S01.E07: Uncommon Women and Mothers

[WendyCR72]

To air on November 4, 2019:

Mark and Emily go head to head in court for the first time, and things get awkward when Mark must cross-examine Lola's mother, Roxy (L. Scott Caldwell) , when she's called as a character witness in the case for a homeless youth charged with felony vandalism.

[possibilities]

Lopez abandoned the reasonable doubt defense! Early in the episode, she said they had no way to prove Jax threw the sock. Even if they had socks like the ones in evidence, they could have made a defense that they are very common, others had them, there's nothing to say Jax is the arsonist just because they happened to have socks like that. Why didn't Lopez ask Lola's mom if she'd given socks like that to anyone else?

They never really said how Jax became their suspect in the first place, either. There were lots of other people living there, weren't there?

[topanga]

4 hours ago, possibilities said:

Lopez abandoned the reasonable doubt defense! Early in the episode, she said they had no way to prove Jax threw the sock. Even if they had socks like the ones in evidence, they could have made a defense that they are very common, others had them, there's nothing to say Jax is the arsonist just because they happened to have socks like that. Why didn't Lopez ask Lola's mom if she'd given socks like that to anyone else?

They never really said how Jax became their suspect in the first place, either. There were lots of other people living there, weren't there?

All great arguments. I wonder why Lopez didn’t go there. 

I like that Lola is allowed to be smart, tough, but also unsure and vulnerable. About the search: I know she wanted to be thorough, but didn’t she care that time was crucial? I was fine with her boss signing the warrant—she’s an experienced judge who felt comfortable with the things that made Lola nervous. But she certainly should’ve told Carmichael she’d done it. 
 

Mother-daughter relationships with mothers are complicated, aren’t they? It sounds like Lola’s mom wasn’t there for her emotionally when she was growing up because she was off saving the world. But it seemed to wrap up so nicely at the end, with them being all jokey-jokey. Strained relationships don’t get resolved in a day. 
 

Mark’s relationship with his dad is also complicated but was shown a little more realistically. Things weren’t completely resolved at the end, but no one was punching each other either. 
 

Part of me really wants Lola and Mark to remain platonic friends. But there’s strong chemistry between the characters that I can’t ignore. If it turns out they’d had a drunken fling in college that they both try to forget, that would be enough for me. 

[Empress1]

"I was rocking through my docket like I'm plugged into a socket!" I loved that.

1 hour ago, topanga said:

Part of me really wants Lola and Mark to remain platonic friends. But there’s strong chemistry between the characters that I can’t ignore. If it turns out they’d had a drunken fling in college that they both try to forget, that would be enough for me. 

I think Lola is married, so I definitely don't want her cheating on her husband with Mark. And I think they do have a nice friend chemistry, and it would be nice if a show kept their male/female leads just friends. But I could see a line like "Remember in college - " "I though we were never going to speak about that!" (I had a friend in college that I hooked up with - we actually hooked up before we were really friends, and then we agreed that it shouldn't go any further. And we did stay just friends, though we've since lost touch.)

[Raja]

3 hours ago, Empress1 said:

"I was rocking through my docket like I'm plugged into a socket!" I loved that.

I think Lola is married, so I definitely don't want her cheating on her husband with Mark. And I think they do have a nice friend chemistry, and it would be nice if a show kept their male/female leads just friends. But I could see a line like "Remember in college - " "I though we were never going to speak about that!" (I had a friend in college that I hooked up with - we actually hooked up before we were really friends, and then we agreed that it shouldn't go any further. And we did stay just friends, though we've since lost touch.)

Judge Carmichael is married to FBI Agent Robin Taylor who has made a couple of appearances so far.

[HurricaneVal]

11 hours ago, possibilities said:

Why didn't Lopez ask Lola's mom if she'd given socks like that to anyone else?

This is exactly what I was coming in here to post!  Seems to me that a do-gooder volunteer like Roxy would have a tote bag full of socks and underwear and toothbrushes to hand out everywhere she went, all probably sourced in bulk.

Roxy is a bit of a complex character.  So is Lola.  Heck, so is everyone else.  I am digging the rivalry between the court clerk and the court steno.  I am digging the nascent and tentative relationship start between Lopez and the bailiff--I am now incredibly invested in where he takes her to dinner!

[tennisgurl]

Lopez really should have focused more on how circumstantial the evidence was, and while the emotional plea worked, it seemed like she might have been better off going with that defense. I mean, as others have said, Roxy could have given those socks to tons of people, and all they had on Jax was that they were in the area and smelled like gas, even though they were by a fire in their encampment. 

I liked meeting Lola's mom and seeing her relationships with both Lola and Mark. It sounds like she was something of a parental substitute to Mark, while she and Lola have some issues, with Lola feeling like Roxy spent more time saving the world than being her mom, and that she disapproves of her job. Despite that, they still seem to get along pretty well, I would like to Roxy again.

Mark and his dad also continue to have a complicated relationship, and it was nice to get some dimensions to his dad, and while he still doesent seem like the best kind of guy and they are still estranged, at least no one punched anyone this time.

[bunnyface]

I hope they don't do anything with Lola and Mark but be good friends.  They are both in relationships and something would have to blow open, or cross a line, for them to be together and I don't want either.  Let two people be friends, just friends.  But in TV world...this will all go to hell.  

[topanga]

13 minutes ago, bunnyface said:

I hope they don't do anything with Lola and Mark but be good friends.  They are both in relationships and something would have to blow open, or cross a line, for them to be together and I don't want either.  Let two people be friends, just friends.  But in TV world...this will all go to hell.  

I know, I know. The logical, rational part of me doesn't want them to blow up both of their relationships and probably violate ethical guidelines about fraternizing between judges and lawyers. I don't want the show to become that. 

But the emotional side of me just loves their scenes together. Lola and Mark light up when they're around one another have more chemistry together than they do with either of their partners. Maybe they're just better actors than the people playing the husband and girlfriend.

[Raja]

3 minutes ago, topanga said:

I know, I know. The logical, rational part of me doesn't want them to blow up both of their relationships and probably violate ethical guidelines about fraternizing between judges and lawyers. I don't want the show to become that. 

But the emotional side of me just loves their scenes together. Lola and Mark light up when they're around one another have more chemistry together than they do with either of their partners. Maybe they're just better actors than the people playing the husband and girlfriend.

The husband and girlfriend have been barely seen. This is a classic workplace set show with home rarely coming in.

[topanga]

5 minutes ago, Raja said:

The husband and girlfriend have been barely seen. This is a classic workplace set show with home rarely coming in.

True. But in the 2 scenes we've seen with the husband and girlfriend, I felt nothing. Even when Mark and his beautiful girlfriend (Ria?) were about to get frisky, I didn't feel passion from either one of them. 

And Lola and her husband barely make eye contact. But they get along, and Lola always talks about him with happiness in her voice, so I'm not suggesting that there are marital problems. 

[jabRI]

Do they have like 1 writer at CBS? SWAT and MAGNUM also had father (figures) coughing up blood last episode.