All Rise Season 3 Episode 10 Review: Fire and Rain

I’ve held several predictions going into All Rise Season 3 Episode 10, “Fire and Rain,” which acts as a midseason finale. Between things I thought couldn’t happen, and things I dreaded, I find myself proven both wrong and right in the worst of ways.

The writing is on the wall from the start, things falling apart even in the opening statements. Teddy, distracted by events of the previous episode, makes a mistake that almost dooms Mark’s case. He’s in trouble, the feds are clamoring, and Emily rightfully fears for Maddie’s safety.

Though Teddy and Sara do pull more needed information out of the fire, it does little to tamp down the sense of dread. There’s good reason—toxic influencer Brandon Page has deadly resources at his hands, and he’s putting them to use within minutes.

These resources come in two groups: a mass mob that bursts into the courthouse, overwhelming guards and attacking everyone they reach, and a lone actor with a knife who is apparently assigned to stab everyone he meets, his first victim being Ness.

These scenes deserve a spotlight of their own, even in a nerve-shredding hour. Ness, who has just passed her second attempt at the bar exam, is left alone and bleeding profusely for agonizingly long minutes, unable to reach her phone.

They’re actually some of the least hectic moments in an overwhelmingly chaotic setting, and yet they’re also some of the most distressing. Amy does find her eventually, and help comes in time to keep our hopes for her high. Unfortunately, there’s worse to come.

This episode is messy by design, but in many ways, it’s also just a mess. I’m not sure why this all devolves as it does, except to make things as bad for as many people as possible. Is the moral only that the feds should have taken over from the start? If so, point taken.

Most characters (this emphasis is important) are shepherded to relative safety, although everyone seems to be either isolated from those they need to connect with or trapped with people that add palpable discomfort to everything else.

The one exception is seeing Emily and Luke act as noble protectors toward Maddie despite their own distress and the injuries to those around them. It does end with Luke getting shot in the shoulder, but the wound seems relatively minor.

Of course, any type of bullet wound is very bad news, so why does this stand as one of the few positive moments here? Because as Emily cares for Luke while keeping herself and Maddie calm, the two former lovers confess (or re-confess) their love for each other.

This certainly isn’t how I’d ever chose to get Lemily back together, but it does lead to a rekindled romance, I’ll accept with enthusiasm. And boy, do we need this relief, because we also have to talk about that elephant in the room: Lola and Andre kissing.

Yes, my irritation is raised by the fact I truly never imagined Lola making this mistake. Perhaps more importantly, yes, Andre is basically taking advantage of her by leaning in when she’s not thinking straight due to emotional turmoil. Even still, I just…can’t.

Despite a “what if” hour seeing Lola and Andre together, and despite knowing the history between them, there simply isn’t enough to justify this. The Lola of a different universe may have married this man, but how can the Lola we know betray her husband for him?

We already know Andre is a showman. Here, his ability to aid the dangerously corrupt takes center stage. I’m sure he regrets not knowing what Brandon truly is and the consequences for everyone, especially Lola. That’s not enough.

Until things collapse completely, he’s openly smug about the loopholes he finds his client. He’s just not written as being worthy of creating this love triangle, no matter the backstory. And don’t get me started on the cliché of Robin walking in on them together.

With the show going on hiatus, this is all I can rant about for the moment, but I still don’t want to have to move on to the last and worst outcome we face—that Mark eventually stumbles upon Sara, who is holding Teddy, who lies seemingly lifeless in her arms.

Do we assume he’s dead? Not necessarily, but everything, from the weight in the moment where he locks eyes with the same serial stabber who wounds Ness, to the silence as Sara tearfully pleads with him and Mark screams for help, spells the worst.

So many shows have taken advantage of the trope of playing up a character’s best qualities before having them meet tragedy. Until the previous episode, and now this one, this show has been an exception. If it joins the ranks, it does so in brutal fashion.

There’s so much fallout on the horizon; so much guilt, both survivor’s and otherwise. I both dread having to see what it will do to these people we’ve come to love and hate that we’re going to have to wait for the second half of the season to air for that to happen.

Though I’ve now had to eat some of my words, I refuse to back down from my faith that Lola and Robin will be okay in the end. It’s just going to take work. The silver lining is the potential for strengthened bonds as characters help each other through their pain.

As for Teddy, I’ll hold onto a ray of hope until we return, though I expect this to be quickly quashed. If so, I raise a glass to him and hope he receives swift justice.

Other Notes

• Amy ratchets up our empathy in her scenes with Ness, but I really can’t get on board with her anger toward Mark connecting with Collier. She’s still the liar in this scenario and can’t reasonably prevent them talking. I’m glad the couple reconciles under the circumstances, but will it last?
• Sherri alone avoids most of what unfolds here, but that’s only because she’s trying again to be allowed to see her seemingly imprisoned parents. It was already too much for my nerves. Now I don’t even have words.
• To be clear, as frustrated as I am with Lola in the final moments, Simone Missick is stellar throughout. So is every other member of the cast. I may not be able to support some of these events, but at least they’re portrayed in a top-notch way.

 

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

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All Rise airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on OWN.

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