This is an aside, so you can just skip it if you want to get right to the recap. If not, read on. So, last Sunday I'm all ready to tape The Practice, happily jotting down nasty quips in my notebook and listening to my boyfriend complain, loudly, about the ridiculous storylines, until the tape stopped. Dead. In the middle of the episode. In a panic, I call Sars, who tells me to call Manimal on the west coast because she recaps Alias. Manimal (who totally rocks, by the way) tapes the episode for me because my VCR crapped out. Ah, relief. She finishes her own recap and does me a huge favour by dropping the package at Fed Ex. Only the dope behind the counter tells her that filling out a form for "domestic" packages will work fine when sending a package to Canada. In Manimal's words, they forgot about "that whole other country thing." Because we haven't been assimilated in the U.S. just yet. I make a note to self: The people at Fed Ex are idiots, Tom Hanks or no Tom Hanks. Any. Way. The package gets sent back to the west coast. So, now it's Thursday and I need to have my recap done by Sunday. And I still have no tape. So, I call our local network and make up some bullcrap story about being a writer doing a story about the history of the law in popular television. Surprisingly, they agree to send me the dub -- if they have time. Friday. The tape from the west coast won't arrive until at least Monday. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. And then at 4 PM on Friday, the tape arrives from the network. Hurrah! Thank you Manimal for your valiant efforts to help, despite the stupidity of Fed Ex. Thank you Sars for keeping me calm during the last few days when I've been in a panic. And still, I can blame all of this on DEK -- because it's really his fault anyway. Damn you, DEK! Damn you!
Emperor Rod's Office. Bobby explains to his client, Katie Dafoe -- played by Gabrielle Anwar, the actress who will forever be known as "the girl who danced the tango with Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman" -- that the videotape does look like her and that will hurt their case. Jimmy "The Lump" Berluti says the good news is that the videotape is only from the side and the back; the face isn't visible. Katie: "Why is that good news, Jimmy? If the face were visible the jury would know it wasn't me." Stunned by both her outburst and her beauty, Jimmy mumbles, "Yeah. Right." Emperor Rod asks if Katie is ready. She whines, "Is a person ever ready to stand trial for murder?" He grabs her hand. She smiles lovingly at him. Ragdoll rolls her eyes. Bobby whisper-talks: "We're going to get through this." Said the noble knight to the fairy princess who looks like an adult film star with her inflated lips and long brown hair. Ah, Katie knows, and she's okay. Bobby: "Are you sure?" Yes. He advises her to go home and get a good night's sleep because the circus starts tomorrow. Upon arising from the couch, Katie embraces the Emperor. It's a solid hug. She wraps herself right around him like Mary Katherine Gallagher hugging a tree in Superstar. Jimmy is made uncomfortable by this outburst of played-up affection. A Serenade Of Superficial Emotions twinkles. It loves a good fake hug. Bobby smiles and smells her pretty hair.
Rod has his coat on and carries his briefcase. He walks past Jimmy toward the front door and says, "Okay. See you tomorrow." Jimmy stops him and asks, "You don't think we should be cutting a deal here?" No way. There's no deal to be had. They'd get manslaughter at best, which is out of the question. Jimmy: "Why is it out of the question? They've got motive, forensics put her at the scene and that videotape gave them timing." The Lump's red tie is very festive. Rod admits that the case got tougher, but he's not willing to accept a homicide conviction, not now, not ever. He's steadfast, that Rod. He stands tall and straight. Yawn. Jimmy asks if he really thinks Katie is innocent. Hell, not only does he think so, he knows so -- she is innocent. Jimmy's internal monologue screams, "You aren't thinking with your head. You're thinking with your heart." Or some other part of his body that I'm not going to mention here. This recap is G-rated.
The Firm. Today is trial day. Everyone is wearing his or her fancy suits for trial. Lucy hangs up the phone. She's been talking to someone at the courthouse who told her that there's press out front. According to Lucy, "they" have agreed to let Bobby and Katie use the side entrance. Rod thinks that's best. Then he grabs Katie's arm in some strange act of affection. "Hey" -- he jiggles her a bit -- "be confident." Lindsay notices the arm grab and looks suspiciously at her husband and Katie. Blah. Lucy's beeper goes off. I guess DEK has been reading the recaps and listening to the forums where we complain about dropping plots, because Lucy's about to embark on a rape counselor adventure. Lucy complains, "Ah, great timing!" Ellenor asks what's wrong. Lucy replies, "Rape crisis." Then she tosses a bunch of keys to Eugene and tells him he's in charge, because up until then, Lucy had been in charge? Of what? Her desk? The phone?
Saint Anne's Hospital. Lucy bounds in and walks toward the front desk in the emergency ward. "Lucy Hatcher," she announces, "Rape Crisis." The nurse points to a room and says, "Over there." Lucy opens the door to the room and sees an elderly woman lying in a bed. The Coda Of Crisis decides it wants some action too. Lucy is stunned. She sort of pauses, and then walks toward the woman and says, "Ms. Walters. I'm Lucy Hatcher from Rape Crisis." The victim's face is bruised, and her injuries look very painful. Lucy grabs her hand. Which, according to Lucy's own admonition last season, is an inappropriate reaction. Ms. Walters looks tenderly at Lucy and thanks her for coming. Ah, she's two steps away from sainthood, that Lucy. Yawn. While still holding her hand, Lucy tells Ms. Walters that she's just going to explain some of the procedures.
Suffering County Courthouse. The witness on the stand is pointing at a large board with an image of a man's head. It has red lines indicating the trajectory of the fatal gunshot wound. According to the expert, the shot was heading down instead of heading up. This means that Katie's lover was killed. He didn't commit suicide; someone shot him at close range from behind. Bobby points out that, typically, close-range shots to the head are suicide. The doctor agrees. However, he wants to add something, but Bobby doesn't let him. Blah medical certainty, blah suicide, blah. Again, the doctor responds that he can't rule it out "to a medical certainty, no." Again, you can tell he wants to add something else, only Rod doesn't allow it. Bobby continues to hound the doctor about his original cause of death: probable suicide. Blah they later concluded blah incorrect. Rod: "Did you take into consideration other physical or circumstantial evidence?" The doctor admits that they looked at all of the evidence. Rod says, "Thank you, doctor."
Rebecca is sitting with a young woman who doesn't understand why the defense is going to put Mr. Potter's reputation on trial. Because she's never heard of the law. Because she's never even seen a lawyer before. Because she's never watched television or seen The Accused. Truly, she's lived in a bubble her entire life. What. Freaking. Ever. Blah. Rebecca tries to explain. Then she asks if the secretary knew if Potter (please don't tell me his name is Harry) was having any other affairs. Not to her knowledge, but she doesn't know the every move of her boss. Rebecca: "But as his secretary you'd know the calls he got and see who walked into his office." Well, according to her, the only person was Ms. Dafoe. Damn. It's not looking good for Rod's little honey. But if we all know one thing for sure right now, it's that DEK never gives us anything in a straightforward way; of course someone is setting Katie up, and of course she is innocent.
The Hospital. Lucy is sitting beside Ms. Walters, whose face is red and swollen on the left side. The poor woman took quite a beating. That's horrendous. What kind of man would beat and rape an eighty-year-old woman? Helen comes into the hospital room. Lucy greets her jovially. Then she introduces Sybil to the district attorney. Helen is wearing a camel-coloured overcoat. She would look better if her lips weren't glossy misrepresentations of flesh. Helen asks how Sybil is doing. Sybil: "All things considered? Philadelphia seems nice." The lawyer condescends, "Yeah." You can tell she's got other things on her mind. Helen: "Well, I do have some good news. We caught the man." Lucy is shocked; she was hoping to be more involved, you know, because this is her second career and everything. Helen continues, "He posed as a delivery boy." Then she asks Sybil if she could possibly look at a police line-up. Sybil is upset: "Be in a room with him?" No. A separate room, and he wouldn't be able to see her. Lucy insists that she'll be right with Sybil at all times. Both Helen and Lucy try to convince the frail, visibly upset woman to participate in the line-up.
Suffering County Courthouse. We are treated to The Dance Of The Defeated as Mrs. Potter wheels herself into the courtroom. She's blonde. Her face is a sort of mixture between Patricia Wettig and Meryl Streep. The jury looks at the poor woman in her wheelchair, and you can feel their resolve against Katie set itself into stone. Mrs. Potter: "It was two nights before the accident when I discovered them." Kenny Walsh, the big-shot DA, has taken this case; he's a worthy adversary for Emperor Rod. He asks for clarification: "Your husband and the defendant." Yes. Mrs. Potter was supposed to be visiting her sister, only her flight was cancelled. So, she went back home, only to find Katie in her house. Kenny: "What happened then, Mrs. Potter?" Well, she and Bernard had a rather "massive" argument. They were still fighting two days later. During an argument in the car, they lost control and crashed. Kenny wonders if the accident rendered her incapable of using her legs. Today's case should really be entitled "Commonwealth v. Master of the Obvious." Mrs. Potter's eyes well up with fake tears as she explains that her husband felt extremely guilty. That's why he "terminated" his relationship with Ms. Dafoe. Kenny wants to know if Mrs. Potter ever spoke to Kate. She replies, "On a couple of occasions." Kenny: "What was her demeanor?" Blah she was frantic blah. Katie purses her lips. "From your observations she didn't take the break-up very well." Mrs. Potter agrees with the DA's "question." The DA moves on to the more relevant issue -- that there's no way Bernard Potter took his own life. Mrs. Potter: "I can't believe that he killed himself." Blah he wasn't a happy man, blah she knew her husband, blah he's not capable of suicide, blah.
The Firm. Prince Rod is being fed his supper. The very blond baby has food all over his face. Aw. He's cute. He doesn't look like he was born of Lindsay and Rod, but he's cute nonetheless. Katie is there, and so too is Jimmy. While shoveling the chow in the kid's mouth, Bobby is going over strategy with the Lump. "You have to cross her easy, Jimmy, otherwise we'll completely alienate the jury." He knows. He really knows, because he says, "I know," in that deadpan sort of patronizing stop-telling-me-the-obvious kind of way. Bobby doesn't think Mrs. Potter hurt them too badly today. Except that she totally did. The dead guy's wife is in a wheelchair, and she doesn't think her husband killed himself. Come on -- admit that you're in trouble, Rod; just go on and admit it. Honestly, Mrs. Potter is a pretty credible witness. Rod's son drools food all down his face. "Oops!" He's had enough. Aw -- sweet innocent Katie grabs a facecloth and wipes off the food. Then she picks up Kid Rod and holds him tight. Bobby's still all about business. He asks Jimmy if he's heard from Rebecca. Jimmy replies she's still doing interviews but he'll go check if she's called in; he smirks at the two of them before he leaves the room.
The Woe-Is-Me Waltz starts playing as Katie pats the boy on the head and muses, "This is how my life should have turned out." She pulls Kid Rod closer. "I grew up in a family where family meant everything." Pause. Gabrielle Anwar looks really soft and pretty in this scene. "So when people look at me like I'm a murderer." She strokes Kid Rod's hair. "I can at least console myself with the fact that they have it wrong." Pause. "But I fear the accusation of being a home-wrecker really hurts, because they have it right." Lindsay walks in on her husband and Katie doing, well, nothing, but that doesn't stop her from throwing freaky looks at both of them, or the guilty expression on Rod's face. She apologizes for being late and pulls her baby from the clutches of that evil Katie. Lindsay: "How did the first day go?" Rod: "Not too bad but the big guns come tomorrow." He's going to have to work late tonight. Oops. That was the wrong thing to say. With a hint of suspicion in her voice, Lindsay notes, "Late night for Jimmy too?" Rod nods. The three of them stand uncomfortably around one another, waiting for the Waltz to stop.
Suffering County Courthouse. Jimmy is cross-examining Mrs. Potter. He asks, "At the time of your husband's death, you testified these were not happy times. In fact, he was being treated for depression, right?" For every ten words of Jimmy's, Mrs. Potter has one: Yes. "And you also spoke of his guilt for both the affair and the accident." Mrs. Potter: Yes. "What is, or was, your favourite hobby?" Mrs. Potter: Walking. Of course it was. Because anyone who lands in a wheelchair on a DEK show must love physical activity above all others, or else where would the tragedy be. Could he be any more contrived? Make sure you put a Chandler inflection on the word "be" in that sentence. It works much better that way. Okay. Jimmy: "I'm told you would often drive into the city and walk for hours." Blah she wrote short stories, blah she used her walks as inspiration, blah walking blah. "And you also loved it?" Mrs. Potter: Yes. Jimmy asks if Mr. Potter once said he wished he'd been killed in the accident. Mrs. "I Love Walking" Potter explains that he'd rather have lost his life than her lose her legs, but she never took it to mean that her husband was suicidal. Ah, but Jimmy's made his point, blah Mr. Potter wished he'd been killed blah. Mrs. Potter has no answer; she just simply looks down at her useless legs and wonders. Yawn.
Cop Shop. Sybil, accompanied by Detective Mike, Helen, and the ever-present Lucy, shuffles into the viewing side of the two-way mirror in preparation for taking a look at the line-up of possible rapists. Helen gives her patented "if you feel this is too much" speech. Sybil nods. Mike tells the other side to bring the men into the room. Sybil steps closer to the glass. A group of surly-looking guys files in and stands facing the two-way mirror. Mike asks number one to step forward. No. Step back. Number two is told to step forward. No. Step back. Number three. Uh! Wait. Sybil pauses. The music tells us it's him. She takes a deep breath. Helen prompts her to say something. But Sybil refuses to identify him. Then she freaks out a little and leaves the room. Detective Mike says he'll go and check on the poor woman. Helen: "She recognized him, Lucy." Lucy: "She must still be in trauma. It was probably too soon to do this." Honestly, Helen doesn't care. Blah the rape kit turned up nothing, blah the rapist was wearing a condom, and blah their case is going down the tubes blah. They need Sybil's identification to put the bad guy away. Lucy: "You didn't find any forensic evidence at all?"
Which, of course, cues the Not-Detective Mike on the stand to say, "We found three hairs in the victim's office, all belonging to the defendant." Kenny says that the defendant admits to being in the office in the past, of course. Well, NDM says that they interviewed the cleaning staff, and they told him that the floors are vacuumed every single night. Yeah, and they are so thorough that they pick up every single hair every single time. Right. This led the police to conclude that Katie had been in Potter's office the very same night he was murdered. Kenny wants to know if there is any other evidence pointing to this fact? Well, it's a good thing he asked, because the telephone records indicate that Mr. Potter called Katie forty minutes before the murder. Oh yeah, and the videotape, which was taken three minutes after the shot was heard. The video flashes over the screen. It's a poor quality black-and-white surveillance shot and you honestly can't tell if it's Katie or not, but it does look like her from behind. Jimmy is convinced. Kenny wants to know if there's any tape of this person going up the stairwell. NDM says no, because she probably went up the elevator. And wouldn't there be some sort of security there? It's late at night -- wouldn't this person, Katie or not, have had to sign in just to get into the building? And wouldn't the security guard have noticed her? Kenny: "It's likely this person went up the elevator and down the stairs?" Yes. Welcome to Redundancy 'R' Us. Yes. Blah can you tell how tall the person is from the tape, blah five feet four inches tall blah. Kenny: "How tall is the defendant?" Well, shockingly, she is just that height -- five feet four inches tall. Except if she were wearing boots, or heels, or any other kind of shoe that a person might wear. Because that might add, oh, two or three inches to her height. Did they take that into consideration? Of course not; they can't see her bloody feet in that image. Sigh.
The secretary is on the stand for the prosecution. She describes how Katie would come into the office unannounced and demand to see Bernard. Again, Kenny asks the witness about Katie's demeanor, which was "hurt" and "upset." Necessarily meaning that she is guilty, because she was upset that her boyfriend broke up with her. Naw, that's not a normal reaction at all, now, is it?
The Client Room. Bobby, Jimmy, and Katie are standing around looking glum. Katie: "Why do you both look so doomed? We knew about this evidence." Rod insists that they aren't doomed. He holds his hands out like pancake batter spreading in a hot pan. Rod steps forward; he's got something on his mind: "Now Katie, if you went into that building that night. I'm not accusing you of the murder." He folds his hands together like a crêpe. "But if you went into that building at all I prefer that we admit it and deal with it." She insists that she did not go into the building. Rod looks at her intently. He apologizes, but he had to ask. She asks him to please not ask her again. Then Rod wants a second alone with the client. Why? Because he wants to admit he's got feelings for her. Over the last few months, well, he's taken a shine to her; he's grown fond of her. Blah he's very happily married, blah he's not making an advance, blah he loves his wife, blah his judgment could be coloured, blah feelings, whoa, whoa, whoa, feeeeeelings blah. Rod's all choked up: "The distrust you feel isn't so much for you as it is for my own objectiveness." Katie steps forward and asks if she needs to get a different lawyer. Rod says no. He can keep his feelings under wraps. He's a real man, blah.
Sybil's House. Lucy is there. She wants to know what happened with the line-up. Sybil explains that when she saw him, the thought of having to sit through the trial and look at him every day, well, she couldn't do it. Lucy: "You don't have to apologize for being afraid." Ah, it's not just fear. She's eighty-three, and she "hasn't many years to live." She doesn't want to spend them "embroiled" in a trial. Sybil thinks she could survive this best if she could forgive her attacker and move on. Lucy is wearing a sweater/jacket thing that looks like it came right out of Sybil's closet. And what the hell is up with wardrobe and those damn brooches? Lucy says, "Okay." She'll help anyway she can. Well, Lucy, you can get the guy to apologize. Now, that's no easy task, that's for sure. It's time to add another career to Lucy's ever-growing résumé: arbitrator for the newly created TP Victim's Association.
The Suffering County Courthouse. Another forensic scientist is on the stand. This one has been a police criminologist for eleven years. Kenny asks her about her "findings." Blah not a suicide blah. What psychological evidence led her to this conclusion? The Criminologist explains that in the days leading up to his death, Mr. Potter was very driven at work. He was productive, and he was meeting deadlines. "This kind of efficiency belies the notion of a man intending to end his life." Pause. "He was getting therapy and marital counseling. This again suggests that he was looking to heal, and to move ahead, not die." Oh, yeah, and he left no note. In her experience, people who kill themselves because they feel guilty always leave a note. Bobby climbs on his high horse for his cross. He says that there are cases where people, on the mend, do suddenly drop into darkness and kill themselves. It has been known to happen. The Criminologist says that those cases usually involved schizophrenic people. Bobby: "But it has been known to happen." Of course. Bobby quickly tries to shut her up. But The Criminologist wants to have her say. No. She's already answered the question. "No. I'm telling you I haven't finished." Rod looks perturbed. The Criminologist continues, "Is suicide possible here? Of course, anything's possible. But based on my seventeen years as a trained professional dealing with this very question I am adamant in my decision that this man was murdered." Katie looks a little upset herself. "It's not even a difficult call." Could Rod have not done something there? Interrupted her? Just dismissed her? Called her a hostile witness? Anything to stop her from flushing their case right down the tubes?
The Firm. It's been a hard day's pain. Katie is freaking out just a little bit. Okay, she's freaking out a lot. Understandably, their whole defense is based on Katie's word, and seeing as how she was committing adultery, that's not good, not good at all. "What if I get scared during my testimony?" Her voice rises. The tension wells up. "What if I can't remember?" She throws herself into Bobby's arms. Of course, Jimmy picks this exact moment to walk into the room, catching them in the most innocent hug ever. Please. Stop the music. It's making it seem like this is so much more than it truly is -- enough already. As if it weren't already hard enough to believe that Lindsay and Bobby are actually married without creating this fake oh-he's-in-love-with-his-client crap. Bobby springs into action: "Jimmy, tell Rebecca to re-visit the therapist. Tell him that privilege doesn't survive Potter's death." Jimmy reminds Rod that she's already done that. Rod doesn't care. He's in a fit of passion, yawn. Blah scream, blah re-visit, blah Potter was depressed, blah he's got to have something we can use, blah Rod wants him in the chair blah.
Whew. We all need a commercial break after that outburst.
Suffering County Courthouse. Katie is on the stand. She explains that the break-up between her and Potter was very painful. She "doesn't deny that." Rod: "We've heard testimony that you repeatedly tried to change his mind. That you would show up at his office unannounced." She did. She was hurting. Rod: "In the days leading up to Bernard's death, did you notice any suicidal tendencies?" Well, the only strange thing was the phone call. About forty minutes prior to his death, he called, said he would never see her again, and then said goodbye. Katie explains that it seemed very odd, and that his voice sounded "slightly erratic." What did she do then? She tried to call him back, only the call never went through, and then the thing she knows, she's told he's dead. Rod steps forward, establishing the "intense" part of the examination; we know this because The Exuberant Etude Of Examinations plays up a storm in the background. "Ms. Dafoe, did you go to Bernard Potter's building that night?" No. She absolutely did not. Did she go anywhere? No. Bobby: "You're sitting in this courtroom accused of murder." Katie: "I committed adultery with Bernard Potter, for which I am very much ashamed." Pause. Blah she feels guilty, blah she takes responsibility for what happened to his wife, blah she didn't kill him blah. She could never be capable of committing such a crime against anyone, especially someone that she loved.
Helen's Office. Lucy is telling Helen about her visit with Sybil. Hunky DA is in the background, checking out his fingertips. I'll bet he didn't know he'd be caught on camera. Heh. Lucy explains how Sybil really doesn't want the ordeal of a trial. Helen says that Sybil would only have to be there for her own testimony. Lucy: "But he'd be in the room, right?" Alan steps forward; his fingertips look fine, and he's ready to continue, I imagine: "And she wants him to apologize?" Rightfully, Helen is suspicious of ideas that come from Hunky DA. They get her office in some trouble. She asks, "What are you hatching up?" He replies, "We get that apology on tape and we don't need her I.D." He continues, "Go tell him he'll be made by the woman unless he apologizes." Lucy says, "Whoa. I'm a rape counselor, not a police agent." Wow. That's the first time Lucy has admitted she doesn't want to do something other than her job. I thought her job was to be all things to all people. Alan is snaky: "I think that your client would feel comforted if we can put the rapist in jail." Bingo.
Suffering County Courthouse. Kenny is cross-examining Katie. Right now, I sort of wish TP were South Park, where a strange but sudden explosion results in the patented "Hey! They've killed Kenny." Just so that I don't have to listen to this blah-dee-blah cross-examination for one second longer. Okay. Rant over. I'm ready to return to duty. Kenny: "So you just happened to get a very strange call from Bernard Potter just before his death." Katie's turn to use yes/no as a response: Yes. "Why are there no phone records?" Because the calls never went through. "Ever take lesson in how to shoot a gun?" Katie: Yes. When? About a month before Bernard got shot. Huh. Well, that seems suspicious, doesn't it? Katie says that lots of people learn to defend themselves. Flash. Up comes the video surveillance shot again. Kenny: "You say that isn't you." Katie asserts that it isn't. Blah the same overcoat blah. Lots of women have the same overcoat. Kenny: "What happened to yours? We couldn't find it?" Katie is flustered. She says she threw it out. Kenny doesn't accept this as a viable response. She just threw it out. She didn't give it to a friend. She didn't give it to the Goodwill. She just threw it out. Katie says yes again. Blah witness, blah recently wearing the coat, blah the coat couldn't be found after the murder blah. Oh, things are really not looking good for Katie-love and her Emperor.
Just outside the courtroom, Jimmy insists that they have to plead this case out. Rod asks Rebecca about the shrink. She doesn't think that it's worth it to call the shrink. Bobby: "I'm going to call him." Jimmy tells Rod that he can't just start winging it halfway through a trial. Even though Rebecca agrees with Jimmy, Rod still decides to call the shrink to testify.
Sybil's Place. Lucy explains the sting operation to the poor woman. She doesn't know. "It's totally your decision." Pause. "And I understand if you say no." Pause. Blah fear blah. This is the only way. She'll get her apology and she'll get to put him in jail. Sybil wants to make sure Lucy will be there every step of the way. Of course she will -- she could lose her job, because this "isn't exactly" what rape counselors are supposed to do, but higher justice calls, and Lucy's there to answer. Ah, bonding, blah.
Suffering County Courthouse. Against all odds, Bobby has gotten the shrink onto the stand. The shrink, of course, refutes the idea that his client was suicidal. But go Team Katie D-Fence, because Rod does get the shrink to admit that Bernard was having an affair with a third woman around the time of his murder. Rod asks, "Who?" The shrink says, "His secretary, Michelle Farrell." Michelle Farrell rolls her eyes. Damn. She didn't want to be found out. Wow. Bernard was a real womanizer, eh? Mrs. Potter looks behind her toward Michelle. Damn. I'll bet she didn't know about that either. Bobby: "When did Mr. Potter's affair with Ms. Farrell end?" Kenny objects, and is overruled. Bobby asks the question again. The shrink says about a week before his death, and Bobby thanks him. Kenny has no questions. Rod re-calls the secretary. Walsh wants some time, and the judge decides to break for the day.
Operation Sybil. Detective Mike reassures Lucy that if anything happens, he and his team will be in within three seconds. Lucy quips, "Okay. Well, I'll be out in three seconds so don't worry." She walks into a family-type restaurant and spies the rapist collecting dishes behind a counter. Lucy walks over to him and introduces herself. He pauses. "I'm a counselor for the elderly woman you raped." Macklin -- apparently, that's his name -- pretends to not know what Lucy is talking about. But she thinks he does understand, and continues on with her conversation: "She made you in a police line-up yesterday." Blah she's keeping it to herself, blah she's a Christian woman, blah she believes in forgiveness blah. Well, here's the plan -- Macklin's got to show up tomorrow afternoon and tell Sybil that he's sorry or else she'll go to the police. With that, Lucy leaves a stunned Macklin behind as she boots it out of that restaurant.
Rod's Place. Ah, he and Lindsay are in bed. They're talking shop while she applies some cream to her elbows. Lindsay thinks that accusing the secretary of the crime seems a little desperate. But the case is desperate, blah Katie didn't do so well on the stand, blah overcoat blah. Lindsay: "Well, did you ask her what she did with the overcoat?" No, he accepts the version she put forth on the stand. In private, did he ask her? No. He believes that she threw it out. This causes Lindsay to ask, "Are you involved with her, Bobby?" Rod answers by being stunned: "What?" Lindsay stutters, says it might just be her "hormones," but she thinks something is going on. Rod can't get past the fact that Lindsay believes something is going on. Then she apologizes, kisses him goodnight, and rolls over and goes to sleep. That's correct. She rolls over and goes to sleep. To sleep. After accusing her husband of cheating on her. She rolls. Over. And. Goes. To. Sleep. In any normal relationship, there would have been, at the very least, a heated argument, followed by one or the other partner sleeping on the couch. There would have been no rolling over. There would have been no going to sleep. There would have been accusations and screaming. Blah Bobby sits looking at his wife, blah he feels pangs of guilt for his feelings, blah musical overload blah.
Suffering County Courthouse. Bobby goes hard on the secretary. He can't believe that she didn't tell the police. Michelle doesn't think that her affair with her boss was relevant. "You were asked point-blank by Rebecca Washington whether Mr. Potter was having any other affairs and you answered no." Blah did you kill your boss blah. Kenny objects, but Rod keeps barreling toward his Plan B: "How tall are you?" Michelle answers, "This is ridiculous." Bobby asks again, "How tall are you?" Well, look here -- she too is five foot four. Then Bobby asks Michelle to step out of the witness box, because he wants to do a physical demonstration. Jimmy holds out a camel-coloured coat that Rod hands to Michelle, who is ordered by the judge to put it on. Then she puts on some sunglasses. Then they pull out a black wig, which she is also ordered to put on. Then Rod calls to Katie, who also puts on a similar coat and sunglasses. She stands beside Michelle. From behind, the two look really similar. Bobby: "From where I'm standing. I see reasonable doubt." Ha!
Client Room. Katie wants to know what happens now. Rod explains that the prosecution has to cross-examine her, and that they'll establish Michelle's alibi. Katie: "She has one?" Rod says that she was at a movie for most of the night. He turns to Jimmy and asks, "How did it play?" You can tell he's looking for a good response, only Jimmy says that it was a little desperate, and that it could blow up in his face. Bobby: "All I need is one juror." Jimmy cracks, "You and Perry Mason." Hee. Bobby glances at Katie, and then he and Jimmy "get into it." Blah crap in front of the client, blah he asked him in front of the client, blah problem blah big problem. Jimmy: "I think you have feelings for this woman and you're not seeing straight. That's my problem." There's a knock on the door. It's Mrs. Potter. She's paying them a visit. She lays it on a little thick, even for this show: "Is it just a game to you, Mr. Donnell. Somebody died. That was real." Nope, it's all fake. All of it. Fake. Really. Really. Fake. Bah. "It's not a game!" And then she rolls right on out again.
Sybil's Place. There's a knock on the door. Lucy asks if Sybil is ready. Enter evil rapist. In fact, enter evil rapist who doesn't a) admit to his crime or b) ask her for her forgiveness. Sybil doesn't like his answer. He is, however, sorry for what happened to her. Sybil: "Is that your answer of seeking forgiveness?" She steps forward. Apparently, her husband was a minister. "You don't think I know you're the man who raped me?" He apologizes. Then she says, "Did you ever think you were raping a minister's wife?" Okay. Sybil doesn't wait for his answer. No, she takes justice into her own hands. Talk about Perry freaking Mason. Out comes the pistol. Shaky hands point the gun -- in slow motion -- of course, toward the evil rapist, and then she shoots him. And then he falls. Well, more like he drops like a sack of potatoes. Detective Mike comes running into the room. Lucy screams. Sybil says, "I knew you would have liked to have had the confession first. But I just didn't see the need for it." Everyone is so stunned. Yawn.
Suffering County Courthouse. Bobby delivers his summation. Blah she didn't do it, blah he was depressed, blah he crippled his wife, blah she loved to walk, blah you can't eliminate the fact he killed himself. Then he regurgitates all of the so-called evidence and Plan Bs the secretary. Kenny counters all of Bobby's arguments, blah unequivocal, blah homicide, blah evidence blah. "Bernard Potter was murdered." Then Kenny rails on Bobby's courtroom antics. Frantic antics of Katie, blah evidence, elevator access, blah in and out, blah overcoat, blah Katie's guilty blah. Okay, the cards are certainly stacked against Team Katie. Kenny: "Come on. That's just a few too many coincidences. Don't you think?" The jury gurgles. They think so too.
Client Room. It's confession time here on The Practice. Bobby's afraid he may have blown it. His objectivity was ruined. By pointing his finger at the secretary, he worried the jury might think that he doesn't believe it was suicide. Katie grabs his hands, she trumps up his ego, and she doesn't question him. Jimmy walks in and sees the two of them holding hands. He announces that the jury is back.
Courtroom. Oh, they find her guilty, oh, they're holding hands, oh, she collapses, oh, they embrace, oh, they'll appeal, oh, they embrace again, oh, Lindsay watches the whole encounter, oh, they drag Katie away, oh, Rod looks mournfully after her, oh please, enough with the melodrama. Especially when Bobby turns around and sees Lindsay in the courtroom looking at him.
Dinner Time. Bobby and Lindsay have decided to leave Kid Rod at home and have a quiet night out -- just the two of them. Lindsay, again with the tears, asks, "Bobby. Are you in love with her?" She doesn't think he's been unfaithful, she trusts him completely; it's just that "sometimes people fall in love whether they want to or not." This is the most calm I've ever seen Lindsay in my entire life. Twang. Twang. The music bloats the scene like a body that's been left in the river for weeks on end. It smells that bad too. He's not in love with Katie, but "something about her made me feel protective about her." He's devastated by his loss. "I'm in love with you." Lindsay looks at Bobby. "And only you." Then she gets up to pay the bill. As the two of them leave the restaurant, Lindsay asks that Bobby not handle the appeal. He thinks that he must, but agrees that he won't. Even though he really wants to defend Katie. Blah they love each other blah, and then they go home.
But just when you think that's the end, DEK tags on something so ridiculous that you can barely believe it's happening. There's Mrs. Potter, fully mobile, using both of her legs, walking the streets of Boston, in full view and wearing the overcoat pictured in the security video. Oh, shocking. She's the one who orchestrated the entire ordeal. Damn her. Does that mean we'll be hearing from Katie Dafoe again?
week: Rebecca tries the case of her life. Let's all ruminate on that word "try" -- as in "trying" to my every last freaking nerve.