The Lincoln Lawyer Season 2 Episode 7 Review: Cui Bono
Denis Kimathi
at
.
D-day!
Everything that had happened on The Lincoln Lawyer Season 2 so far had been leading up to this day -- The People vs. Lisa Trammel.
Supporters and opposers packed the courtroom in the gallery. As usual, Judge Medina was not a fan of theatrics, so everyone needed to make their case by sticking to the facts.
The Lincoln Lawyer Season 2 Episode 7 picked up on the first day of the trial, and it was time to present opening statements.
Every part of a trial, especially with a jury, is important. You must make great impressions throughout or risk losing someone, which can be the final nail in someone's coffin.
It was disappointing that we didn't see the jury selection process, which is usually the first of a series of important tasks.
Mickey's words taught us that one juror might be on their side, and usually, that's all lawyers need.
Legal: Now, what's so important that you had to see me the morning your trial starts?
Mickey: Someone left this on my doorstep last night.
Legal: That's an FBI target letter.
Mickey: Yeah, addressed to Alex Grant, also known as Alex Gazarian, my strawman.
Legal: I prefer the term alternate suspect, and this says that your alternate suspect is a person of interest in a federal investigation.
Mickey: Construction fraud. You know that e-mail Mitchell Bondurant sent? This puts it in a whole new light.
Legal: How so?
Mickey: Well, Bondurant sends an e-mail threatening to expose Alex Grant. By itself, it's not clear what he meant. The judge even said it wasn't enough to point the finger at him. She needed more. Well, this is more. This makes it look like Alex Grant was up to something illegal. That e-mail he sent wasn't a threat. He was blackmailed.
Legal: Blackmail's are pretty good motive to kill someone if it's legit. But this? This just shows up on your doorstep on the eve of trial. Either someone's really trying to help you, or they're really trying to fuck with you. You gotta find out which one.
Mickey: How do I do that?
Legal: Well, first, you gotta confirm that the letter is real or not, and you gotta do it fast.
But before the trial, Mickey found a mysterious letter (that we learned was not so mysterious after all) on his door, and if Legal's advice was needed, it must have been serious.
The target letter was a game changer. Mickey's case against Alex Grant was based on words from an open-to-interpretation email.
A target letter from the FBI proved that something was going on with Alex, and Bondurant might have known about it, using it to blackmail Alex.
Suddenly, it didn't seem so farfetched after all. Blackmail is a strong motive in anyone's books.
But letters are easy to print -- even from the FBI.
They had to confirm the letter was true before introducing it in court, which took some doing from Cisco.
This far, Mickey had nothing with which to defend Lisa. The evidence was overwhelming, and he had one play -- prove Lisa was being framed and give the jury another suspect. It was easier said than done. Not when Andrea, on the other side, was out for blood.
Many trials on TV don't get the full attention they need because there is only so much time in an episode. But we got it in full in this case.
Andrea Freeman was good; there was no denying that. She captured the jury's attention and kept them feeding from her hand for 25 minutes exactly.
Members of the jury, good morning. My name is Deputy District Attorney Andrea Freeman, and I'm here today to speak on behalf of someone who can't. The hard-working, successful man who helped build this city we call home and employed thousands of people along the way, Mitchell Bondurant. I'm here to tell you about the last brutal, violent moments of his life and about the person who ended it. The defendant, Lisa Trammel. Now the facts of this case. They're simple. The defendant and Mr. Bondurant were in a dispute. A dispute which forced Mr. Bondurant to take out a restraining order against the defendant because of her continued harassment. On the morning of the murder, after visiting a nearby farmers market, the defendant entered a local coffee shop near the victim's office, where she saw Mr. Bondurant getting a cup of coffee. The evidence will show that she then left the coffee shop, hurried to his parking garage, and hid behind a pillar, knowing he'd be arriving soon. There, she waited for him, slipping on a pair of gloves to make sure she didn't leave any fingerprints. And when Mr. Bondurant finally arrived and got out of his car, she viciously attacked him from behind, bludgeoning him over the head with a blunt instrument. Beating him literally to death. The evidence will show how the defendant hated Mr. Bondurant, how she stalked him, and how on the day of the murder, she entered his parking garage with the motive, the means, and the opportunity to kill.
Andrea
She was so good that you couldn't tell whether she believed what she was saying. She spoke with calm assuredness; it was marvelous to see.
She commanded the room, pacing upright without looking like she was in a rush.
She didn't shy away from getting ugly. She painted the full image of the crime scene, Lisa's motivation for killing Bondurant, and her opportunity that morning. Then there was forensic evidence. It would be the hardest thing to discount.
Lastly, you'll hear how police found the defendant's gardening gloves in her garage with Mitchell Bondurant's blood on the gloves she used to murder him, blood that could have only been from that murder. As I said, it's simple. The facts don't lie. Now, defense counsel will try to paint the defendant as an upstanding member of her community, a victim of gentrification who was harassed by Mitchell Bondurant. All I would say to that is don't be fooled. Don't be fooled by the calm expression, the crisp white blouse, the manicured nails. Don't be fooled by all the red herrings and smoke and mirrors. Defense counsel will put on a good show. That's all it is. A show. Because he has no answers to the evidence we will present, and in the end, his shiny bag of tricks does not erase the fact that Mitchell Bondurant was brutally and violently murdered. And the woman who murdered him is sitting right there.
Andrea
Mickey did not waste time arguing that Lisa Trammel was innocent. He ran with what they believed about Lisa being framed. It would be hard to prove someone was being framed when all expert witness testimony pointed to Lisa being the killer.
Well, that was intense. So why don't we take a few steps back? I'd like to start off first by introducing you to my client, Lisa Trammell. As you may know, she's a chef at a very good restaurant called Elysian. Anybody here like to eat? Well, take it from me, the food in that place is just out of this world. Lisa has worked hard for over ten years, perfecting the menu. Now the prosecution says she's got a temp. What? Really? A chef with a temper. Whoever heard of such a thing? Because the prosecutor has never seen one of those cooking TV shows. Yes, she's got a temper. A lot of chefs do. Comes with the territory, with the stress and long hours. I'm pretty sure it's not a quality that she's proud of. Doesn't make her a killer, does it?
Mickey
Even the detective in charge of the case talked honestly about the facts.
Since Alex Grant was set to testify, Mickey Haller's task was to steer the case in that direction because it was the only play.
It was all that was needed if they could get Alex to admit something damning about himself.
The letter's authenticity was yet to be confirmed as the trial progressed, which put Mickey in a difficult position.
His entire defense hinged on Alex Grant and the letter.
So, when it was his turn, he just trod water. He asked the most basic questions, and the detective's exasperation was palpable.
But that might have worked in Mickey's favor because, by the time he introduced the letter, the detective was worn out and would have said anything to leave the stand.
By that point, the jury was starting to believe that Lisa could not have been the only suspect with a strong motive. But there was the question of the overwhelming evidence.
This case was hanging on by a thread, and were it not for FBI's Agent Vasquez, Mickey might not have been able to pull it off.
Izzy still chased her dream of owning a dance studio but hit a snag elsewhere.
I was glad the show focused more on Izzy independently of Mickey's problems. She was interesting and deserved a storyline.
She had been talking about the dance studio for so long, and when it was finally within her reach, the manager moved the target.
With Maggie out of the picture, Mickey was more involved in Hailey's life, and he discovered she had a crush on a boy.
Despite trying to act cool about it, he was such a dad. However, he was still happy that his little girl was growing. She also didn't lie to him.
Lisa's case was a true pain. When they made one step forward, something else would come up and pull them two steps back.
The discovery of the murder weapon was one such thing.
Even if there had been such overwhelming evidence against Lisa, the only thing she had going for her was that the prosecution had not found the murder weapon.
The hammer – the same as was used to kill Bondurant – was found, and this was the last nail, no pun intended.
Who was willing to bet that the hammer would be a match? Who was willing to bet the blood on it would match Bondurant's? Who was willing to be the fingerprints that would match Lisa's?
It was time to decide. Was Lisa being framed, or was she guilty?
What did you think? Let us know in the comments section.
Denis Kimathi was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. He has watched more dramas and comedies than he cares to remember. Catch him on social media obsessing over [excellent] past, current, and upcoming shows or going off about the politics of representation on TV. Follow him on X.
