All Rise Season 1 Episode 3 Review: Sweet Bird of Truth
Paul Dailly
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Poor Luke.
All Rise Season 1 Episode 3 was another topical installment of this new CBS drama, and it was a rough one for Luke.
To date, the character has helped keep the justice system fair at every turn, but it was difficult to watch him be racially profiled and essentially arrested by fellow officers.
It's harrowing to think that people are being put in handcuffs because of their skin color.
What was supposed to be a big day for Luke ultimately became a day of reflection. He was pissed that he was treated that way and that there was nothing he could do about it.
This would be a completely different story if he genuinely did something bad, but he was out for a morning run on his way to work.
That's grim.
He was forced to shut down to think about how best to proceed. We hear all too often about police officers shooting people of color, so he knew there was little he could do.
The typically cheery young man took a step back in the aftermath, checking out of reality to think about why this kind of thing is happening.
Even worse is that all the excitement of being handed an award because of his efforts washed away the moment he was handcuffed and put in a cop car.
How was he supposed to just move on as though it was a regular occurrence?
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The most frustrating part of the storyline was the way the cop tried to have a joke with Luke the day after the incident as though they were buddies.
It was perfectly in-character for Luke to keep his cool, but the way he managed to make the cop aware that he was angry was perfect.
Why should Luke have been silenced at the event? He was the one accepting the award -- not the cop.
Emily's confusion about the way Luke was acting was warranted. They made fast friends the moment they laid eyes on each other, and she knew there was something off with him.
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Whether Luke will ever tell her the truth, I don't know, but it's great they managed to put it aside and leave the event to go somewhere more comfortable.
The direction that relationship is going is not platonic, and that's okay. Emily will have some reservations because she's going through a divorce, but the chemistry between them is undeniable.
Lola made her first big blunder, and it could have had adverse effects on her tenure as a judge. The case was the most complicated to date, sure, but allowing someone to testify using the identity of their avatar seemed ridiculous from the start.
That was a bit out of left field to take seriously. Lola has a heart of gold, but there's only so much she can do without going too far.
Driscoll: Ms. Cartwright, how did you come to amass 200,000 followers?
Janni: By you, do you mean Irk?
Driscoll: Let me rephrase, I'd like to know how you, Janni, created your avatar Irk.
Janni: I, uh, uh, she, Irk is air cobra who descends from a long line of avian Queens. I'm royalty. I mean Irk's royalty, I, um. She...
Lola: Counselor, does your witness need a minute?
Driscoll: How 'bout you keep your pronouns straight?
Jani: I can't.
Lola: Jani, why do you find it difficult to answer Mr. Driscoll's questions?
Jani: I'm more comfortable when I'm online, when I'm just me.
Lola: Alright, but we are here, and you're a witness in a very serious proceeding.
Jani: Irk isn't in my mind. Irk's me.
Janni was visibly uncomfortable when fielding questions, but that comes with the territory of being on that stand and getting questioned.
This should be a learning moment for Lola because there was a real possibility that the prosecutor was going to call for an investigation into the way she conducts herself in the courtroom.
Lola: Judge Binner!
Liz: What, you didn't like your new furniture? Stairwell 411?
Lola: Oh, right. Getting my 10,000 steps in is kind of hard without the Santa Monica stairs, so I ask people to meet me up here and then we walking down.
Liz: In heels?
Lola: Each step counts as double. Plus, it's nice to get outside of the office. How's your day?
Liz: Lovely, thanks for asking. I understand our chambers can feel a bit snug at first.
Lola: No, I like them very much.
Liz: But instead of the fire route, we do have the judges' lounge.
Lola: I'm trying to ease my way in. There's a little too much golf talk for me.
Liz: If you want to feel like you belong, and I want you to, you will need to spend more time with us, your new friends. And less time up here in the treehouse with your old ones. I'll see ya in the lounge.
What Lola did came from a place of love. There isn't a negative bone in her body, but the incident should teach her that sometimes she needs to let the judicial system run its course.
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The whole case was completely absurd, but it did allow for some of the more comedic moments in this installment.
As a whole, Lola needs to take a step back and decide who she wants to be friends with now that her 411s on the stairwell have been outed.
Lisa knew exactly what Lola was doing, and that's why she sent the "fake" text message to Mark at the event. She wanted Lola to know that it was time to leave her old life behind if she wanted to thrive as a judge.
There's no questioning whether it will be difficult for Lola to make new friends. The other judges hate her because she's all about finding the best solution to the problem at hand as opposed to using statistics as her right hand.
Officer: You fit the description, you ducked behind a car.
Luke: To tie my shoe.
Officer: I don't know that. All I know is I got a male, black, smashing windows. You get it, right?
Luke: Am I free to go now.
Officer: Enjoy the rest of your run.
Lisa wants Lola to succeed, but Lola needs to take a leap of faith and try to make more friends in the Judges' Lounge.
It's going to be tough, but Lola will win those men over at some point.
We got introduced to another layer of Mark on "Sweet Bird of Truth," and it was an intriguing one. He has so many similarities to Lola it's frightening.
They are both the nicest people you would ever meet. Mark knew there was going to be trouble when the woman he was defending refused to show up for court.
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It was interesting that the case made him wonder about the justice system as a whole and how it fails people. A lot of people think that being called to testify is rather harrowing.
But the young woman Mark was defending thought the whole world was against her and that nobody gave a crap about her.
His tenacity helped the woman realize there is still a lot of good out there. For him, that was a job well done.
This installment was the weakest of the three episodes to date, but there was still a lot to enjoy.
What are your thoughts on All Rise?
Are you still tuned in to this new drama?
Hit the comments below.
Remember, you can watch All Rise online right here via TV Fanatic.
All Rise airs Mondays on CBS.
Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.
