Bluff City Law Episode 1
When a show opens with a main character engaging in a primal scream, you know this is going to be a ride. That is exactly how we meet Sydney Strait (Caitlin McGee) in the opening scene of Bluff City Law. Just as suddenly as her character, we are whisked into the recent past when her estranged father, Elijah Strait (Jimmy Smits) informs her of her mother’s passing. The tension between the duo is palpable and not alleviated at the wake. As they independently try to process their grief, Elijah turns to their one commonality, the law, to ask Sydney to return to his firm.
Strait & Associates
The offer must work, but we next see the return of the prodigal daughter to the firm and we meet the rest of the firm. Anthony Little (Michael Luwoye) and Sydney went to law school together and worked together during her first stint at the firm. As the pilot progresses, we see that he and Sydney, though trained at the same school, have different approaches to the law. Jake Reilly (Barry Sloane) is the leading rainmaker for the firm who is already fielding offers from other firms. Elijah asks that he stay for 30 days before deciding whether to leave the firm.
We briefly meet our young, slightly awkward, paralegal Emerson (Stony Blyden) who proves to be good at his job. We already met Briana Logan (MaameYaa Boafo) as Sydney’s best friend in the opening scenes. She serves the firm as a skillful investigator. Finally, we have Della Bedford (Jayne Atkinson), a self-described sixth generation Southern woman. She and her wife love spoiling Anthony’s children (“it’s in her DNA”) in her off-time and in addition to her legal duties, serves as the counselor to the counselors.
The Case
The hook that Elijah used to bring Sydney back into the fold was a class-action case against fictional company, Amerifarm regarding the carcinogenic nature of their pesticide, Greencoat. Sitting in a client meeting with the Soriano family, Anthony lays out the legal strategy, a product of two years of work. The problem? Mr. Soriano’s prognosis has worsened, and he may not survive to the trial date. The compassion is evident in Elijah’s face as he expressed condolences, but it is Sydney who blows the whole thing up. She quickly offers up a new strategy breaking from the class-action suit and creating an individual case. It’s a gamble, the class offer more power for settlements and safety in numbers, but a single lawsuit allows an expedited trial.
Three weeks later we find them in court. Sydney with inside knowledge of the strategies of big corporations takes the lead chair. There are no passive lawyers here, both Elijah and Anthony show skilled questioning moments in the courtroom. As the case moves forward, each side gets in some body shots and it seems unclear how this will go. There is a warning of what is to come for Elijah and Sydney hidden in the guise of a settlement offer. They decline the offer, but Elijah knows something is coming.
The time comes for expert testimony, this is where Sydney will close the case. She calls her first expert, opposing counsel objects, sustained. She is shut down by the judge on two more expert witnesses. Frustrated and knowing that the jury now will not hear incriminating evidence, Sydney lands herself in jail for Contempt. The firm discusses the poor showing in court when Sydney returns from her afternoon in jail. The frustration, the pressure of holding such an important outcome weighs on Sydney in a way her corporate job never did. In a moment of honesty between our fierce father/daughter duo, we see the corporate lawyer side of Sydney dissolve right before our eyes. She becomes a crusader, not just out for the win, but in it to make a difference. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Elijah is well regarded as a hero in Memphis and he thinks we are running out of them.
Still, they are nowhere on the case and need a miracle. Cue the paralegal… Meanwhile, Edgar Soriano takes the stand to talk about his exposure to Greencoat. Elijah is a brilliant lawyer and between his questioning and Mr. Soriano’s testimony, the needle for the jury seems to move. There is no proof of causation and the corporate lawyer shreds Mr. Soriano’s testimony.
A Clue…
In reviewing information for the case, Emerson stumbles on a clue. Language that suggests a person with knowledge who has been silenced. Briana works her magic to locate the scientist and Sydney and Elijah sit down with her to convince her to testify. She declines outright fearing repercussions from Amerifarm. Elijah has a powerful moment with her discussing the moral arc of the universe and second chances. I’m not sure anyone stands a chance against Elijah Strait’s persuasive arguments.
Dr. Diemer takes the stand but is immediately objected to by the plaintiff. In chambers they discuss whether Dr. Diemer should be allowed to testify. The judge will not allow her to testify to any testing she may or may not have done. Just as it seems hopeless, Sydney Strait sees the grey among the black and white and finds her strategy. Rather than asking direct questions, she asks if there is anything Dr. Diemer would like to say to Edgar Soriano. She apologizes to him and to other families, that Amerifarm knew it was dangerous. Mayhem erupts in the courtroom and both Straits find themselves in jail for contempt.
In the closing argument, Sydney captures what appears to be the theme of the show. Let’s make the world that we want to live in. Create and shape what the standard are and should be. Following the winning verdict, Elijah slides her a sticky note with a simple but huge message: Change the World. It turns out that primal scream was one of victory.
Legacies
There is one character who never appears on-screen but has clearly impacted every character, Caroline Strait. Elijah’s late wife obviously shaped his life and Sydney’s but the indelible mark she left on the others speaks volumes. Following her sudden death, Elijah found a case she left marked for Jake. A teacher she believed to be wrongly convicted in the death of a student. When Elijah hands him the case, Jake asks “why me”? Jake hasn’t handled criminal cases in a while, so it seems like a better fit for someone else. Elijah’s only answer that his wife was a genius at matching people to a purpose.
The first meeting doesn’t go as Jake expected. His client is uninterested in his help and still claims guilt. But the evidence Jake has doesn’t add up. With a little help from Sydney, he gets a look at the case files from Robbie, the Chief of Detectives (and Sydney’s ex-husband). Jake is perplexed. The evidence suggests he is innocent, but George Bell contends he is guilty. Jake looks to Della for advice. Della is skilled at cutting straight to the point. As an expert in trust and estate law, Della talks about end of life issues regularly, but she finds that legacy is the real key to what people want. What legacy are they going to leave? Why did he choose guilty as his legacy? Our rainmaker is chasing his own cause now. How to help someone who doesn’t want help.
After fixing George’s applesauce dilemma, Jake cuts straight to the point with George. George didn’t start telling people he was guilty until after he was convicted. In doing so, he released his daughter and son from waiting for him and allowed them a freedom to move forward with their lives. Jake tells George that they have. She remarried and had a family, his son is a sophomore at Georgetown, they live “rich, beautiful, messy” lives and Jake thinks it is time George has one too. In that moment, George decides to fight for himself with Jake’s help.
What did he call you?
In the closing scene, Elijah and Sydney are at the office on a Saturday. They talk a bit about how it will take some time to figure out their “new normal” in the wake of Caroline’s death. Sydney pivots to discuss changes to the firm: car allowance, vacation… Elijah scoffs at the very mention of either of these. Emerson enters with a simple question:
Hey Dad, how long are you staying today?
My thoughts
First, I love it, I’m all in. Let’s change the world.
More objectively, this pilot gives us a fantastic character backstory and leaves so many directions for the writers to take these characters, I for one, can’t wait. Jimmy Smits is the perfect casting for Elijah Strait. He plays all the parts of the character well, the hero and inspirer, the estranged dad, the complicated husband, grieving widower and firm leader, each part unique but creates one very complicated character. Caitlin McGee is a joy to watch. Young and determined, tireless in her fight, willful and not at all a wallflower. It is just what we need for Sydney Strait as she works through issues about her whole family. Barry Sloane brings just the right edge to Jake Reilly. Just hard enough to be the tough guy when necessary, but what Caroline saw underneath is a crusader in his own right. It is easy enough to see it in Sydney, it is practically genetic, but for Jake, the crusader/hero role is something he has just tried on (at least given what we know so far) and he isn’t sure how it fits. It looks good on him from here.
Michael Luwoye brings a quiet fire to Anthony and I can’t wait to see what his next case is. We know a little of his backstory, married, four kids and a seemingly fierce sense of family. That is sure to shape his efforts in the courtroom and maybe will make him the glue for this firm. We don’t see a ton from MaameYaa Boafo as Briana or Stony Blyden as Emerson, but that bombshell suggests that we will see more from him soon. Both characters are key pieces for cases and the firm and look to play critical roles as the show progresses.
Finally, we have Jayne Atkinson as Della Bedford. I love all these characters, but Della may be my favorite. Please give us a case that she is first chair, I want to see one of her courtroom speeches!!! Rather than a matriarchal role, Della has a wise counsel role. She is kind, but no-nonsense. She loves deeply but will put you in line and that is what we know from just this episode. I think Jayne Atkinson has the most complex role in the show. Southern woman, with a son (assume divorced), happily married to her wife. That is a backstory we need and quite a character to mentor the firm. Her wisdom is likely hard won from life experiences. I’ll take all the Della I can get on the screen.
One other silent character is Memphis itself. The show is being shot in Memphis and they are making some good use of the city as a character. The show feels very Memphis in nature, with the river, the music and the food. I expect Memphis to play its own role in each episode as it shapes, the who, what and where for our world changers. Dean Georgaris has given us another gem in Bluff City Law and I can’t wait to be back in the courtroom next week. Let’s change the world every Monday night at 10pm on NBC.
Visit our dedicated Bluff City Law page for all our coverage of the show!
Stay connected with So Many Shows:
More From So Many Shows:
Bluff City Law: First Podcast!
FBI Season 2: What is to Come?