Reasonable Doubt Season 4 Premiere Recap: Jax Fights for Her Life
Last season on Reasonable Doubt, Jax won Ozzie’s case, but the victory came with a heartbreaking conclusion. Ozzie died, Monica brought a gun to the opening of Jax’s new firm, and now we finally know who took the bullet. Corey is back, Jax’s old firm is already up to its old tricks, and Season 4 wastes no time reminding us that peace was never really an option for Jax Stewart.
Three Weeks Later
Season 4 picks up three weeks after the shooting, with Jax in a coma. Lewis sits at her bedside reading to her as “Song Cry” plays in the background, setting the mood for a montage showing just how deeply her condition has affected everyone around her.
While Daniel and Krystal wonder what happens if Jax doesn’t pull through, her mother and children pray around the dinner table. Everyone is waiting for good news, but the doctor’s update offers little comfort. The swelling hasn’t subsided, and possible damage to Jax’s nervous system could leave her in a permanent coma. If she doesn’t recover, Lewis may eventually have to make the impossible decision of whether to continue life support.
The Law Offices of Jax Stewart
Lewis tells Daniel and Krystal that Jax remains in a medically induced coma, but he also knows exactly how quickly the legal world moves when someone appears vulnerable. He knows his wife’s old firm, and he knows they won’t hesitate to come after the clients Jax took with her. He tells Daniel and Krystal they need a plan to keep the firm running and make sure Jax still has a business to return to.
Enter Corey Cash. Corey has been checking on Jax and sending flowers, but Lewis suggests it might be time for him to contribute a little more than bouquets. Krystal questions whether Corey even has the bandwidth to step in, and the episode promptly cuts to Corey enjoying his bachelor party at a strip club. So, apparently, there is at least a little room on the calendar.
Once Corey gets the call, he tells his fiancée that he needs to go to Los Angeles. He promises he’ll be back in time for the wedding, but this doesn’t exactly feel like a conversation where she was given much say in the matter. Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but that reassurance sounded just forced enough to make me wonder whether wedding bells are really in Corey’s immediate future.
Meanwhile, Jax’s former firm wastes absolutely no time trying to poach her clients, starting with Eric Cropper. Eric brings them a problem, they offer what they believe is a solution, and he is thoroughly unimpressed. The read he gives them is delightful and makes it clear that stealing Jax’s clients may not be as easy as they expected. Corey arrives to help and eventually visits Jax in the hospital, urging her to fight. It’s a tender moment before reality kicks back in and he discovers just how much work she has left behind.
Eric Cropper Is Trouble
Corey’s meeting with Eric makes one thing immediately clear: managing Jax Stewart’s client list requires a lot more than showing up in a nice suit.
Eric is crass, demanding, and completely unimpressed with Corey’s approach. He wants somebody who gets straight to business, and according to him, Jax knows how to get things done without becoming overly concerned with ethics.
Well, that certainly sounds like the Jax we know.
Corey is perfectly willing to let Eric walk, which immediately sends Daniel and Krystal into panic mode. Eric may be volatile, arrogant, and unpredictable, but he is also one of the firm’s most important clients. Jax knows how to manage him, and they cannot afford to watch Corey lose him while she’s lying unconscious in a hospital bed.
Eric’s personal life is every bit as messy as his professional one. He clashes with his wife and business partner, Brooke, over money as a potential $685 million acquisition of his streaming platform hangs in the balance. Eric is apparently hoping to pay Brooke only a fraction of that amount, while Brooke understandably has a very different idea of what her share should look like.
Something tells me this negotiation is not going to stay civil for long.
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
Lewis meets with DA Harris to discuss the charges against Monica, whose arraignment has been delayed after she was injured in prison. Meagan Good makes a strong first impression as Harris, and so far, I’m enjoying what she brings to the role.
Then Ozzie’s mother visits Monica, and this is where the episode starts losing me.
She tells Monica that she felt peace when Jax was shot and hopes Jax doesn’t survive. In her mind, Jax is responsible for Ozzie’s death, her husband being sent to prison, and her daughter refusing to speak to her. She is so consumed by that anger that she is apparently willing to help Monica.
I’m sorry, but are we really supposed to believe this woman is so determined to punish Jax that she would willingly work with the woman who molested her child?
I can absolutely believe grief would make her lash out, blame the wrong person, and direct her pain toward Jax. Grief is messy, irrational, and rarely fair. But teaming up with her son’s abuser is a much bigger leap, and that anger suddenly feels awfully selective. This storyline has me nervous that Reasonable Doubt might be flirting with jumping the shark, and I really hope the show proves me wrong.
Episode One: The Verdict
Lewis’s breakdown is easily one of the premiere’s strongest moments. He has spent the episode trying to carry the firm, his children, Jax’s condition, and the possibility that his wife may never wake up. When all of that finally becomes too much, the weight of it lands exactly the way it should. His love for Jax comes through in every bit of that pain.
And then there’s that ending. They really had me going for a minute there, and I had tears in my eyes. Please do not do that to me again. Overall, the premiere was decent, but it didn’t completely feel like the Reasonable Doubt I’ve been hooked on for the past three seasons. I missed the opening flash-forward and the immediate sense of a major case anchoring the season. Eric clearly has plenty of trouble brewing around him, but I’m still waiting to understand the shape of the bigger story.
My other concern is the growing list of big-name guest stars. Star power can be fun, but there is always a danger that the story starts bending itself around giving everybody something to do instead of letting the characters and cases lead naturally. We saw what happened to Empire, and I would rather not travel down that road again.
That said, Tank did better than I expected, and the performances throughout the episode gave me enough reason to stay invested. I’m still tuned in, and I’m hoping Episode 2 brings back more of the sharp storytelling that made Reasonable Doubt such an addictive watch in the first place.
As for this alliance between Ozzie’s mother and Monica? I hate it. There are two more episodes waiting for me, so I’ll see you in the next recap.
What did you think?
Loved it
Hated it
So/So
Comments