Contributor: Henry T.
Written by Robert King, Michelle King, and Ted Humphrey
Directed by Josh Charles
After staying away from the courtroom last episode, I found the Case of the Week rather invigorating. It may be that aspect of things, or the fact that the case involved the military. This show tends to deliver whenever the military is involved. I think it’s more that every encounter with the military makes the lawyers on the show feel overmatched. The tendency for the lawyers of Lockhart-Gardner to win nearly every case they’re put on is well-documented so it’s a nice change-up to see them take cases where the outcome is not ideal.
As a result of the very entertaining case — one that momentarily switches the advantage to Alicia’s side before pulling the rug out from under her — the other subplots in the episode don’t have as much juice. Nick and Kalinda continue to draw ire on the fringes. Mr. Hayden is angry during the entire episode, although there are steps taken to get Cary more involved in the narrative. That’s a good sign. There was also progress on the gubernatorial election front. Hopefully, this marks the end of the sex scandal story, and the kickoff for a more interesting storyline where Peter has to fight off Maddie for the nomination.
The episode proved how cold and clinical the world of law can be. Military law is rigid and unyielding so the request by Colonel Kuhn for Alicia to represent a JAG lawyer who was raped by a military contractor might seem strange. A point to Alicia’s advantage is that she’s trying the case in civilian court instead of a military court. The JAG lawyer has little experience in civilian court so the odds of winning the case look good initially. The case does prove to be a little more complicated than it appears. The contractor’s attorney argues the case well, even if it’s clear that the contractor is protecting its employees from heinous crimes like rape. Captain Hellinger, the victim of the attempted rape, can barely hold it together when she and Alicia compel the rapist to appear in court to testify. The atmosphere is tense, and the show handles all of this very well.
Each side gets its small victories, but in the end, the judge has to adhere to the precedent that was established by a Supreme Court case. Even if it hinges on an unfair technicality that lets the contractor get away with a crime. I did particularly like how Colonel Kuhn circumvented a difficult roadblock that was crucial to Alicia and Captain Hellinger’s case by calling him in front of a panel she was presiding to discuss gender equality in the military. The Colonel may be rigid and bound by military law, but she’s not unfeeling, and that nod of acknowledgement to Alicia after producing the Sergeant makes her more likable. In the end, they lost the case, but they fought it well. They just can’t win every case that they take on.
If I had to pick which of the other subplots that I enjoyed aside from the Case of the Week, I would have to go with the election storyline. It didn’t feel like it was spinning its wheels like the whole business with Nick and his failed bid to legitimize his tow truck business. It wasn’t as lightweight as Mr. Hayden being angry all the time while looking at Lockhart-Gardner’s books. It did seem to repeat many of the same beats from previous episodes at the start, though. The sex scandal with Peter and the campaign worker is the story that can’t seem to die, at least until Eli does some sly maneuvering to change the focus of the story into a personal vendetta against Peter. That should at least buy some sympathy votes for Peter when it comes time to play them in the election.
He might need it too, since Maddie predictably throws her hat into the ring at the last minute. This episode does make Maddie come off a little cold and calculating, using her chummy friendship with Alicia for political gain. Alicia immediately realizes that, and the wall comes up. That cold, empty stare that Alicia lays on Maddie late in the episode would cut through anything. Both Alicia and Peter subtly tell Maddie that they are a force to be reckoned with, and it’s that much more impressive when they are unified in a goal. They really want to beat Maddie, despite her obvious advantages in the campaign, and they will do whatever it takes to achieve that end.
The whole storyline is a different flavor from the Case of the Week, which is a nice way to provide balance to much of the episode. The only solid end result to the smaller subplots is that Cary gets more involvement in bigger cases. That integrates Cary into the fabric of the show, which hasn’t always been the case since he re-joined the firm. He’s actually become a much more affable presence on the show, keen to help out on any situation that comes during each episode. Where all of it is going remains the question that the show can develop as the season progresses. It’s not going to work all the time, but for now, this was an all-around solid effort from a routinely solid show.
Score: 8/10
