“The man in the hat was Neil Bishop.” Oh shit! When Holt McCallany first popped up as Bishop in Season 3 Episode 1 of The Lincoln Lawyer , it was in flashback form, back when Mickey Haller was still a public defender and Bishop was a police officer. Even though they were in court, the scene was so charged with mutual dislike, it’s a wonder they didn’t come to blows right in front of the stenographer. And given that we already knew Bishop in the present as the district attorney’s investigator on the Glory Days murder case, now that Lorna has also ID’d him as the guy who was tailing her the night she was murdered, we are very much looking forward to more confrontation. Because Manuel Garcia-Rulfo plays Mickey Haller with such a charming gleam in his eye, it’s really cool to see him downshift into the kind of grinning pugnaciousness that overtakes Mickey when he and Bishop soon have another encounter. Mickey will ask Andrea Freeman how investigators are appointed to district attorneys’ cases. But in the meantime, he basically dares Neil Bishop to punch him in the face.
Does fingering Bishop as the driver of the green Civic that was following Glory also mean he killed her? Haller isn’t ready to go that far yet. But he does put Cisco on tracking down any connection Bishop might have had to Hector Moya (Arturo Del Puerto). Via a sex worker associate of Glory, Mickey also has a lead on a DEA agent, James De Marco, who Glory agreed to help by placing a gun used in a triple homicide in the presence of Moya, a move that got the cartel captain sent up to Victorville for life. But it’s all conjecture without more solid evidence. For now Mickey focuses on what he also has, which is any reason he can think of to visit Andrea at work. Sure, he really does want to know how Bishop got assigned to Glory’s case. That could sort out more of who’s involved, and why it seems they are so interested in framing Julian La Cosse for the murder. But he also wants to flirt hard with Andy and grab a quick makeout session behind the vertical blinds in her office.
Andrea is old friends with her fellow prosecutor Maggie McPherson, and she says she did her girl code due diligence, clearing their new romance with Mickey’s first ex-wife. But there could be a more pressing issue. While Mickey loves all the men in the place frowning at him as he leaves Andrea’s office, Andrea’s big boss, Chief District Attorney Adam Suarez (Phillip Anthony-Rodriguez), is less than enthused with the visit. He doesn’t want his people “playing with the other side” – you know, like handsome high-profile defense attorneys. Suarez also says Andrea is on the top of his list for a big promotion, heading up Major Crimes. Suddenly, the fun brand-new thing she has with Mickey looks like it could endanger her professional ambitions.
It’s David “Legal” Siegel who Mickey Haller always seeks out when a case is getting crazy. They are a sounding board for each other. Mickey gains a fresh perspective, and the cagey old buzzard gets to keep his attorney’s mind sharp. But Legal’s family has placed him in an assisted living facility in Beverly Hills. Which means Mickey has to sneak two delicious-looking Italian subs from Mario’s in Glendale – gotta get ‘em with oil and vinegar – past “ Nurse Ratched at the front desk” by using a false bottom briefcase. More scenes with Elliot Gould eating sandwiches and telling it like it is, please.
“I can’t see the forest for the trees,” Mickey tells Legal. How can he determine who’s messing with the Glory Days murder case if he doesn’t even know all the players? Worse, as we see in more flashbacks to their time together, Mickey fostered a real connection with Glory. She was a junkie back then, but he believed she was built like an orchid – delicate but resilient – and went out of his way to support her journey toward sobriety. Hearing this, Legal stresses that Mickey has to separate his personal feelings from what the case requires. (We know that’s always a tough thing for Mickey to do, but still.) “You’re letting your own guilt cloud your judgment. You’re still blaming yourself for this woman’s death.”
Yeah, he probably is, and probably still will. But Mickey steps back enough to look at all of the case’s documentation with fresh eyes, and that’s when he sees it: Sylvester Funaro, Jr.’s been sending out faked subpoenas. Visiting the kid at his “law office,” which looks like an abandoned GameStop, he tells him he knows all about how he’s performing legal work for his incarcerated father. “He’s practicing law without a license,” Mickey says of Sly Sr. “And you’re practicing law without a fucking clue.” (Wow! It’s a little more of that rougher side of Mickey. He doesn’t save it all for Neil Bishop.) Haller tells Sly Jr. to arrange it with his locked up dad. Mickey will visit Victorville personally, with an aim to hack away at just what Sly Funaro, Sr. and Hector Moya are up to. He’s sick and tired of seeing the forest for the trees. He’s breaking out the ax.
Not a bad day, all in all. A nice few moments with Andrea, a delicious submarine sandwich with Legal, and now a drive back home with Eddie. But when Mickey opens the door of the Lincoln, the back seat is occupied by another part of the growing mystery around Glory’s case. It’s Michael Irby, with a glare and a gun and a badge. “Agent James De Marco, DEA. Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Haller.”
Johnny Loftus ( @glennganges ) is an independent writer and editor living at large in Chicagoland. His work has appeared in The Village Voice, All Music Guide, Pitchfork Media, and Nicki Swift.
For more entertainment news and streaming recommendations, visit decider.com
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