Previously on The Practice: Ellenor discovers James McNown dead in Senator Ellison's bedroom. By this time, Ellison is wearing a robe and not just his boxers. Fake reporters report. Alan "Hunky DA" Lowe is introduced to Helen as her second-in-command. She whines. Allison Ellison admits to the murder. The prosecution makes a deal with The Firm. Ellison makes a grandiose speech. Ellenor threatens Marsha, and then learns of the real events of that ever fateful night that will live on and on in our collective The Practice consciousness.
The Firm, Where They Are Loathe To Admit To Their Pain. Oh. My. Lord. Will you look at Jimmy's tie? Will you look at his shirt? What on earth was wardrobe thinking -- poor Lump, Christmas has come early and it is in the form of a happy red-as-roses tie with a candy-striped shirt. Ouch. It's making me dizzy just looking at it. Like one of those horrible paintings/weapons of eye torture. Oh, I can't look any more. Anyway, back to the actual action, where Jimmy and Ellenor are working late. Mrs. Ellison walks in wearing the usual oh-my-husband's-just-been-convicted-of-murder Jackie-O-inspired black suit. She walks with a firm purpose up to the D-Fence Duo, and Ellenor says, "I appreciate you coming in." Marsha snits, "If this is about what I think it's about I'm happy to have the discussion here instead of my home." Okay, does she still get to live in the swanky Senatorial manor? Ellenor takes Marsha into the conference room. Lucy looks longingly toward the two of them. Why is she still there? It's probably after ten, and she's still there, what -- filing?
Inside the conference room, Ellenor closes the door. She puts her hand on the table. Then she starts lecturing: "I won't presume to know the anger you feel towards your husband." Marsha snaps, "Wise choice." Ellenor: "He's in prison for a murder he didn't commit. Can you really live with that?" Obviously, she can and she is, and she sure as hell isn't going to turn herself in now. Even if Ellenor can manage a favourable deal with the district attorney. No. Absolutely not. Marsha: "If you reveal my confidence. I will sue you. And this firm." The Symphony of Sucker Suits rises to the confrontation of these two strong-willed women. Ellenor threatens right back: "Do you really think I'm afraid of being sued, Marsha?" Mrs. Ellison changes the subject -- her husband can accept this outcome, why can't Ellenor? Simply put, because she can't. They stare at each other a little longer. Marsha doesn't blink: "If you pull that switch, Ellenor, at least have the presence of mind to enjoy it because it will be your very last act as a practicing attorney."
Wham. Bam. Let the battle begin.
Credits. They suck. I would rather be Anne Boleyn on the block than listen to this damn theme song.
Top Of The Morning. The Emperor is interrogating poor Lucy. He's holding his hands out like he's rowing a boat down the river, only there are no paddles. And no boat. "What time?" he barks. Lucy bounces: "Around 9:30, right after you left." Bark: "Did she say what she wanted?" Bounce: "No. She and Ellenor just went into the conference room but they both seemed suspicious." Ron "Defender of the von Bulow" Silver opens the door, and Bobby gives him a big hug and introduces him to the rest of The Firm, who rally to attention. Bobby smiles at his friend, and wonders why he, The Great John Mockler, has blessed The Firm with his presence. Well, good thing Rod asked, because as it turns out, Mockler needs a local lawyer. Blah Rule 48 blah. Bobby: "Actually I start trial on Friday." John replies that there is really nothing to do; he just needs somebody in case there's a last-minute appeal. Rebecca, holding her hand up like that annoying kid in every class who knows all the answers, bowls over the rest of her co-workers and says, "Me! Me!" She and Mockler head into the conference room for debriefing. In the usual product-placement manner of plot progression, Jimmy explains to Lucy that Mockler is the man for death penalty appeals: "He's stayed more executions than anyone else combined." Rock on, Mockler, you are a man for the cause.
It is a busy morning at The Firm, because a woman named Vivian walks through the door left open by The God Of Death Penalty Cases. Eugene gets up to greet her and asks what's wrong. Vivian takes a deep breath: "Leonard sent me." Pause. Another deep breath: "To tell you that he doesn't want you for the parole hearing." Eugene: "What do you mean he doesn't want me?" She repeats, "He doesn't want you." Did he hire somebody else? No. She's in quite a state. Apparently, Leonard wants to represent himself this time. Then she says, "You know how he gets." Apparently, Eugene does know how he gets, because he grabs his coat and says, "Let's go," as he walks out the door that no one ever bothers to close. No wonder serial killers wander in and out of The Firm unnoticed by anyone.
Conference Room Where They Confer About Pain. Mockler explains that all federal executions take place in Indiana, despite the fact that the jurisdiction of the case is still in Boston. Silver hands some papers to Rebecca, who is sitting at the table expectantly. As the client wants his lawyer with him at the time of execution, Johnny-boy needs someone in Boston in case there are any last minute appeals, which there won't be, because Walter has "waived them." Rebecca asks what the guy did. Mockler: "Killed a federal employee." Sigh. "It wasn't very pretty. But that was then." He shuffles more papers. "Today he's a different man, and he's ready to die." Rebecca is shocked: "He wants to die?" John nods, "He wants closure." The junior lawyer is dejected; she was hoping she would get to do something. Then she asks to meet the client; if he changes his mind and wants to file an appeal, it would be helpful to represent to the court that she knew him, at least a little. Again, Silver nods, "Okay. Good point." He shuffles more papers: "You wanna come with me now?" Sure!
The Office Where Bobby Conscripts Lots Of Pain. Thank goodness Jimmy has changed his shirt and tie. He repeats in wonderment, "Keith was sleeping with the guy and she shot him?" Ellenor explains that Marsha prefaced her confession with attorney-client privilege. Blah it has to be sealed blah, but it could really help Keith. Rod explodes in anger. He pulls his tie and unbuttons his shirt while barking, "This is why we should have never represented both of them!" Okay, Ellenor has learned her lesson; she will never again represent an entire family of maniacs, all of whom confessed to murdering the same guy. That's not the issue anymore. What do they do now? Rod shakes his head because he doesn't think there is anything they can do. Jimmy, oh Dope-du-Dope, says incredulously, "So the Senator is gay!" Bobby and Ellenor ignore him and continue to bicker. Blah you asked her to come forward, blah she didn't want to, blah Keith knows she did it and he's taking the fall. Bobby: "Have her come in again and see how well she plays poker." Because Blind Baseball and Five-Card Stud is really the metaphor he wants to be going with right now -- whatever. Ellenor: "Bobby, she doesn't really scare." He holds his hands up like he's dog paddling through the Boston Harbour and repeats, "Have her come in."
The Penitentiary Of Pain. Charles S. Dutton is sitting at a table, screaming, "You're taking it personal!" Eugene is pacing. He argues back, "It should be to you, you're the one in a prison cell." That's right, replies Roc; it's all about him. He is David, and the parole board is Goliath. And he doesn't need a lawyer to show the board what kind of man he really is. In fact, sometimes, lawyers can even obstruct their view. Eugene erupts: "So this is about punishing me. It is personal!" Roc shakes his head: "I know you did the best you could, I know that." Blah Eugene paid for the investigation with his own money, blah male head-butting crap blah. Roc fires Eugene: "You're fired then! If that's the way you wanna hear it then hear it that way!" He wants to put himself before the board without the shield of a lawyer; Eugene interrupts and says, "Without the advice!" And you know what his advice will be! That's enough for Roc; he tells Eugene to "shut it down." Pause. Pause. Pause. Eugene: "What message do you plan to be bringing, Leonard?" In a sweet voice of vindication, Roc responds, "I am innocent." He talks like a preacher. "Same message as my trial. And appeal. I'm innocent." The Melody of Misapprehension rises as Eugene says quietly, "You will lose." They stare at one another. "Now if it seems that I'm taking this personally, it's because I know you're innocent." Eugene steps forward to add, "And I'm the lawyer who lost this." Blah he's got the witnesses lined up, blah he's done his homework on the board, and blah let him do it with this hearing. Leonard, aw, please, Eugene looks so involved. Blah wife and kid blah. "Let me help you."
Same Day. Different Jail. Different Pain. Rebecca and Ron "Oh, Don't Blame Me For Black & White" Silver walk into Walter's cell; he's the Dead Man Walking. He looks patient, and the light has him all bathed in orange, looking kind of heavenly -- or creepy, whichever way you want to look at it. Walter says, "Didn't you explain it to her?" Yes, but Rebecca wanted to meet him anyway. She notes, "Mr. Mockler says you've pretty much given up hope." Walter responds by saying that he's full of hope; in fact, he's never been so hopeful in his whole "durn" life. Rebecca is taken aback. Walter explains that who he was when he committed the crime and who he is now are two very different things. He's found God. And it wasn't the fake preacher in the form of an aging Luke Perry over on Oz who showed him the way, either. Rebecca wants to know why the person Walter is now wishes to be executed. Walter: "Do you know the atrocity of my crime? I stabbed a woman seventy-eight times." He pulls out a worn and well-marked Bible that he's studied, for years, trying to find a way to forgive himself until he saw the truth -- forgiveness is somebody else's job, "and He's already done it." God washed Walter clean the minute the minute he sincerely repented. The strange yellow light is still on the man; funny, though, because the light outside the cell is quite bright and blue, and the two really don't match at all. Rebecca: "When you pray, do you tell God what you want or do you ask Him what He wants?" She sits on the bed beside Walter and continues, "God doesn't forgive you so you can die happy. I think he washes you clean so you can start over, so you can learn and struggle, and do his work." A strange Hymn Of The Penitent Prisoners sits on the bed with them as Rebecca continues to lecture: "Walter, you could live another forty years. And how much good could you do in here in that time." Blah how many people could you help, blah you could start a ministry, blah Ron Silver looks like he's going to kill her blah.
Outside. Rebecca is rambling as she and Silver walk to the car. She thinks they could file an emergency hearing in First Circuit, because she thinks Walter may have changed his mind. Silver: "Rebecca, let me ask you a question" -- and don't you worry, Rebecca, because it will be a demeaning, rhetorical sort of question that you really don't need to answer per se -- "do you think you helped in there?" Firstly, there aren't any more issues; they've exhausted them all. She believes there's always something. Nope. There's nothing. And there is not going to be a stay of execution, and all Rebecca succeeded in doing right there was agitating Walter, so instead of dying with closure or feeling at peace with God, he might now feel that his death isn't satisfactory penance. The Foot-In-Mouth Melody rises to hit Rebecca when she's down. Silver: "The one thing he had left to cling to, you perhaps just stripped him of, he's not a cause, Rebecca, he's a human being who will die on Thursday." And just to make her feel even worse, he tacks on, "Perhaps even more painfully now." Yawn. Silver's a little heady with the rhetoric; pull it back a little, Ron, or you might suffocate under the weight of your own words.
Roc's Prison Of Pain. He and Eugene have made up and are now talking strategy. Eugene explains that the prison parole officer will testify for them because he supports Roc's release. Roc says, "You'd think that should be the end of it." Eugene replies, "We wish." The board is made up of four prosecutors, a retired police lieutenant, a probation officer, and an advocate for victim's rights. According to Eugene, "it's stacked." They get back into it over the whole "innocence" issue. Roc won't admit he's guilty. Eugene argues that that means he'll be spending the rest of his life in jail. They both scream at each other at the same time. They call each other names. Roc kicks Eugene out of the room, again. Eugene rises to his feet and screams, "You wanna be proud, you got a kid at home without a father, how proud is that!" All the while Roc is screaming, "Get outta here! Get outta here!" He walks toward the guard, screaming at him to come forward, Eugene yells at him to stay back, the music decides to step up and into battle, the two men face one another, and Eugene breaks the silence: "They do not let people out of here unless they show remorse." Pause. That's the only way. He whispers, "It's the only way." And then he sits back down, allowing Roc to stew in his own anger juice. It's lemony tasting, a bit bitter, but a little sugar could go a long, long way.
The Firm Where They Try To Convince People They Are Guilty Of Pain. Marsha sits facing her verbal firing squad. Ellenor explains that they are going to justify their decision, which cues Bobby's speech elucidating that The Firm is going to reveal the privileged communication, risking sanctions from the Massachusetts bar. Bobby announces, "We feel the sanctity of the attorney-client privilege is outweighed by the injustice caused to her husband." Blah officers of the court have a responsibility to disclose the fact that a man is serving a prison term for a crime he didn't commit. Blah either you are in or you are out, Marsha. Rod taps the table; then he moves his hands across the slab of wood like he's Pac Man on a hunt for magic cookies. Blah we can protect you, blah we might even be able to get your sentence reduced. Yawn. Yeah, like Marsha, the one not in jail, is going to give herself up so that she can go to jail. Right. Bobby: "Obviously it's best for you to join hands with us here." She gives him a "Judith about to cut off his head" kind of stare, and responds, "I completely agree with you." Blah with a few small exceptions. 1. If The Firm reveals the privilege, they don't just risk sanctions; they'll all be disbarred. 2. By doing so, they'd shield Marsha from prosecution, because Ellenor wouldn't be able to testify, so the DA wouldn't be able to build a case against her. 3. The DA got a conviction and Helen, Warrior DA, probably won't reconsider. 4. Marsha intones innocently that she doesn't have one itty-bitty clue what Ellenor is talking about. 5. "Could you all go somewhere and respectively self-fornicate." Heh. Wow, Ellenor wasn't kidding when she said Marsha didn't scare, and she threatens them right back in a lawyerly way too. Oh, swearing in lawyer language -- "self-fornicate," heh. The Other Side of the table is rather quiet at the end of her list of five exceptions.
The Cell Where God Pauses Pain. Rebecca is back in Walter's cell. This time, she's free of The High And Mighty Silver. She explains that it wasn't her intent to rile him up. Not to worry, Walter understands. But she does want him to understand the distinction between serving God in death and serving Him in life. Wow, and are they ever bringing Rebecca's whole Jehovah's Witness storyline to life here. Good thing too, because we almost forgot about that whole coma issue. He wants to accept his punishment, and she acquiesces; he thanks her, and she leaves. On her way out of the cell, she says, "It was nice to meet you." Coming out from the strange light and into the even stranger daylight, Walter says, "It's nice to have lawyers that believe in the Lord." He owes his salvation to Mr. Mockler. Ouch. The cell door slams, but you can see Rebecca's intrigued face in between the bars. Why? Well, Mockler opened his heart to Jesus. Walter smiles. The Hymn Of The Non-Humble Intentions chimes. Rebecca asks, "Did Mockler persuade you to sacrifice your life for Jesus?" Walter responds, "He persuaded me to serve Jesus. To embrace Him." And you're serving him by dying? No, by accepting the punishment for my sins. Oh, sure, DEK has his characters do all the dirty work for Jesus while he's playing God over there all by himself.
Boston By Night. The entire group of lawyers at The Firm is conferring about the Marsha/privilege issue. Jimmy doesn't think they should break privilege. Ellenor thinks they have competing client interests. Lindsay doesn't think that matters. Ellie does, and there are exceptions. Blah. Argument. Blah legal jabberwocky blah. Emotions run high. No one takes it well when the scare tactics don't work; in fact, this is usually when The Firm makes a collectively bad decision to do something "rash" and "bold" like Plan B. Only they can't Plan B when the guy's already in jail. Plus, as Emperor Rod insists, The Firm is in the business of keeping client's secrets no matter what -- that's right, they are all Defense Priests in their spare time. But wait, Jimmy has an epiphany! Go to Keith! Everyone looks over at Bobby, aghast at the simple brilliance of the Lump, and Ellenor says, "Can I tell him what she told us? Is that violating privilege?" Damn! Aren't they all just so smart to point out the freaking obvious? Because, well, it's so shocking when a lawyer uses logic on a legal drama. No one has a problem with Ellenor going to Keith, so that's just what she's going to do, then. Problem solved. He'll rat out his wife, and it'll all be over. Ellenor's conscience will be freed from its prison. Yawn. Rebecca walks in at the end of the discussion, muttering, "He didn't exhaust all the appeals." Bobby sputters, "What?" Rebecca holds a stack of papers up for Rod to inspect, yelling, "John Mockler. There are issues he left out for Walter Dawson. And. There have been others." She shoves the files over toward her boss, and continues, "Death penalty clients who suddenly found God and decided to waive last-minute appeals." The Conspiracy Theory Melody raves at Rebecca's ingenuity. John Mockler is helping the state kill his clients! Everyone is taken aback: on one hand, they've got an innocent man in jail; on the other, they've got one of their own taking the law into his own hands. The Firm Of Fervent Causes certainly has their work cut out for them in this episode. Do I have to say it? Yes, yes I do: YAWN.
Bobby's Office Where They Confront Lawyers Who Dole Out The Pain. Mockler is sitting in Bobby's office. Rebecca and Rod confront him about their findings. Silver patronizes, "When was the last time you faced death, Rebecca? It can make you turn to God, you know." Well, she was in a coma, you know, Silver, so Rebecca really does know about death. Wait, but Rebecca doesn't bring that up, because none of them have history or lives beyond the pathetic storylines passing DEK's fancy that week. Yeah, like the whole "Ellenor and Lindsay are parents" thingy. Who the heck is taking care of their kids while they work until all hours of the night -- Helen? Right. Any. Way. Rebecca mentions the fact that Silver said he'd exhausted all of the avenues for Dawson's appeals. Only he didn't. Silver asks, "What did I leave out?" Rebecca: "He was diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome." That was raised at trial. Right, for diminished capacity, but it should have been raised at sentencing. Silver doesn't think that would have made any difference. She brings up some of his other clients, the ones where he chose to use FAS. Ah, Rebecca, where's the love now? Huh? They play semantic games for a while longer, blah the client instructed him to drop the appeals, blah after they all found God, blah he's going to die. Silver snarks, "What do you suggest I do, hand him a copy of Chicken Soup for the Soul?" Well, maybe they're coming out with an Inmate Edition this fall. Bobby tries to step in, but Silver's on a roll -- he exhausts all viable appeals, and hey, he even wins a couple of his cases, or hadn't they noticed that fact. Rebecca rolls her eyes. But when there is nothing left, and Silver means nothing left, he gives them that little something to get them through the night. Blah Silver's been there, blah Silver's seen it, blah it helps.
The Unbearable Day. Roc is roaming around a room at the prison. He's happy about wearing a coat and tie. His wife Vivian and son James are there to support him, as is Eugene, who is all business. The two alpha males start their bickering until Vivian steps in. The Symphony Of Second-To-Last Chances underlies the necessity of acting repentant. Roc has to accept his guilt and get on with it, so he can get out of jail. But what does he say to the people going to the bank, raising money on his behalf, if he now says he's guilty? Vivian: "They all know this is part of the game, Leonard." Lying? He's got to lie to get redemption? The Prodigal Son cries out in tune with the Symphony, "Dad! Just get yourself out! Come home." Now if that doesn't sway Leonard, I don't know what will.
The Firm. Lucy gives an ad hoc status report to The Emperor, who seems far more in control of The Firm than he did last season, that's for sure. Ellenor has stepped up to the challenge and is overseeing Keith. Eugene, well, we all know he's at the parole hearing, and Rebecca, well, she's been in the conference room all night.
The Conference Room. Bobby: "You never went home." A very coffee-anxious Rebecca says, "There's more." Bobby: "Rebecca." Let it go already. Let it go. Please -- it's almost as if Rebecca is hanging on to this storyline with all she's got because she knows it's all fake comas from here on in. Blah praise be to Mockler blah. Blah Rebecca doesn't believe him blah. She points to the reams of papers strewn about on the table: "There's more." M-O-R-E -- what does it spell? More! More! You got it, there's more, now cheer -- rah. Rah. Yawn. Rah.
Keith's Newfound Home On Planet "Insanity Is The Best Defense." Ellenor, speaking through the glass, tells him she knows about Marsha. He plays dumb for a bit until Ellenor spells it right out for him. Ellenor does the whole whisper-yell-bite-your-teeth speech thing: "How can you be willing to serve a sentence for a crime she committed?" Keith sits quietly. "My God," Ellenor continues, "do you think that being gay is worse for your image than being thought of as a murderer?" Keith, again, plays dumb: "I don't know what you're talking about." He insists that his wife is lying because she's mad at him for killing her lover. Again, might someone have thought to, oh, I don't know, investigate the Dead Guy, or are we going to have a whole separate episode dedicated to that revelation now? Blah. Ellenor tosses out that explanation. Then she blathers on about being one of his oldest friends, and, with tears glinting in her pretty blue eyes, says, "I am not going to love you any less because you are gay." Oh, he's just so politically correct, that DEK, isn't he? Keith interrupts her speech: "Do you know the letters I get? People think I'm a hero!" The Sonata Of Sliding Off The Deep End swells. "'Good for you!'" That's what the letters say. "'I would have blasted him too!'" Keith has an absurd grin on his face: "I'm a hero Ellen-ner, and when I get out my constituency will still be there." Blah political history blah! What man wouldn't do what you did in those circumstances? Ellenor is taken aback. Perhaps "stunned" is a better word, "I'm instructing you to drop this. I've made my deal," Keith spits, "I'm happy with my deal." Yeah, he's happy living in Martyrland. And that's the end of that.
Leonard's Parole Hearing Of Freedom From Pain. The Prison Parole Officer testifies to the goodness that is Leonard by speaking in platitudes: "I tell inmates to use the time in here, don't let it use you." Yeah, that guy would last a second in the joint. At first, Roc had anger issues, but now he's teaching the anger management course. A lot of the inmates look up to him. The Nasty Chairwoman says someone found a syringe in his cell. PPO thinks it was planted. Eugene asks if Leonard would pose a threat, should they grant him parole. PPO thinks not. He's a small threat for recidivism, especially when he has a support network on the outside. The Nasty Chairwoman throws out some stats to combat the glowing testimony of PPO. Eugene asks if Nasty Chairwoman is introducing evidence. She blasts him back down, because this is a parole hearing and not a court of law where the rules of evidence apply. Hell is about to freeze over, she's so cold.
Bobby's Office Where They're Still Investigating That Pain. Silver tells Non-Sherlock and Non-Watson that he really doesn't have time for the lecture. He's on his way to Indiana. He's got to watch someone die today. Bobby thinks that "things" seem to be a little too coincidental. Silver's most heinous clients seem to find God and waive their appeals; the ones that might be innocent, well, he pushes those cases to the end. Hum, and that's a coincidence? Silver scoffs. Bobby rages on with his hands at full attention: "You're deciding who lives and who dies." Oops, is Silver perhaps playing God? And is Bobby offended because he so covets that role for himself? For shame. Blah the ones you choose not to fight for you steer them towards religion, blah conducting "mad triage" with his clients. Apparently, last night, in between doing her all-nighter of research, Rebecca had time to call the families of many of the men Mockler had defended. She asserts, "You influence death row inmates to waive appeals, to seek salvation." Silver walks away, he's not listening to this -- but not before Bobby can hurl a non-insult at the man. "I used to respect you." The Music Of The Non-Knight whirls around as Rebecca snorts, "I used to think you were this big champion against the death penalty, and look at what you are." Silver licks his lips -- no, honest, he does, it's like his version of Emperor hands -- and says something about how death row inmates should be grateful he's even taking their cases. Do you know how hard it is to get the Supreme Court to look at these kinds of appeals? Eventually all of the claims, even the legitimate ones, fall on deaf ears. "Now, I'll tell you what the problem is, Rebecca." He steps forward: "Defense attorneys have no credibility any more." The Supreme Court pays attention when Silver calls, because he's The Death Man. Rebecca: "So you weed out the good cases from the bad and sacrifice people like Walter Dawson." Silver insists he did everything he could for Dawson, and he'll be at his side tonight. And with that, Silver says, "Bye, Bobby," turns on his heels like Prince in the video for "When Doves Cry," and slams the door.
Parole Hearing. The wife of the victim is on the stand. She was devastated when she found out that Leonard was the killer. They were all friends. How does she feel about the idea of Leonard being paroled? Well, of course she's a Christian woman, and she prays for him. Except, despite her good Christian charity, she doesn't want another family to be destroyed like hers was, so she prays they keep him in prison for as long as he lives. The music crackles as the Nasty Chairwoman says they'll take break and continue with Leonard's testimony. Leonard, knowing that it's all coming down to him, doesn't think he can say he's guilty. Again, Eugene repeats the dire consequences if he doesn't -- he'll spend the rest of his waking moments encased in cement walls and iron bars.
After the commercials, Charles S. Dutton kicks some ass. He swore prison wouldn't break him, and if it wasn't for his family, it would have. Nasty Chairwoman thinks he's done better in prison than out of prison. Because she knows the story of his life so very well. Because her papers say that Roc had a hard time holding a job, and when he got fired from the garage, he committed murder. What are his plans if he's released? Well, he'd like to find a way to help kids stay out of trouble, become a counselor or a teacher. At trial, he denied murdering Jack Soran, is that correct? Is he still denying he committed this crime? There is a heavy pause. Does he now accept responsibility for his crime? Oh, and it would be just so easy to -- come on Leonard, don't -- oh, damn, he turns to face the widow and says, "Mrs. Soran, I know you've suffered, so much." Pause. "And I'm sorry." Pause. "But I did not kill your husband." And all their dreams go down the drain. The Parole Board Guy says that taking responsibility means admitting the crime. Because, you know, Roc just felt like sabotaging his chances for parole just for the hell of it. Then he goes on a tear -- he didn't kill anybody, and "to get out of here, I've got to show you I'm a good man. And the only way to do that is to lie and say that I'm a killer." He points his finger at the pulpit: "Well. I am not a killer." He repeats his statement, Nasty Chairwoman asks if he's done, and of course Roc's not done because he wants to point out the necessity of having to admit to his crime. After all, the board couldn't sleep at night if they had to face the reality that an innocent man has just spent twelve years in jail for a crime he didn't commit. Do ya think DEK's been watching a little too much of The Hurricane? ["Or The Shawshank Redemption? This is a lift from Red's parole storyline." -- Sars] Not that Roc isn't doing an amazing job. Not that this storyline isn't both touching and moving. But goodness, it's thicker than butter cream down there. The Nasty Chairwoman warns him. Blah he was never going to get parole. He waves his arm across the table: "Not from them." Vivian looks like she's about to burst into tears. Leonard: "You know it's a joke. It's a damn joke. Now. I'm done." And he sits back down beside Eugene.
Oh, Non-Watson is trying to get Walter a stay of execution. They've brought their little Conspiracy Theory in front of a judge. The judge who, by the way, doesn't budge, and then has to sit through Bobby's relentless explanation of Mockler's misconduct. Mockler fights for the good guys, but he forces God on the scumbags, and then watches the scumbags die. The judge doesn't think Mockler's committed any malpractice, and there's no evidence of mental defect on the part of Walter Dawson. Bobby asks him to stay the execution for a week, just so that they can take a good look at the case. "No," says the judge, "but I salute your innovation." He whips off his glasses: "Is John Mockler behind this?" Heh, get it? The irony? Heh, heh, not.
The Firm. Ellenor wants to declare Keith incompetent. Oh, like Scott Wallace perhaps, like Raymond Oz perhaps, like all of the big fancy men who commit crimes on this show? Why is it that no man on this damn show admits to anything, either goes crazy or is innocent, while their wives either end up dead or murderers themselves? Blah the Lump says he's competent. Blah they're at a dead end. Marsha walks into The Firm, because, again, the door is wide open and anyone can walk in -- there's no receptionist, there's no doorbell, there's nothing, just an open hallway beckoning angry ex-clients to wreak their havoc on the likes of the lawyers in this office blah. Okay, so Marsha threatens to sue Ellenor again. Ellenor threatens her right back, stating that she'll catch Marsha in a mistake and that'll be the end of that. They bicker a little, and then Marsha leaves as quickly as she came.
Roc, Almost On Parole. Eugene gives a great closing statement. The pros. The cons. The fairness. The guilt. The problems in the system. He describes Roc as a man who has done his time with grace and dignity. He's a man who deserves to be released. What if he actually is innocent? Innocent people do get convicted. Nasty Chairwoman says the hearing is not a forum for Eugene to retry his client. Well, his client wants to go home, and he could have lied, but he risked everything because he wouldn't give away the only thing that kept his family sane -- the fact that he is innocent: "This may not be the forum to prove that but don't tell me it's not relevant." Eugene introduces the family and asks that the board prove themselves motivated by justice, and that they can be feared but still fair. It's what Roc deserves.
The Waiting Room Of Pain. The Symphony Of Stressful Situations peaks. Leonard thanks Eugene. He tries to explain things to his wife and son James, but Vivian just holds up her hand so he'll stop talking. She's not hearing any of it. A prison guard comes into the room, announcing they are ready. Eugene looks at his watch: "Six minutes." He shakes his head.
Back in the hearing, the Nasty Chairwoman says they are faced with a man who committed murder and then now refuses to accept responsibility for his crime. No parole board has ever granted release under those circumstances. Pause. "So today would be a first." He's free! And they are adjourned, so she turned out to be not so nasty after all. Roc turns to Eugene: "Granted now?" Pretty much. Roc lets go a big sigh of relief and gets up to hug his family. And there's that smile of Eugene's. A Victory March is playing. The two men hug, and slap each other's backs. Way to go, Roc. Way to go, Eugene. Why can't the two of you be in every episode?
The Firm. Rebecca is still working. Because she has no life. Because she's obsessed with her new Non-Watson status with Bobby. They both are watching the television. The Fake News is about to announce Walter's imminent death. They make the announcement, and explain how Walter asked for forgiveness from the victim's family and from God. Rebecca looks like she's about to burst into tears. The Fake News goes over to Silver, who trumpets from up on his grandstand about the evil death penalty while Rebecca and Rod watch in dismay. Blah soapbox blah, and then Rebecca turns off the television.