TVSquad

(S01E10) Instead of a friend or former associate of Stark's, it's a friend of Jessica's that is involved in a crime this time. The "mother" of title is played by Jamie Gertz who does a good job, playing a mother with more than her share of secrets. The crime has Stark a bit miffed at first, as he doesn't feel it has enough of a high profile angle for his elite prosecutorial unit.

On the home front, Stark is dealing with Julie's recent overnight stay with her boyfriend, Eddie. Or not dealing with actually, and giving his daughter what she calls "the whole passive aggressive treatment."

Stark eventually bans Jules from ever seeing her boyfriend again. Yeah, like he can enforce that. He's still new to fatherhood, and his edict shows it. His relationship with Jules ends on a rockier note, than usual.

But, back to the A story: Stark and Jessica soon become at odds, since Stark is trying to prove a case. He sees the defendant differently than her old friend Jess does. The Jamie Gertz character's mysterious past come as a shock to Jessica, who has already exposed herself in yet another potential conflict of interest. Nothing ever seems to go her way, does it? Jess does get a couple good one liners off at Stark though, so her week isn't a total loss. "Justice isn't perfect" as Stark says.

I liked the judge this week. He's one of those "not in my court, son" type of judges made popular by David E. Kelly's legal dramas, and he got under Stark's skin, which made for some enjoyable James Woods scene chewing. I hope he returns.

It seems more and more that the two male associate lawyers are being pushed into the background. There were multiple scenes with Stark tossing off theories and doling out tasks flanked by Madeleine (Sarah Carter) and Raina (Sophina Brown). That's fine with me. Now that Henry Simmons is a series regular, boy-lawyers Martin and Casey seem superfluous. I think Raina is my new favorite team member. The first few weeks her character came off defense and rigid at times. I'm sure this was intentional, as Raina seems to get more relaxed and confident the more real-world case experience she gains.

In broad terms, Raina strikes me as the character learning the good lessons that Stark has to teach: knowing the case, knowing the law, and looking beneath the surface, for instance. On the other hand, I suspect Madeleine (not so much this week, but based on past behavior) has more affinity for the darker side of Stark's personality: flash, arrogance, and a predilection for line-crossing. Both Raina and Madeleine are smart and sexy though, which is why their scenes have me searching my remote in vain for the "more like this" button.