Bad Beat
Episode 4 of All Rise Season 2 starts with Lola struggling to take a nap because of everyone around her trying to help and Sara being invited to play poker by Benner. Lola’s case of the day is the People vs Lakshan Manjula who is charged with conspiracy to commit grand theft. The defendant, Lucky, planned to have his own truck stolen but claimed that the freight workers coerced him into it. Emily, who has become very popular after her speech, is Lucky’s lawyer. She doesn’t want to agree to any deals as he believes he should only get misdemeanor theft. As she heads into court, the DA of the case, Driscoll, presents all his evidence which angers Emily as she insists her client’s life was threatened. As both lawyers start arguing, Lola asks to speak to Lucky. He confirms that he was threatened and insists that he has always done what he could. Lola then calls for a recess. Meanwhile, Luke is sitting in court for the People vs Jamal Peary, who just turned 18 and was charged of possession for sale. Luke is not happy about this case and asks for more time. After speaking to Sam, he heads to see Choi to tell him his thoughts. He believes that they should drop the case to a misdemeanor possession due to the age of the defendant. Choi dismisses him though as he explains that he is grade 1 and should just follow orders. After leaving multiple messages on Amy’s voicemail, Mark sees Amy storming into his office. She insists that what he is trying to do could ruin his career and especially if he tries to do it by himself. Just as Lola returns to court and is about to deliver her sentence of 2 years probation, Robin suddenly arrives and asks to speak to the DA as he is there in FBI business. Lola demands to know what is happening as they calls for another recess. Lucky reveals to Emily that the heist has happened before. When he got caught, the FBI got involved and he was made an informant in exchange of not being charged. He became scared though as what they asked him to do is dangerous. He then asks her to talk to the FBI as he wants to try again. During lunch, Mark and Tony fill Sam in of the sheriff shooting. Sam knows this could damage her career but also that the police are never prosecuted so she wants to get involved. Luke later meets with Emily about his latest case and tells her he believes that his office treat young black kids more harshly. He wants to go back to some of the cases she worked on and the deals they offered, which of course, she agrees to. Meanwhile, Sam visits the scene of the crime from the sheriff shooting while Mark visits Omar to show him the new evidence. Omar doesn’t think it is a good idea and wants to get on with his life. At home, Lola confronts Robin about coming to her court without warning her first. He tries to defend himself but she is too angry with him. He apologises as he didn’t want to worry her. They sit down to have dinner with tension in the air because Lola is frustrated with their situation. Emily, the FBI and the DA meet to discuss a fair deal for Lucky. Emily fights for her client and asks the DA to drop the charges straight away then she will agree for her client to wear the wire. They agree to it so Emily asks for a relocation fee for him and his family and health insurance for his mother, which they eventually agree to. Luke returns to court for his case and declares that the people are unable to proceed, which means the case is now dismissed while Benner decides to be the judge in Lola’s case due to her husband being involved. After visiting the scene of the crime, Sam brings new findings to Mark, proving that cops did bury the evidence while Emily watches the undercover operation with Robin. Thankfully, Lucky manages to make the robbers talk and he is free to go. In the evening, Lola confronts Benner for stepping in at the last minute while Choi asks Luke what happened in his case. He insists that he saved the life of Jamal and that there are so many like them. Choi agrees and wants to talk about it but asks him to not go rogue again. Later on in the office, Sara plays poker with the judges and wins a lot of money. Benner knows she has been hustling them so Sara defends herself as she explains many people like her grandparents are struggling financially. Emily and Joachin can finally get together as they have both tested negative for the virus while Sam and Luke spend some time together as well. Mark tells Amy what is happening with his case and promises to always keep her in the loop about everything. They clear the air and she promises to rent out her flat. The episode ends with Lola admitting to Robin how she may be a bit of a control freak and knows she may have been in the wrong. Robin gives her the good news that he is coming back to LA which makes her very happy and she finally falls asleep.
The Episode Review
The second season of All Rise is definitely all about the current issues the world is facing. While some may think that it is necessary, others may not agree and think that the political message is ever too present and would like to use TV as an escape. It is definitely important to send these messages but at the same time, All Rise feels like it’s rehashing these points continuously without deviating and looking at other topics. Still, we had another interesting case this week with the defendant being coerced into committing a crime. There was a nice little twist with him being an FBI informant and it was good to see Robin getting involved in one of his wife’s case. However, it looked a little too easy when Luke managed to get his case dismissed and I do wonder if this is something that could happen in real life. Luke is quite the complex character though and I am looking forward to see what he does next. All Rise is not perfect but still remains an enjoyable enough court drama. So far though, it’s fair to say the first season has been a lot stronger but whether this second season can improve largely depends on whether the show branches back out and explores different topics than the same ones it has done.
