The Lincoln Lawyer Season 2 Episode 8 Review: Covenants and Stipulations
Denis Kimathi
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Our The Lincoln Lawyer Season 1 Episode 3 review presented that taking everything about Lisa Trammel with a grain of salt was wise.
It was important to question most of what she told Mickey because there was a fair chance she might have killed Mitchel Bondurant and was trying to cover herself.
As the case progressed and more evidence started to emerge, that was looking like the truth with every passing episode.
She hid things and seemed to have an explanation for everything, and some things about her past didn't quite add up.
The discovery of the murder weapon was a game-changer for both the prosecution and the defense.
Mickey was shaken by that development -- a first for him -- as it would nail Lisa to the cross in broad daylight.
But in a court of law, everything is open to scrutiny, and the timing of the murder weapon could not have been more suspect.
The Lincoln Lawyer Season 2 Episode 8 saw Mickey fight for Lisa's life after multiple witnesses took the stand and painted Lisa as the worst person ever. After learning about the case and its publicity, the mysterious Jeff Trammel returned stateside looking for a payday.
Was that Jeff, though?
But first, there was the question of the hammer.
It was discovered by a landscaper who had been landscaping the same place for the past 24 weeks and had been missing the hammer the entire time.
The landscaper was the first sign that Lisa might be innocent.
It is normal for someone to feel tense when taking the stand for the first time, but the man was downright anxious, having a dry throat.
And when he spoke, he said everything one would expect to be damning to Lisa.
He explained how he found the hammer but didn't touch it; it had blood.
Mickey was quick to clock that and asked all the right questions.
So, in the last six months, you looked at those hedges many times, correct? Many times, I'm sure. And yet, you never saw that hammer before. Until, suddenly, the hammer just shows up at the exact same time my client happens to be on trial for murder.
Mickey
And the hammer question didn't end with the landscaper. How did the police miss the hammer despite having done a thorough search?
It was almost like the hammer was planted there in the past few days.
What could have helped was if they had brought up the material the hammer was made from. If it was any kind of metal prone to rust, there must have been evidence that it had been sitting there for the past six months.
And even if the metal part didn't rust, six months is a long time for something to be exposed to the elements without any degradation.
After perusing some of the material presented, Mickey figured there was no way he could disprove all the facts laid out. If he went down that route, he'd risk hurting his client more.
If Lisa Trammel was truly being framed, everything would return positive. He had to do something else.
Initially, his line of defense was to find more witnesses to tell Lisa's story.
But the other side's witnesses seemed to be doing a better job of exposing the frame job than anything else.
A building inspector came to testify with a photo he'd taken in one of Bondurant's sites showing Lisa attacking Mitchel.
You keep saying "photos," Mr. Kim, but the prosecution only offered one. What happened to the others?
Mickey
But, like the landscaper before him, he seemed a little too nervous. Like how someone lying on the stand would look.
He had responses -- and neat ones, for that matter -- ready for every question Mickey asked.
But he didn't account for anyone else's perspective in the scene depicted in the picture. And suddenly, Lisa was in the clear. Mitchel had approached and attacked her.
Apart from showing that the photo misrepresented the events, Mickey Haller also showed that the man had a close relationship with Alex Grant, which would allow him to lie to protect Alex.
They even had a neighbor testify about how bad Lisa was. But the neighbor held a grudge against Lisa for costing her over one million dollars.
But the final straw was Henry Dahl's tapes.
Henry had held back some raw recordings even when Mickey had ordered him to turn them over.
There seemed to be a deliberate effort to make Lisa appear guilty, and it looked like someone had gone into a lot of trouble to make it happen.
The subtle signs in the witnesses' demeanor and speech could have been easy to miss for a regular person, but Mickey was all over it.
Lisa had been begging to be put on the stand, and Mickey rightfully rejected that.
Lisa: Why can't I just tell the truth on the stand?
Mickey: Andrea would magnify any inconsistency and make it look like a lie.
Lisa: But it's not.
Mickey: I know, Lisa, but even if we put you on the stand, it wouldn't be to tell the story of that day. It would be to tell your story. Why's your restaurant so important to you? If I was prepping you to testify, that's what we'd be talking about.It's too risky. Trust me.
Using the client as a witness is risky because it opens them to the prosecution's scrutiny, and you wouldn't want Andrea crossing paths with your client.
At best, she'd get in Lisa's head and prove that Lisa had a bad temper, and at worst, Lisa would admit something damning about herself. Clients have been known to have outbursts and reveal their guilt on the stand.
Mickey thought having people on the stand who knew Lisa would improve her case.
Rene, the chef's assistant from Lisa's restaurant, was the only candidate after Jeff proved to be a good-for-nothing dirtbag.
But sitting outside the courthouse awaiting his turn, Rene seemed nervous too. It was like someone had gotten to him.
Maybe it was for the best that he didn't take the stand.
It was also Mickey's birthday, and what a way to celebrate a non-celebratory day.
Izzy: Why does Mickey hate his birthday?
Lorna: His dad always forgot about it, and his mom always made it about her.
It was almost poetic that he didn't like his birthday as a kid, thanks to his dad's failure to attend and his mother making it all about her. Decades later, he still hated his birthday.
Elsewhere, Lorna Crane and Cisco decided on a big wedding, and who remembered they were getting married?
Maybe it's because we didn't see the early days of their relationship, but the anticipation for their wedding doesn't quite hit the same. We could learn they had eloped, and it would be just fine.
Mickey did something he had been avoiding doing and decided to call Lisa onto the stand.
What had he learned, and how did Lisa fit into it?
Is Lisa totally innocent, half innocent, or guilty?
Are you invested in Lorna and Cisco's wedding?
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.
