Reasonable Doubt Season 4 Episode 5 Review: Jax Hits a New Low

Jax Stewart is out here winning courtroom battles while losing the war against her own demons, and Reasonable Doubt is making it increasingly difficult to watch. Season 4 Episode 5 puts Jax's growing dependence on pills front and center as Eric Cropper's murder trial takes some messy turns. Between an ex-wife with an agenda, secrets that refuse to stay buried, and a family watching her unravel, Jax has plenty to worry about. But that final bathroom scene? Oh, we're going to need a minute to process that one.

Jax and her terrible wig are back. At first, she seems more like herself: working out, heating things up in the bedroom, and getting back to business. But it quickly becomes clear that the pills are fueling that burst of energy. At the salon, Eric’s ex-wife, Melina, gets the rumor mill buzzing about Eric and Brooke. The conversation is no accident. Desiree, played by Rutina Wesley, planted the woman Melina is talking to. As an investigative reporter, Desiree knows exactly what she is doing. That salon gossip is headed straight for her show.

Eric paces Jax’s office, furious about what Melina let slip. When Jax asks whether there is anything else they can use, he tells her Brooke is sleeping with someone. If you recall, Episode 4 ended with Brooke having sex against a window while Eric watched. We know the man is his brother, but Eric never sees his face. How convenient.

We flash back ten years to when Jax and Eric first met. Initially, the detour feels unnecessary. Eric has questionable morals from the start, which surprises absolutely no one. But learning that Desiree was his friend makes the flashback more interesting.

Back in the present, Jax struggles while rehearsing her opening statement with Corey. A flashback rattles her, and she asks him for space so she can take a pill. When Krystal interrupts, Jax snaps at her. Later, on their way to court, Eric reveals that he knows Jax got pills from one of his people. He does not care about her vices or why she has them. He can get her what she needs, but his employees do not work for her. If she wants something, she has to come through him. That arrangement already feels like trouble.

Jax takes another pill before delivering her opening statement and knocks it out of the park. But the performance only makes the problem clearer. She has not dealt with her trauma, and the pain she is medicating goes well beyond her physical injuries. The trial is triggering her, and she has forced herself back to work before she is ready.

As a result, Jax mfn Stewart does not seem to believe she can do her job without the pills. With Corey, she needs her statement written down and still struggles to get through it. After taking a pill, she goes off the dome. She may have nailed the opening, but I have a feeling she is going to lose this trial. Jax celebrates with Lewis and her mother, who watches her closely. She knows something is off. Considering Jax’s father was an addict, her mother is familiar with the signs. They try to get Jax to slow down and relax, but she refuses.

This is not a storyline I wanted for Jax. Still, given how prideful, stubborn, and determined to do everything herself she can be, I understand how she gets here. She wants to keep moving, and the pills make her feel like she can. Another flashback shows the introduction of Jax and Melina, Eric’s first wife, and Brooke, who was Melina’s assistant. Hmm. Between those connections and Desiree’s history with Eric, could they all be involved in bringing him down?

Meanwhile, Regina meets with DA Mike to discuss the case. He reassures her that she can beat Jax, and the two end up going home together. Her mother interrupts, putting a pause on that situation. Melina visits Eric to apologize for gossiping. She says she will try to help him in court, but she will not perjure herself. Eric insists that she knows him and knows he did not do it. Then he tells her she is the only person he can count on.

The two flirt, and Jax arrives in time to watch. The moment reminds her of a similar scene with Brooke years earlier. Except Jax watches for far too long. Please tell me she is not about to go there while high. Lewis returns a pot to Jax’s mother and gets a much more serious conversation than he bargained for. She sees what is happening with her daughter and wants to know whether he sees it, too.

Meanwhile, the prosecution begins calling witnesses. By day three, Melina takes the stand, and boy, does she deliver. The prosecution plays a voicemail of Eric threatening her, and her testimony does his defense no favors. So much for being the only person he can count on. Melina wanted revenge, and she got it. When Jax gets home, Lewis tells her about his conversation with her mother. Jax later confronts her, and her mother reads her. She knows the signs of addiction, and she knows her daughter. The scene is heartbreaking. Her mother sees the problem, but Jax lashes out and tells her to stay out of her life.

Krystal also catches more of Jax’s nastiness. Jax asks her to get her purse, then speaks to her terribly, treating her like hired help while Regina watches. My best guess? Krystal is going to end up working for the prosecution. Jax keeps giving her reasons to leave.

Without her pills, Jax grows increasingly agitated and zones out during the trial. By the end of the episode, she finally gets a pill, only to drop it into a public bathroom sink. As it starts to dissolve, she licks it out of the sink. That is where we leave Jax.

Meanwhile, Devante’s time on the run ends when the police finally apprehend him. I will say this: Eric Cropper is entertaining. His morals are questionable, but he keeps my attention. Jax is my girl, but I know her. She is a morally gray character, and her career often comes first. When she snaps at people, I am not exactly shocked.

What surprises me is how far she is willing to go with the pills, considering her father’s addiction and her own fear of following that path. Earlier, she resisted taking them even when doctors and the people who love her encouraged her to treat her pain. Now she seems convinced she cannot function without them.

I can see how she gets there. She will not sit still long enough to heal, and she keeps trying to push through what happened to her. But understanding the storyline does not mean I want to watch her go through it. It has been one trauma after another for Jax, season after season. Someone on social media suggested that she is still in a coma and that we are watching her fears play out in a dream. At this point, I would be okay with that. After a while, drama can turn into trauma porn, and that will lose me as a fan.

The episode also feels choppy. The pace is fast, the format shifts a little, and some of the transitions make it harder to settle into the story. This is the central case of the season, and I want the writing to give it room to land.

I still enjoyed the episode, but I am not sold on the season just yet. My rating: 7/10.

What did you think?

• Loved it
• Hated it
• So/So