S02.E22: Death Sentence

[MyAimIsTrue]

Bull’s team is rocked when their client, Elliott Miles, is found guilty of murder, and they must regroup as the trial enters the penalty phase in order to prevent him from being sentenced to death. But when new evidence emerges that could prove Elliott’s innocence, Bull must find a way to present it in court without being found in contempt. Also, Marissa faces hard truths about her relationship with Bull.

[MerBearHou]

I was very, very moved by this episode.  And my favorite song of all time played at the beginning and the end.  I’ll write more later when everyone has seen the episode.  Loved it all.

[JessDVD]

It must be weird to be mute, but still able to hear. Being deaf, the world goes around you and you're not able to even know what's going on. Being mute, the world goes around you and you know what's going on but can't easily be a part of it.

Right, show. Bull has predictable heart attack that will no doubt be resolved in the first 20 seconds of the fall opener. Team has predictable reactions to Bull's describing himself while describing a psychopath. Chunk's professor has predictable change of heart toward trial science. Innocent guy predictably gets off, while I predictably am grateful that in real life, a prosecution needs some evidence other than what was clearly wrong place/wrong time to take someone to trial for first-degree murder.

[JackONeill]

Would you open the door for someone who had a TAC id? Give me a break

[Bobbin]

13 hours ago, JessDVD said:

Innocent guy predictably gets off, while I predictably am grateful that in real life, a prosecution needs some evidence other than what was clearly wrong place/wrong time to take someone to trial for first-degree murder.

The hypocrisy of the prosecutor objecting to Benny offering "could have..." as a defense when the state's entire case was based on "could have..." and "might have..." and "I don't remember, but maybe...." By the way, there have been cases IRL where courts have refused to reverse a conviction on appeal because they were only allowed to assess whether the original ruling was appropriate based on the evidence presented at that time, no matter how much evidence of innocence was turned up afterward. This case could have been stretched into three parts.

[LuvMyShows]

OMG this 2-parter worked my last nerve.  I like this show, I really really do, but when they strain credulity this many times, and this deeply, it's just exasperating:

• I could definitely understand Marissa leaving the note and coming to the conclusion that she needs to leave, based on what she realized in therapy.  But her going to retrieve it and tear it up, when nothing different had occurred with Bull than happens at any other time, just didn't make sense.  I could have understood it, if she sort of acknowledged Bull's brilliance/justice-providing/righting of wrongs (or whatever it is that attracts her), and then acknowledged to herself that if she's going to stay, she has to change the dysfunctional dynamic...that would have shown growth and been believable, but this just makes her look flighty and not willing to stick up for herself and her convictions.
• Not sure what to make of the reaming that Marissa gave Bull...it was true, he heeded it, but only for a few days, then is presumably back to boozing it up, overeating, and not sleeping enough, and all is well?
• The girlfriend never said that the prosecutor offered her protection only if she changed the time from 8:15 to 9:15; Benny concluded that.  If the prosecutor simply offered protection for her testifying, then I think that's OK.  But let's assume that she was offered that deal as a bribe to lie, which is what the show was clearly implying.  How on earth could it not be gross prosecutorial misconduct to bribe a witness to change their story and lie under oath?
• But really, the prosecutor's staff would have concluded just as Bull's team did, that she was a flake who would crumble under oath; she would never have appeared as a witness.
• The reason given why the neighbor woman didn't mention the limp before, is that "they didn't ask".  But neither did Dani; the woman simply volunteered the info in her first or second info bits of speaking, which is realistically what would have happened when the police talked to her as well. 
• As mentioned by Jack ONeill above, a security-minded person opening the door based on seeing a TAC badge?  Yes, it was a needed plot device for the glasses, but actually bad on Bull's team for not having asked her, while she was testifying, whether she wears glasses or has any vision impediment, which is a standard question I've seen on many shows before..
• Why on earth didn't Bull's team get in touch with the expert from Bull's law school before the penalty phase, to help prove their client innocent?
• There would not have been such a shocked murmur in the entire courtroom when the expert described the killer as a psychopath (but of course we needed it for "Chunk is right" purposes).
• During the voir-dire, there was that point where Bull was talking to Melissa on the earphone/headset for a very long amount of time, and nothing else was going on in the courtroom, yet the judge didn't say anything to him or Benny.  And they never really explained why Bull was so dead set to use up all his jury member strikes when there were still 8 prospective jurors that hadn't been questioned at all.
• I know there's supposed to be callousness in the city, but the courthouse steps are more collegial...I find it very hard to believe that no one other than the original little boy would approach Bull while he's lying prostrate on the ground.
• Bull is a smart guy, and would undoubtedly have loosened his tie and shirt, and removed his jacket, if he thought he was having a heart attack.
• As mentioned by JessDVD above, the expert's opinion change towards Chunk was soooo predictable...and ridiculous on so many levels, not the least of which being that the expert's name would have been given to Chunk beforehand. 
• They never really explained or did much with the mute guy's empathy towards Bull, and that whole "you are not alone" thing.
• The speed with which the FBI reached its conclusion, and decided to intervene, was absurd.  IRL there would have been time needed for corroboration, related investigation, and official permission to take the intervening action.
• But sadly, there are so many cases IRL where exculpatory information is known and agreed to by all sides, yet the convicted person still remains convicted, and in jail, until and unless the right timing of appeals can occur.
• Not sure if we have seen Bull's ex/Benny's sis before, but she so didn't seem like someone Bull would be attracted to, let alone enough to marry, and especially to be so consumed with later.

[JessDVD]

This show is too new to have this level of thinly cobbled together plotlines. I know all these shows have the other agencies be incompetent, assholes, or incompetent assholes so that our people can shine, but the way suspects have been arrested, thrown in jail, and taken to trial based on nearly no evidence with no sign of actual investigation, is really making me fear for the justice system of America. And it's also really getting on my nerves how they show voir dire, and things will happen like Bull insists that one juror is a bad call and then they don't even interview the other 8, or earlier ones where Bull doesn't want one but they have to have them or whatever, that don't end up going anywhere. I felt like that's kind of the main thrust of the show back when it was being pitched and now the show is much more about "person is falsely accused and Bull's team has to come up with the evidence that everyone else, apparently, can't before the verdict is delivered" which I'll grant is more interesting TV, but is really, really unrealistic.

[SterlingSilver36]

I don't watch CBS dramas for realism. I want to be entertained. I like Bull, Benny, Marissa -- the whole gang. I enjoy the standard procedural entree with a side of character development. The show makes me smile and sometimes my eyes fill with all the feels.

[MerBearHou]

1 hour ago, SterlingSilver36 said:

I don't watch CBS dramas for realism. I want to be entertained. I like Bull, Benny, Marissa -- the whole gang. I enjoy the standard procedural entree with a side of character development. The show makes me smile and sometimes my eyes fill with all the feels.

All of this — agreed.

I’m a Marissa IRL so I identified with her realizations, her need to write the letter, and then her decision to tear it up because she loves her work, she loves Bull, she is one who takes care of others.  I could have written that letter myself many times and then torn it up.

I thought the defendant was one of the most magnetic (for me) ever — perhaps because he couldn’t speak, I saw so much in his expressions and eyes and got attached to the character.  When he was overcome with gratitude and emotion at the end, it was so well-acted and I felt it too — far more than on most of these procedurals.  I was so thankful that Bull went with his gut on this guy and Benny fought hard for him, even when he felt out of his depth.

The judge irritated me a great deal though.  

I loved Bull’s gratitude at the table at the end when he told Benny to tell his staff “they did this” because he was fighting how badly he felt and knew he couldn’t tell them himself.  I watched it a 2nd time and you can see Michael Weatherly subtly acting as though he was struggling but had to get to the end of the trial.  Well-done, MW.

The song “Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me” by Mel Carter is my favorite — it’s so soulful and I could listen to it 1000 times without getting tired of it.  I have never heard it used in a tv show or movie so that made me just swoon.

My husband has had 3 heart attacks so seeing Bull struggle and valiantly call 911 and lie down to wait for EMS — well, it hit me very hard and very close to home.  That is exactly how my husband is — lives for the work and doesn’t pamper himself healthwise and powers through until his heart tells him to “cut it out, buddy”.  The way Michael played it was so low-key rather than a big, dramatic heart attack — that is exactly how it’s been in our experience and I just hurt for Bull.

So these are my reasons for loving this 2-part episode.  I understand the complaints mentioned above but I had a very different experience with this story arc and the actors.

PS:  just saw “Hamilton” and it’s amazing to think of Chunk as George Washington.  Would love to have seen him in that role.  I was glad that his professor found respect for Chunk and what he does as a trial scientist.  Never understood the professor’s unfair treatment in the first place.  

Edited May 10, 2018 by MerBearHou

[Happywatcher]

What a bunch of crap. A federal judge in a death penalty case threatens a defense attorney against making an argument in front of a jury? The courts of appeal would overturn that so fast her head would spin, the question would be if she got charged by the federal conference.

Marissa storyline was silly

[Destiny74]

Do judges really trust that a jury is as smart as that judge thinks they are?  These are normal people with normal lives, most of whom do not know the law.  She "trusted" that the jury would do such and such way more than I feel a judge on a death penalty case would have.

The cops didn't notice the receipt or didn't seem to give a damn to follow up on it.  They could've gotten the video and at least questioned the man in the video.  How did a random guy's receipt end up in the SUV?  This is a question I hope the cops would've wanted answered.  Not to mention Bull's team had access to the evidence?  They didn't catch it?  Mute dude didn't smoke, dead guy didn't smoke, so why was there a receipt for cigarettes in the car?

I know we, as a society, have turned rather callous.  But, to see a man in an obviously expensive suit lying on the ground and not at least ask if he was ok?  Not one of those people in front of the courthouse felt something was wrong?  I call baloney.  And for Bull, no matter how off he was feeling, to not wait for his client to return to the defense table and congratulate him and hug him was unrealistic.  To just up and leave before even saying congrats?  I don't buy it.  Not to mention he would've had immediate help if he laid down in the courtroom.  Nope.  He wouldn't have gone anywhere.  He would have collapsed in the courtroom.

[EtheltoTillie]

BTW that wasn't actually the federal courthouse at the end.  It was the same state court steps where Law and Order is always filmed. They did some CGI for the name above the doorway. The real federal courthouses are behind that building and another across the street. I'm  sure the feds would never let anyone film there.  NYS obviously loves the revenue. 

Edited May 13, 2018 by GussieK

[greyflannel]

On 5/9/2018 at 8:39 PM, MerBearHou said:

All of this — agreed.

I’m a Marissa IRL so I identified with her realizations, her need to write the letter, and then her decision to tear it up because she loves her work, she loves Bull, she is one who takes care of others.  I could have written that letter myself many times and then torn it up.

I thought the defendant was one of the most magnetic (for me) ever — perhaps because he couldn’t speak, I saw so much in his expressions and eyes and got attached to the character.  When he was overcome with gratitude and emotion at the end, it was so well-acted and I felt it too — far more than on most of these procedurals.  I was so thankful that Bull went with his gut on this guy and Benny fought hard for him, even when he felt out of his depth.

The judge irritated me a great deal though.  

I loved Bull’s gratitude at the table at the end when he told Benny to tell his staff “they did this” because he was fighting how badly he felt and knew he couldn’t tell them himself.  I watched it a 2nd time and you can see Michael Weatherly subtly acting as though he was struggling but had to get to the end of the trial.  Well-done, MW.

The song “Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me” by Mel Carter is my favorite — it’s so soulful and I could listen to it 1000 times without getting tired of it.  I have never heard it used in a tv show or movie so that made me just swoon.

My husband has had 3 heart attacks so seeing Bull struggle and valiantly call 911 and lie down to wait for EMS — well, it hit me very hard and very close to home.  That is exactly how my husband is — lives for the work and doesn’t pamper himself healthwise and powers through until his heart tells him to “cut it out, buddy”.  The way Michael played it was so low-key rather than a big, dramatic heart attack — that is exactly how it’s been in our experience and I just hurt for Bull.

So these are my reasons for loving this 2-part episode.  I understand the complaints mentioned above but I had a very different experience with this story arc and the actors.

PS:  just saw “Hamilton” and it’s amazing to think of Chunk as George Washington.  Would love to have seen him in that role.  I was glad that his professor found respect for Chunk and what he does as a trial scientist.  Never understood the professor’s unfair treatment in the first place.  

There really is just something about that song. It was also used in the movie "We Were Soldiers", and it really gave more emotional impact to the scene it was in. 

[Misslindsey]

On 5/9/2018 at 11:39 PM, MerBearHou said:

 just saw “Hamilton” and it’s amazing to think of Chunk as George Washington.  Would love to have seen him in that role.  I was glad that his professor found respect for Chunk and what he does as a trial scientist.  Never understood the professor’s unfair treatment in the first place.  

The three times I saw Hamilton with the original cast it was a given Christopher Jackson could make me cry during "One Last Time" every time. 

[EtheltoTillie]

Luv my shows:  excellent points.

Another quibble, admittedly somewhat trivial (NYC reality check division). Aside from having to contrive to make this a federal case to show a death penalty episode in NY, they didn't even attempt to use the real federal courthouse for the final scene ('cause I'm sure they won't let them film there).  So they used the state courthouse steps, the ones always shown on Law and Order (I guess NY State loves to get the extra money and doesn't care as much as the feds do about security).  (The State courthouse is actually next door to the two federal courthouses on that block.) They even showed the wrong address.  It said 60 Centre Street, which is the real address of the state courthouse, but they CGI'd fake lettering that said Federal Courthouse at the top.

On 5/9/2018 at 5:37 PM, LuvMyShows said:

• During the voir-dire, there was that point where Bull was talking to Melissa on the earphone/headset for a very long amount of time, and nothing else was going on in the courtroom, yet the judge didn't say anything to him or Benny.  And they never really explained why Bull was so dead set to use up all his jury member strikes when there were still 8 prospective jurors that hadn't been questioned at all.

This is the stuff that really gets my goat.  No judge would allow this headphone mumbling to go on. 

[laredhead]

Did Michael Weatherly really gain weight over the season, or was he wearing smaller clothes and extra padding to make him look out of shape?  I hope he loses the scruffy, unshaven look next season.  If I thought I was having a heart attack, I don't think I would wander outside to the steps, but would have said something inside where there were people to immediately call 911 and there might have been some EMT's on duty in the building.  Guess his character wasn't thinking straight at that time.