Wackner is out of control. There’s no way around it.
Not only is he still illegally imprisoning people, but now he’s letting a focus group’s opinions dictate his behavior in court on The Good Fight Season 5 Episode 8.
Since this is a legal drama, there’s no chance of someone “taking care” of Wackner, but he does need to be stopped — preferably in a non-violent way.
Ever since being sentenced to actual jail on The Good Fight Season 5 Episode 1, Julius has been put through the wringer.
To say he has been having a bad run of it would be putting it lightly, and things went from bad to worse to worst 40 minutes.
He parked his car in a purple zone and then wound up in jail for an undisclosed amount of time. Worst day(s) ever.
Julius can’t seem to catch a break. All he wants is respect and to venture out on his own, but he can’t even get funding for his new law firm unless Diane is on board.
Granted, not many people would be willing to invest in a pardoned felon, but it still sucks that he’s continually being overlooked and underappreciated.
In an actual court of law, Julius is a kickass lawyer, and had Wackner not been high on a massive power trip, the former judge may have been cleared of all the fictitious charges.
Wackner: Julius Cain, you have been charged with misusing parking privileges and with stealing court property. Of course, that means something to you because you do not respect this court, something I take personally, especially coming from a former judge convicted of bribery.
Liz: Mr. Wackner.
Wackner: No, you and your colleagues think you get to decide when and how justice is determined. You think it is your right to make and break the rules as you see fit.
Liz: Mr. Wackner, you’re being unfair.
Wackner: You do not own the law, Mr. Cain. The law does not belong to you or your law firm. The law belongs to the people.
I use may because even the most competent lawyer doesn’t always win in Wackner’s court, but if Wackner hadn’t been so consumed by trying to keep his courtroom doors open, Julius might have stood a chance.
Because as it turns out, people watch television to be entertained. They want drama, action, intrigue, romance, twists, and turns, all the things The Good Fight delivers episode after episode, but the first cut of Wackner’s reality show didn’t.
The cases being tried at the 9¾ Circuit Court are dull and small compared to the “juicier” ones we watch weekly.
So it was only a matter of time before Del, Wackner, and co., tried to inject some drama into the series and get the audience amped up, all in the name of justice, of course.
From the moment Julius was brought to Wackner’s court on trumped-up charges, a scene straight out of a soap opera began to unfold, with David Cord bringing up his bribery charges to add drama and his defense lawyer weaving some sad tale about his upbringing to play on the audience’s emotions.
If we didn’t know better, we might say everyone rehearsed this ahead of time because that’s how scripted Julius’ bail hearing was.
However, the real kicker came when Wacker decided to throw out the rulebook and sentence Julius to prison without even giving the wrongfully accused lawyer a fair trial.
Wackner can claim his refusal to let Julius go was because of his “solemn oath” to be fair and objective and not show preferential treatment until he’s blue in the face, but we all know the real reason.
Wackner: Julius Cain, you have been charged with misusing parking privileges and with stealing court property. Of course, that means something to you because you do not respect this court, something I take personally, especially coming from a former judge convicted of bribery.
Liz: Mr. Wackner.
Wackner: No, you and your colleagues think you get to decide when and how justice is determined. You think it is your right to make and break the rules as you see fit.
Liz: Mr. Wackner, you’re being unfair.
Wackner: You do not own the law, Mr. Cain. The law does not belong to you or your law firm. The law belongs to the people.
His explosive rant about Julius not being above the law was to ensure the success of his reality show because, in Wackner’s mind, the ends justify the means.
Having the reality show picked up gives his court publicity, and if people know about it, cases, which had been decreasing week after week, will rebound.
So if he needs to cross a line every once in a while to keep his court open, then who does it truly hurt? Oh, wait, the innocent people he’s illegally imprisoning.
It’s laughable that Wackner thought Diane and Liz would still want to represent him after that stunt he pulled with Julius and only goes to show how deluded he’s become.
For their part, it’s confusing why Diane and Liz haven’t pursued legal action against Wackner.
With the Chicago Police Department against the law firm, it’s understandable why they didn’t go to the cops to file a report, especially since said cops were in Wackner’s courtroom cheering him on.
However, it seems odd that Diane and Liz wouldn’t file a suit on Julius’s behalf against Wackner for a whole slew of charges.
Is it possible they’re unable to sue their own client while they’re still representing him? That’s the only explanation that seems plausible for why Diane and Liz were reasonable with Wackner, considering everything.
David Lee: Ok, that’s it, stop. Both of you go to my desk.
Diane: What?
David Lee: I said go to my desk, both of you.
Liz: Are you going to spank us?
David Lee: Stand on both sides of my desk now.
Liz: Is this some sort of trust exercise?
David Lee: Yes, grab both ends on three, pick it up and carry it the fuck down into your office Liz because if you don’t solve your differences in the next 24 hours, I’m coming to live and work with you, and you don’t want me down there solving your problems for you. Do you understand?
It’s not like the pair don’t have their own shit to also deal with, as their brief detente after being “outed” as lesbian lovers ended when Liz and David Lee got word Diane might be leaving the firm.
Diane and Liz kept having the same old fight, and not even David Lee’s threats of moving his desk downstairs could quell it.
What did resolve the tensions, at least for the time being, was them bringing on a third name partner, someone both Diane and Liz will side with them on firm matters.
So who is this new name partner? Wanda Sykes’s Allegra Durado.
She is “a brilliant, strategic attorney who’s been away from the law for ten years while trying to finish her white whale of a book.”
The casting description didn’t mention how kooky, spacey, and matter-of-fact Allegra would be, and which, of course, means I instantly love her, unlike some other new characters this season (*cough* Carmen *cough*).
As with Wackner, the character of Allegra is a breath of fresh air — albeit in a very different way. Allegra says what she means and means what she says.
There’s no scheming or underhandedness or firm politics at play here.
Allegra: So, I guess I’m looking to run a firm. What are your suggestions?
Liz: Did Diane Lockhart reached out to you?
Allegra: She did.
Liz: She suggested you come in here and talk about a position, so that I would offer the partnership here and think it was my idea.
Allegra: Yes.
Liz: Diane thinks that you will side with her in partnership decisions instead of me.
Allegra: That’s right.
Liz: And what if I hire you? Will you do that?
Allegra: No.
Liz: Why?
Allegra: I’m not a political person. When people convinced me I side with them. That’s why I clerked for Scalia and Ginsburg.
Liz: Will you tell Diane about this conversation.
Allegra: Only if she asks.
What you see with Allegra is what you get. After all the side deals, infighting, and manipulation at Reddick, Lockhart & Associates — whose name will surely change once again — among the major players, she’s a welcome addition to the cast.
Though Sykes is only in a recurring role, for now, she could be upped to a series regular for the show’s sixth season, and you wouldn’t hear any complaints from me.
Some stray thoughts:
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If the focus group didn’t like the “boring” cases shown in the original pilot, then how the heck did Judge Judy, which only featured minor, insignificant squabbles, have the rating to stay on the air for 25 years?
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I love Marissa. Maybe not as much as the video editor, but she’s consistently the best part of the series. She supports Wackner and what he’s trying to do, but she’s not afraid to call him on his bullshit. She is truly extraordinary.
- How worried should we be that Diane keeps chatting with a hallucination of Ruth Bader Ginsburg? Jay chats with several historical figures, but that’s because of long COVID and PTSD, so what’s Diane’s deal?
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David Lee sitting Diane and Liz down like fighting school children was hilarious. He can be a lot sometimes, but he’s best in small doses, especially when he’s lawyer-splaining how things will be.
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Now that Allegra has joined the firm, are they going to change their name again? How many times can you change a law firm’s name before clients get up and leave?
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As someone whose car has been towed twice for unpaid parking tickets, I would have begged for forgiveness even though Wackner was clearly in the wrong. Sorry Julius, but it’s not worth the hassle even before jail was on the table.
So what did you think, Good Fight fanatics?
Why does Julius have such bad luck?
Why is everyone letting Wackner get away with whatever he wants?
What are your thoughts on Allegra?
Don’t forget to hit the comments below to let me know your thoughts.
Jessica Lerner is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.