Netflix The Lincoln Lawyer season 2 recap guide: All episodes explained

The Lincoln Lawyer season 2 episode 2 recap: Obligations

Mickey meets up with his pal David Siegel (Elliott Gould) for some thinly veiled advice for himself. He claims it’s a hypothetical situation, but he lays out the exact circumstances of his current predicament with Jesús’ case and Russell’s revelation. David suggests the “lawyer” should drop out on representing the innocent client (Jesús), but Mickey wants a loophole. We don’t know what he suggests yet, but David seems to have Mickey’s golden ticket.

Lorna informs Mickey that Glory Days called on their help after getting busted for solicitation and cocaine possession. She also tells him that Russell’s currently standing in his office waiting for him and/or snooping. When Mickey arrives at his office, Russell brings a him ticket he received for running a stop sign and refreshes his memory on his “obligations.” Everyone notices he’s on edge after Russell leaves, and he asks them to stand down on working on the Menendez case.

Mickey meets with Glory Days to get the details of her arrest. It’s not looking good, and it’s adding to Mickey’s current stress level. She says a well-dressed man named Hector Moya gave her the drugs, but because she’s not a “rat,” she’s not immediately on board with Mickey’s plan to nab the potential dealer to secure her release. She relents, giving him the address.

Lorna worries Cisco’s getting cold feet about the wedding, but little does she know, he’s still keeping his latest interactions and deals with the Road Saints from her. While there’s a lot going unsaid between those two, Mickey’s also being slightly cagey in his attempts to keep all these plates spinning. Apart from his cases, Mickey’s also skeptical of Izzy’s intention to open a dance space with Ray, who he doesn’t find reliable.

Cisco discovers that Hector Moya, or Hector Moreno, is a “major player” in the Tijuana cartel who’s suspected of killing three rival cartel members. Mickey got his smoking gun, and he brings some information to Maggie over coffee in order to help her get her cases back. Maggie agrees to help in spite of her reservations, putting the bigger plan into motion.

Later that night, Mickey meets with Lisa at her restaurant, but it feels like much more of a date than a meeting about her case as they swap short stories about their upbringing. She doesn’t understand the terms of the restraining order, since the distance seems to hinder her ability to move about her own neighborhood with his office in such close proximity to her work and home. Mickey assures her that she can exist as normal in her neighborhood, though she does point out an interesting inconsistency from a supposed witness.

Maggie text messages Mickey telling him they have a deal, which now makes the plan official. Mickey leaves a manila envelope on his desk for Russell, tells Griggs he’s off the Menendez case, and hits some tennis balls. Griggs questions Glory Days, and she tells him everything she can remember. After his tennis afternoon, Mickey speaks with Griggs, who knows he’s hiding something from him. Meanwhile, Glory Days is released from custody and returns to her home. After she gets out of the shower, she’s nervous upon opening the door for a food delivery.

And… she’s right to have been nervous. When she closes the door after grabbing her food, Russell’s on the other side, inside her apartment. He grabs her and holds her at knifepoint. There’s a slight struggle before the cops barge into her house and arrest Russell. She recognizes him as the man who killed Martha. Cisco watches from across the street and calls Mickey, telling him it’s not Hector Moya but Russell Lawson, which Mickey of course already knows.

Finally, there’s a flashback to what David told Mickey at the beginning of the episode about how to hack this complicated situation. In order to get Russell, Mickey needed Glory Days to identify him, which is why he worked to get her released and made sure Russell knew she was released, by placing her documents right next to his manila envelope (he’s a known snoop, after all). Like David said, Mickey pointed Griggs in the right direction but stayed out of the way.

After bidding Glory Days farewell as she intends to leave LA for Hawaii, Mickey meets with Russell in jail, telling him to plead guilty. Russell knows he was played, but there’s nothing he can do about it. Mickey maintains that he didn’t break any ethical rules because, in fact, Russell set himself up. A true showman, Mickey’s parting words are a deserved thinly veiled threat. Keeping the good times rolling, Mickey delivers the good news to Jesús Menendez that his case has been dismissed.

But don’t think it’s smooth sailing for Mickey from here on out. While taking a victory drive in his convertible, he receives a phone call from Lisa. She’s been arrested for the murder of Mitchell Bondurant. Here we go again…

Written by Reed Gaudens