When it rains, it pours.
Michael used to think that prison was the worst place, but on Your Honor Season 2 Episode 2, he was proven wrong at every turn. Some fates are worse than our wildest dreams.
Returning to New Orleans as a disgraced judge was not the worst thing, as he came to find out.
Big Mo decided to expand her enterprise by wanting to buy a legal business, but it encountered an obstacle that needed someone’s help to overcome.
Olivia initiated her long game but hid all her cards while Eugene struggled to live a normal life after the trauma he sustained in Your Honor Season 1.
Most prisoners can’t wait until their sentence ends and they can resume their regular lives. It is a restrictive environment where one mistake can make your life — if you get to keep it — a living hell.
Michael was ready to end it all, but he never imagined himself being free as a bird yet not feeling free.
Prison shielded him from the realities of the outside world. Although he will carry the pain and loss he has for the rest of his life, he’s not walking up against constant reminders of what he has lost.
He was shocked when he first saw a happy and thriving family. It reminded him of a time when he had a wife and a son and was happy.
When many people fall from grace or are “canceled,” as it is referred to currently, they get deserted by everyone, even people they thought would be in their corner.
It is admirable to stand by your friends and offer them support during the worst time of their lives. You don’t have to support what they did and should make it clear that you think what they did was awful, but give them a shoulder to lean on.
There were only three people who knew about my role in that. Rudy’s never gonna talk, and the other two people are sitting right here. So I got nothing to worry about. Losing Adam was my penance, too.
I’ve paid for my sins. I loved that boy like he was my own. You can’t dig graves deep enough in this city to hide them from the storms. Water will get to the bodies every time. Only sure thing about the dirt beneath our feet is that it’ll wash away one day. You asked me to bury something and now… here we are. Shame on us for not knowing our city better.Charlie
Elizabeth was one such person for Michael. Even though he lost everything, she welcomed him and offered support and advice when she saw he was struggling. It was an admirable thing she did.
“Part Twelve subtly explored trauma.
First, Michael found it impossible to lead a semi-normal life. He had gotten so used to a small, cold, hard cell that he didn’t feel comfortable in anything not resembling his former conditions.
Next was Eugene. He was carrying more pain than he let on. We didn’t get to explore the effects of the events leading up to shooting Adam in the first season, so I’m glad they decided to dive into his emotions now.
The images he drew showed that he hadn’t gotten over losing his family and that the attempt at living a normal life would not succeed. A child his age should have never been exposed to some of the things he’s experienced.
If there isn’t a quick and effective intervention, he might end up embracing his violent past, and there would be no return.
To get things done, sometimes you have to do bad things while hoping the end will justify the means.
Charlie was working hard to get re-elected, but people dying of drub overdoses would never do him a favor in the polls.
At one point, priorities might align between two parties, and they might even seek to join arms, but when these two parties have diverging interests, things go south.
As of then, Big Mo and Charlie had problems that they could help each other with, but that was not a good look for Charlie. Nobody they met hesitated to ask Big Mo what they thought of her business practices.
Even more, Gia looked visibly annoyed by seeing Big Mo on the street across from her hotel. One can assume she wasn’t thrilled to have Big Mo as a neighbor. She might use the relationship between Charlie and Big Mo to blackmail Charlie into doing her bidding.
Thus far, Olivia managed to hide her game plan, but it was evident she was planning something big. The job she sought for Michael was bound to get him in the Baxter Hotel. She was working towards something, and I can’t wait to see what she’ll do.
So, what was your plan? Hmm? Just walk into the mayor’s office and warn your buddy that he might be in trouble Come on, Michael. Do you honestly think that I’d let you do that? I can’t even allow you to enter the building. If you warn Charlie, or anyone else, if you so much as whisper the words “federal investigation” to yourself in the middle of a thunderstorm, the deal’s off. That means you are back in prison. That means your friend Charlie is right behind you.
Olivia
It should be everyone’s incentive to try and do good. Things have a way of coming back to us; no one understood that more than Michael.
He was lucky to have spent most of his career doing good things because if things hadn’t gone well for the butchery’s manager, he would not have gotten that job.
Manager: You remember me, Judge?
Michael: No.
Manager: I was in your courtroom. Drug possession. Prosecutor charged me with intent to distribute. Jury gave me 14 years. You reduced that sentence to eight months. You said, “Good people don’t belong in prison.” Follow me. Driver quit last week. The job’s yours, if you want it.
Grief groups are important for people dealing with losing a loved one, so it was surprising they let Gia into the meeting, given how she minimized their pain the first time she visited the group.
Group Leader: If you have something to say, Gina, we would love for you to contribute.
Gina: I just don’t see the value in collective whining.
Group Leader: You don’t have to be here.
Gina: But how would I fill my Thursday nights if I’m not listening to a grown woman talk on and on about losing her mommy?
But you can’t say that it didn’t help. Anger is a vile thing that eats you from the inside, but some people thrive in it. For someone as unhinged as Gia, it is a very dangerous weapon.
The outside world kept reminding Michael that he didn’t have any friends. It seemed that Charlie was also looking to protect his hide when he visited Michael.
Something about Michael’s release had him spooked. It was a fair assumption Michael had ratted him out.
Michael had been toying with the idea of committing suicide, but he also understood there was a need to protect the people close to him. Will learning about Rocco Jr. be the thing that will make him want to live?
Charlie tangled himself with a known criminal. Will that be his ultimate undoing?
Little Mo was introduced to a new connection, but it seems like the guy is unhinged. A lot could go wrong.
The episode felt like a downgrade from the season premiere, but it set up some interesting conflicts that could serve to thicken the plot.
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Denis Kimathi is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. He has watched more dramas and comedies than he cares to remember. Catch him on social media obsessing over [excellent] past, current, and upcoming shows or going off about the politics of representation on TV. Follow him on Twitter.