By the end of Season 3 of Netflix’s The Lincoln Lawyer, it appears that the protagonist, ace lawyer Mickey Haller (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), has undergone a transformative journey. Throughout the latest season, Mickey finds himself dwelling on the consequences of his choices, right from the moment he decides to pursue the mystery behind the death of Gloria Dayton (Fiona Rene). Consequentially, Mickey travels a path that involves a lot of internal turmoil as for the first time in his career, he starts weighing the burden of the consequences of the choices he makes. Toward the end of the latest season, Mickey appears to be a transformed legal practitioner who seems to have found a higher purpose – something which he may pursue in the next season. However, Season 3’s final big twist in the form of a dead body found in the trunk of Haller’s car suggests that he may not be done with the mistakes of his past yet.
In Season 3’s finale episode, “The Gods of Guilt,” the body found in Mickey’s car’s truck belongs to Sam Scales (Christopher Thornton), a recurring character who’s a conman responsible for duping people of millions of dollars in the name of fake schemes over and again multiple times throughout the show. In Season 3, Lorna (Becki Newton) defends Sam for collecting money to buy grocery gift cards for people on strike and only donating one-third of the money he raised. Lorna manages to cut a deal with the prosecution, requiring Sam to return the money he collected.
Unfortunately, Sam breaks the news that he will not be positioned to return the money any time soon, considering he owes the money to someone dangerous who’d kill him if he doesn’t show up with the money. At this point, Mickey retorts by saying that Sam will be dead if he doesn’t pay him the money he owes his firm in legal fees. To Mickey’s bad luck, the intern at Mickey’s firm, Jessica (Angie Campbell), catches this otherwise meaningless threat from Mickey, and it can be very much expected that it will only make things difficult for Mickey, who does not seem to share a very cordial relationship with Sam.
Season 3’s Finale Sets Up the Next Entry in the Book Series
The Lincoln Lawyer Season 3’s final twist sets up Michael Connelly’s sixth book in the Lincoln Lawyer book series, The Law of Innocence. According to the book, Sam Scales was murdered by a gangster named Louis Opparizio when one of Sam’s scams impacted Opparizio’s business negatively. Interestingly, Opparizio is the book equivalent of the character Alex Grant (Michael A. Goorjian) from Season 2 of The Lincoln Lawyer. In Season 2, Mickey implicated Grant, who has deep ties with the Armenian mob, in the murder of real estate developer Mitchell Bondurant (Clint Carmichael) to save Lisa Trammell (Lana Parrilla). Although Grant does not return in Season 3, the final twist in the form of Sam’s dead body in Mickey’s car suggests that, not only did Grant decide to seek vengeance, but he also used the opportunity to get back at Mickey. The license plate of Mickey’s car was removed on purpose so that he’d be stopped by the police officer, who would find Sam’s body in his car.
Season 3 also sets up other story threads, with Haller now a potential target for a rival cartel. Although Hector Moya promises him security, it’s likely that the cartel would hold a grudge. After all, removing DeMarco would result in a power imbalance in the DEA, which could be filled by another more corrupt and evil cartel mole. Also, Yaya DaCosta’s Andrea Freeman seems determined to take up the Scott Glass case and it could become a prominent storyline in Season 4, which could see Andrea putting herself in harm’s way to seek justice. With Lorna also taking up charge at Mickey’s firm after clearing the bar examination, it’s likely that Lorna would be a force to reckon with in Mickey’s pursuit of proving his innocence. Lorna and Cisco (Angus Sampson) would be Mickey’s soldiers on the ground, with Mickey himself locked up behind bars.
The Lincoln Lawyer Season 4 will follow Mickey and his team of talented associates fighting it out in the most high-stakes case so far in the series, with Mickey’s own fate hanging in the balance. With Mickey himself in a disadvantageous position, it can be expected that the journey to freedom may not be an easy one. Habitual of finding himself on the other side of the table, Mickey will need to find new methods while retaining his old efficacy to ensure that his redemption arc in Season 3 does not get wasted by mistakes resulting from desperate measures — something Mickey often resorts to. Season 3 witnessed Mickey finally making amends with his daughter Hayley, and according to The Law of Innocence, Mickey’s relationship with his daughter will prove to be pivotal to the choices he makes when The Lincoln Lawyer returns for Season 4 on Netflix. Regardless of the outcome, Season 4 will give us Manuel Garcia-Rulfo’s character’s most intense legal battle to date.
