'Bull' Season 4 Episode 12 Review: Bull views each case from a father's angle and this bodes well for the team
This review contains spoilers for 'Bull' Season 4 Episode 12 — 'Behind the Ivy'
Fatherhood has changed Dr Jason Bull (Micheal Weatherly). Every case the Trial and Analysis Corporation (TAC) handled has seen Bull look at the case from the lens of a father.
Not only does this act as a contributing factor to the present season's success, but it also shows the character in a new light. 'Behind the Ivy' is one such classic affair.
Its a pretty clear-cut case: Upcoming, talented Latino athlete gets a scholarship seat in one of the top Prep schools on the country, tries insanely hard to live up to the expectations he shoulders and when the strain's a lot to bear, he tries even harder before his life is snuffed out of him.
Antonio Garcia (Mateo Ferro) is shown to be training hard for the school's upcoming wrestling championship. When he realizes that he was still eight pounds over the limit a few hours before weigh-in, he trains to the point of over-exertion.
In a last-ditch effort, he puts on a plastic bag over his training vest and runs behind the school bus to shed the extra weight. This ends with him dying. The case is bought to Chunk Palmer's (Christopher Jackson) attention by his old friend, Reggie Baumann (Don Guillory) who works as the school counselor.
Benny Colon (Freddy Rodriguez) and Bull meet with Antonio's parents, Claudia and Manuel (played by Rosie Berrido and Dominic Colon) who opt to sue the school. Except, there are more twists to the tale, one that also adds Antonio's use of drugs to up his training intensity, thereby helping him lose weight.
It is also revealed that Antonio had a Mitral valve prolapse condition when he was three, but it was a self-healing affair, however, the school looks at this as a possibility to dismiss the case and pushes Bull & Co. on the backfoot.
Extensive research reveals that the wrestlers part of the team had height growth in three years, but didn't gain a pound while training.
A fair bit of grilling by Benny on the team coach, Wayne Davis (Joseph Lyle Taylor), sees the latter plead guilty of encouraging Antonio to take drugs (It also implies that he encouraged his other students to use it so as to keep the weight levels constant) resulting in his death.
And this happened, despite Baumann finding out the teenage wrestler's drug habit and pleading with the coach to do something about it.
The case is won, but what stands out is Bull thinking like a father. One of the instances sees Manuel ready to concede defeat, but something in Bull prompts him to press on.
There's enough fun element with Bull trying to drape the baby sling around him and wrap himself silly that manages to bring a pleasant smile. With these new angles, it isn't surprising to see 'Bull' doing well and hitting good ratings.
For 'Bull' fans, this one's a treat. 'Bull' airs on Mondays at 10 pm ET/PT on CBS.