Talk about a heated political case.
Family Law Season 1 Episode 7 aired in the United States the weekend after Election Tuesday, and the main case became heated. Seeing Bailey defend his relationship against the Steeles was frustrating.
Crystal Steele was very vocal about traditional marriage and felt you couldn’t be honest for fear of upsetting an ultrasensitive, politically correct bubble. She ridiculed LGBTQ people on her show, so she wouldn’t admit to being in a polyamorous relationship.
This case was the most political-themed one the series has done so far. I’m unsure if it worked with how divided the country is currently on LGBTQ views and abortion.
Crystal used to teach high school, but she was fired for imposing her pro-life views on her students. Now she runs her talk show and imposes her beliefs on everyone.
Crystal tried hard to squash Bailey like a bug and pay him off with $50,000 and a statement saying he was only their tenant.
It was hard not to feel sympathy for him since he thought he was in a common-law marriage, and they threw him away,
Abby: Bailey, as your lawyers, we advise you to sign this. If you have student loans, you can pay them off and start painting again.
Bailey: How can you pretend something didn’t happen? I’d be signing a lie.
The case may have gone in the Steele’s favor, but Crystal made innuendos about Jerri being trans and needing a gender-neutral bathroom. I credit the series for implementing something current like that into this episode.
However, making cracks about Jerri to Abby didn’t go well. Jerri is the one person who always defends Abby, so she does the same for her.
While defending Jerri, Abby and Nina informed Crystal Bailey would never sign that statement.
While Abby went too far, she and Bailey didn’t deserve the aftermath.
Crystal Steele has built a career by getting a rise out of everybody. You need to keep a cooler head.
Harry
Crystal and her followers declared war putting many people’s lives at risk. It should have been treated even more seriously than it was.
Seeing stinkbombs go off at the office was terrifying, but the worst was having Abby, and Daniel’s info leaked. This threat put not only them but Abby’s kids in danger.
Since the threat was real, Frank and the kids moved back in with Abby and her mom, where tensions ran high. They only did this to give Frank and Abby another chance, but they have no chemistry and too many issues.
When the threats escalated to gang rape threats, and Bailey’s studio was vandalized, Abby and Daniel decided they needed to take action and find the Steele’s weak spot.
Everyone assumed Crystal was leading these polyamorous relationships, but the lawyers discovered that Gavin had a weak spot for young men and was still in the closet.
With Crystal Steele’s marriage platform, her reputation would be ruined, so she quickly got rid of the boy toys. But Bailey was more difficult since there was a genuine connection.
Abby: There are photos, photos of the two of you together?
Bailey: He probably destroyed those. You heard them. I was their tenant. I think I wanted an excuse to see him one more time. Maybe that’s why I came to you to see if he’s hurting like I am. So selfish, right?
Abby: Not really. You needed to know what you had was real.
Crystal played her hand well, and the Svennsons were forced to drop the case. However, Abby laid on the guilt for making Gavin feel uncomfortable.
He can’t do that anymore anyway. He’s flat broke. He’s going to have to get a serving job. He doesn’t have physical proof of your relationship, and it’s not worth risking his life. Congratulations, I guess.
Abby
Once Gavin produced the photos, Crystal lost her husband and money to Bailey. But who won?
Was it Cavin since he’s out freely, or did Crystal lose since her husband cheated on her with other men? This case was a complicated, political one.
Jerri hasn’t had her storyline. She’s usually supporting Harry or one of the kids.
However, we finally got to see her spunk and see her take on an adversary in Crystal Steele. She originally wanted to play fair, but after watching her action, Jerri took her on.
Being trans does not mean you’re mentally ill or that anything is wrong with you; what Crystal Steele stated was harmful.
Of course not. Feeding stereotypes that endanger people’s lives, why would I take that personally?
Jerri
Jerri always speaks her mind, so I hope we learn more about her story. She’s one of the most exciting people on the series.
Lucy dealt with issues with both of her siblings. Since Abby witnessed Lucy kissing another woman at the bar, she kept dropping hints of her cheating.
This secret destroyed the progress they made in their sisterly bond. I was hoping Abby would listen to Lucy, but she still feels betrayed by Frank cheating on her, ever to give a cheater a chance. So much for sisterly bonding.
Lucy wasn’t faring much better with Daniel. In some ways, he blamed her for butting in about his relationship with Danielle and hedging bets that it would fail.
Lucy had always been close to Daniel, so she felt incredibly lonely seeing Daniel and Abby growing closer.
This episode was the first one in which Daniel and Abby acted like real siblings and showed compassion toward one another.
Danielle seemed genuinely concerned that the threats could affect his niece and nephew and told Abby she could step down if needed.
Daniel: I don’t have kids to worry about Abby, so if you want to step away from this case, I’ll understand.
Abby: Thank you, but I need to see this through. I’m part of the reason we’re in this mess.
The gay bar scene was funny and heartfelt. Daniel hadn’t been flirted with in so long that he enjoyed the gay bartender’s attention. Abby reminded him he could call Danielle and make amends.
It’s a shame just as Daniel and Abby were toasting their victory that, Harry wrecked their relationship by asking Abby to be his second-in-command on a new case. He knew how badly Daniel wanted his approval.
Over to you, Family Law Fanatics. What were your thoughts on this controversial case? Do you think Abby and Frank will reunite?
Were Lucy’s siblings too hard on her? Let us know in the comments below.
Remember, if you miss an episode, you could watch Family Law online via TV Fanatic.
Family Law airs at 8/7c on Sundays on The CW.
Laura Nowak is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.
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