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I think we can all agree 2020 was a pretty rough year for everyone, including the people who produce TV shows. Many series were forced to shut down before they had completed their seasons, and The Good Fight was no exception. In fact, that show was left hanging with three uncompleted Season 4 episodes, and in the aftermath of the shutdown two of its stars — Delroy Lindo and Cush Jumbo — announced they would not be returning for Season 5. And that left us all wondering how on Earth the series would begin a new season missing two of its key players.
Thankfully, Lindo and Jumbo did consent to return to wrap up their storylines, and that’s how the fifth season premiere of The Good Fight actually acts as a fourth season finale, cleverly titles ‘Previously On…’ broken down into four acts that cover 2020 from the start of the pandemic to January 6, 2021. Diane and Liz stayed mostly out of the fray of everyone else’s lives, but the events of the year will have an impact on the both of them moving forward.
The biggest news to impact them is that Adrian is retiring from the firm to pursue his political career, which opens up a partnership position at the firm. But they are still under ownership of STR Laurie which wants them to cut 20% of their budget. With Adrian out, that means they only need to cut 10% but that still causes problems with the other member of the Board who are still offended that a white woman is a partner in a Black law firm and they want her gone. Which puts Liz in a pickle. And Diane isn’t blind. She knows what’s going on, and with Biden possibly winning the election, they may no longer need her at the firm so it’s a double-edged sword for her — sanity vs her position at the firm. Which is probably why she keeps dropping hints to Liz that with Adrian leaving, perhaps they should become an all-female run firm.
And that means they can now offer Luca the partnership she’s been craving. Except Luca is still on Bianca’s leash, sent to England at the last minute to work out a property deal for her. Luca actually enjoys being in London because she’s seen as ‘exotic’ by the Brits. And Bianca wants to keep Luca in her employ offering her $500,000 a year, something Riddick, Boseman and Lockhart probably cannot afford … unless they do cut that 20% of the staff. Not wanting to get into a bidding war with Bianca, they do offer Luca the partnership and $500,000 but that’s all they can afford (unfortunately, they don’t know that Luca can see their chat during the Zoom call until she tells them it needs to be set to private).
One of the casualties of the budget cuts, and the pandemic, is Marissa. They have no need for an investigator if everything is shut down, and Diane is the one who has to give her the news that she’s being let go. But she’s not going to take it lying down, asking Luca how long it takes to become a lawyer. Luca pulls some strings with Bianca, who made a sizable donation to a law school in Chicago, and Marissa gets a call out of the blue that she’s been accepted into the law program.
Another victim of the pandemic is Jay, who falls ill in the first act dated March 13, 2020. Marissa initially defies the hospital protocols and goes to see him in his room, but he’s closed off in a ventilation tent. Later Jay begins hallucinating historical figures like Frederick Douglass, Karl Marx, Jesus and Malcolm X, asking for their advice on what to do in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. One of his biggest takeaways once he’s released from the hospital is that he’s now carrying a gun.
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Speaking of guns, Diane has been approached by Mike Bloomberg to argue a gun case in front of the Supreme Court. She is hesitant to accept, mainly because of her right leaning, ‘gun loving’ husband, and she’s not sure the way they want the case argued will work to her benefit. She realizes she needs to appeal to one judge, Roberts, to win her case and she’s prepared to make her arguments via a video conference and then she gets terrible news … Ruth Bader Ginsburg has died. 2020 just keeps kicking Diane’s ass. And Diane isn’t feeling much better about the world on Election Night, watching the results swing back and forth between Trump and Biden. At one point she tells Kurt he needs to go watch Fox in the other room because every time he sits on the couch with her, Trump gets more votes. At one point, the guy on TV explaining the election results veers into an explanation of how Diane will suffer a heart attack if Trump wins.
She’s also still trying to save Julius’ ass after being accused of bribery in relation to his visit to a judge regarding Memo 618. Adrian has decided to shelter in place during the pandemic with his girlfriend, Judge Hazelwood, and he overhears a call she’s having regarding Julius’ case. Adrian also goes through her emails and decides Diane needs to know what’s going on so she can ask that Hazelwood recuse herself from the case. That does not go over well, at all, but she angrily recesses the court and withdraws. Unfortunately, she also knows that Adrian is the one who ratted her out to Diane, so she also recuses herself from their relationship. As a result they get a new judge, Trig Mullaney, who’s proven to be not the most competent justice in the court system. And he sentences Julius to seven years in prison.
As the year winds down and Biden wins the election, Diane is now ready to pop the cork on the champagne she planned to open when Hillary Clinton won the election … but she’s going to wait until January 6 because she’s afraid if she does open it, something bad will happen. Watching the events of that day unfold on television in the empty offices of RBL, Adrian announces he’s moving to Atlanta because after all that’s happened, from George Floyd to the insurrection, he needs to be a Black voice for change and Georgia seems to be the place to go. Bianca has offered Luca $1.3 million to stay with her, and that’s an offer she can’t turn down, and she says her tearful goodbye to Marissa and Jay via Zoom. And Julius get a full pardon from the outgoing president! And where does this leave Liz and Diane? That is a question yet to be answered.
The fifth season premiere of The Good Fight was a really satisfying episode that neatly wrapped up the storylines for Luca and Adrian, and set up a bold new future for Diane, Liz, Marissa and Jay. The episode nicely balanced the drama and comedy, and even gave us a nice nod to L.A. Law by nearly having Adrian — and Diane — plunge to their deaths in an empty elevator shaft (see the Season 5 Episode 16 clip on YouTube where the show kills off the fan-hated character of Roz Shays). It was great that they got Margot Martindale, Amy Aquino, Tamberla Perry and Chasten Harmon back to help wrap up those dangling Season 4 threads. And with the first four seasons so heavily informed by the Trump administration, it will be interesting to see how much politics plays into Season 5 now that Diane doesn’t have the former guy to worry about. Or does she?
What did you think of the season premiere? Give us your thoughts in the comments section below.
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