‘Your Honor’ (Showtime) — Season 1, Episode 2 Review

“Part Two” – Aired on December 13, 2020
Writer: Peter Moffat
Director: Edward Berger
Grade: 5 out of 5

Notice: All episode reviews contain spoilers

It’s the day after the accident that kicked off the series last week. In a diner, Judge Michael Desiato asks a man wearing a blue bow tie, named Charlie Figaro (Isiah Whitlock Jr.), to make his deceased wife’s car to disappear, “no questions asked.” We gather from the conversation that these two are close friends. Charlie figures (inaccurately) that the car’s presence must cause Michael great anguish by reminding him daily of his wife Robin. He feels bad for his friend, and Michael ‘conveniently’ plays along. Charlie promises to take care of it in a few hours. Michael just needs to leave the keys on top of the front-left tire.

The success of the episode lies in the number of compelling storylines built on the failure to accomplish that single straightforward task. Essentially, Robin’s car is the star of the hour. You probably heard the cliché, “a reliable car is one that gets you from point A to point B.” Robin’s car departs point A, but never arrives at point B, giving rise to one disastrous outcome after another. Whereas “Part One” was a fine exhibit on building character layers, “Part Two” comes across as a productive exercise in generating compelling plot intricacies. Complications arise, deceptions proliferate, tensions escalate, lives get ruined.

It all begins when Charlie phones someone named Rudy Cunningham (Cullen Moss). Rudy then places a call to a younger man named Little Mo (Keith Machekanyanga) who later turns out to belong to a gang referred to as “Desire Crew.” He orders one of his “soldiers” named Kofi (Lamar Johnson) to take on the “job.” Kofi must go to Michael’s house, grab the keys on top of the tire, and drive the car to the scrapyard. Not too complicated for a gang member, right? Riiiiight…

At a coffeeshop, Michael tells Adam to fill out a card for his mother. The judge has a plan, you see. The father-son duo will visit Robin’s grave at the cemetery with the card and some flowers because, according to Michael, they need to have the muscle memory of the activities that they will claim to have done on the day before, the anniversary of their mother (also read: the day Adam killed Rocco). “Today is yesterday,” Adam states. They must re-enact October 9th so that, in case Adam gets asked about it “months from now,” he can simply recount their actual visit instead of inventing one in his mind. Today is yesterday.

But first, Michael asks the server some questions about a shot-gun house and if one can see inside the bathroom to the side simply by looking through the front door. This is disorienting at first because we saw in “Part One” that not only does Michael know the answer to his question, but he also used that knowledge in his courtroom to free a wrongfully accused youngster. Michael has a second out-of-character moment when he makes a wise-ass comment to the panhandler at the cemetery’s entrance. His plan includes the server and the panhandler remembering those conversations, but not necessarily which day they took place. Today is yesterday.

The problem for the judge is that his son, who is already an emotional wreck from the guilt of having murdered someone, does not appear to be on board. Adam keeps questioning the plan’s details and frantically uttering sentences like, “I can’t fucking do it.” Do they have a choice at this point? Not really. So, they plow forward, hoping and praying that things will not fall apart. Adam’s inability to remain cool-headed, thus sinking the two of them further down into the abyss, will inevitably be one of the side stories of the season. I’m game, as long as it is told in a nuanced way. So far, the show gives me confidence that it can achieve that goal.

I noted in my review of last week’s pilot that Your Honor’s monumental challenge was to “nurture an accustomed cliché (a momentarily preoccupied, stressed-out driver fatally hitting another, and driving away in panic, causing a devastating ripple effect), and muster from it a unique enough narrative that can hopefully distinguish the show from others of the genre” — I know, I just did the despicable act of quoting myself, please forgive me. “Part Two” is a triumph in this perspective. In a riveting hour of human drama with social, cultural, and criminal implications, the ripple effect of the accident reaches further than I could have imagined.

Back to the episode, where we find Det. Nancy Costello (Amy Landacker) visiting Judge Desiato in his chamber. She wonders why Michael contacted him the day before (remember in “Part One” when the judge made a couple of calls before changing his mind about Adam’s confession at the precinct?)

Michael claims that he initially called to report his wife’s car stolen but changed his mind because, considering how painful it is to see Robin’s car every day – “like a bruise,” he solemnly adds –, the thief may have done him a favor after all! The irony here is that Michael downplays the robbery, even feigning to feel relieved from the disappearance of the car, expecting Costello to let it go. It completely backfires! Nancy, the ethical detective that she is, argues that so-called inconsequential acts can unexpectedly lead to horrific outcomes, such as the one that resulted in Robin’s death a year ago. Hence, whoever stole the car must be taught a lesson. “I am going to find that piece of shit,” she exclaims. Bryan Cranston is terrific here as Michael’s forced smile and fake nod of approval to Nancy’s reaction, mixed with his expression of defeat only visible to the informed eye, convey the deep sense of distress he feels. The slippery slope has begun for Judge Desiato.

As for Kofi’s point A to point B driving assignment, lo and behold, he runs a red light and gets pulled over. The police run the license plate and discover that the vehicle is reported stolen (courtesy of the ethical Det. Costello). They arrest and handcuff Kofi, before taking him to the precinct. Judge Desiato’s slippery slope has just been upgraded to a downward spiral.

Nancy informs Michael that the car has been recovered. When would Michael like to come to the station and take it home? Why immediately, of course! Nancy is not only ethical, but also punctilious, the kind of detective that Michael wishes would go away just this one time. For instance, she prods Michael with enough questions to learn that Adam was the last person to drive the car, meaning that the young Desiato will have to come down to the station and sign a release statement as well. Police protocol, yaknow…

This dialogue between Nancy and Michael is fascinating to watch as the detective delves into a theory about the possibility of the thief being connected to Robin’s death from a year ago, wondering if it was meant to be some sort of a sick statement, while the judge tries his best to act and sound indifferent. He just asks for Kofi’s name and age – it reminded me of the series Columbo where the guilty party would always give in to their curiosity and ask the beloved L.A. detective how the investigation was progressing, thus drawing more suspicion.

Much to Michael’s relief, the paperwork is prepared and a police officer drives the car to the outside area so that Michael can take it home. As the officer exits the garage, the car goes over a bump and a piece of Rocco’s motorcycle that must have gotten stuck to the bottom of the car falls out. Disaster just struck Michael anew. Nancy ain’t letting this car go anywhere. It will be detained and meticulously examined. An officer will drive Michael home as a courtesy.

Bryan Cranston puts forth another top-notch character moment as Michael sits disconsolate in the back of the police car and endures the annoying dialogue with the driving officer who launches a few lightweight verbal jabs in Michael’s direction because the judge apparently released a “panty thief” that he arrested a while back. He particularly wants Michael to know that the pervert went on to commit a series of heinous crimes following his release. “You didn’t know that?” he asks Michael in a judgmental tone. The scene serves to accentuate the existence of a friction between Michael, the judge admired by the marginalized ones, and those among the police who would prefer them behind bars.

As the saying goes, “when it rains, it pours.” Adam tells Michael at home in the evening that two people saw him after the accident, the windshield washer on the street and the angry dude at the gas station. Oh, and by the way, he most likely left his inhaler at the accident site. Neither is even realizing at this point that Adam was also recorded by the station’s camera when he stopped to fill the tank. Nor do they know that Baxter’s right-hand man Frankie has possession of the inhaler. He is having it tested for DNA and should have the results within 36 hours. Thanks to an inside connection with a corrupt officer named Cusack (David Maldonado), Baxter has access to the police database. Naturally!

Meanwhile, Kofi’s status has shifted. He is no longer just a car thief. He is also the main suspect in the murder of Rocco in a hit-and-run while driving Robin’s car. Unaware, Kofi is busy bribing the desk officer at the precinct into letting him go, in exchange for the baseball signed by Mariano Rivera that was found in his possession, so to speak (it was in the car). The officer takes the deal, but Kofi’s luck is about to run out as he heads to the exit. Having learned of the car’s connection to the accident and knowing that the driver is held at the precinct, Cusack storms into the building and stops Kofi dead in his tracks. Next time we see Kofi, he is in the back of a car and taken to an abandoned warehouse. By this time, you are wondering if he will even make it alive to the end of the hour.

He is first handcuffed to some pipe, then threatened later with carbon monoxide poisoning inside a car. The organic unity of this sequence has the desired impact because it’s impossible to ascertain what Kofi knows. Baxter’s cronies assume that he killed Rocco and want his phone back. Kofi replies that he has no idea what they are talking about. Does Kofi even know whose car he stole? Or that he was even stealing? Who is to say with 100% certainty that he was not merely told by his pal Little Mo to drive a car parked in front of a house, with the keys on the tire, to a scrapyard nearby? Simple point A to point B task, right? Riiiiight…

Viewers are not privy to how much information Baxter’s cronies squeezed out of Kofi because the next time he appears on screen, he is driven to jail, chained, and subsequently dragged to a cell where an inmate, undoubtedly a member of the Desire Crew, hands him a phone. Little Mo is on the line and he tells – orders – Kofi to “take the hit” like a “good soldier.” He provides further clarification just in case Kofi considers being a bad soldier: “Maybe then I can’t guarantee they’d be safe. You heard me?” Little Mo is referring to Kofi’s mom and family.

In a gut-wrenching courtroom scene, with his mother in tears as part of the large audience, including Baxter, Michael, and Adam, Kofi pleads guilty to the charge of vehicular homicide. Once he is taken away, Michael leaves the courtroom, but he is chased down the hallway by Kofi’s mother who desperately seeks his help because she believes he is a “good man.” In another stellar character moment by Cranston (he can probably do those in his sleep), a conflicted and frustrated Michael loses his cool in front of others for the first time (that we have seen) and replies in a stern-yet-regretful voice, “Look, I cannot help you! I’m sorry.”

Further down the hallway, Frankie tells his boss that it was not a “hit and run”, but rather a “hit.” Period. They now believe that the Desire Crew is out for revenge because one of Jimmy’s men, a certain Carlo, had previously beaten up one of them. Baxter poignantly tells Frankie, “I’m gonna clean this city up! I’m gonna make it fucking shine!”

Outside the courthouse, Little Mo informs Rudi by phone that Kofi was a “good soldier.” In turn, Rudi calls Charlie to give the good news: “We’re safe.”

Enter Lee Delamere (Carmen Ejogo, whose performances in Selma and season 3 of True Detective are memorable), an old friend of Michael, and a successful lawyer working for a private company. Filled with compunction, Michael asks her to represent Kofi Jones. He felt bad for the accused and was embarrassed by the judge’s harsh treatment of the kid. “I was humiliated by his humiliation,” he adds. That is why he wants Lee to defend him. It’s only partially true, but it works. Lee accepts.

Last-minute thoughts:

— “This isn’t easy for me,” Lee says at one point. Michael understands: “I was there.” To that, Lee inquisitively replies: “You’re asking me to do this, knowing what you know about me?” The two also talk about having a glass of wine together. I admit, my curiosity is piqued! What is their background story?

— Kudos to Melanie Nicholls-King for her visceral representation of Kofi’s downtrodden mother.

— Scenes of Adam, the guilty-of-murder white teenager, arriving at his school in the morning, opening his locker, and going to class are intertwined with scenes of Kofi the not-guilty-of-murder black teenager handcuffed in the back of a police car. Contemporary context is king in this particular montage.

— Hats off to German composer Volker Bertelmann for the wonderful score. For one example, listen as you watch the montage of scenes alternating between Michael’s face as he sits on his chair at home and Kofi arriving to jail.

— The emphasis placed by Baxter’s cronies on finding Rocco’s phone makes me wonder if there is some incriminating evidence on it. Even during the police bust into Kofi’s home, Cusack makes it a priority to ask Kofi’s mom about the phone.

— The execrable Judge Harris who refers to Kofi as “boy” at one point is played by Bill Martin Williams. I know that he is a versatile actor – he is good in the short time he appears here too – but I can only remember him playing lawyers and preachers for some reason.

— I know that Jimmy Baxter represents a feared and despicable mobster. I don’t know, however, that a scene of him brutally smashing and crushing a birdcage with the animal still in it necessarily needed to be included in the script to point that out.

— Amy Landacker, who plays Nancy, is the second cast member of the critically acclaimed Coen brothers’ film A Serious Man to appear as a main character here, along with Michael Stuhlbarg as Jimmy.

— Kofi spots Adam looking down at him from the balcony area as he is dragged away after pleading guilty. I wonder if that moment will come up somehow in future outings.

Until next episode…

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