All Rise Review: Maricela and the Desert (Season 1 Episode 8)

An emotional case and a trip to Vegas share a theme of heated moments on All Rise Season 1 Episode 8, “Maricela and the Desert.”

Some cases are so intense that everyone comes out of them looking both a little better and a little worse. This one, centered around an 11-year-old witness, fits the bill.

Maricela’s mother is missing, presumed dead. Emily represents the man accused of killing her, and who is also Maricela’s adoptive father. The parents may have fought prior to the disappearance. The “may” is why this is such a big deal.

Emily has good reason to be troubled by Marcela testifying to things she can’t be sure of, considering potential bias for the jury and trauma for her. Every moment of what this poor girl goes though is heartbreaking, and the young actress playing her shines.

There’s also a lot that’s frustrating here. Some of it is easy to hand out, like when we consider the social worker who is meant to care for Maricela but instead acts annoyed by a grieving child and loses her on multiple locations. Other parts are more complicated.

I am still very much on board with feeling empathy for all Emily’s clients, both because she’s so good at making their stories real, and because she defends people who have often been cast in a bad light by society’s own misconceptions.

That’s why I’m troubled by the few times in this case we rely on casting the mother in a negative light, especially when those efforts focus on her addiction. Boosting one character at the expense of another is a pet peeve of mine.

Of course, in a legal show especially, we know that bad parents and bad people exist, and we do avoid the worst of that peeve with the eventual truth of the mother’s fate. I’d still personally prefer a different path.

What we do get from this is some excellent tension between Emily and Lola, who gives the order for Maricela to appear in court. Being uncomfortable with our characters helps make them real—though I am very glad they make up in the end.

Meanwhile, Mark is prosecuting a guy who threw another man off a roof in a hazing incident. That should really be an easy win. Instead, the entire thing hinges on a key witness who gets himself arrested in Vegas.

The good news? Luke just happens to be shadowing Mark on the job at the same time. There’s probably no real reason for this to send him on Mark’s road trip, but I’ll take it. We haven’t really seen them together yet, and I suddenly need this dynamic.

Everything else about this plot is a little weird. We have it on very good terms (namely Lola’s) that Vegas is “tricky” for Mark. “Tricky” translates into sudden anger issues and possible bribery of prison guards.

I might guess at a gambling addiction. Mark’s certainly knows his way around a casino. Maybe it’s just the dark magic of Vegas itself. Where else does a judge have a lawyer play a table game to get out of a bail trial?

I seriously need to know what’s going on here. Unfortunately, we never find out, and that’s a pretty big plot hole. I assume its one left intentionally to filled in the future. This isn’t a side of Mark we’ve yet seen, and it’s not one I like. (Luke, on the other hand, is a gentleman and good friend throughout)

Back home, Mark pulls his good nature out again, getting his witness to court and saving the case. He’s also almost certainly on board with Luke and Emily’s blossoming relationship, which nearly makes up for the lack of any true ship scenes.

There’s another small thread left hanging. It comes in the form of a photo Lola’s mother sends. I’m not sure why we need to investigate the motive behind something that seems innocent, but I admit I’m still curious. If an eventual answer means we see Roxie again, that’s even better.

The emotional impact carries this episode well over awkward bits and hanging questions. A case with painful moments sees a father and daughter finally reunite after Emily gets them justice. An unfinished story for Mark gives us one more great scene with him and Lola.

There’s also not a lot of room here for Sara and Sherri to do more than offer support and banter in equal measure. I’d like to see them get whole episodes of focus. In the meantime, more real story lines will do.

 

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All Rise airs Mondays at 9/8c on CBS.

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