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THE LINCOLN LAWYER: Episode 3.1

"Compelling Courtroom Drama Marred by Homosexual Plotline"

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What You Need To Know:

The first episode of Season 3 of the Netflix series THE LINCOLN LAWYER begins with an idyllic flashback as Mickey enjoys simpler times with his wife. Fast forward to today, and Mickey's life looks very different. Currently, Mickey is deliberating whether he should take the case of a man accused of murdering Gloria Dayton. Mickey also helps his daughter's friend, who is falsely accused of carjacking a Lamborghini. A cop from his early days as a public defense attorney surprises Mickey at the courthouse. Mickey realizes that he's in more danger than he thinks he is.

The opener to Season 3 of THE LINCOLN LAWYER maintains the tone and style of the first two seasons. However, it’s marred by focusing heavily on a client's homosexual relationship and how that affects the client's time spent in prison. The dialogue is witty, and the courtroom scenes are engaging. But this episode exists to introduce and set up events and themes for later episodes. As a result, there are pacing issues, and episode one of season three is one of the weaker episodes in the Netflix series. Due to the homosexual focus, some foul language and violence, MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution for young adults and teen viewers.

Content:

(BB, Pa, HoHo, LL, VV, A, S):

Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements:
Strong moral themes about crime and evil getting brought to justice and innocent people being given a second chance, some pagan worldview elements highlighting crime and evil, a central homosexual relationship plays a role throughout this episode;

Foul Language:
Two uses of the f-word, several uses of other obscenities like the s-word and b-word, two OMG exclamatory statements;

Violence:
No depicted violence, but many conversations about a murder that takes place, some photos of the dead body accompany these conversations about details about the murder, in a separate case there is a picture of a decapitated man, a man finds his house broken into and his belongings destroyed, he also finds a snake in his bed; Alcohol Use/Abuse: No alcohol abuse, a married couple drink wine;

Sex:
No depicted sex, the central client for Mickey is in a homosexual relationship with another man, this is brought up several times throughout the episode, including one scene where his partner says he loves him and they have been together for eight years, Gloria Dayton is a sex worker, and it is implicit that she slept with other men for money, in a court case, a man is revealed to be cheating on his wife;

Nudity:
No nudity;

Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse:
A witness to the night of Gloria Dayton’s death reveals that she smokes weed often, and distributes drugs for a living; and,

Miscellaneous Immorality:
None.

More Detail:

Season 3 of THE LINCOLN LAWYER, Netflix’s adaptation of the Michael Connelly books, follows the tone and style of the first two seasons.

Episode one, “La Culebra,” which means snake in Spanish, begins with a flashback of Mickey enjoying a simpler life with his wife on the beach. This starkly contrasts with his life now, where he’s constantly in danger from taking on private cases.

One case is the murder of Gloria Dayton. Mickey meets with the man accused of the murder, but the evidence isn’t conclusive enough for him to take on the case immediately. The rest of his team is re-introduced, and Mickey helps his daughter clear the name of her friend, Eddie, who becomes Mickey’s new driver.

As the episode progresses, there are several more flashbacks where Mickey buys the car from which he gets the moniker, the “Lincoln” lawyer, and some heartfelt conversations with his wife about his decision to leave the public sector of law to start a private practice. She makes him promise that he’ll be safe, but as audiences are brought back to the present, it’s clear that his life has changed drastically since then — and Mickey is far from safe.

In the episode’s final moments, Mickey finds that his house has been burglarized, and most of his belongings have been destroyed. He discovers a rattlesnake in his bed, and the episode ends.

The start of Season 3 of THE LINCOLN LAWYER sets up many themes, antagonists, and new protagonists that audiences will experience in later episodes. As a result, there are pacing issues. However, it maintains witty, fast-paced courtroom scenes, making Mickey’s character a joy to watch on screen.

This episode lets audiences in on what Mickey thinks through flashbacks to his past life with his wife and infant daughter, which add emotional depth to the character. Aside from these moments, the episode focuses on the homosexual relationship of one of Mickey’s clients and how that affects him in prison. This becomes the episode’s plotline, as all the characters are set up for the rest of the season. This does a disservice to the previous seasons’ pacing and generally moral themes, making this episode one the weakest of the series.

Due to some foul language and graphic descriptions of murder, MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution for younger audiences.