All Rise Review: Almost the Meteor (Season 2 Episode 7)

After more than a season of exploring Lola’s role as a judge, it’s odd to see her spend the entirety of All Rise  Season 2 Episode 7, “Almost the Meteor,” at home and largely detached from any legal matters. Yet if anything, motherhood provides even more challenges than she’s used to.

Bailey Carmichael Taylor (a girl!) has entered the world a little early but happy and healthy all the same. Her parents are thrilled. They’re also exhausted, stressed, plagued by self-doubt and getting on each other’s nerves.

This is as much of Robin as we’ve seen on the show, and his presence is overdue even if things aren’t always ideal. By the end of the episode, he’s both helped soothe his wife’s nerves and tracked down that girl Lola protects in the first episode of the season.

Television is filled with relationships that seem to thrive on angst. That makes seeing this marriage on screen even more refreshing. Lola and Robin aren’t a perfect couple that never fights. They’re healthy for how they deal with stress instead of letting it fester.

Back in 802, Lola’s maternity leave stokes more tension as Sherri, Sara, and Ness believe they’ll be separated from their home courtroom and each other. Benner needs to spread additional work, but they’re afraid of losing what they have.

Their fears don’t really go anywhere are soothed by the end of the hour. What stands out here is the chance to appreciate the bond between these characters we already see too little of. Here’s to squad goals—and getting more of them!

Mark’s police brutality case closes out at last and, as they say, it ends with more of a whimper than a bang. The officer involved expresses genuine remorse and accepts a plea, Mark pressing until he at least gets prison time.

It’s a frustratingly abrupt end to a plot that has taken a third of the season, and the result is far from what either Mark and Omar or we might like to see. It also kind of feels like we’re just cutting off something that could have lasted at least a few more episodes.

A similar feeling applies to Omar calling Mark out for his own role in the original case. It’s an important and accurate point on Mark’s privilege and flaws, but it’s also a sentiment Omar hasn’t expressed for a few episodes and only now returning to it adds to the lack of closure.

I do think there’s a point to all this—some efforts, no matter how much time and work is put into them, will wind up falling short. It speaks to the painful realities of life and the justice system. Still, from a narrative standpoint, it’s hard to not want more.

Thankfully, Luke’s restorative justice storyline gives a lot more to work with, both in education about the topic itself and a dose of emotional upheaval. Simply explaining what restorative justice is carries so much impact.

Luke’s first attempt to put the practice in to use definitely doesn’t go as he’d like. Between the interest of the topic itself and the moments of hope that things will work out, it’s a genuine blow when they fall apart, but that just motivates Luke to work harder.

A major part of this is the influence of Rick Fox, who promises to be a great character to act as a mentor for Luke and to watch on his own. I hope we hear more of his accomplishments and see him as a stand-in for the real people who do this work.

Despite the ultimate result, the case does let us feel empathy for both Darius, who was robbed at knifepoint, and Rafael, who committed the crime. This humanization is both a highlight of restorative justice and something All Rise has always excelled at.

Another benefit is seeing Emily represent Rafael and having Luke pull her into this arc. She’s both intrigued by restorative justice and apprehensive about the risk it could pose to her client, setting up the most interaction Lemily has had in some time.

Is this the first real step in them getting back together? Perhaps. We see nothing of Joaquin in this episode and very little of Sam, but neither other relationship is over yet. Chances are we still have some time to wait.  

In light of Lola’s struggles as a new mother and the less-than-stellar point we leave Mark, ending the episode on him reading a bedtime story to Bailey is a perfect, wonderfully adorable balm. Can we get an actual children’s book about Lulu and Quark?

 

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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