All Rise Review: In the Fights (Season 1 Episode 19)

Emily’s role in a domestic abuse case on All Rise Season 1 Episode 19, “In the Fights,” spirals to a gut-punch of a climax amidst lots of other drama.

Being a public defender has put Emily in some uncomfortable situations with her clients, from those who lash out to those who withhold information to their own detriment. At least one has been outright unsympathetic.

But defending an accused abuser is on another level, especially for a survivor of abuse.

Everything about this storyline (as with nearly everything in the episode) is tense and uncomfortable. Emily is not herself, lashing out at allies and opponents alike. Her usual passion in the courtroom seems more like rage here.

It helps nothing that this is a true “he said, she said” case with Molly making a first move. There’s no doubt Aiden’s response far outweighed her swing at him, going beyond what can be excused. Yet there’s enough in the air to hang a jury.

So she must defend someone who could well be her own ex and launch an attack on someone who could well be herself. It’s so overwhelming we can feel her panic, even without her reaching a point of near-collapse in court.

After she tears down Moly, snaps at Mark while he acts as prosecution, and finally outright blasts her own client—deservedly, if not professionally—the case ends in a mistrial, and it’s just devastating.

 Jessica Camacho is stellar through the entire episode, and no more so than when Emily does break down completely at home. It’s been a long time coming but is still heartbreaking, especially as Sara emerges to cradle her friend.

There’s hope in the final scenes of Emily, Sara, and Luke eating breakfast together and finding a semblance of recovery, but there’s still a long path forward. This is a climax in Emily’s healing process, but it’s also just a start.

While the rest of the episode is generally less emotionally grueling, there’s still a lot to unpack as Amy cements a more central role in our characters’ lives.

First, there’s her discomfort with Mark needing an education on the concept of boundaries. Eventually, she presses him on the similarities between how he sees her and his relationship with Lola. Is that hinting at something? It’s complicated.

I remain firmly in the camp that LoMark should stay exactly as it is—an incredible friendship. Much as I understand the desire to “ship” them, I am continuously frustrated by the implication that comes with it.

If romance is seen as more than friendship, then friendship is something inherently less. I’ve said many times that friendship is the heart of this show and, looking again at how Sara holds a distraught Emily, we shouldn’t see it as anything less than essential.

Still, this isn’t the only trouble on the horizon. Robin losing his job offer as Lola fumes from afar about a female colleague of his has launched me back into the territory of fearing what the future could hold for these two.

I do not think Robin is cheating, but the very presence of jealously and the continuation of their separation are both bad signs in TV land. Their marriage is so happy and healthy in the rare times we see them united. This is what TV needs, and I hope it’s not taken away.  

There’s no real jealously between Lola and Amy, but that doesn’t mean smooth sailing. Amy is ruffling all kinds of feathers amongst people we like, and it doesn’t sit too well with Lola, or audiences by proxy.

The good news is that this winds up relatively light; Lola back to making jokes and teasing Mark. Yet portraying Amy this way could be worrisome. Whether or not they’re endgame, I at least want to be on the ship a while.

With only one scripted episode filmed before shutdowns left, we probably won’t see as much as we’d like to of any of these stories. Will we get a season two so they can continue as they should?

The ratings have been mixed, so the show’s future is in question. Yet the announcement of a quarantine-filmed social distancing episode indicates CBS has an interest in making investments. I’m cautiously optimistic.

Other Notes

• In a rare twist, Sherri provides our moments of comic relief. Coming back from lunch with a hangover feels is a bit heavy on the humor for me, but otherwise I love everything about her and Kevin.
• Lola and Mark’s stairwell conversation is one of the best ones we’ve seen recently. And that’s with all of them being great.
• Like Luke’s not already amazing enough, he makes chorizo and eggs for breakfast? Oh, someday, when we can go food shopping for fun again…

 

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

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

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All Rise to Air a Virtually Shot Social Distancing Episode