When you had been questioning when The Rainmaker was lastly going to cease shuffling papers and begin swinging, Episode 3 is the one.
Instantly, we’re not simply watching a scrappy younger lawyer attempt to show himself — we’re watching him inch nearer to uncovering a full-blown homicide conspiracy. It’s unpredictable and generally clunky, however it’s at all times entertaining, which, let’s admit it, is uncommon lately.
This episode additionally dared to incorporate approach too many aspect tales. Some work and others… effectively, let’s simply say they’re testing my persistence.
Rudy Baylor, Sizzling Mess Extraordinaire
Rudy’s journey this week was half authorized thriller, half cleaning soap opera.
The child is meant to be learning for the bar, but he spends half the episode spinning in a love-hate carousel with Sarah, mendacity to his mom, and, oh sure, having intercourse through the examination lunch break.
That’s a good way to clear your head earlier than strolling again into a very powerful check of your life.
Sarah gifting Rudy a brand-new energy swimsuit was presupposed to symbolize his rise. As a substitute, it largely made him look uncomfortable. She claimed it was to assist him “announce his presence with authority.”
Translation: she doesn’t assume he seems the half. That little dig, mixed together with her personal chats with Leo Drummond, makes me surprise — is Sarah actually on Rudy’s aspect, or are we constructing towards a betrayal?
The way in which she deflects when he asks if she desires to speak concerning the deposition says lots.
Then there’s Rudy’s mother lastly catching him within the massive lie about leaving Tinley Britt. That second may’ve been performed for sympathy, however as a substitute, it underlined simply how messy Rudy’s life is.
His mom was asking the proper query: Is that this agency respected? He insists it’s, however come on — they’re figuring out of an solely reasonably rehabbed quick meals joint, and Deck is cold-calling florists like he’s operating a telemarketing rip-off. She’s proper to be involved.
Rudy may be the guts of this present, however he’s additionally a time bomb ready to go off.
Bruiser’s Secrets and techniques Hold Piling Up
If Rudy is the present’s coronary heart, Bruiser is the backbone — however even she’s bought cracks operating by way of her.
Visiting her father in jail opened the door to an entire new layer of backstory, and it’s a sophisticated one. He insists all the things he ever did was to guard her.
Defend her from what? Defend her from who? The present dangled that line like a loaded entice, and you may wager it’ll come again later.
Then the FBI confirmed up sniffing round Rosalee Sutton, and immediately Bruiser was shaking child rattles out of her desk drawers prefer it was simply one other Tuesday. A child rattle linked to Rosalee’s youngster?
That’s not an off-the-cuff element. That’s an enormous neon signal telling us Bruiser’s historical past goes to explode in her face.
And but, even with the FBI circling, Bruiser is the one one on this episode who performs offense. Her standoff with Leo Drummond was the primary time anybody on Rudy’s staff felt like they had been holding the higher hand.
She didn’t simply ask for a settlement however named her worth ($80 million, thanks very a lot) and shoved the reality in his face.
She is aware of about Pritcher; she is aware of he’s a assassin, and he or she is aware of Leo is aware of it too. Watching her depart Leo speechless was simply one of the best second of the hour.
Jackie vs. Pritcher, the Horror Film We Didn’t Ask For
Jackie has been dragged from subplot to subplot for the reason that pilot, and now she’s mainly starring in her personal horror flick.
First, she’s hiding in a shed. Subsequent, she’s operating from Pritcher in the dark. And by the tip, she’s sprawled on a cabin flooring whereas he dances round consuming cereal and listening to Blanco Brown.
I didn’t make that up. That’s actually how the episode ended.
On the one hand, it’s creepy and efficient — Pritcher whispering, “It’s OK, I’m a nurse” whereas injecting sufferers is chilling as hell. Alternatively, the man is popping up in all places like a comic book e-book villain.
He’s too omnipresent to be plausible. Nonetheless, Jackie’s story lastly gave us one thing tangible: a witness who noticed Pritcher injecting Donny Ray. That’s homicide, not malpractice, and it adjustments the sport.
The Case Lastly Heats Up
The very best a part of the episode wasn’t Rudy’s bar examination meltdown or Bruiser’s backroom offers. It was Deck and Rudy really discovering their first actual piece of proof.
Donny Ray’s hospital roommate, Ross, remembered seeing Pritcher inject him with one thing whereas whispering that creepy line. Instantly, the case is now not nearly negligence or company indifference. It’s a couple of legal conspiracy to kill sufferers.
That’s large.
That’s the type of revelation that makes this present really feel much less like a procedural and extra like a high-stakes thriller.
For as soon as, Rudy and Deck aren’t simply taking part in catch-up. They’ve bought one thing that might bury Keeley, and the look on Rudy’s face when he realized it was homicide mentioned all of it.
The Kelly & Cliff Downside
And now we come to the a part of the episode that made me groan out loud: Kelly.
When you recall the film, you’ll acknowledge this subplot. It stood out then, and it nonetheless stands out now, like a sore thumb. No less than then, there wasn’t a Sarah.
Rudy providing Kelly a trip from the “spa” at 2 a.m., her stashing cash in a tissue field, her abusive husband Cliff threatening Rudy with a weapon — none of it matches with the principle story.
It feels just like the writers had a guidelines: “Don’t neglect Kelly!” However why? We’re already juggling a conspiracy, a homicide nurse, the FBI, and Rudy’s bar drama.
Do we actually want this clunky home violence storyline that makes Rudy look extra like a voyeur than a hero? No. We don’t. And but, right here we’re.
Threads Price Tugging
A number of questions this episode left dangling:
- Will Sarah betray Rudy, or is she a reluctant pawn in Leo’s recreation?
- What precisely did Bruiser’s father “defend” her from — and the way does Rosalee Sutton tie into it?
- Is Jackie alive, or are we watching the prelude to her tragic exit?
- What number of extra instances can Pritcher seem out of the shadows earlier than all of us burst out laughing?
The Rainmaker Season 1 Episode 3 was removed from good — in actual fact, it was borderline chaotic — however it lastly gave The Rainmaker some tooth.
The stakes are larger now, the hazard is actual, and the characters are extra tangled than ever.
Sure, a few of the subplots really feel pointless (Kelly, Cliff, I’m taking a look at you), however the homicide reveal and Bruiser’s energy play in opposition to Leo are sufficient to maintain me hooked.
Convoluted? Completely. Entertaining? With out query.
This present may not know if it desires to be a courtroom drama or a pulp cleaning soap opera, however a minimum of it’s not pretending to be secure.
What did you consider this one? Is the homicide angle pulling you in, or are the aspect plots dragging issues down?
Do you belief Sarah, or do you assume she’s setting Rudy up for a fall?
And, critically, are we supposed to purchase Pritcher displaying up in all places?
Drop your ideas within the feedback — I’m dying to know should you’re as baffled, entertained, and annoyed as I’m.
And when you’re right here, don’t neglect to poke across the website — we’ve bought recent critiques, editorials, and loads of different exhibits price speaking about.
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