“Everyone around you dies!”

As hot takes from teens go, that’s a tough allegation for any parent to take. But when it comes to Mickey Haller, his daughter Haley has a pretty strong case. They’re at the funeral of Eddie Rojas, after all, her childhood babysitter and his newest Lincoln Lawyer driver, who in Episode 5 was killed in the fiery car wreck that was actually a targeted attack on Haller. And on this one, Maggie McPherson, whose previous Lincoln Lawyer Season 3 appearance was in an Episode 1 flashback where she told her then-husband – wait for it – to be careful, has to back up their daughter. Maggie’s sympathetic to the loss of Eddie. But she also drills down to the real source of Haley’s anger: she doesn’t want to lose her father next. Outside the funeral, Mickey admits to his team that he’s at fault in all of this. But he’s not done fighting. “I’ll find the motherfucker who did this. I’m gonna find him, and I’m gonna bury him.” 

It’s a solid line from Mickey, and it’s certainly not cheap bravado. But he’s already found him – all signs point to DEA agent James De Marco as the culprit – and he’s already trying to bury him, as the Glory Days murder case continues to get absorbed into this larger conspiracy. To Julian, Mickey stresses that it’s not just a theory. “Glory Days was killed because a crooked DEA agent and a former cop were working together to corrupt the system and cover their tracks. And I’m gonna show them how and why.” For now, Haley’s staying mad at her dad. And while a teenager is probably the only person in our society harder to convince than a courtroom jury, when it comes to his cause, Mickey Haller has a better track record with converting the latter. 

With her own case destroyed by her direct negligence – an abusive ex-husband was out of jail on an official pass, and she didn’t warn her client in time before he killed her – it’s Mickey who Andrea Freeman calls for comfort. They agree that their vocation requires both risk and sacrifice in an unequal measure, which can be difficult to manage. (Tell that to Eddie Rojas, but in general, we get their meaning.) Andy also says that unlike Maggie, she’s not going to ice out Mickey when the going gets heavy. “Don’t ice me out, either,” she concludes. And back at the office, Lorna is pulling for her boss (and ex-husband) to make it work with Freeman. 

Security concerns…solved? From his perch in federal prison, convicted drug trafficker Hector Moya has delivered to his new lawyer an up-armored, matte gray Lincoln Navigator that arrives complete with a cartel soldier as 24-hour security. And after a quiet moment at Haller & Associates memorializing the woven fruits of Eddie’s TikTok crochet labors, it’s time to get back to business. They have two months until Julian La Cosse’s trial, and in one of its typically fluid montages, Lincoln Lawyer illustrates how Forsythe the prosecutor will call his witnesses, and how Haller the defense attorney will land the punches their case requires.

Lorna has been fielding questions on the results of her bar exam in a fashion typical of Lorna – fingers in ears and adamant requests not to jinx it. So when the results emails are sent out, everybody on the team is waiting for an answer. And hey, she is officially the state of California’s newest lawyer. But it’s also typical of Lorna to play the moment of the big reveal as a gag. Once Cisco, Izzy, Mickey, and even the stone-faced cartel security guy are convinced that she didn’t pass, she drops the knowledge that she actually did. “Mom’s a lawyer!” she tells her little dog Winston. “And she can still punk some fools.” In times like these that illustrate how consistently enjoyable Becki Newton is on The Lincoln Lawyer. Maybe we should file a motion for an eventual spinoff with the Gods of Netflix. How about “The Lorna Lawyer”? 

With everyone returning to court for a hearing regarding the defense adding names to its witness list, we also get another one of these delicious Mickey Haller-Neil Bishop confrontations, this time in a courthouse restroom. An “I dare you” grin once again emerges on Haller’s face, and once again, Bishop uses his physicality and bullying nature in an attempt to intimidate the counselor. No dice. “You still think you’re one of the good guys, Neil? At least I admit when I’m coloring outside the lines.” 

As Mickey explains his case to the jury, it’s with an admission of its personal aspects. Not the targeted hit-and-run, and Eddie’s ultimate demise – to attach DeMarco and Bishop’s complicity to Julian’s case, Mickey needs to do some preparatory explaining and convincing before the jury. It is personal for him, because he knew and tried to help Glory. But her murder wasn’t random, and her killer wasn’t Julian. Rather than it being the result of some aggravation over their escort business together, Glory was targeted, just like Mickey. It’s a pattern that points to how James DeMarco operates. But for now, all Haller explains to the jury is that the prosecution of her murder involves crimes beyond the limits of Julian’s trial.

At dinner that night, the team celebrates Lorna’s victory over the notoriously difficult California state bar exam. Mickey offers her a contract as a fully-vested attorney in his office, complete with an eye-popping salary number. (She and Cisco are house-hunting.) You could call the revelry a cooling off moment, after the tragedy of Eddie’s death, the strong words at his funeral, and the ongoing threat of more targeted violence from who we can only assume is the DEA’s DeMarco. Which is exactly where the festive feelings end. While Izzy drives Mickey home in the new Lincoln Navi battletank, the vehicle doesn’t stop a tactical team from the Department of Homeland Security forcefully taking Moya’s cartel security guy into custody. DeMarco’s flexing again. So much for things cooling off. But hey, at least nobody died this time. 

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.