'Pearson' episode 5: The Former Attorney is a throwback of Jessica's days of glory in New York
Contains spoilers for 'Pearson' episode 5: 'The Former Attorney'
'The Former Attorney' is a major throwback to Jessica's (Gina Torres) days as an attorney back in New York City. Three plotlines connect to make this episode the beginning of a gripping political drama after four episodes of character introductions, signs of hidden agendas and a woman on a mission to get her career and reputation back on track.
We have split our review into three discussion points.
Keri Allen and Jessica seem to have buried the hatchet
Bethany Joy Lenz's Keri Allen was introduced as a driven and ambitious city attorney in 'Pearson'. The pilot episode also established that she hated Jessica's presence at the City Hall. However, her affair with mayor Bobby Novak (Morgan Spector) and the fear of it being leaked prevented her from fulfilling her potential. In episode 5, she is named with Bobby in a case filed by her former boss as one of the conspirators who made him lose his job.
When she approaches Bobby for help, he waves it off as a trivial issue. However, she finds an ally in Jessica who digs into her past and eventually helps her. The resolved issue may probably see the duo set aside their differences.
Jessica's back as a kickass attorney
Jessica was always a powerhouse of an attorney. That's what we liked her for in 'Suits' and despite going to Chicago as Bobby's fixer, she still hasn't lost her touch when it comes to winning cases. When she decides to help out Keri, she does what she does best— confront the opposition head-on and ensure that there's a way to settle the dispute. When she realizes that Keri's former boss was looking to restore his name, exact revenge on Keri and not money, she brings about an idea that sees him get back his reputation by sending him off to a new position in New York, with some help from an old friend.
Harvey Specter's much-needed cameo
'Suits' may have seen Jessica as an accomplished, suave, queen bee who was known for doing things the right way, but she had a knight in Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht). The duo have been crack attorneys and in 'The Former Attorney' he makes a brief appearance. It's refreshing and it shows that the man is still his epic, stylish self. He is the 'friend' Jessica reaches out to help Keri.
Takeaways
In our previous reviews, we have said Keri and Jessica make a terrific tag team and this episode of an unlikely alliance may just be the start of a good friendship and a successful team that can mow down any cases in their way. While it may not be along the lines of a Harvey-Jessica relationship, it may just bring its own charm.
Speaking of Harvey, his cameo signifies that there's a possibility for a crossover between the series. It's unlikely that we'll see 'Pearson' characters make an appearance on 'Suits'. The episode is refreshing after the gritty drama that the series was playing at. At this stage, 'Pearson' is on a full-steam-ahead mode, but still has some unanswered threads which will be tied up by the end of the season. Hopefully.
The political drama has given us ample reasons to tune-in and hasn't disappointed us so far. That there was a brief crossover means the show still has a few surprises up its sleeve.
'Pearson' airs on Wednesdays 10 pm on USA Network.