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Jordan steps in on the Turk case, because Turk still won't give up his Hall of Fame eligibility by admitting to steroid use. Matt, however, convinces him that it's his only option, so the insanity plea goes forth. The trial gets ugly, and the judge ends up talking privately to Turk's wife -- and the wife tells her that the A.D.A. coached her to blurt out a privileged conversation between her and her husband, causing the judge to declare a mistrial based on prosecutorial misconduct, which counts as double jeopardy and kills the possibility of a retrial. Bennett, however, figures out that Turk and his wife conspired to create this outcome, and Matt is the saddest little boy in the frat as a result. But he forcefully pitches Jordan on dropping Turk as a client, and Jordan is so impressed that he names Matt his new heir apparent. Patti's upset that Eli's representing Salinsky, a developer who's apparently tearing down Patti's old neighborhood of Silver Terrace. Eli has a vision of an earthquake, which Chen thinks is Eli's punishment for representing a scumbag like Salinsky, but when Chen induces a replay of the vision, it seems like more is at stake -- the earthquake might actually come to pass and destroy Silver Terrace if Eli doesn't resolve the case successfully. Taylor and Eli try to get Salinsky (who's totally Richard from Sex And The City, by the way) to settle, and he does agree to pay $20 million, but Jeffrey Powell (Rob Nagle from Dawson's Creek, in case you don't remember) rejects that offer. Eli tries to get more money from Salinsky, and in the process confesses to Taylor that his visions are guiding his life. Powell subpoenas Patti to testify that her neighborhood is worth saving, but Taylor shuts her up good, as if I didn't like her enough. The judge tries to bribe Eli into greasing a relationship between his son and Salinsky; meanwhile, Eli has another vision, and in desperation, he tells Patti the truth about his prophetic powers and tries to get her to convince the Silver Terrace people to accept the settlement. Eli's gambit works -- except Taylor gets in his way, saying that now that they're already at trial, it makes no sense to settle. Maggie apparently has a boyfriend, which somewhat explains her total freakout about having kissed Eli, but she ends up having a chat with him, and he tells her about his visions too, although not quite as explicitly as he did with Patti and Taylor. She, however, of course believes him where no one else did, prompting him to try to kiss her, but she thankfully rebuffs him. The judge rules for Salinsky and orders the residents of Silver Terrace to vacate their neighborhood. All is not good, however, as first Taylor figures out that Eli acceded to the judge's slimy request, and then Eli, having a crisis of faith, yells at Chen that he's going to have surgery to fix his aneurysm. DUN! Want more? The full recap starts right below!
Many thanks to Keckler for hilariously subbing in for me these last two weeks.
Eli's shaving and telling himself to have a good day with the aid of a book called Achievement Through Affirmation, which he has open by the sink. In a very "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough..." tone, he announces that there will be no George Michael songs and no visions. I know Eli's kind of a priss, but what guy shaves with his shirt on? True, I wouldn't complain if we were dealing with, like, Jim Belushi here, but I still think we're lacking vérité. Perhaps the powers above agree, as on cue, the room starts to shake, causing Eli to nick himself. Glass breaks around him, and he runs out to the living room in a panic and, as his TV falls over, squeals, "Not the plasma!" Hee. He grabs what looks like a trophy off the shelf and runs out into the hall yelling "Earthquake!" at the top of his lungs. Of course, anyone who wouldn't be aware of that occurrence, were it actually happening, would have to lack not only hearing but tactile sense as well, so this is all so the tatted guy in the hallway whom Eli almost bowls over can look at him like he's crazy and comment, in regard to the trophy, "Nice duck." Eli uncertainly heads back into his apartment, although I'd think he'd be a little happy here, considering his 50-inch is still in working order.
Patti: "I'm not in the mood, Eli." There's a banner headline. Eli asks Patti what she would pick in an earthquake if she only had time to save one thing. Considering her response, I'd have to guess her sassiness. Anyway, Eli notes that Patti has been Extra-Super-Sassy in the last week, and she tells him it's because he's representing that "scumsucking lizard" Salinsky. Patti's problem is that Salinsky is a developer who's going to turn her old community into a gentrified white neighborhood with Pottery Barns and Barnes and Noble and all the things that yuppies rely on these days. Not that her anger isn't understandable, but blaming the developer seems to miss the point. Shouldn't they be taking this up with the city? Anyway, Eli tells Patti that he made a deal with Jordan that if he took the case, he could get Patti back as his assistant, but Patti is unmoved, and storms off. Considering how much she hates working for Taylor, you'd think she'd at least thank him for the sentiment.
Oh, fab, it's time for Maggie in the break room. Let's shorthand this: Maggie has also been acting weird even for her all week, and Eli wants to talk about the kiss, but Maggie has a boyfriend (...okay, and: poor guy), and she wants to forget about it, and then Taylor comes in wanting to talk about Salinsky, and of course somewhat jealously notes that she's interrupting something. Maggie and Eli make unconvincing denials, and Eli leaves with Taylor as Maggie "Oh, Alice"-s herself. !
Turk gets found not guilty...but it's a mock trial. I remember those! You have no idea how satisfying it was to sentence some of my high-school classmates to life imprisonment. If only my law teacher would have let us use her coat closet in perpetuity. Anyway, this is all so Jordan (stepping in now, no doubt to protect one of his firm's biggest moneymakers) can push the insanity defense, saying in real life he'd be found not guilty by reason of diminished capacity from steroid use. Turk still doesn't want to give up his potential Hall of Fame status, saying it's what he's worked his whole life for. Bennett points out that the Hall of Fame is going to seem rather distant if Turk gets sentenced to twenty-five years in a maximum-security joint. I'd point out that a murder conviction might also scuttle Turk's indictment into the Hall, were it not for the fact that I wasn't born yesterday. Anyway, Turk sits down, looks deeply into Matt's eyes, and asks if he's with Jordan and Keith on this. Matt and his hero worship look to Jordan and Keith for support before saying yes, as Turk doesn't have any other option. I can't believe this plotline has made it three episodes without the words "Say it ain't so" being uttered.
In the elevator, Taylor and Eli have an awkward and pointless conversation about their current status, and talk then turns to the case, with Eli mentioning that the City Council has approved "the taking of Silver Terrace" by eminent domain. Oh, Berlanti, how you do reuse your themes. And how sad it is that I can still pull them up from memory? Anyway, the ground starts to shake again, and suddenly Taylor spins into a kittenish position against a support beam. Well, if there really is an earthquake this time, it could use the help. But no, Taylor launches into a rendition of "I Feel The Earth Move" (hilariously, after Taylor says the first "under my feet," Eli replies uncertainly, "No you don't." Hee.) and pulls Eli close into her dance; then Eli falls through a hole in the floor and finds Maggie. If the show is trying to illustrate that Maggie is a giant step down from Taylor, it's both appreciated and seconded. Taylor reappears, and the two of them actually each PULL ON ONE OF ELI'S ARMS, like, maybe it's too much to ask for some subtlety in a scene involving an earthquake, but still. Eli starts to lose his balance...
...but then snaps out of it to find he's flailing his arms in front of Taylor like a moron. She ignores that and asks, "Do I feel what?" He tries to say how great their working together is going to be, and her response is literally "..." before she walks away. You can always count on a lawyer to find just the right words.
Eli's complaining about his latest vision to Chen, and Chen gets a little too Jeff Spicoli about the idea of two hot women singing to Eli. Eli says it's a problem since he works with both of them, "although I must say that their singing was surprisingly good." Heh, except of all the people who have sung so far, they're pretty far down the list. Patti, Jordan, and even Matt (when is he going to sing again?) made far more of an impression. Chen tells Eli that in Norse mythology, earthquakes were the result of Loki's punishment. He doesn't clarify that the earthquakes were caused by Loki's shaking from the venom a snake dripped on his face for all eternity, but I suppose there's only so far he wants to push this parallel. He asks if there's anything Eli's done recently that merits punishment, and Eli admits that he's "back on the side of evil" this week. Chen has Eli lie down, and Eli happily enthuses, "I love needle time!" Does Eli live near the Mission? Chen says he should be able to help Eli relive his earthquake vision, "like under hypnosis, so you can notice some additional details." Needle gets tapped...
...and then Eli's cutting himself shaving again. He saves the TV this time, which seems like a big Why Bother?, except that the newscaster says that the earthquake measured 6.5, and the epicenter was located in Silver Terrace. Back in the present, Eli tells Chen that Silver Terrace got destroyed in his vision, and Chen wonders what happens if Eli loses the case. Eli: "Those people could die." This...seems a little odd to me. I know that it appears that if Eli doesn't get the people out of the neighborhood, the earthquake could kill them, but...wouldn't it occur to them that winning a case for Salinsky isn't exactly consistent with his being on the side of social justice? Anyway: Title card.
Eli comes to Patti's desk and tells her to phone Salinsky and set up a meeting right away, and then to call Jeffrey Powell and tell him he wants to negotiate a settlement. He tells Patti he's going to make the situation right, but Patti sassily points out that he's still helping Salinsky to destroy her old neighborhood, and sasses, "Make your own damn calls." How is she not fired? And the parade of annoyance continues, as when Patti walks away, Maggie turns up, and we learn she doesn't know who Carole King is (sadly, that I can believe) before she denies having a crush on him. He tells her that they work together and she reports to him, so nothing romantic can ever happen. I didn't think even temps were reporting to Eli these days, but I so heartily agree with his overall point that I won't make an issue of it. Maggie unconvincingly agrees, and I hope she made up that bit about having a boyfriend, because GOD. Taylor turns up and brightly notes that Eli came by her office. Maggie wordlessly makes herself scarce, like, way to act normal, there, and Eli "covers" by saying, "Her keyboard jammed." Taylor wordlessly tries to parse that one...
...and then we're down at City Hall. We intercut between the prosecutor's and Jordan's opening argument; it's unremarkable stuff about steroids and celebrities, although I will note that I love the female Asian judge that's presiding over the case. Victor Garber gives the most hilariously lawyerly smile to the jury as he wraps things up, though. Man, I could watch dailies of him ad infinitum.
So Salinsky, as I mentioned in the recaplet, is played by James Remar, who you'll remember as Richard on Sex And The City, but also, much more significantly, as Harry Morgan on Dexter. Eli and Taylor are hard-hatting (literally, in case you thought I was making up some metaphor there) as Eli tells Salinsky that $20 million could make the whole thing go away. Salinsky says he's still not clear on why the neighborhood can even sue him, and on the one hand, I agree, as it seems like their beef is with the city. On the other hand, though, it's a little preciously naïve to express surprise at just about any lawsuit you could imagine, particularly for a developer. Salinsky adds that the city has paid the residents for their property already, but Eli counters that the trial could delay the start of the project for a month. A month? If his workers are unionized, a couple of construction workers getting a bad cold could delay the project for a month, Eli. He's not going to pay them twenty million to get out of bed. Taylor calls Salinsky "Arvin" (hee, again) as she notes that it's better to weigh the pros and cons of settlement before trial, but, considering that he believes he's "turning an urban blight into a clean, safe place," Salinsky doesn't so much see the pro side. Eli, however, points out that Jeffrey Powell will paint Salinsky as a monster in court, and it might be worth coughing up the money to avoid that. Taylor, for some reason, looks like she ate a bee, although maybe she's just about to sing again.
Establishing shot of what's no doubt Silver Terrace's church. Inside, Eli notes that Powell doesn't look happy with their offer, despite the fact that the amount is three times what the city already paid them. Many of the neighborhood residents are in attendance, though, and Eli asks them if they're willing to bet that much money that Powell will win the case. It's a fair point -- if they're all going to get a total of four times what the city deemed as the value of their homes, it seems reasonable to conclude that they'd be able to afford something else -- and it's not lost on the crowd, or at least the one member of the crowd that's being paid speaking rates. Powell, however, tells them that it's no compensation for losing the homes they raised their children and grandchildren in. I think he's doing his clients a disservice by summarily dismissing the offer, but let's move on to Taylor's bemused expression...
...which leads to her asking Eli what the hell he was doing in the meeting. Eli ignores her and tries calling Salinsky, as he thinks he can get Powell to take $25 million. If you think that, Eli, maybe you should have...asked him? Because if you go back with $25 million and fail, you're going to look like an ass. More to the point, Taylor tells Eli that it's malpractice to shove a settlement down a client's throat like he's trying to do, and besides, they can win at trial. This forces Eli to tell Taylor the truth about his visions, saying that they guide him. He says he knows it sounds crazy, but he saw himself take his dad's ashes to India and he saw Jake McCann die, and now he's seen Silver Terrace get destroyed by an earthquake. Taylor, however, doesn't buy that the visions have any higher purpose or predictive value, and says he needs help. Eli walks off as Taylor wonders how she ever dated someone three feet shorter than she is.
Turk's wife is under direct examination, saying that there were infidelities on both sides of the marriage, including her affair with the third-base coach. There's a joke about waving people in there, but Elaine Benes made it with Keith Hernandez a decade ago, so I suppose I don't have to bother. At the question, Jordan demands a sidebar, and notes that the prosecutor is trying to elicit information about conversations between Turk and his wife, conversations that are privileged under the law. The prosecutor, however, thinks that Mrs. Turk can speak to her husband's capacity for murder, and the judge agrees. Mrs. Turk tells the jury that Jason is a very jealous man, possessive and insecure. "He won't even permit me to have male friends." What's more, he was this way before he took steroids. Under cross, however, Mrs. Turk admits that Turk never raised a hand to her or was involved in any kind of violent incident. Bennett goes on to point out that she had affairs with other men, and they're still alive. "Maybe that's because you had those affairs before [Turk] started using steroids." Or maybe they just have better reflexes.
In court, Eli apologizes to a prickly Taylor for springing something or other on her, and Taylor bites out that she'd like to have approval over any further changes in strategy. Before they can get a room, however, they turn to see a smug and sassy Patti, who informs us that Powell subpoenaed her. She gives her patented Sassy Pursed Lips before flouncing away...
...and then Powell is questioning "Miss Delacroix." She tells him, in regard to her childhood in Silver Terrace, that no one had a lot, but the community shared what it had, led by the church. "That spirit is still there. You just have to look past the peeling paint." Eli objects, which seems ridiculous but forces Powell to point out that he's exploring the veracity of the city's determination that the neighborhood is a blight. Of course, it's also ridiculous that Eli and Taylor don't have witnesses of their own -- crime victims and others who can speak to Silver Terrace's negative image -- but this happens with every trial on this show, and it's getting hard to care. Eli asks Patti if she knows what the definition of "blighted" is under the law, and Patti objects to the question as condescending. I...just can't take her. She's so preposterous, I've seen better-behaved three-year-olds, and everyone indulges her for God only knows what reason. This goes on for a while, so thank God for Taylor standing up and taking control of the room. She asks Patti why, if Silver Terrace is so great, she moved away. Patti claims that she wanted to be closer to work, but "it is still my church home." Taylor asks, then, when it was she was last in Silver Terrace, and Patti, now that it doesn't behoove her childish sensibilities to be direct, dissembles, saying she doesn't remember. Taylor, however, isn't about to let this go, asking if Patti "remembers" getting carjacked just down the street from the church. Powell's mouth literally falls open here, and Rob Nagle, I love you, but the poker face needs some work. Patti is, thankfully and for once, dumbstruck, allowing Taylor to snark, "I guess without a car, you really did need a shorter commute." Taylor Weathersby: Woman of the Hour.
Outside, Eli meets with the judge, who wastes little time in telling him that his son-in-law is a "wannabe developer," and that it would mean the world to him to partner with an Arvin Salinsky. He tells Eli how "appreciative" he'd be if Eli would introduce his son-in-law to Salinsky. Eli tells the judge that he doesn't enjoy "that kind of relationship" with Salinsky. Eli, he just wants you to put the two of them together. It doesn't have to be in a bathhouse. He goes on about the "serious breach of ethics," but the judge merely laughs and points out that with Eli's recent trouble with the bar, no one's likely to believe an accusation coming from him. The judge bids him good afternoon, and I'm no expert, but shouldn't this meeting have taken place in an underground parking garage?
Eli's back with Chen, who notes that Eli whines quite a bit. It's a lot more palatable coming from someone that cute, though. Sad but true. Eli notes that bribing a judge doesn't seem like a very divine plan, but Chen has a broader (and laughable, but I don't have the energy) view of the whole thing that's interrupted by another fake earthquake. Eli rushes to open a door...and sees Patti up at the front of a shaking church. He calls to her, and she turns...and says, "Dude, you've gotta calm down!" in Chen's voice. Heh. The stained-glass windows blow out, and then Chen plucks Eli's sleeve from behind, snapping him out of the vision. Chen notes that this is the first time he's seen Eli actually having a vision. "It's intense, bro!"
Eli pulls Patti into his "office" and tells her he sometimes has visions of the future. Patti asks if she's being Punk'd. "Is that cute Ashton Kutcher gonna jump out here? I hear he appreciates the mature woman." That leaves you safe, then. He earnestly tells her about the earthquake, and says that he has to get her neighbors out. He adds that he thinks his visions come from God, and Patti seems to be affected by all this, but wonders why the association would listen to her. Well, I hate to judge based on a couple minutes of screentime, but since that's all I've got, I'll tell you: They're sheep. Eli says that they trust Patti, and she could get them to take the deal. Patti's genuinely torn, but she's definitely listening. I don't need to tell you that that's a welcome change.
Turk is saying that he wasn't in his right mind when he hit the coach, and doesn't even remember what happened -- he looked down the line at the coach, and he snapped. The prosecutor, of course, isn't having that, and asks if he was taking performance-enhancing drugs at the time of the incident. Turk takes the Fifth, so the prosecutor blusters some more, and then on redirect, Turk admits that some part of him "wanted to end the man," but he swears that he never intended to do him any harm. Um...case dismissed? No, as the prosecutor wants to call Carly Turk back to the stand. Say it with me: Sidebar! Keith thinks that the D.A. is trying to circumvent spousal privilege, but the judge allows him to proceed. "But if Carly Turk even repeats what the defendant mumbled in his sleep, I'm holding you in contempt."
Eli and Taylor, with Salinsky in tow, rush up the stairs at their firm as Eli lets us know that Powell requested a meeting. When they open the door, Powell agitatedly tells them that his clients changed their mind, and are willing to accept the settlement offer. Taylor purses her lips and asks for a moment with their client, and when Powell leaves the room, she tells the boys she doesn't think they should settle -- the primary purpose of the offer was to avoid going to trial, and now that they're there, she thinks they can win. Eli thinks their chances are even money at best, but Taylor says she can't recommend a $20 million payout, on top of attorney's fees, at those odds. It would, of course, help to know the actual amount of the lawsuit -- how much does Salinsky stand to lose in the worst-case scenario? Some context is often a good thing, show. Anyway, Salinsky at least presumably knows, and he goes with Taylor's recommendation, and leaves. Eli says now they have to win this in court, which makes no sense. They can't possibly be suing Salinsky for the right to stay in their homes -- it was the city that ruled on eminent domain, so they should be suing the city to overturn that ruling. So win or lose, from this point, it should take the same amount of time, and I'd also point out that the trial is over by the end of the freaking episode, so what is the point of all this? Anyway, Eli and Taylor fight, and Eli says he's going to close.
Carly testifies that she saw Turk give himself two steroid injections on the day the coach died. She babbles about his mood and such, and soon blurts out that Turk said he was going to kill the coach. Jordan stands and moves for an immediate mistrial, and the judge clears the courtroom...
...and after that's done, the lawyers are arguing in front of the judge. Matt and Keith point out that in this particular case, a mistrial will mean Turk can't be tried again, as double jeopardy applies when the mistrial is a result of prosecutorial misconduct. The D.A. denies having coached Carly to break privilege, but the judge wants to talk to her before she makes a ruling.
Eli's in his office working on his closing arguments when Maggie interrupts, saying that talking to himself isn't a good sign. To paraphrase Edina from Absolutely Fabulous, it's better than talking to you. Eli sits down, and Maggie, like all girls with boyfriends they're devoted to do, sits with him and familiarly asks what's wrong. He tells her about the earthquake, although he's not explicit about the visions from above part, and he's surprised that she believes him. She replies, "Why wouldn't I?" Why wouldn't you? Why would you, you infuriating simp! I mean, he at least made a real case with Taylor and Patti. God! Eli about says as much, but Maggie says that since she's gotten to know him, he's been "nothing but honest and sincere." Except when YOU FREAKED OUT BECAUSE HE DIDN'T TELL YOU ABOUT HIS ANEURYSM OH MY GOD THAT WAS JUST TWO WEEKS AGO AND I HATE YOU SO MUCH! Ahem. Anyway, Eli is moved by this cane sugar, almost tearing up as he says that Nate, Patti, and Taylor all didn't believe him, but Maggie does. "You didn't even hesitate." That's because she's an idiot, Eli. Would you be about to burst into tears if you successfully convinced her that two and two are five? Eli moves in for the kiss, but Maggie rebuffs him, pointing out that he said nothing could happen. She stomps out, and I'm glad she stopped him but she's still bugging the crap out of me into the commercial break.
The judge announces her ruling, saying that Carly told her that her "spontaneous outburst" was in fact planned under the coaching of the prosecutor. He gets to his feet and blurts that she's lying, but the judge isn't hearing that, and grants the mistrial with jeopardy. Everyone on Jordan's team is thrilled -- until Keith sees Turk and Carly exchange a conspiratorial look. Didn't they come in together to the firm originally? Why didn't this occur to anyone else?
The judge in the other case rules for the defendant, and orders the residents of Silver Terrace to vacate. Eli looks torn about the whole thing. Just out of curiosity, is the earthquake still going to happen? Does Eli not care about the Salinsky and his team dying? Because that seems like reverse discrimination, no?
Back at the office, Matt is congratulating Turk as he signs some papers, while Keith looks like his inner teakettle is just about to whistle. But he plays it smoothly, sliding some papers over to Turk and suggesting they get a head start on the divorce proceedings. Turk tells them that he and Carly are going to try to work things out, which is all Keith needs to accuse them of conspiring to create this outcome. "She's worth more to you as a catcher on the outside than a catcher on the inside." He probably rehearsed that one, but it's still pretty good. Turk counters that the reason Keith loved pushing the "'roid rage defense" so much is that it fit Keith image of who Turk was. "You thought I was stupid. You were wrong." Keith tells him he's a cheater who thinks the rules don't apply to him, and he and Keith go back and forth a little more before Turk gets to his feet and tells Matt, "Thanks, bro. I couldn't have done it without you." Matt looks like he just got touched inappropriately, and not in a Rush Week kind of way. When Turk is gone, Keith points out that Matt fought him every step of the way on this case, and says that Matt should have trusted Keith. He does offer his opinion that people will figure out what the Turks did when they see them together, but Matt thinks he'll get away with it. "That's what he does." I'm not sure this plotline was worth three episodes, but it had some interesting elements. For one, when we first saw Keith, he was complaining about black-on-black prejudice, so it was intriguing to see him not giving a black man the benefit of the doubt. And against all odds, I like Matt as a character, so I'm glad they're giving him more to do. I'm still not sure how these guys are going to fit into Eli's story, though, but we'll see.
Taylor comes in to see Eli and asks why Salinsky asked her for the judge's son-in-law's phone number. Ooh, so Eli went through with it. I like that -- it's an unpredictable choice. Taylor goes on that Salinsky thought she knew about it, and sits with him and begs him to tell her that he didn't do anything crazy to win the case. Eli tries to put Taylor off, saying he promised Maggie he'd proofread her summary judgment motion, but mentioning her name is the wrong move here, and I'm not just talking general principles. For you see, as Taylor tells him, Maggie caught a flight home to Ohio for a week. "But I guess you don't know anything about that either." Is she somehow divining that Maggie left because she was upset with Eli in a romantic context? Because even though it looks like that's true, it seems like a pretty big leap for her to make. Anyway, Patti calls and tells Eli she's not coming back to the office that day -- because she's at her church. Eli starts to babble about the earthquake, but Patti and her Trademark Sassy Pursed Lips do not want to hear it.
Eli breathlessly turns up at the church and begs Patti to get out of there, but she asks him where the earthquake is, and he doesn't have an answer. She emotionally tells him that the last time she came to the church, she prayed for her father, who was in the hospital. "He didn't make it. And I have not been able to walk through those doors since." She cries as she says she couldn't believe anymore, but when Eli said God was talking to him, her faith was stirred again. Eli tries to say he saw her in the church, but she doesn't believe him -- she thinks he's sick and needs to get better, and she came to the church today to pray for him. God, this character is frustrating -- that was a really good and believable scene! Why do we keep getting bogged down in all this irrational Taylor-hate and stupid sassiness?
Matt has just told Jordan about Turk, and emotionally suggests that they drop Turk as a client. Jordan points out that they make hundreds of millions of dollars off him in commissions and fees, and his agent just sent over his latest endorsement contract. Matt, however, says that Turk killed another person and made the firm an accomplice after the fact. "Your firm. My firm. I really don't think that's what you want this case to be. I know I don't." Jordan's amazed that Matt feels that strongly about it, and adds that he was pretty public about thinking of Eli as his heir apparent for a long time, but his status has changed, and Matt has been rising to the occasion lately. "But I never saw the leadership qualities in you that I saw in him. Until now." He says they'll drop Turk immediately, and this is heartwarming, I'm sure, but I just hope the firm's health insurance plan is excellent, because the stroke that Posner's going to have when he hears about this is going to be a doozy. Seriously, hundreds of millions of dollars? I don't think the firm can afford it.
Eli turns up at Chen's, a haggard mess -- he can't take all this anymore. Without some proof of the higher plan, he doesn't want to go on like this. Chen points out all the people he's helped and all the stuff he's learned about himself and his dad, but Eli doesn't want to hear it. "If that is proof that God is behind everything that is happening to me, it also means that he wanted me to hurt the people who love me the most!" Chen tries to say he knows how hard this is, but Eli yells that he can't, and none of this is God -- just the aneurysm. He says he's going to have it fixed despite the risks to his life: "If I don't get it out now, I won't have anything left to live for anyway." With a look back at Chen, he walks out.