S02.E14: Caught Up in Circles

[Brian Cronin]

Quote

Lola is conflicted when a former judge, Judge Prudence Jenkins, (Charlayne Woodard), whom she idolized, has been accused of bribery and is representing herself in a bench trial. Also, Mark moves forward with the case against McCarthy and he and Corrine Cuthbert (Anne Heche) each get one unchallenged request for a new judge, no questions asked.

 

[Brian Cronin]

I liked a lot of the episode (especially the judge bribery case), but a number of the character interactions just didn't ring true. Emily has been waiting to hear from Joaquin for days, he calls and she doesn't just mute her ringer, but actively DISMISSES THE CALL? Who does that? You do that when you want the other person to know you're not taking their call, and that clearly was not where Emily was at at the moment, so why would she do that?

And Amy's revelation about her marriage - no one drops bombs like that with so little detail! You will ALWAYS share as much information as you can that will make you look good. No one actively tries to make themselves look shadier than they need to be. It's just not realistic. "I am still married. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but it's only an insurance thing. I feel bad for him. He's dying and he supported me through law school so I feel like I owe him." How would a talented public speaker/negotiator like Amy NOT know to say that stuff? It just didn't work. 

It's weird that the Sam/Ness stuff has just abruptly dropped, right? Is Ware no longer on the show? 

[milkyaqua]

Yes, I get that Emily/Luke seem to be the end game but I think the only ones who would care about her ignoring Joaquin's call are the ones who like her and Joaquin together.  I have no dog in this fight and these two seem so into their careers and past issues and just generally seem incapable of making an actual decision, I usually mute or change the channel when the show starts focusing on them.  'Ships are not the reason I watch most shows so I just find the stuff eye rolling at best.

As for Amy, yeah, that was dumb of the writers because probably in real life, she'd have blurted everything out and not just let Mark walk off.  Then again, I've been sort of annoyed with her over the whole melodramatic way she went after Mark for "the kiss" in the first place so she can stew a little bit as far as I'm concerned.  But they both do need to talk at some point and hopefully sooner rather than later.

Ware is still on the show but I guess that's a side story so no need to focus on it for the time being.

I also hope we aren't going to spend a lot of time on the Sherri/Benner and the messed up mom/daughter storyline either.

[tennisgurl]

Lola and the judge was really good, you could really feel Lola's growing frustration. It really sucks that someone she admired so much turned out to have some real skeletons. I loved all of her expressions when the judge acting as her own defense would interrupt her, she was just getting more "did you seriously do that?" every time. 

Speaking of expressions, the look on Brenners face when she was talking to her friend about the abuse allegations was great, like it was really hitting her that Sara was right about her. Especially when she was going on about how horrible she was as a baby and how she cant blame her teacher for not liking her. Ouch. 

I cant believe Amy dropped a huge bomb like that, and in such a vague way too. You would think she would explain it all in much more specific terms, that they got married ages ago and aren't in love anymore but she is still married to him so he can stay on her insurance, not just start rambling about getting married in her small town like she's in a Bruce Springsteen song. Especially after throwing Mark out after his kiss and raising this whole thing about it when she has had this big secret all along. 

This show is drowning in subplots, we have Lola's baby, the corrupt police conspiracy, the child abuse, Emily/Luke romance, Sara thinking of switching judges, none of them are getting enough attention to fully work, especially while also having multiple cases of the week. I prefer the focus on cases with longer arcs in the background, but now they're taking over. 

I feel like a lot of Luke's forays into restorative justice have been pretty clumsy, but I do think it has brought up a lot of good questions without giving easy answers. 

Edited May 4, 2021 by tennisgurl

[Irlandesa]

27 minutes ago, milkyaqua said:

But I think the only ones who would care about her ignoring Joaquin's call are the ones who like her and Joaquin together. 

Nah.  I hate Emily so I can't truly root for any of her ships.  But she practically begged Joaquin to forgive her after she confessed the kiss. She said she wanted to be with him.  (But strangely later told Luke to not wait--but kind of implied to wait).  And now she's ignoring his calls after begging him to forgive her.

So it's bothersome not because I ship Emily and Joaquin but because it's just further proof that Emily is the absolute worst.  And that might be a different set of bias.

[KaveDweller]

I have a hard time believing Lola would get assigned to be judge on such a high-profile and sensitive case that her best friend was a lawyer for. Not that Lola would intentionally favor Mark, but people could say that, and the cop could use it for any appeal.

Also, this is when Luke telling Lola about his witness statement is going to come back into play.

[Empress1]

Amy’s purple blouse outfit was hideous. Those puffy sleeves were a no go (she favors them, her white close had them too) and that was a very high slit - more evening than office.

8 hours ago, Brian Cronin said:

And Amy's revelation about her marriage - no one drops bombs like that with so little detail! You will ALWAYS share as much information as you can that will make you look good. No one actively tries to make themselves look shadier than they need to be. It's just not realistic. "I am still married. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but it's only an insurance thing. I feel bad for him. He's dying and he supported me through law school so I feel like I owe him." How would a talented public speaker/negotiator like Amy NOT know to say that stuff? It just didn't work. 

Agree. This is a writing fail. Just tell the damn truth, Amy! Her saying “ask me anything” was so dumb - she could have just told the truth. She could have told the truth from the beginning - is Mark the first man she’s dated since she & her husband decided to end things?

”I once thought that you blazed a trail for me but now you are just in my way.” OKAY LOLA!

[bunnyface]

I watched three episodes last night, so they kind of blend in and not sure what was introduced when.  But with Amy's husband.  (John Ross Ewing!)  They stayed married so he could stay on her insurance.  Okay, fair enough.  But since she's in private practice, she's probably paying a pretty penny for insurance.  I can't see that struggling practice having employer-sponsored insurance?  And if they did, her "boss", Rachel, the only partner, would know who all she was sponsoring insurance for?   Have we ever seen another living soul in that practice?  A secretary, receptionist, paralegal?  It all seems strange to me.

Also, there is the Affordable Care Act.  It's not great, I know, but it's an option.  My ex was on it and was in the hospital and rehab for about 3 months last year.  They covered all of it.  He met his out-of-pocket max with the ER bill and the rest was covered.  I made dang sure his premiums were paid.  He hasn't seen a single bill from all that.  So it is an option.  They are acting like her private insurance is the only option.  If he is so ill he can't work, he probably falls into the subsidized category and will have a low premium.  Even if they divorced, she could pay that premium and he'd be covered.  It all seems odd.  

[Empress1]

37 minutes ago, bunnyface said:

They stayed married so he could stay on her insurance.  Okay, fair enough.  But since she's in private practice, she's probably paying a pretty penny for insurance.  I can't see that struggling practice having employer-sponsored insurance?  And if they did, her "boss", Rachel, the only partner, would know who all she was sponsoring insurance for?   Have we ever seen another living soul in that practice?  A secretary, receptionist, paralegal?  It all seems strange to me.

I had the same thought about her insurance. She probably had very good insurance when she was a BigLaw associate but I doubt whatever she has now is as good. The whole husband thing is just sloppy and unnecessary.

[greekmom]

I agree about the sloppiness storyline of Amy's husband. That and coupled with the fact she took the holier than thou attitude towards Mark's kiss with Racheal. I could accept it if she didn't act so high and mighty. 

I loved the case with the judge acting as her own lawyer and then the judge's speech at the end to Lola. Her holier than thou act was on point of someone being so jaded by her job that she decides to act away from the rule book.

The Mark storyline and the fact that he has to go in front of Lola's court for a high profile case is unrealistic given their friendship. Benner should have postponed it till another judge was free.

[bunnyface]

56 minutes ago, greekmom said:

The Mark storyline and the fact that he has to go in front of Lola's court for a high profile case is unrealistic given their friendship. Benner should have postponed it till another judge was free.

Yeah, that's the first basis of appeal (if convicted) before you get to all the other, routine reasons for appeals.  

On the other hand (I don't know, I'm asking) is waiting around for a certain judge a kind of "judge shopping?"  The first routine judge was appropriately denied by the defense.  This judge could be denied appropriately by the prosecution, but they then they would be stuck with Laski, who they don't want.  Using the correct rotation seems the most fair, and the best dramatic use, of course.  I don't know where I've heard the term "judge shopping" before, but I know I've heard it.

[JH Lipton]

On 5/4/2021 at 8:22 AM, Brian Cronin said:

Amy's revelation about her marriage - no one drops bombs like that with so little detail! You will ALWAYS share as much information as you can that will make you look good. No one actively tries to make themselves look shadier than they need to be. It's just not realistic. "I am still married. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but it's only an insurance thing. I feel bad for him. He's dying and he supported me through law school so I feel like I owe him." How would a talented public speaker/negotiator like Amy NOT know to say that stuff? It just didn't work.  

How much better ti start with "I've gotten a divorce"?  That puts the marriage squarely in the past, but provides a springboard for explaining the situation.  Which you do by working backwards -- "he needed my insurance..."

[Brian Cronin]

47 minutes ago, JH Lipton said:

How much better ti start with "I've gotten a divorce"?  That puts the marriage squarely in the past, but provides a springboard for explaining the situation.  Which you do by working backwards -- "he needed my insurance..."

It's like if you get home before your spouse and find out that your kid scraped their knee and when your spouse gets home, you tell them, "Little Billy had an accident. Ask me anything you want about it." 

So yeah, pretty much anything would have been a step up over Amy's actively alarmist opening to Mark.