by Frederic Germay
We had two wait an extra week, but it is finally here -- drumroll, please -- the season finale. While this isn't the most anticipated season finale of the season, the show certainly delivered the goods on Tuesday night to whoever was watching. Boston Legal is one of the most underrated, critically acclaimed, and under-promoted shows on the small screen, and hopefully this Emmy-award winning dramedy will charm some new viewers next season, and ABC will finally give this brilliant show some attention.
In this episode, Denny and Alan defended two brothers accused of killing their father, and unfortunately, an overwhelming amount of evidence points towards them being guilty. On top of that, Denny's insecurities that surfaced in last week's episode were brought into play again during this court case. I still can't believe the judge requested new council for one the boys based on her suspicions of Denny's incompetence. Alan was right -- that was uncalled for!
I don't know whether the verdict was correct or not, and after hearing testimony from the boy's therapist (Prison Break's Geary!), I thought the kids really might've been involved in their father's demise. No matter what the case was, the boys have a really dedicated mother. The lengths she went to ensure their safety included starting an affair with the dentist, so that she would end up taking the blame! Despite creating a nearly plausible scenario, her scheme ended up being quite transparent to the prosecutor (24 Day 4's Marianne Taylor!).
Denny then proved that there is a reason why he is known as "Denny Crane," and constructed a brilliant plan which consisted of pitting the two brothers against each other, and Alan and him providing council for the corresponding boys. For one terrifying moment, I actually thought that Alan was mad at Denny, and that this would be the end of the Boston Legal's trademark balcony moments. It was needless worry. In the end, both Denny and Alan were able to prove that the boys couldn't be proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The even more entertaining subplot consisted of Jerry (who should be named a series regular by now), aided by Clarence, bringing a lawsuit up against a casino for taking money from a 'nice' woman. Despite my original perception that gambling is no one's fault but the gambler, I was led to revise my thoughts slightly by the excellent points Jerry brought up when he started threatening the casino representative. Casinos put pheromones in their rooms! What?!? I thought this plot was somewhat slow and uninteresting, until Jerry put the cigarette in his mouth. I especially loved the cowboy-esque music in the background, it was absolutely hilarious!!
Great season finale, although I actually thought that the preceding episode was a little better! I give this episode a 8/10
