‘The Lincoln Lawyer’ Season 2 Part 1 Review: Mickey Haller’s charm is a thing of the past
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: The first part of Season 2 of Netflix’s legal drama is a lackluster attempt to cash in on Michael Connelly’s iconic character, Micky Haller. The hotshot Los Angeles defense attorney who can talk his way out of anything and save his clients may still have the guile to fight but lacks the smooth-talking service that everyone was once a fan of. Adapted from Connelly’s revered novel, ‘The Fifth Witness’, the second season of ‘The Lincoln Lawyer’ hinges on Mickey’s attempt to save a woman he recently enjoyed a fling with. This woman named Lisa Trammel runs a kitchen in Los Angeles and is suddenly accused of the murder of a high-profile real estate developer, Mitchell Bondurant.
Mickey tries to keep business and pleasure separate but Lisa continuously attempts to lure Mickey into being together. However, as the season progresses, Lisa’s case takes center stage as Mickey continues to fight other cases to keep his law practice running. But Maggie and Lorna, his two ex-wives are unhappy about Mickey defending Lisa in Bondurant’s murder trial. This doesn’t stop Mickey who goes all in to save Lisa but unfortunately starts to believe that Lisa is hiding secrets relating to the murder trial.
Is Mickey making another mistake by trusting Lisa?
The first season taught Mickey not to trust his clients. The LA defence attorney defended Trevor Elliott who was accused of murdering his wife for personal and finical gain. Mickey usually has a rule which states that he’s only in it to get a ‘not guilty’ verdict for his clients and anything apart from it, simply doesn’t interest him. But he believed Trevor to be innocent and fought bravely for him, only to find out that Trevor indeed killed his wife. Mickey cursed himself for believing Trevor and faced extreme moralistic challenges after learning the truth.
Similarly, Lisa who appears calm and innocent might be playing a similar game with Mickey who is blinded by the notion to get only a ‘not guilty’ verdict for his client. Mickey was romantically involved with Lisa for a brief time which might have clouded his judgment but he seems to only care about winning the case. And if Lisa turns out to be the real killer, Mickey will again be thrown into a moral conundrum where he questions his job. So far, Mickey likes to believe that the people he defends are innocent but with Trevor and now Lisa, if she’s really guilty, Mickey will have lost it all and might walk down another path of destruction.
Mickey’s history of troublesome relationships continue
Mickey’s relationship with women in his life is tumultuous and shaky. He’s been married twice, with both of them leading to divorce. Even though Mickey admires his ex-wives, Maggie and Lorna, his ability to sustain relationships, in the long run, is beyond repair. The entry of Lisa into his life seems too good to be true and his new fling falling into legal troubles as soon as she enters his life is a testament to the chaos that surrounds Mickey at all times. Mickey might not entirely be a self-centered man but he tries so hard to be and the women in his life recognize this trait and try to fix him before they can love him.
'The Lincoln Lawyer' Season 2 Part 1 is currently streaming on Netflix.