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Let’s Talk About ‘The End of Playing Games’:
- As the protests spread and grow more violent outside, the associates inside are about to have their own form of revolt.
- Jay discovers a bullet hole in a window in Diane’s office.
- Neil Gross threatens to pull his business … again … if Liz doesn’t pull things together at the firm.
- The associates and partners are about to walk as STR Laurie’s legal problems mount.
- An insurance investigator for the building arrives in the offices with some shocking information about the man who fell off the roof.
- Everyone’s favorite asshole David Lee is back on behalf of STR Laurie which is now suing Reddick & Ri’Chard for client poaching.
- Jay gets a lead on who may be shooting at their building, and agrees to participate in a mission.
- Marissa gets closer with her Krav Maga instructor, but also finds herself at the center of the insurance investigation.
- Diane’s PT 108 therapy may also put her, and the firm, at blame for the death of the man from the roof.
- Ri’Chard learns in court how Liz and Diane really feel about him.
Another terrific, fast-paced, clever episode of The Good Fight this week, and it just makes me eager to see where it’s all going to end … and sad at the same time because there are just two episodes left. There was a lot to digest this week as the implosion of STR Laurie, due to their financial dealings with Russia, is having a trickle down effect on Reddick / Ri’Chard & Associates. Marissa asks Jay if she should be worried about her job, and he’s puzzled that she would ask such a thing. They see Diane nonchalantly reading in her office, but they both feel they should bring to her attention that all of the associates are frantically preparing their resumés because everyone is under the impression that the firm is about to go bankrupt. This plays out even more seriously with the partners, who haven’t been paid in three weeks. Liz assures them that STR Laurie’s problems are not tied to the firm, and Ri’Chard comes up with a plan to reach out to STR Laurie’s clients to assure them that Reddick & Ri’Chard are well equipped to handle their needs if they so choose to jump ship. They also need to retain their own client base, so everyone gets to work to keep and secure clients.
And it works … too well, resulting in a visit from David Lee on behalf of STR Laurie — once they broke through the mop handle Jay had placed through the door handles when the FBI raided their offices. Lee is there to let them know that STR Laurie is not happy that Reddick & Ri’Chard are attempting to poach their clients, and they are being sued for some breach of their contractual obligation. In court, Liz argues that as the two firms are one, but separate, they aren’t really poaching clients, they are just assuring them that this subsidiary of STR Laurie is ready, willing and more than able to take them on. It is, after all, their responsibility to protect those assets that are fearful about the head company being under federal investigation. Liz and Ri’Chard seem to have a slam dunk here because they have David so baffled he isn’t sure what kind of case he’s running now, and even the judge is calling him out because he can’t make a decision. Lee finally settles on ‘tortious interference’, but Liz reminds the court that he needs proof of that and the judge reminds Liz that she is aware of how this works, and asks Lee is he has proof. No, but he’ll get it so court is in recess.
Meanwhile, as if there wasn’t enough going on at the office, an insurance investigator for the building, Kyle Vespertine-Kalepark (whose name Carmen never gets right, perhaps purposely) shows up unannounced to begin interviewing people about the man who fell off the roof and smashed into the balustrade outside of Diane’s window. He appears to be a bit unprofessional and bumbling, but Carmen notices the longer he’s there the more confident he becomes, feeling his bumbling was a facade. He brushes it off saying that the more interesting the case gets, the more confident he gets. And he had a couple of surprises up his sleeve about the accident — the man, it turns out, was let onto the roof with someone in the office’s key card, and because of that Reddick & Ri’Chard are being sued by his family for millions. He also suggests that the man could have been saved when Diane saw him, and questions if she was on any medication at the time that would have prevented her from acting. Carmen refuses to let her answer any questions, but Liz finds herself forced to call Dr. Bettancourt to find out if her treatments of PT 108 could have contributed to her not acting fast enough. (I think the bigger question is do those windows even open? How was she supposed to save a guy who slipped off the balustrade only seconds after he hit it without going over herself, even if she could get the windows open? Was she expected to break one?) Vespertine-Kalepark also uncovers a bit more shocking news when interviewing the security guard who was on duty that day — one of the four spare key card is missing (the guard fumbles and says there are four, then three and tries to deny he said four). He also claims the security camera in the room is just for show, but Carmen gets him to show her the footage. And what she sees shocks every one — it appears Marissa was the person who took the key card, so now they all have to go into protection mode and keep Marissa away from the office while the investigation is on-going.
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She denies any wrong-doing, but takes out all of her frustrations on her Krav Maga instruction, with whom she is growing increasingly closer. He even suggests she just come to Israel and be a lawyer there, but she is not ready for all that. But as she things more and more about the key card thief, a solution finally hits her and she needs to see the video, meet with Liz and Carmen and prove without a doubt that she was not the culprit. The thief was not Marissa but her doppleganger, Carmen’s girlfriend who was in the office that Saturday with them, and who just suddenly started dressing and wearing her hair like Marissa. Now it all makes sense, and when presented with this evidence it completely shuts down the lawsuit because no one from Reddick & Ri’Chard actively participated in the theft of the key card, so they are not liable. And because of this, there was no need for Diane to get her medical records from Lyle … but it was still an excuse to meet him for a drink (he also told her that there was nothing in the envelope he gave her). But Marissa and Carmen walk in the bar, forcing Diane to sink down in the booth, dragging Lyle with her. He has no idea why she’s hiding from her co-workers but he also isn’t complaining about being that close to her for however many minutes it is that they’re going to hide.
But there are other problems at the firm — namely the bullet holes in the windows. The police don’t seem concerned, claiming they are just random shots from the protesters but Jay points out that the trajectory of the bullet in Diane’s office does not match the trajectory of a bullet fired from the ground several floors down. He and Marissa notice a slightly open window in a building across the street and finagle their way into the building. The floor is vacant so they set up motion sensors and a camera to catch anyone who might come back, but Jay also checks in with his secret organization to see if they have any leads. Renetta tells him they already know who shot at their building and give him some photos. Jay is told there is a much deeper conspiracy and they have been keeping tabs on a man who collects money for a terrorist group and they need someone who can hack into his laptop in his fan within a five minute period. Jay agrees to take on the mission and he goes ‘radio silent’, which concerns everyone at the firm when they can’t reach him. But Jay trains and is successful in the mock-up at the group’s facility, but when they get to the job there is one little snag — Jay smells something in the van and they discover it is loaded with an explosive device made from fertilizer, and the target is the Black university from the previous episode. Now they have to rewrite their mission and bring the guy in as well, which goes without a hitch. Renetta is going to allow Jay to do the interrogation, and he is stunned when he sees they have created a hyper-realistic prison within the facility, and those they are holding truly believe they are in a real jail. The question is does Jay think this is over-the-top or is he digging it?
With court back in session, David Lee has the evidence he needs to prove his case — a recording made in the offices of Reddick & Ri’Chard. Liz quickly objects because this is new evidence, but the judge shoots her down and says she’ll decide if it can be used or not. On the recording is Liz talking to Diane about how much she hates Ri’Chard and how they have to hatch a plan to get him out of her firm. Ri’Chard is very upset and Liz looks like she knows she just lost this case. Ri’Chard leaves the courtroom and goes back to his office, reaching out to the heads of STR Laurie, ready to accept their offer to take over operations of the entire company while they sort out their legal issues. They are thrilled and now all he has to do is sign the paperwork … which he does in court while the judge is about to decide on the case, most likely in STR Laurie’s favor. But before she can rule, Ri’Chard says STR Laurie is dropping the case. David is flabbergasted because he represents that firm and they are doing no such thing. Ri’Chard assures him they are as he is now running the company … and Lee is fired. When Ri’Chard gets back to the office to tell Liz how it went, she was very disappointed that she was not able to be there and see David Lee’s face when he was fired. And now, Reddick & Ri’Chard is the largest Black law firm … in the world. Their reverie is cut short though when more bullets are fired through the window, the two of them quickly hitting the floor, still unable to reach Jay.
What do the final two episodes hold in store for us? We’ll just have to wait and see. 11/10 is coming.
What did you think of this episode? Give us your thoughts in the comments section below.
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