Episode 10 of The Lincoln Lawyer kicks off with Mickey Haller, a mere pawn in a larger game, grappling with McSweeney beneath the glare of headlights. Suddenly, the tumult is interrupted by the arrival of Griggs and his officers. Tragically, McSweeney tumbles off the precipice, his fate sealed.
Griggs finally pieces together the puzzle. Trevor Elliott had bribed McSweeney to eliminate Lara and Jan. Moreover, he is juror number 7, the mysterious figure who vanished earlier in the season. Yet, there are still loose threads, as the identity of Jerry's killer in the parking lot remains elusive.
The spotlight now shifts to Glory Day. Lorna arrives, her eyes filled with urgency, declaring Jesus Menendez's innocence. She fears the real perpetrator, the one who took her friend's life. This man, she notes, bears a tattoo on his left forearm. Lorna offers a business card, urging Glory to stop fleeing.
Glory steps into the office, her voice quavering as she confesses her need for police protection. She reveals that a corrupt Vice officer, Linda Perez, had threatened to ruin her life if she testified for Mickey. It was this crooked cop, not Menendez, that drove her into hiding. Mickey relays this information to Griggs, emphasizing that Perez had been denied promotions twice and speculates that Officer Winters had instigated the scare tactic to deter her from testifying.
Griggs steadfastly refused to delve deeper into the mystery, instead dispatching Mickey to confront Trevor Elliott, who seemed poised to make a momentous announcement in front of the press about the next milestone in Parallax Games. But just as he was on the cusp of revealing his news, Carol Dubois emerged, firing three lethal shots at Trevor. This act of violence left Mickey convinced that Trevor was innocent of Jerry's murder and had spoken truthfully when he professed indifference to the killing.
In the midst of this turmoil, a separate drama unfolded involving Harold Casey, the motorcycle aficionado, who remained unscathed despite his recent controversial pro bono work. Cisco, determined to put an end to the matter, took it upon himself to confront Casey directly. Casey revealed that Mickey had been covering for Cisco, acting as a favor, but Cisco put his foot down, insisting that any debts owed should be settled through him. He was adamant that Mickey should stay out of their rivalry.
Meanwhile, Maggie received devastating news from Lankford: the recording of Soto's confession was garbled and thus unusable in court. Despite Maggie's unwavering faith in her ability to secure justice for her client, Mickey was less optimistic.
The focus shifted back to the Menendez case, with Glory taking the stand to testify about Linda Perez and her bitter feud against her. However, Linda's subsequent testimony, coupled with incriminating footage, contradicted her earlier statement, earning her a harsh rebuke from the judge. Perez further alleged that Lankford had been involved and had struck a deal with him, which enraged Lankford to the point of barely containing his anger in the courtroom.
That evening, Maggie visited Mickey, confessing that she had poured her heart and soul into the case, building her entire strategy around Lankford's testimony, which was now rendered useless. Mickey retorted, claiming ignorance of Lankford's involvement. The pair's argument escalated, leading Maggie to admit that she couldn't overlook this betrayal and doubted their ability to reconcile.
With the Soto case effectively dead, Soto was set to walk free, and Maggie faced the prospect of losing her position. As she appeared in court to hear the verdict of not guilty, her world seemed to crumble around her. Suddenly, Sarah Walker, an assistant United States attorney, emerged and swiftly arrested Soto for human trafficking and conspiracy. It appeared that the federal authorities had finally caught up with Soto, and through Maggie's contacts, it seemed he would face justice after all.
Mickey returned to visit Mary Holder, who wished him well and expressed her best wishes for his future. As for Mickey, he had a final ace up his sleeve. His jury summons earlier in the season had sparked a train of thought about who might possess such power. Could it be Judge Holder herself? The anonymous note sent to Judge Stanton was actually a cunning ploy devised by Mickey. The day after he sent it, McSweeney vanished, a mere test to gauge the waters. Mickey realized that it was Holder who had orchestrated McSweeney's attempt on his life and had hired a shady private investigation firm to bug his car. Holder threatened to destroy him if he went public, but Mickey's narrative was impeccable.
In fact, Mickey and Cisco had done their homework thoroughly and discovered that McSweeney was once a client of Holder's husband. This provided the federal authorities with sufficient evidence to wiretap Holder and, with Griggs' assistance, they had amassed enough information to arrest and bring her down.
The season concluded with Maggie exiting her office, Cisco riding off on his bike, Lorna and her pug applying for law school, while Mickey returned to the surf, his board slicing through the waves once again. However, from the shore, a man cloaked in black, adorned with a tattoo on his left arm, kept a watchful eye on Mickey's every move.
