to explain herself but fails. Not that it would matter. Marissa does not believe a word Maia says anyway. She is heartbroken.


Disbarring Blum?

As already mentioned above, Blum was court ordered to show up at a hearing committee which will decide about whether he actually suborned perjury. If it turns out he did instigate his dietician to pretend to be a former insurance executive he could be disbarred. Blum shows up at his hearing confident he will walk away without facing any consequences. He claims that the allegations against him are false and that Reddick/Boseman are only trying to get him disbarred because he knows about the crimes the old Reddick committed. He announces that he is actually representing two of the women Carl Reddick had raped.

I really do not quite comprehend why Adrian, Liz, Diane and Julius did not go public with the allegations before Blum’s committee hearing. They knew the crazy lawyer had found out about Reddick’s sexual assaults, they should have known he would use it against them. Postponing the hearing, to sometime after Chumhum finished their investigation and after going public, could have prevented this escalation from happening.

After the first hearing in which Blum reveals the firm’s big secret about Carl Reddick, the partners decide to put all their cards on the table and share all their secrets. This is the only way to get Blum and also Chumhum off their back. It works like a charm. The commission informs Blum that Reddick/Boseman came clean, they shared all the information they had about Reddick's assaults with the court.  This is a big step back for Blum’s case. Out of desperation, he comes up with a new, very flawed plan: He claims Reddick/Boseman knew all along that he suborned perjury and that he has a witness (Maia) to prove it. If he goes down, Reddick/Boseman go down as well.

Blum tries to convince Maia to testify but she refuses. She knows he suborned perjury. She will not lie for him.

Blum: Maia, listen to me. The truth is what you make it. You build the facts into the truth that serves your purpose. If it stops serving your purpose, you rebuild it into something else. That's what keeps you from being a slave to how people define you. That's how you become your own person. You define what truth is. Now, this committee is gonna disbar me unless Reddick/Boseman backs off. The truth is, my fate and the fate of this firm is in your hands… Where you going?

Maia: Home.

Blum: I need you in the committee tomorrow at noon.

Maia did not show up in the committee hearing the next day which eventually leads to the one thing Blum cannot find a way out of: getting disbarred.

Reddick/Boseman gets investigated

While Blum’s and Maia’s drama is unfolding, Chumhum, the biggest client of Reddick/Boseman, sends one of their investigators to take a closer look at the law firm. In light of the partners going public with the news that Carl Reddick raped his employees, Chumhum wants to make sure the investigation of the sexual assault was handled correctly. Furthermore, they want to talk to all the employees to get a better picture of the inner workings of the firm.

The investigator finds that there are many racial issues at the firm that will take time to resolve. Furthermore, she figures out that Liz and Adrian did sleep together after all when she took care of him after he got shot. And Julius is forced to reveal his intention to become a federal judge in order to clear up a misunderstanding that involved him supposedly having an affair with Marissa. Despite several secrets getting revealed, the report comes to a rather positive conclusion.

Investigator: “The firm is dysfunctional, but it's not about the sexual issues. It's struggling with its recent growth spurt, but I've put some plans together to correct that. And Mr. Reddick's actions? They are regrettable, and I think it'll cause a loss of faith in the firm for a while, but that hopefully is temporary”

Chumhum has every intention to keep working with Reddick/Bosemen. Their willingness to cooperate with the investigator apparently was more important than the actual outcome of the investigation.


The Book Club goes rogue

Diane has been having difficulties accepting the methods the Book Club has resorted to in the last few episodes. This time, however, they clearly go too far when they suggest swatting Michael Tyrek, the designer of Trump’s border wall. He is responsible for the death of several children and the ladies of the club are convinced something drastic has to be done to stop him. Rachelle, Polly & co still believe the text messages with instructions they are receiving are sent by Valerie. So, Diane brings them evidence that Valerie is, in fact, in jail where she has no access to cell phones. The texts they received are from another club member who is pretending to be Valerie to get the book club to use more drastic measures. It does not matter to the ladies that the texts were fake. It does not matter to them that Valerie was a liar. They are way past that. Something needs to be done to stop Trump and his devotees. And it needs to be done now!

Rachelle: “We're past polls. We're past favorability ratings and precincts and voting machines. They're conducting war against us, against their citizens. These are the rules of warfare.”

Diane leaves, she does not want to have anything to do with the Book Club when they are resorting to such reckless, cruel measures.

At the end of the episode, the news break that Tyrek was shot by the police after a false 911 call was made claiming there is a hostage situation involving children going on in his house. Wow. The Book Club’s action has actually killed someone. Apparently, they have embraced and accepted the possibility that their methods can get people killed. Diane blames herself for not stopping them, for not convincing them that this was not the way to go. Liz suggests reporting the group but she and Diane are tied to them. They used to be members. No one is going to believe the two lawyers had nothing to do with the fake 911 call that leads to Tyrek being shot to death.

Diane and Liz visit the ladies of the Book Club one more time to inform them that they will not sit by and watch them help commit murder. None of the members seem to feel even remotely guilty about what happened. On the contrary, they are content with the outcome of their mission.

Liz: We're not gonna let you get anybody else killed.

Rachelle: It's not up to you.

Diane: We'll see.

Rachelle: You two are just as culpable.

Throughout the entire episode, a thunderstorm has been raging through Chicago, through the firm and the lives of everyone working there. In the concluding minutes, the sun finally returns. Diane is sitting outside, singing, enjoying the nice weather when Rachelle joins her.

Diane: “What do you want?”

Rachelle: “Don't.”

Diane: “Don't what?”

Rachelle: “We know where you live. Where you work, where your husband works. You make one call, tell one person, we're coming for you.”

Diane: “So, this is how we fight Trump?”

Rachelle: “No. This is how WE fight Trump. You gave up a long time ago. We'll be watching.”

This is how they fight Trump. By compromising their ideals, by using the exact same methods they condemn his administration for. They spread fake news and threaten people. They have long stopped fighting the good fight.

Let us know what you think about the episode!