S1E17 "Name Game"
The episode begins by introducing us to a school teacher who lost her entire savings in a scam. Bull and his team investigate, and they discover that many people have been scammed. The episode makes some interesting choices in how Bull tells the clients what happened, almost seeming like it was attempting to be satirical. But it wasn't, the show was attempting to be completely serious. In court, Bull and Benny annoy the judge, and Bull ends up getting kicked out of the courtroom. In a scene where the team talks about investments, the camera cares more about the Surfaces that they are using. To figure out which client they should use on the stand, Bull sets up a competition between the members of his team, which he uses as a moment to teach the team something basic.
The trial begins, but the witness doesn't show. So, Benny has to stall. It is quite ridiculous when Benny is unsure of how to stall, and Bull gives him ideas. Shouldn't Benny, a lawyer, know how to stall? Benny decides instead to put the school teacher on the stand, even though Bull says not to, and it turns out she has been conned before. In a moment seen coming a mile away, she kisses Benny when they are talking after her testifying doesn't go well. In the meantime, Bull easily tracks down the witness, no explanation to how he did that so easily is given, and brings her to court.
The witness that a big deal was made out of testifies, and helps out with her mention of the "suckers list". The CEO is brought to the stand, but Benny goes out of control, making the situation worse. And, he is asked to sit down after multiple objections are sustained. Bull convinces the once reluctant witness to help him out, proving to a juror that not only suckers get conned. However, the judge enters the coffee shop that the con was staged in at a very inconvenient time. Even if the con was interrupted, Benny and Bull decide that they can still use it to turn the juror. Marissa reveals that the they spent a lot of money on this case, but the timing of the reveal of these stakes is way too late. The clients win, and the episode ends with Benny and the teacher kissing.
This episode had many unbelievable moments, especially with Benny. The show made him seem like worse of a lawyer than he has shown he is in past episodes. The start of the episode made me care about this teacher, but as the episode went on I cared less and less about the outcome of the case. Everything also seemed very surface-level, there was no real game-changer.
Score: 2.5/10
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