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The Deep End, Part II

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The second episode of The Deep End aired last night and whereas the premiere was so bad it was good, this week’s installment was merely mundane.

After watching the last week’s episode, I’d expected that the show might turn into a drinking game, in which after each legal error that a seven year-old could spot one took a shot (though one would probably have died of alcohol poisoning by the first commercial break). However, this week simply built on last week’s ridiculous assumptions and failed to add further hilarity.

New associates are still arguing in court, making out with each other in the firm during business hours, walking around looking harried and yet not really doing anything, and, of course, procuring justice for incredibly complex legal matters in the course of one day. But whereas last week learning of this silliness was somewhat funny, this week we already knew the joke and began to get bored.

Our favorite first-week associates are still doing an amazing amount of business development, this time with Addy landing a client who claimed he wanted assistance incorporating his business. Sadly, it turned out to be a medicinal marijuana depot that shipped the Sterling law firm a large box of their product, only to have the Feds raid the law firm and discover the contraband. But don’t worry. When they threatened to shut down the business, Hart Sterling, the senior partner, “saved the firm” by claiming it was his and was taken away in handcuffs. Right…

It’s not just that is doesn’t really happen that way, as much as it’s just entirely trumped up drama. It doesn’t even seem minimally plausible to a lay person that being unwittingly shipped a box of marijuana by misrepresenting clients could lead to such a circus.

The only jarring part of last night’s episode for me was that they cut to shots of downtown LA’s Stanley Mosk courthouse. From the outside it was the familiar courthouse, but from the inside it was a clean, modern building with potted plants lining the halls. If you want to know how far The Deep End is from the actual practice of law, you should review its depiction of the courthouse interior and then (if you’re lucky enough to be in LA) go down to the actual 110 N. Hill Street and take a stroll through its halls. Suffice it to say, it’s a place no one’s unhappy to leave and couldn’t be further from the TV depiction.

I won’t darken your day rehearsing the utterly ridiculous resolution to the pot saga, but rest assured that all’s well that ends well. Nevertheless, given its lackluster ratings, one expects The Deep End might be close to its own end. And that would be well enough for many of us.

Article by Trent Teti of Blueprint LSAT Preparation