Summer sleuthing: The Firm season 1, episode 8 rewatch

Watch NBC’s The Firm season 1, episode 8 starring Josh Lucas.

With TV crime dramas winding down their seasons, what should genre fans watch over the summer? In our Summer Sleuthing series we’re going back to old favorites, starting with one you probably missed the first time: NBC‘s The Firm.

The Firm was largely ignored when it premiered in 2012. It was a follow-up to the John Grisham movie of the same name, with Josh Lucas assuming the role of lawyer Mitch McDeere. But it was not a lawyer show; it was a crime thriller with strong performances and a few plot twists.

Every week we’ll revisit an episode from The Firm‘s first (and only) season. You can rewatch the entire series on Tubi. This week, we open the book on Episode 8.

The Firm season 1, episode 8: “Chapter Eight” (originally aired Feb. 25, 2012)

Eight episodes in, The Firm is picking up steam. That’s what happens when you throw your main character in jail as the prime suspect in a murder.

But of course, Mitch McDeere had to get out from behind bars or this would have been a very slow rest of the season, so this episode is all about what happens after he’s been accused and what exactly Martin Moxon was trying to communicate when he handed Mitch that coded list.

Keep in mind, this is a network TV series, so we’re not even halfway through the season at this point. One of The Firm‘s downfalls may have been that 22-episode order, as it was slow to start and took its sweet time doling out clues along the way. “Chapter Eight” is one of those episodes.

It begins with Andrew Palmer (Shaun Majumder) getting Mitch out of lockup, and Mitch—still not aware of Andrew’s real loyalties—hoping Andrew might be a new resource. Instead, Andrew goes right to Alex Clark (recurring guest star Tricia Helfer), who decides Mitch needs to be thrown off the trail. She and Kevin Stack (Martin Donovan of Boss and Homeland) tell Mitch a story about a cocaine habit and embezzlement.

Most of this hour of The Firm involves Mitch trying to figure out who chased him and why, while trying not to worry (or get his wife further worried) about the situation. Can they find the mystery pursuers? What was on Martin Moxon’s secret list? Why won’t Mitch turn to his buddy Lewis in the Marshals Service? That last one is particularly frustrating, since his rationale for not involving the authorities starts with “I just do,” which is no kind of argument at all.

So much of “Chapter Eight” is laying pipe for the rest of the season, and what isn’t involves a case about bio-technology that is completely forgettable aside from the appearance of Kate Vernon (Battlestar Galactica). The best part is the episode-ending flash-forward, which jumps ahead five more weeks to reveal Andrew tipping Mitch off—giving him more character development than being Alex’s lackey and giving the audience a moment of genuine suspense. This is not a great episode on its own, but at least it goes somewhere.

Next. What happened in The Firm episode 7?. dark

The Firm is available to stream on Tubi, and is available to purchase on iTunes, Amazon Video and DVD.

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