S06.E22: Goodbye

[thewhiteowl]

Bull and the Trial Analysis Corporation team head to court one last time to finalize a negligent homicide defense that will change the nature of their company and their lives forever.

[MerBearHou]

I thought this final two-part case was a very good one.  The actor who played the defendant did a great job fooling me that he was a sweet grandpa type, then he showed his completely evil side behind closed doors.  I like that Bull went out for a noble reason and we are led to believe that TAC will be able to continue — TBD without Bull and Taylor, but we’ll never know.  I enjoyed Bull throughout its seasons and will miss it.  I won’t miss Marissa’s two-sizes-too-small zipper dresses though (except to spot them and laugh with you all here!).  Chunk and Rob (loved how Rob came around on the case in the end) seem to be headed to a nice place.  Sweet Danny — she made me tear up.  Anyway, thank you, Bull, for some entertaining years (still miss Benny).

[Dowel Jones]

I was hoping that they would use the escape clause that was mentioned in last week's postings, that Bull is not an attorney and maybe the confidentiality requirement would be moot.  But, it seems like the entire New York court system considers him as such.  Now, if I were writing this, I would have the woman's body be discovered by the treasure hunters, while at the same time the landlord is acquitted of the negligent homicide crime.  As he's leaving court, he is accosted by 'representatives' of the woman's father, who is, shall we say, 'connected.' An out of court settlement is reached off camera.  Bull sells the company to Marissa, who hires Tidal to replace Taylor.

[Sarah 103]

Bull isn't a lawyer so attorney/client privilage wouldn't apply (although the show seems to think it does and I'm okay with TVLand logic), but would doctor/patient confidentiality work, because of his psychology degree? 

I want to know what Bull is doing next, because I can't see him sitting around all day doing nothing. I wish the series finale and hinted/pointed towards some kind of next step/new career. 

Edited May 27, 2022 by Sarah 103

[Daff]

12 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

I was hoping that they would use the escape clause that was mentioned in last week's postings, that Bull is not an attorney and maybe the confidentiality requirement would be moot.  But, it seems like the entire New York court system considers him as such.  Now, if I were writing this, I would have the woman's body be discovered by the treasure hunters, while at the same time the landlord is acquitted of the negligent homicide crime.  As he's leaving court, he is accosted by 'representatives' of the woman's father, who is, shall we say, 'connected.' An out of court settlement is reached off camera.  Bull sells the company to Marissa, who hires Tidal to replace Taylor.

Except as a licensed psychologist, he still took an equivalent oath. Overall, your ending would allow Bull to fare better than his current prospects. But he’s got that windfall, he probably figures he doesn’t need to work at anything, anymore. Aside from father/husband. 

[momo]

9 hours ago, Daff said:

Except as a licensed psychologist, he still took an equivalent oath. Overall, your ending would allow Bull to fare better than his current prospects. But he’s got that windfall, he probably figures he doesn’t need to work at anything, anymore. Aside from father/husband. 

But he was not seeing the guy as a licensed psychologist (I'm a retired psychotherapist). Maybe client/attorney privilege extends to everyone in the company?

[Daff]

6 hours ago, momo said:

But he was not seeing the guy as a licensed psychologist (I'm a retired psychotherapist). Maybe client/attorney privilege extends to everyone in the company?

Going forward, in either community, he’ll be regarded as poison, and simply by word of mouth, no one will hire him. I’m sure the judge is seething because she can’t actually sanction him other than to bar him from any court proceedings within her jurisdiction. We saw him in anguish over what to do, and we saw his eureka moment when he apparently decided his reputation was the price he was willing to pay for justice to be served. 

[Moxie Cat]

Pretty good finale. I liked the Bull had moments with all the primary characters, and they had some scenes with each other too (Marissa/Taylor, Taylor/Dani, etc.)

It does seem to me that TAC will be missing an important component going forward, which is that Bull used his psychology background to develop the voir dire questions in basically every episode. Either Marissa and Chunk will have to get better at that or they'll have to hire someone in addition to a new tech guru.

Anyone notice the odd background characters in this episode? Obviously Eric Stoltz cameo'd as the CEO of the company that was going to hire them (he also directed and was an EP, I believe). But there was also that random dark-haired woman who appeared with Marissa in two scenes at TAC, the guy who interrupted Marissa and Taylor in the break room, and the guy who hollered at Bull when he ran through the courthouse near the end. The camera focused on all of these people just a LITTLE too long in each instance - we rarely saw other employees at TAC and the courthouse guy was completely unnecessary. I'm guessing they were staff or crew, but it would be fun to know who!

I was hoping Chunk and his ex would have a duet at the end. Alas. Missed opportunity!

Edited May 28, 2022 by Moxie Cat

[jabRI]

On 5/28/2022 at 12:13 PM, Moxie Cat said:

Obviously Eric Stoltz cameo'd as the CEO of the company that was going to hire them (he also directed and was an EP, I believe).

Thanks! Was watching from my laptop, but thought the voice sounded familiar.  Huge Eric Stoltz fan, in my opinion one of the most underrated in his generation.  I've noticed his name on Bull behind the camera, so nice to see him again!  Guess I'll have to binge Madam Secretary now.

[UsernameFatigue]

Though for the last couple of years this show wasn't "must see" TV, I will miss it. I always PVR'd it, and in fact just watched the last 4 episodes. I thought it was a good final two episodes to go out on. 

On a shallow note, I always preferred "Bull" without his glasses so wished he had left them on his desk and unworn for most of the series.

And like others,  I always rolled my eyes at Marissa's latest zipper dress(es). I am not sure if they were supposed to be the signature of some designer, or made for her. In any case as been said, they were always a size or two too small, and IMO boring, Maybe the first dozen or so were OK, but I didn't get the point after awhile. 

[Mrs. Stanwyck]

Regarding the privilege issue, I assume (as I am not a lawyer) that privilege extends to your entire legal team - which Bull was part of, even if not an attorney.

Regarding finances going forward, I'm sure he has a large chunk of that settlement money, Marissa was buying TAC from him and not for nothing, I believe Izzy has money of her own and is currently running a business.  I do agree that Bull will be bored just sitting around but he is in the enviable position of being able to afford to do whatever he wants without worrying about paying the bills.  I'm sure he'll find something to occupy his time.

[LuvMyShows]

Nice that before the series ended, we did see Astrid again.  She's grown quite a bit and I was trying to figure out if it's accurate or not.  Astrid was born in season 4 and we are now in season 6.  That's about 2 1/2 years, but the child looked more like 4 years old or so to me, and thus would have the TV-child-aging disease.

On 5/30/2022 at 6:30 PM, UsernameFatigue said:

On a shallow note, I always preferred "Bull" without his glasses so wished he had left them on his desk and unworn for most of the series.

In terms of the significance of him leaving the glasses, am I correct in remembering that they are glasses with lenses that are not corrective, so they are just for effect, and his leaving them is sort of a sign that he is going to be more authentic from now on? 

9 hours ago, Mrs. Stanwyck said:

Regarding finances going forward, I'm sure he has a large chunk of that settlement money, Marissa was buying TAC from him and not for nothing, I believe Izzy has money of her own and is currently running a business.  I do agree that Bull will be bored just sitting around but he is in the enviable position of being able to afford to do whatever he wants without worrying about paying the bills.  I'm sure he'll find something to occupy his time.

Where on earth is Marissa getting the money to buy out TAC from Bull?  Just a few episodes ago wasn't she wiped out financially from whichever recent male had tricked her?

9 hours ago, Mrs. Stanwyck said:

Regarding the privilege issue, I assume (as I am not a lawyer) that privilege extends to your entire legal team - which Bull was part of, even if not an attorney.

So I got curious about this and consulted Attorney Google.  Attorney-client privilege extends to attorneys only (and translators in some circumstances).  The only exception I saw was if someone was speaking to a person that they reasonably believed was their attorney (in other words, so that police couldn't pretend to be a lawyer and then nail the person for 'confessing' to them).  In the case of this show, it did look like the perp reasonably thought Bull was his lawyer.  However, if he had done the same confession to Danny, it would not have held.

[Netfoot]

It's done now, for better or worse. And I'm not flogging this dead horse, so...

I'm out!

[DougJones]

Not gonna lie, it would’ve been funny to see Bull get assassinated and then have the credits roll immediately after. 

[jabRI]

My feeling is that the 'fugue' episode with his former professor, will spur Bull to go back into practice as a therapist.  Was also as alluded to in the episode where he saved his daughter.

[sharkerbaby]

On 6/3/2022 at 11:29 AM, Mrs. Stanwyck said:

Regarding the privilege issue, I assume (as I am not a lawyer) that privilege extends to your entire legal team - which Bull was part of, even if not an attorney.

Regarding finances going forward, I'm sure he has a large chunk of that settlement money, Marissa was buying TAC from him and not for nothing, I believe Izzy has money of her own and is currently running a business.  I do agree that Bull will be bored just sitting around but he is in the enviable position of being able to afford to do whatever he wants without worrying about paying the bills.  I'm sure he'll find something to occupy his time.

On 6/3/2022 at 9:44 PM, LuvMyShows said:

So I got curious about this and consulted Attorney Google.  Attorney-client privilege extends to attorneys only (and translators in some circumstances).  The only exception I saw was if someone was speaking to a person that they reasonably believed was their attorney (in other words, so that police couldn't pretend to be a lawyer and then nail the person for 'confessing' to them).  In the case of this show, it did look like the perp reasonably thought Bull was his lawyer.  However, if he had done the same confession to Danny, it would not have held.

Attorney-client privilege extends to all who work with and for the attorney (Paralegals are specifically cited in these references, which of course Bull is not, but they both also mention all others working for the firm)...

Does Attorney-Client Privilege Extend to Paralegals?

Attorney-client privilege does extend to paralegals and to all employees, agents and contractors associated with the law firm, as long as that individual is working as an agent of an attorney qualified to give legal advice.

Paralegals are Required to Uphold Client Privilege

While paralegals are barred from being a participant of the attorney-client privilege, they must behave in a manner that upholds and protects the rights held between an attorney and a client. Paralegals are legally and ethically required to do so.

In the American Bar Association’s Model Rules for Professional Conduct, Model Rule 5.3, which applies to non-lawyer assistants, verifies that anyone working under the direction of a lawyer must make assurances that their, “conduct is compatible with the professional obligations of the lawyer.”

Edited June 6, 2022 by sharkerbaby

[Daff]

On 6/3/2022 at 10:44 PM, LuvMyShows said:

In terms of the significance of him leaving the glasses, am I correct in remembering that they are glasses with lenses that are not corrective, so they are just for effect, and his leaving them is sort of a sign that he is going to be more authentic from now on? 

Nice call on the symbolism. If you missed the scene where he admitted his purpose using them, the gesture was lost. 

[LadyIrony]

On 6/4/2022 at 12:44 PM, LuvMyShows said:

Where on earth is Marissa getting the money to buy out TAC from Bull?  Just a few episodes ago wasn't she wiped out financially from whichever recent male had tricked her?

Selling all her zipper dresses and high heels?