Your Honor Season 2 Episode 1 Review: Chapter Eleven

This thrilling story felt concluded, and making a second season could have been a selfish attempt at milking the success the freshman season enjoyed.

Your Honor Season 2 Episode 1 proves that there’s more to be said, and the second season might have been a good decision.

After his son’s death on Your Honor Season 1 Episode 10, Michael Desiato is barely living while the rest of the world around him is going to hell. A power struggle develops between The Baxters and Big Mo while Charlie’s campaign takes a hit.

The US government found someone ambitious when the threat out of New Orleans kept escalating, with innocent people getting caught up in the mess.

Losing a child is painful, and one can’t sympathize enough with parents in this unfortunate position. The pain is worse in Michael’s case because he blames himself. Adam might be alive if he had not tried to cover up the accident.

He feels alone and hopeless without his career and his son.

Michael had dedicated his life to ensuring justice was served to everybody, even when justice systems are prone to corruption. Being a judge and a father was his whole world; having neither, he’d prefer death.

Why can’t you people just let me die in peace?

Michael

Dying was something he worked hard to achieve. A hunger strike is a painful and slow way to die, but the pain he felt after Adam’s death eclipsed the physical pain he was suffering. Doctors are not in the business of letting people die, not when they can intervene.

His dedication to dying might have been admirable if it was a virtue. He was looking for the surest way to die, and the rodeo was a perfect opportunity. One could almost hear him begging the bull to pick him.

The rodeo was weird to watch happen because how is that legal? It appeared terrible to allow prisoners to sign up, more so Michael, who was pretty much trying to kill himself.

Whatever was going on in his head was anyone’s guess, but it must not be good in there.

The outside world was as expected. The Baxters believed Eugene’s actions were a direct attack on them.

It doesn’t matter how we got here, but Eugene’s actions felt justified. Carlo beat his brother to a pulp, killing him. Jimmy blew up his house with his family in there.

If anyone was innocent in this ordeal, it must have been Eugene.

But there were even more innocent people suffering. The first victim was Adam. Whatever your feelings about what Adam did to Rocco, you can admit that it was an accident, and later on, he was affected by it. It suggested that he wasn’t a bad person.

He didn’t deserve to die the way he did.

Fia had never thought much about the consequences of her family’s lifestyle. She had heard the stories but always thought she would be safe if she avoided the family business.

It felt unfair to her that Adam died because of her family. It is also fair to assume that she is furious. She had just fallen in love. To have him ripped from her hand like that? Even when she and Jimmy talked, you could detect a little anger at her mother.

Fia: Why did this happen?
Jimmy: It’s a senseless act of violence.
Fia: Was it? I know violence is a part of this family. Carlo killed someone. Mom, her family… I know what people think about them. I-I’ve heard the stories. They can’t all be lies.

She went through a pregnancy alone and grieving. Left alone with her thoughts, she must have developed a hatred for her family. Her life was unimaginable.

We haven’t seen the last showdown between Big Mo and The Baxters. All the moves both families made served to maintain temporary peace. Gina, always in her son’s ear, has him by the strings, controlling him like a puppet.

Gina and Carlo are on one side, pressuring Jimmy to take action. That could divide the family.

Gina played the role of a grieving mother well after Rocco’s death, but now she was out for blood. There were strong indicators that she had always been at the wheel driving this Baxter car, not Jimmy.

Gina: Is there any word on the boy?
Jimmy: No, not yet.
Gina: Where’s your sense of urgency?

A rift might also develop between the two Mos over Eugene. Eventually, Big Mo will learn of Little Mo’s betrayal, and she doesn’t take kindly to being crossed.

Eugene is young, and with youth comes recklessness. He will return; count on all hell breaking loose when he does.

We all aspire to have a friendship like the one Michael and Charlie share. It could have been easy to dismiss their relationship as transactional because that is what many political friendships are, but this might be the real thing.

It is rare to find a politician who will take a hit in the polls over someone.

We have already established that Michael couldn’t care less about his life, but when Charlie’s life came into the mix, he stepped up. He might have realized that there still are people who need him, and oh boy, is he in for a surprise.

I am here for this brotherhood.

The biggest twist was that Fia has an infant child. It doesn’t take a genius to put it together and conclude that Adam is the father.

Hell would freeze over before Michael allowed his grandson to be raised in the Baxter way of life. Fia is also not on board with the life as she kept reaching out to Michael. This development is what might give him enough purpose to live.

Adam’s child is what Michael needs to embed himself into the Baxter family. It would have been tough for him to find acceptance any other way. They are not the most welcoming people.

The remainder of Your Honor Season 2 is bound to be messy with the potential rifts that might develop between the characters, a new unconventional AUSA, and a looming war.

Big Mo: Hey, yo, we here. Where you?
Little Mo: We got a problem.
Big Mo: You got to be fucking shitting me. I’m-a deal with you later.

The crime war could also turn into a race war because the players on both sides are of different racial backgrounds. And this being America, everything has to do with race even when it doesn’t.

The show saw additions to the cast, and everyone is excellent in their roles. Bryan Cranston always knocks it out of the park. We haven’t gotten a substantial scene with Rosie Perez to sink her teeth into yet, but I’m confident she will deliver.

With a strong narrative set, plot twists, and a non-linear mode of events, the Your Honor we all love is back.

This was a great episode that hit the ground running without feeling as if there was a rush to get somewhere. I hope we see what happened with Fia and Michael in the year after Adam’s death, as it was the most unforgettable moment in their lives.

So, Your Honor Fanatics, what did you think of this premiere? Should they have kept this a limited series as originally planned?

Are there any expectations you had that weren’t met?

Do you have some expectations for what’s to come?

We always love hearing your thoughts, so hit the comments section and let us know what you think.

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Denis Kimathi is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. He has watched more dramas and comedies than he cares to remember. Catch him on social media obsessing over [excellent] past, current, and upcoming shows or going off about the politics of representation on TV. Follow him on Twitter.

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