The Lincoln Lawyer Season 4 Flips the Script and Proves It’s Here to Stay

The Lincoln Lawyer Season 4 is a new territory for Mickey Haller and the show.

Have you ever imagined Mickey without the confidence, suits, Lincolns, and catty number plates? 

They always seemed baked into his existence, making them an indistinguishable part of who he is.

I was very skeptical about this season. How exactly would a show about a lawyer work with said lawyer in prison for murder?

Not only would the logistics become incredibly confusing, but The Lincoln Lawyer would also lose its aesthetic. You know the scenic shots of LA, the vibrancy of the city, the people, and everything else that makes it seem like a character.

I’ll take a million shots of Mickey cruising the streets with no destination in mind over the grey, claustrophobic walls of Twin Tower Correctional Facility.

Despite the odds stacked against it, the season beats them through careful maneuvering and measured restraint.

Without Mickey Hogging the Screen, Everyone Is a Star

One of my common complaints when reviewing past seasons was how everyone else felt secondary to Mickey.

Now, Mickey Haller is a great protagonist, don’t get me wrong, but if I’ve learned anything from television, it’s that one character cannot be everything for anyone.

I love his legal genius, but I was always wary of his cockiness and self-assuredness. It’s a dangerous thing for someone to be so confident. Mickey has always been chaotic, but manageable in small doses.

On the other side is Izzy, delivering a grounded demeanor that balances all the chaos. Even when struggling, she somehow always managed to make it look good.

And then there’s Lorna, funny, upbeat, and smart.

The point is, every character has something different to offer, but it felt like we were having Mickey Haller pushed down our throats.

The Lincoln Lawyer Season 4 has Mickey take a back seat, no pun intended. Lorna takes over running the firm, Izzy gives Cisco a run for his money, and Cisco becomes fun for once.

For the first time, we experience Lorna’s brilliance and grit.

Without Mickey dimming her shine, she becomes the powerhouse we always knew she could be. Please give us a Legally Blonde spinoff because I was living for her delivery and outfits.

She had no business looking that good in everything.

Meanwhile, Haller and Associates felt like a proper 21st-century law firm, with Izzy on the tech.

While the old-school door-knocking and foot chases make for a thrilling show, everyone knows that a good portion of life happens online now, and it’s a great resource for finding information.

Izzy takes the lead on the digital front, leading to great breakthroughs that could not have happened otherwise. Oh, and she gets a love interest to boot.

I found myself stanning everyone this season because everything gels so well.

If we are doing spinoffs, how about You’ve Been Surrv’d starring Jazz Raycole? Think of it as a millennial Lincoln Lawyer but with more tech.

Elsewhere, Cisco is decoupled from Mickey and Lorna’s micromanaging, and he has a ton of fun. He makes his job seem cool and effortless despite the danger posed by organized crime.

This increased focus on the supporting characters allows The Lincoln Lawyer to escape the slump that it has avoided for two seasons now.

Most shows can’t escape it in the second season, so four seasons is no minor feat.

Everything feels fresh and different, and in retrospect, I can now forgive the sidelining of these characters.

Maybe the show wouldn’t have done them justice if they had been right up front and center in the previous seasons.

And even with all this focus on these characters, Mickey gets his day in court.

The Great Reckoning of Mickey Haller

One of the biggest problems with people is how easily we can delude ourselves. When you have the world singing your praises from all sides, people become full of themselves.

Mickey Haller has heard it all. He’s been praised for his brains and looks, and made that his identity.

But what happens when there are no cameras waiting after a court session? What does life feel like without the safety and warmth of a massive vehicle? Who is Mickey Haller without the constant romantic advances?

These are the questions he faces when he goes to jail and, for the first time, truly understands how the people he represents feel.

Being in their shoes, he understands how someone can truly be innocent even when all the evidence says otherwise. But most importantly, he understands why the truth matters.

I’m huge on truth myself. It helps me live in the real world and avoid the consequences of living a life of lies or self-deception.

Stripped of all these luxuries, Mickey realizes two things: he cares about his family and the truth. Not the prestige firm, or the money, or the cars.

Sure, they’re nice things to have, and he will drive around the city for an entire afternoon, but those are perks, not the goal.

Seeing Mickey get trimmed down to size is both satisfying and exciting.

Remember the inflated ego I mentioned earlier? Well, that gets deflated, and he becomes a better person for it.

Mickey has always chased a not-guilty label, but he now understands that the innocent label matters, too.

He thought he did when he gave up some really bad clients, but that might have been him protecting his own ego, dressed up as justice.

When Lisa Trammell shows up in court, all beat up by life with serious accusations, Mickey can’t dare look at her. The old Mickey would have snarked right to her face.

This is the kind of development that makes a character feel like a real person and not a caricature.

The Callbacks Elevated the Season

The season also features some nice surprises for longtime fans, as the lore has grown enough to warrant callbacks.

The murder this season is not something totally fresh; it’s the natural continuation of last season’s arc. This gives the show cohesion that is lacking in most new seasons.

Do you know that jarring feeling you get when a character looks like a teenager in the season finale and in the next season premiere, they’re a full-grown man? That Stranger Things effect does not exist.

The return of characters like Lisa Trammell is a nice surprise. I always love it when shows feel well thought out.

They could have decided not to bring Lana Parilla back, but the opposite choice makes all the difference.

The Lincoln Lawyer has been renewed for Season 5, and this season proves why the renewal is warranted.

I can’t wait for The Ressurection Walk era, especially after that massive cliffhanger.

How was your experience watching this season, The Lincoln Lawyer Fanatics? Did you enjoy the change of focus, or are you a Mickey Haller faithful through and through?

Let’s keep the conversation going — it’s the only way the good stuff survives.

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