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Original Air Date: April 10, 2008
I was looking forward to this episode beforehand because Married with Children mom Katey Sagal is a guest star. Then I started watching and got even more excited.
Why? Because Eli’s impossible client of the week is played by Sterling K. Brown, otherwise known as tortured demon hunter Gordon Walker on The CW’s Supernatural, military husband Roland Burton on Lifetime’s Army Wives, and bulimic cop Adam Williams on FX’s love-it or really-really-hate-it Starved. His presence makes this episode a huge standout because the guy can A-C-T.
Vision Number One
It’s Tuesday, October 16, 2018, according to the newspaper announcing the United States’ complete withdrawal from Iraq. Eli is standing in what looks like Times Square as a huge crowd repeatedly chants “Live Brave” as if they’re in awe of a rock star. The focus of their adoration seems to be DAVID MOSLEY (Brown), up on a podium.
Eli returns to reality then and a thoroughly sour CHEN, who notes dryly that the rock stars in Eli’s visions are usually “older, whiter, and more British,” before offering the obvious advice that Eli should find David Mosley. The acupuncturist is clearly peeved about Eli’s continuing dilemma over whether his visions are medical-related or divine.
Finding David Mosley
At the firm, Eli can’t get PATTI to compile a list of people with that name until he helps a chimpanzee named STEVE separated from his same-sex partner PETE by a group opposed to homosexual chimps.
Eli does just that when MATT DOWD asks for help improving his relationship with TAYLOR. He suggests Matt should persuade her to be co-counsel on the case to reunite the chimps since she’s big on animal rights, and unbelievably, Matt falls for it.
After Patti gives Eli the list, he discovers which David Mosley he’s looking for — the one that KEITH BENNETT represented during a felony murder trial ten years ago. Mosley ended up sentenced to 25 years to life. Eli, who has no criminal law experience, asks Keith to come with him to see David, but Keith isn’t interested.
Prison Breaks
At Tipton Bay State Correctional Facility, Eli learns David, who claims he’s innocent, should be up for parole but isn’t. He’s been living brave and protesting the prison’s overcrowding, and the warden is retaliating by repeatedly denying his request for a hearing.
This persuades Keith to assist Eli, and WARDEN BROWN (Guest Star Glenn Morshower) tells them he considers Mosley’s protests civil disobedience. Shortly after their visit, David calls, and they return to the prison to find him in the infirmary with broken ribs and a bloody face. Realizing the abuse spreads further than just David, the lawyers initiate a class action prisoners’ rights lawsuit on behalf of all the inmates.
Marci in Charge
Eli and Keith attempt to sort through the cases’ mountains of documents with the help of the firm’s cadre of associates. Partner MARCI KLEIN (Sagal), in town from London after a three-year absence, intervenes, however.
She believes the firm’s Fortune 500 clients are fleeing because of the California branch’s focus since Eli grew a conscience along with his aneurysm. Increased billable hours and Eli’s spectacular court record lately are insignificant in comparison. After Marci informs the associates their time on the case won’t count as working, only Maggie remains interested in helping.
Vision Number Two
Eli’s next vision returns him to Time Square, where David thanks Daryl Rhodes and Keith Bennett for changing his life, just before Eli spots Maggie in the distance holding a baby and standing next to him. The scene causes Eli to stop working with Maggie as much because he doesn’t want to be the reason she breaks up with her fiancé Scott from Ohio.
Brothers So Not in Arms
Eli and Maggie continue brainstorming ways to connect prisoner protests to infirmary stays, while Keith takes the prisoners’ depositions at Tipton Bay. This trip reveals that ten years ago, David could have gotten just five years if he had taken a deal and pled guilty, as Keith advised. David refused, however, because he wasn’t guilty, and an unconfirmed alibi helped seal his conviction.
David’s problems at the prison began almost immediately when his cellmate’s appendix burst and the prison took forever to treat it. When David complained, he was isolated with 25 white supremacists, which led to broken bones and other injuries. His cellmate died. This pattern repeated over the years with him and other prisoners who dared to protest inhumane treatment of inmates: speak up; get isolated with racist, violent inmates; go to the infirmary.
To the Rescue
Several prisoners confirm such harsh treatment during their depositions. Yet, the warden gets to them and they deny any abuse on the stand. All seems lost … until Eli remembers the name DARYL RHODES from his vision.
Maggie somehow convinces her fellow associates to pitch in, and they find Rhodes (Guest Star Ernie Grunwald), who was Warden Brown’s administrative assistant. He testifies that he quit his job because the inmates’ depositions are true. The warden always made him arrange the transfers, and he eventually couldn’t sleep at night. No paperwork exists to confirm the prisoners’ stories since everything was done verbally.
Tough Talk
That’s it. At the settlement meeting, Eli informs Warden Brown and his lawyer that in addition to granting David’s parole hearing and a multi-million dollar payout to improve prisoner conditions, the Department of Corrections must also accept Brown’s resignation and guarantee he will never work at another prison again. If Brown doesn’t resign, Eli will bring criminal charges against him, like, yesterday.
Unfortunately, Marci Klein swoops in again to ruin the day. Not only is she returning to the California branch, but after snidely congratulating Eli on his “moral victory,” she reveals the governor rejected David’s parole after it was approved by the board.
And What About the Chimps?
In court, Matt argues Chimpanzee Tort Protection, which claims civil rights should be extended to chimpanzees because they are so closely related to human beings emotionally, behaviorally, morally, and genetically. After Taylor gets permission to bring Pete into court, the judge is so overwhelmed by how cute and sweet and moving the chimp reunion is, she decides in the animals’ favor, fully realizing the legal community will mock her and the prosecution will succeed having her decision overturned on appeal.
After the ruling, the zoo agrees to release Pete and Steve to a habitat called Chimp Paradise. Matt gets lucky, too, when Taylor says she’ll go out with him if he can land dinner reservations the next weekend at an exclusive restaurant with a six-month waiting list.
Aftermath
David is upset about the governor denying his parole, of course, but he’s going to have patience (hence the episode’s title) because he’ll get another chance each year. Moreover, Keith volunteers to help make the wait much more useful and a lot less lonely by visiting regularly to be David’s “personal law school.”
The Vision of All Visions
Eli doesn’t take the defeat as well. Walking home alone after Maggie tries to cheer him up by acknowledging the good he did do, Eli suddenly returns to the future again. David is still up on that podium talking about living brave, faith and hope, justice and compassion, humanity and fairness, and “the man who reminded us that everyone of us, the least of us, is still divine.” Chen will be thrilled to learn a higher power is involved after all.
It turns out that David isn’t the main attraction; he’s just giving the introduction speech for the person the enthusiastic crowd is really there to see — his “very good friend” Eli, who kisses clearly proud Maggie and the baby before joining David on the podium while the crowd cheers wildly.
Nice! If Eli is actually a prophet, he has lots of love to look forward to. I’m all for that, although I still think Maggie is a mismatch for him.
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