NOTE: This article contains spoilers. Read at your own will.
In The Rainmaker Episode 204, “Numerosity,” Bruiser finds out the truth about Tom’s debt to Gator, and Amanda makes a bold play to destroy Rudy’s case.
And the chess move she makes is nothing if not calculated.
Rudy gathers the parents of the children who are locked up in the juvenile center to push a class-action lawsuit to not only help Victor but also the kids who could be victims of corruption.
But Rudy underestimates a father’s fear—one who convinces the other parents to stay with the status quo as he struggles to speak legalese to a crowd of emotionally charged parents.
He fails.
Miserably.
And behind the scenes is the source of Rudy’s meeting blowing up in his face:
Amanda Vonn.
There’s Nothing to Fear but Fear Itself
Amanda knows exactly where to strike, and she uses Megan as one method to wield her weapons.
She doesn’t go after Rudy.
Not directly.
Instead, Amanda plays on the fears of the parents who are vulnerable to any offers that would lead to the release of their own children.
For Amanda, it’s strategic.
For Rudy, it’s a lesson.
As Rudy stumbles through his speech to a room full of parents who are just now made aware of the potential unfair sentencing of their sons, one man’s cynicism takes the wind out of his sails.
The father then leaves the room in a panic and makes a call to Megan, who assures him that his actions in helping Amanda’s case will help close the deal he made with the firm to save his son.
Even if it comes at the expense of every other kid locked up.
This moment in The Rainmaker is one that highlights why Rudy is so beloved.
Though inexperienced, his passions and ambitions place him in a “we all win or we all lose” mindset. This could present a disadvantage—one that Amanda currently set her sights on—but for Rudy, it’s an opportunity to listen, learn, and bring along his intelligence to fortify his drive to save people.
A character trait that Dot reminds him of to win the parents back.
Not just because he’s smart but because he cares.
Rudy calls each parent to come to the office, including the father who he didn’t know was working against him.
And he shows up for each and every one of them and their children.
He acknowledges their children’s transgressions while also reminding them that the punishments imposed by Judge Halloran were grossly disproportionate to their offenses.
He wins their trust, and he prepares for a fight.
The Devil Wears Chanel
“The devil doesn’t come with horns. He, or she, arrives in a fancy suit.”
Amanda pulls Sarah a little closer to her orbit now that she’s aware that she’s being investigated.
And Sarah is playing a dangerous game.
After everything that occurred with Drummond, plus under the threat of facing an indictment, she’s stuck between a rock and a hard place.
This time, however, she’s ready.
Although she’s taking the risk of going up against a Titan like Amanda without all of the information she’s being investigated for with Harrowsgate, she’s at least not blindsided this time by her positioning.
This time, getting close isn’t just about becoming a good lawyer.
It’s about something much bigger than herself, for once.
Sarah meets with Amanda at a club—one that, until now, only one woman has stepped foot in—and offers a little more information to Amanda in order to gain her trust.
But Amanda isn’t a fool.
In a stunning display of power, Amanda sits.
Sarah strips.
And she looks on dispassionately, unamused, and unruffled.
“How much trouble are you in?”
After showing Amanda that she wasn’t wearing a wire, Amanda offers vital information about the Harrowsgate case…
And second chair.
In four episodes, the power dynamics between Sarah and Amanda have been a visual seesaw—playing on who sits, who stands, and who appears to have the upper hand.
And for the first time, Sarah may have enough leverage to actually play the game, but whether it’s enough to balance the scales within their relationship rests with every move she makes from here on out.
Amanda grants Sarah a bit of power, a decision that increases the stakes within their relationship.
However, Sarah is working to strike Amanda when she least expects it while fighting to regain control over her career.
But is Amanda truly vulnerable?
(In)Effective Assistance of Counsel
Bruiser continues to gather more information on Tom’s case—a gambling ring that has now become the path to getting Gator behind bars after Tom was caught lying to a grand jury about his involvement.
But a new involvement is now under scrutiny.
One that benefits Bruiser…
Or is it Jocelyn now?
Jocelyn sits in with Boone during a hearing to determine if he’s involved with fixing games for monetary gain.
But in this room is a heat that’s brewing between the two of them that is not a part of her job description nor legal strategy.
The heat dissipates momentarily when Officer Quinn reads text messages, presumably between Tom and Lynette, that suggests Tom was more involved than he let on.
A message that even Bruiser didn’t know about.
Through visible pain, Boone quickly covered for Tom, stating the context of pulling him out of the game was about him getting tired on the mound—a coach’s decision to keep him rested and at his best.
It’s a small reprieve for Quinn but a punch to the face for Tom when Boone confronts him.
And Bruiser does nothing to shield Tom from Boone’s anger because she too was blindsided.
Not just from the text, but because she knows the context around the messages between Lynette and Tom is more sinister than they appear.
Tom is lying about something, and she knows it, but right now her focus is on Boone.
And Boone’s focus is on Jocelyn.
Bruiser goes to check on Boone and tells him she lied to grant him plausible deniability so he wouldn’t perjure himself on the stand.
He allows her to come into the room where he’s plunged, naked, in an ice bath.
But the temperature is far from cold between the two.
“Isn’t there supposed to be shrinkage?”
Bruiser’s deer-in-the-headlights look, alongside her comedic delivery, becomes one of the hottest moments in the series.
And, honestly, it’s about time she got hers.
The relationship development between Boone and Bruiser becomes the comedic hinge of Episode 4, especially because Deck is in her business deeper than a thong.
Storming over to her house, Deck finds Bruiser in her underwear, sees a baseball hat hanging in the hall, and begins to scold her about giving in to Tom “after everything he put us through.”
Just as Bruiser is about to kick him out, Tom arrives, and the expressions on Deck and Bruiser’s faces are priceless.
As Tom walks in, Deck quickly puts two and two together.
But so does Tom.
“Why do you smell like Dr. Squatch?”
Deck informs her of the legal implications of sleeping with her client, but she tells him Boone fired her…
“During.”
While Deck fights for his life at the barrage of information he’s uncovering before his morning coffee, “Numerosity” breathes life into their friendship.
At the start of Season 2, it is clear that Deck was around for Bruiser’s divorce, but his statement about what Tom put “us” through lets us know that he wasn’t just there.
He helped her pick up the pieces Tom left behind when he cheated.
And their banter in her hallway, the freedom in which she tells Deck that Boone fired her during their tryst, opens Deck up to be integral to the story—not just for Rudy’s growth but for Bruiser’s vulnerability.
His friendship is paramount.
But before they can gossip, Bruiser confronts Tom about being in her house in the first place, and he breaks down about all he’s done for Lynette and all he’s given up to protect her.
In his rant, Bruiser realizes the secret he’s been keeping this whole time.
It’s not him who’s in debt to Gator.
It’s his wife.
And if she divorces Tom, he can testify against her.
Bruiser reminds her of as much when she confronts her at work and promises to bury her if she doesn’t comply.
But Lynette won’t go down without a fight.
And it just might cost Tom and Bruiser their lives.
Let the Games Begin
“Not only is your ex going to lose this hearing, he’s going to lose his law license.”
Rudy and Amanda finally come face to face in the courtroom.
And Rudy walks right into the traps she laid since the start of the episode, traps that Sarah tries to warn him about, but her betrayal keeps him from trusting her ever again.
One of those traps was laid by Sarah—she found out Rudy got Victor to procure the list of parents for his class action suit.
Numerosity.
When Amanda bites, she bites slowly—taking her time to get her fill of whomever has the displeasure of being her current meal.
As Rudy presents the list of class action names in the court, Amanda smiles.
Sarah bows her head in shame, taking pity on the man who has no idea what’s coming.
And Amanda strikes.
This forces the sitting judge to call Victor to the stand to tell the whole truth.
But he lies to protect Rudy.
And Rudy ignores every warning from the judge to tell her that he cannot allow Victor to lie for him.
With his law license on the line, he forges on anyway until the show gives power to the person whose freedom is on the line.
“I NEED YOU!”
Victor’s cry for help moves everyone, including Judge Randolph.
She scolds Rudy’s conduct inside her courtroom, appropriately, then goes out on a leap of faith for him—a decision that gives Amanda whiplash.
Judge Randolph throws out the original list, but she grants Rudy one week to procure new parents.
Ethically, this time.
If he succeeds, she’ll allow him to include the original list alongside the new names, giving Rudy the numbers he needs to establish numerosity.
After the hearing, Sarah goes to report that everything is above board with Amanda and at her firm.
Given her reaction to what happened in the courtroom, one must wonder what game Sarah is playing.
Is she up to her old ways, or did she slide a chess piece across the board that no one, not even Amanda, discovered?
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The Jury Selection
Kivonshe—founder of So There’s That—is a film & TV critic who explores compelling storytelling, fandom relationships, character psychology, and the impact of entertainment media through film reviews, episodic recaps, and in-depth theme analysis.
© Kivonshe | So There’s That
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