“The Lincoln Lawyer” does a good job in that area. The off-camera murder of someone we don’t care about allows our hero to remain fundamentally good, whose story revolves more around who goes to jail than who dies. Raising the stakes further, it is revealed that the person who is on trial for Bondurant’s death, Lisa Trammell (Lana Parilla), is Mickey’s girlfriend – the two sleep together early in the season.
The show thrives in that filth. “The Lincoln Lawyer” is at its best when Garcia-Rulfo can swing between a boyish smile and some ethically questionable legal tactics. He has plenty of opportunities to do so in the second season, thanks to Lisa and her legal troubles, his closeness to his two ex-wives – Maggie McPherson (Neve Campbell) and Lorna Crane (Becky Newton), and some loose ends from season one. From.
It’s the group — Mickey and his ladies, including Jazz Recole as his driver Izzy Letts — that make the show special. There are many adults here with different histories, trying to do the right thing, find love and happiness, and support and accept each other. They make tough decisions and make heartbreaking mistakes, and it’s both heartwarming and adult, not a coming-of-age story but a coming-of-age story.
García-Rulfo’s Mickey charms wherever he goes, but his vulnerability really scores him points. She’s sexy and honest, with enough mischief to keep it interesting. Newton’s Lorna also has a mix of playfulness and toughness, which lends to her charm. Campbell’s McPherson is the grown man in the room who has to make tough decisions and pay the consequences. But she’s not a serpent — she’s just clear about who Mickey is, who she is, and what boundaries they need to make in order for their co-parenting friendship to succeed.
Unfortunately, “The Lincoln Lawyer” doesn’t keep its focus there. In the first half of the second season, she spends a lot of time with Dennis ‘Cisco’ Wojciechowski (Angus Sampson). He’s Mickey’s investigator, Lorna’s finance, and makes horribly wrong guesses. An ex-biker-gang member, Cisco still rides his bike and tries to do good, but sounds ridiculous with an overly serious voice – there’s no menace or sex appeal about him – and that’s where he takes There’s the shabby shot of taking off (and on) your aviator sunglasses.