Burden of Truth Season 3 Episode 1 Review: Crawford Chang
Leora W at .Everybody is cohabitating on Burden of Truth Season 3 Episode 1. Joanna and Billy have, apparently, been living together and working together for a year.
Taylor and Luna are also roommates now. And for those of us who were wondering about it last season, Diane and Owen are still together and sharing their living space.
When the series started, things were looking pretty good for Joanna and Billy. They functioned like a well-oiled machine. But as the show progressed, it became clear that that machine didn't run as smoothly as one would have hoped.
They are still Billy and Joanna, which means they still have a different idea of how law and life should work. Billy still wants to do the honest, honorable thing (legally, not in his relationship), and Joanna still wants to win.
She is not the same shark we met on Burden of Truth Season 1 Episode 1, despite the name mix-up at the reunion. She doesn't want to be Joanna Hanley anymore. But she still has trouble being sociable with her employees. She still has trouble opening up to anyone, even Billy.
And she's still terrified at the idea that she might be pregnant.
Joanna's pregnancy fear could be a simple case of a strong working woman who knows she doesn't have time for kids. That's how she tries to play it off. But we know Joanna better than that by now.
We know it is not just the time commitment she fears but her ability to connect with people and how her complicated relationship with her parents may have screwed her up beyond repair. Being a parent means being a person, and Joanna is still learning how to do that.
This is what we always see with Joanna, the struggle to relate and be human instead of just a really good lawyer. Of course, right now, she's questioning how good of a lawyer she is.
Her choice to not cross the line was a point for Joanna, the person, but a point against Joanna, the lawyer. She's worked so hard to find her humanity, and now she fears the progress she's made may have cost her the one thing she has always done well.
Joanna is at a crossroads. We find her, once again, at an emotional and defining moment in her life where she will have to choose what kind of person and lawyer she wants to be.
Joanna: I didn't cross the line and it cost us the trial. we're lawyers. We are paid to win. Nothing else matters.
Billy: That's Joanna Hanley talking.
Joanna: I love you, Billy.
Billy: I love you too; whoever you are.
Meanwhile, Billy's determination to please everybody is jeopardizing his relationship and his career. He's an honest guy most of the time, but not when it comes to his relationship.
You can't fault him for wanting to help his brother whatever the cost, but you can fault him for not telling Joanna how bad the money situation really is.
Not only is communication key in a relationship, but their finances affect her just as much as they affect him. Especially is she is pregnant. Which he doesn't know about. These two need to communicate.
Speaking of their relationship, you can tell this show was not made by the CW by the fact that the only remotely sexy scene faded away before anything really happened. It's different, but honestly, I think its a nice change of pace.
Some American networks are a little too obsessed with showing shirtless men if you ask me; you can get a lot across with a simple implication.
Moving on from Joanna, things are going pretty good for Luna. She's been rooming with Taylor and volunteering for Bear Clan Patrol.
She seems to have risen past what happened to her last year, though her comment to Taylor about not wanting to go to jail shows she has not forgotten.
While Crawford and Chang clearly can't afford to take on new people right now, I am glad that Luna is pursuing law and that she and Jonna are going to be working together again. Their relationship is crucial to the series, and we can never get enough of it.
Luna's experiences make her exactly the sort of person who would want to be a lawyer but also the kind of person who might get fed up with the law and how it works. Her journey to become a lawyer will be an interesting one to follow.
Joanna may be the lead, but Luna is a real draw for the audience. More Luna! And of course, the shipper in me can't help but wonder if Molly will pop up again at some point.
I'm nervous about Taylor. She's a great character, and she has come so far. In a lot of ways, the Bear Clan is probably perfect for her.
But she's still full of a lot of anger over what happened to her, and I worry that she is going to get herself in trouble. Luna learned last season not to be reckless. Hopefully, Taylor will learn without such a traumatizing tutorial.
Taylor: If my mom knew what my dad was up to she might have protected me.
Luna: This isn't what Bear Clan does.
Taylor: Well then you can wait in the van.
Luna: That's trespassing, hey! Trust me, you don't wanna go to jail.
I'm glad to see Diane again as she was missing for most of Burden of Truth Season 2. I'm relieved she and Owen are together. I understand their rage and fear of Mercer being out on parole because he was horrible.
At the same time, I'm always rooting for a redemption arc. That's just my thing. I'm more a Billy than a Joanna; I want to see the best in people.
This time though, it is Joanna who is giving someone the benefit of the doubt. Kodie Chartrand, the mysterious ghost from Joanna's past who Joanna trusts and Billy doesn't.
Its the first time we've seen Billy truly wary of somebody, which makes us suspicious too. And we know there is a story between her and Joanna that they haven't told us yet. I for one and dying to know. What did this girl do to gain such loyalty from Joanna?
For the first time, we saw Joanna struggling with the law. She is going to represent someone in a case for a type of law with which she is unfamiliar.
Kodie and Diane think she is the mystical person who can overcome anything, and she is just struggling to breathe right now. I think she's going to unravel a lot more before this is all over.
Diane: Maybe we can challenge it? Tonight?
Kodie: Please. You're the best.
Diane: She can do the impossible:
Joanna: I was a transactional lawyer. Corporate law. Big deals. Mergers and acquisitions. Private offerings securitized investments. I was good at it. I liked it. I like credit derivatives and to a lesser extent commodities swappings. They make sense to me. I can do those deals. I can do them perfectly. But a case like this? Families? Kid - just need a second. (Joanna goes and has a panic attack)
Billy: Hey, hey, hey. We can just go home. You know, find you a nice credit derivative case to work on. Hey.
Joanna: No (rips up the name tag with her old name) we go wake up a judge.
As for the law, she's smart, but it isn't her specialty, and there is only so much you can do in 48 hours. A lot is at stake, and it is getting to her.
This show puts us right in the hot seat with these cases, and we see just how much there is to lose. Just how far can Joanna fall before she either breaks? And will she rise like a phoenix from the ashes?
We know Joanna is strong, even though she doubts it right now. Previous seasons have ended with wins, but that doesn't guarantee it every time.
Judge: There's no charter protection from search and seizure in child apprehension cases.
Joanna: Well there should be. The penalty can't come before the right to defend yourself.
Judge: Are you asking me to overrule a supreme court decision in a bathrobe?
Joanna: Well, it was wrongly decided so yes.
Will Joanna be able to help her friend? Just what is their history? Will they lose the firm? And how will Joanna's potential pregnancy play into the whole thing?
Let me know in the comments, and do not forget you can watch Burden of Truth online right here via TV Fanatic.
Burden of Truth airs on Thursdays at 8/9c on the CW.
Leora W was a staff writer for TV Fanatic..
