Notorious Season 1 Episode 2 Review: The Perp Walk
Jay Ruymann
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Whew, what a funeral, right?
Notorious Season 1 Episode 2 relied on the strength of Julia and Jake's bond as they attempted to use their means to sway two separate, very distinct and problematic cases.
Sarah's death is still the major player in the overarching plot, and not only is Oscar taking it hard, so is Jake.
Someone wants me to believe Oscar beats his wife and has a mistress.
Julia
Oscar vents his frustrations by boozing it up and painting himself in an even darker, more suspicious light than finding the body and being covered in her blood already did. Did he murder her?
It's possible. Who's to say when his drinking began again? The stress of a hit-and-run investigation, one that he didn't commit but his wife did, couldn't driven him to a bottle, and then the anger he felt for the wife that was going to let him go to prison for her crime built.
Going off of the photos Julia received, it's entirely possible Oscar took things to an extreme. The picture of Sarah with bruises suggests that Oscar beat his wife, but was/is that a symptom of his drinking? When was the photo taken? Why didn't Sarah leave him?
Oscar Keaton is a person of interest, and has been asked to stay in L.A.
Louise
As a suspect already, his drinking and getting into a bar fight while writing her eulogy doesn't paint a beautiful picture that claims innocence.
But, being the badass that he is, Jake's plans successfully worked. Or did it?
Despite his grief, he took his anger out on Julia and went about his job as a professional, for the most part. He brilliantly figured the best place for Oscar would be a prison cell: sober up, stay out of the spotlight, and Jake can begin to work on the defense instead of clean up his new messes.
Given that he slept with Oscar's wife the night before her murder, when will this secret come to light, and how will Oscar react? He probably is no innocent bystander in the topic of affairs, but still, he has an image to protect.
Jake's personal involvement with this case is obviously becoming a very sticky matter, and with Julia finally convincing Sarah's brother to come onto her show and his wish to burn Oscar at the stake on television, how will this play out?
When will his brother Bradley step in and take over the Keaton case?
Elsewhere, Jake's newest client, a mother wrecked over her missing baby boy, is not what she seems.
Abby doesn't have a child. Everything she's saying is a lie.
Ex-boyfriend
Thankfully, she did in fact have a child and was not attempting to grab attention, or steal someone else's child? Her motive was actually very protective for her actions.
Giving your child to a woman at your church that has a family to adopt him to keep him safe from your abusive ex-husband that is up for parole is about the most selfless thing one could do for their child, other than jumping in front of a bullet or something.
Personally, my belief was that this woman was just crazy and wanted attention after her ex-boyfriend claimed she didn't have a child. Maybe I've just been watching Criminal Minds too often.
But Notorious doesn't seem like a series to avoid going down that route. Hopefully, as things heat up, the mysteries and stories get darker and more dangerous, especially involving Sarah's murder. There's a lot of room to play around and make things more twisted and interesting, so going for the PG solution isn't going to satisfy the craving of the viewers.
The Supporters:
Luke: You'd rather have too much than not enough.
Louise: That's what I always say.
Julia: Oh my god, Louise, we're at a funeral.
Louise is a shining light as the free-spirited television news anchor, but her freedom had to have come with a cost. If Notorious continues for more than one season, following Louise's path might make for a very interesting watch, especially if there's a dive into her past. Her comedic edge just makes her the perfect fit for the seriousness of lawyer-ing and producing.
Ella is a committed employee of Jake, and she seems like the type of person to do whatever it takes to claw her way to the top. Where will this season take her, and when will she become more?
Ryan is a mess. His homeless self was sleeping on his boss' couch for multiple days because he didn't want to go home to his father's house. He's basically the LHL personal assistant for everyone, he needs to sort his stuff out.
You're saying whoever sent the photo works here.
Julia
Megan is Julia's Ella. She is committed to her job, her boss, and willing to do what she needs to in her journey to come out on top. Could she have been the inside man to send Julia the photos in an attempt to shake her and replace her?
You can watch Notorious online right here at TV Fanatic, and don't miss the newest episode Thursday, October 6 at 9/8c on ABC.
Jay Ruymann was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. He retired in January 2018.
