Netflix ‘The Lincoln Lawyer’ Season 4 Review - Pleasing and Predictable

It's almost incredible that The Lincoln Lawyer, in its fourth season, is as good as it was during the first season. And the second season. And the third season. The show has been consistent in this regard, and in this streaming age, something like that is nothing short of a miracle. If I have to compare The Lincoln Lawyer to any other Netflix show, I would bring up The Diplomat. Both focus on smart characters who know how to turn the tide in their favor through smooth conversations. The amount of drama generated through dialogue is remarkably effective. You enjoy listening to the talks and find meaning in pauses, in silences (consider, for instance, a phone call between Mickey [Manuel Garcia-Rulfo] and Maggie [Neve Campbell] before a basketball game here). But it's not just the strengths; even the bugs are the same in both The Lincoln Lawyer and The Diplomat. I noted in my review of the third season of The Diplomat that the show's style has turned predictable. You already know what to expect, and that's precisely what you get. There is no room for surprises.

I felt something similar while watching the fourth season of The Lincoln Lawyer. The style, the tone, the filmmaking are not different from the previous seasons. Everything feels familiar. That's a bit disappointing, considering the show ventures into genuinely interesting areas. Remember how Season 3 ended with Mickey getting arrested? In Season 4, he's tasked with proving his innocence. This also means he spends a fair amount of time in prison. While the series shows how a situation like this puts a lawyer like him in grave danger (he is among people he put in jail, and he ruffles other feathers here), the problem is that such moments are merely informational. We see Mickey scared and, at one point, attacked, but the series never lingers on these moments. They are presented briefly, in such a way as to communicate that these things happened. In one episode, when Mickey is out on conditional bail, we watch him struggle to sleep at night, but this issue is never mentioned again.

The same criticism applies to Hayley (Krista Warner), Mickey's daughter. She is bullied online by trolls and by her schoolmates, but the show never dramatizes such a horrific experience by depicting Hayley's daily struggles. We never see her navigating uncomfortable environments. All we get is her sad face, which tells us that she's upset. It's all quite plain; still, we keep watching because the series proves itself elsewhere. One of the best scenes in Season 4 comes from a mixture of real-life detail and fictional embellishment. It involves the practicalities surrounding a tracking device that defendants released on bail are required to wear. First, we are told that the device needs to be charged at night, even though its battery can last for forty hours. Second, if the battery runs out, it would be taken as a sign that the suspect is trying to escape, leading to the reversal of Mickey's bail. Third, Mickey's request to leave Los Angeles to interrogate a lead is accepted, but he's asked to return before midnight; otherwise, he would be sent back to jail. After laying down all the necessary information, The Lincoln Lawyer cleverly places Mickey in a race against time as he battles a late meeting, his tracking device's low battery, a not-so-fast car, and traffic. How Mickey overcomes these obstacles, and whether or not he reaches LA on time, is something I will leave for you to experience firsthand. It would be a crime to hand out spoilers, even though the outcome is, well, predictable. Then again, the pleasure lies in watching the tense struggle—the cleverness, the ease with which everything falls into place to create one obstacle after another.

Another appeal of The Lincoln Lawyer is that the LA its characters inhabit seems bustling with energy and looks vibrant. That energy is mainly generated through words that escape from the characters' lips with purpose, like arrows flying toward their targets. Given the business these people are in, this only feels appropriate. What else? Oh, the show's title might refer to Mickey Haller, but that doesn't mean others are ignored or rendered forgettable. Becki Newton's Lorna Crane has been my favorite character since the first season, and she continues to light up the series through the smallest gestures. Just notice how she silently orders Cisco (Angus Sampson) to sit down with a finger so she can give him first aid. In Season 4, Lorna works hard to prove herself as capable as Mickey Haller. In the latter's absence, old clients begin leaving the firm, while new ones don't always come in seeking Lorna's assistance. One man even says that he doesn't want Legally Blonde, but the Lincoln Lawyer. Maggie, meanwhile, is dating Jack Gilroy (Jason O'Mara), an orthopedic surgeon to LA's biggest sports stars, even though she doesn't really share much chemistry or affection with him. The two, anyway, spend much of their time talking about Maggie's ex-husband. The series could have introduced tension—real conflict—through the fact that Maggie and Mickey end up working together. Doesn't Jack have something to say about the arrangement? Season 4, in this regard, does nothing especially memorable with this setup. Jack is conveniently pushed to the sidelines. There is no juicy friction.

Yet, despite all the flaws, I would happily return for another season. I cannot deny how addictive The Lincoln Lawyer is; the ten episodes never feel heavy or unbearable. Sure, given that Season 4 is all about breaking Mickey from both the inside and the outside to reveal his vulnerable spots, one wishes it had been tonally distinct—even if only slightly—from earlier seasons, with a different kind of treatment. Nevertheless, the sameness never turns into extreme blandness, and the show undoubtedly has its share of surprises in store. This makes The Lincoln Lawyer a cut above most Netflix crime thrillers. I'm not surprised it has been renewed for a fifth season. Bring it on. I'm ready to slip back into this world.

Final Score- [6.5/10]
Reviewed by - Vikas Yadav
Follow @vikasonorous on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times