Bull Review: Bounty (Season 3 Episode 19)

On Bull Season 3 Episode 19, “Bounty,” a client who should probably be held accountable for their actions is saved via a complete narrative flip.

With a couple notable exceptions, the clients Bull represents have usually been wronged in one way or another, at least enough that we feel justice is on their side. Here, that’s a bit more difficult.

Roughing up the suspect you’re collecting as a bounty hunter beyond reasonable means is already bad, particularly on your very first outing. But when you do that to the wrong person…yeah, that’s really bad.

At least, Trent recognizes this. He wants to make amends to the victim and is only trying to avoid criminal charges, not civil ones. This is the angle I wish we’d focus more on, instead of what we get.

There is a frankly weird sparring session between Bull and a young (this is important, apparently) ADA that seems like an open attempt to push us past our critical instincts—it’s true that despite everything, 30 years feels like too much for this.

In trial, ADA Conway’s role in trying to make us root against her involves her being as smug as possible. Still, she’s representing an innocent man left traumatized by an undeserved attack. How do you get around that?

This is a good question, because it turns out the only answer is throwing everything completely out the window. See, our victim was just acting the entire time in a scheme to help set Trent up. No, really.

Does this change the fact that Trent picks the wrong man, hits him hard enough to believe he’s unconscious, shoves him in a trunk, and leaves him for care in unknown condition? No. But that doesn’t matter now.

The idea that this is the path that has to be taken suggests that the writers realizing it’s very hard to make this work in any other way. It shouldn’t be the only option to make a client sympathetic.

The one workable aspect of all this is the bad tip that led Trent astray in the first place. Here is at least the chance to place the majority of the blame on someone else, with Trent being someone who just took good intentions too far.

Above all, I’m troubled by the notion that, by all appearances and in his own mind, Trent committed assault, only to have that all thrown out by a victim becoming a perpetrator—and just for the sake of a plot twist.

Finally, we bring back that odd age angle by having Conway become abruptly and needlessly incompetent in the face of her case falling apart. In a matter of seconds, the smugness transforms into someone who may never have seen the inside of a courtroom.

Even if this weren’t over the top, Bull certainly isn’t all that old and while Conway does look young, that shouldn’t become her primary feature (and especially not her primary fault.) The humor tends to fall flat.

Despite all this negativity, this shouldn’t be a bad episode. I like that Trent is complex, and I wish we’d explore the major faults we first see. It adds depth and realism. Lawyers almost never only have angels as clients.

I also appreciate the effort to focus more on Danny, though I must point out that it still becomes largely about Bull. At least she does get a few nice scenes that help to make Trent just a bit more relatable.

And while we’re on the subject, whatever happened to Gabriel? If we’re going to be focusing on people Danny cares about, I’d much rather get him back before the season and/or series comes to an end.

What did you think of this episode of Bull? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Bull airs Mondays at 10/9c on CBS.

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