by Chantal Ashford, Contributing Writer
Your Honor was supposed to be a limited series, but fans got lucky when Showtime announced a second and final season. There was so much that needed to be answered from the Season One finale.
Trust is betrayed, families are crossed, and time and lives are on the line as the season progresses.
After the events of Season One, Michael Desiato (Bryan Cranston) is now in prison for his wrongdoings. He’s still coping with the death of his son, Adam, and not dealing well with the outcome of his life. While he wants to be left alone to serve his sentence, assistant U.S. Attorney Olivia Delmont (Rosie Perez) pays Michael a visit and pressures for his assistance in bringing down crime boss Jimmy Baxter (Michael Stuhlbarg).
Simultaneously, the Baxters have another enemy on their doorstep: Big Mo, the leader of the Desire Gang, a local drug cartel, who start to make their move and become a thorn in Gina Baxter’s (Hope Davis) side. Along with the drug cartel, Jimmy has to deal with his father-in-law, Carmine Conti (Mark Margolis), who doesn’t believe Jimmy is fit for the job or for his daughter.
Also, in the Baxter family, Fia (Lilli Kay), who happened to be with Adam at the time of his murder, is now a mother to Adam’s son, Rocco (Benjamin Wadsworth), without knowing the father of her child killed her brother. She deals with her demons of belonging to a dangerous family, and wonders if she could trust being a mother while holding Baxter’s name.
We don’t stop there. Eugene Jones (Benjamin Flores Jr.), who was thrust into the Baxter/Desiato disastrous web, is charged with the murder of Michael’s son, Adam (Hunter Doohan). But the bullet was meant for Jimmy’s oldest son, Carlo (Jimi Stanton), as revenge over Eugene’s oldest brother Kofi, who was believed to have killed Jimmy’s younger son, Rocco. Who has only one person in his corner, Lee Delamere (Carmen Ejogo), Michael’s former protégé and lawyer, who knows of his innocence.
I hope I haven’t lost you, because there is a lot to remember and to follow, but here we go.
This season has some stellar performances from Cranston and Stuhlbarg; that goes without saying. They’re two fathers trying to piece their lives together after losing everything, and dealing with the harsh realities of their choices. Davis’s portrayal of Gina, a scornful mother wanting her husband to grow apart and run this town like her father, which is not who he is or intends to be, makes you dislike her even more as the season goes on. Ward-Hammond has a bit of empathy, but don’t ever double cross the woman, because she will take you, blood or not. She’s lethal, and I wished for more screen presence between Big Mo and Gina. I was ready for a showdown.
The standout for me, though, is Flores Jr., the young teen who lost everything and tried to have an everyday life, only to be thrust back into tragedy when he comes back to New Orleans to right wrongs, only to almost get killed in the process. Eugene is happy and thriving in the first few episodes, only to see hope leave his eyes by the end of the season, before the light brightens in his eyes once again. He has gone through the fire, and somehow has not lost hope in himself. Flores Jr. pulls you in with a subtle expression, not having to utter a word. You already feel sorry for him and hope he has a happy ending. This young man has been through enough.
The series finale, “Part Twenty,” is the standout episode. The ending is where all our questions (sort of) are answered. We continue to see Eugene on trial, but Michael is subpoenaed and has to testify. The moment that Michael is terrified of having to be on trial for a man who once used to be a respectful judge.
As the show closes, Michael also deals with his past actions, and the Baxters make sacrifices they never thought they had to, even when it’s not the best for their family or business.
I was upset as this was the finale, because Your Honor could tell more stories. Hopefully this isn’t goodbye. They were just getting started.
Score: 7/10
Your Honor is currently streaming on Showtime
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