Family Feud
Episode 2 of Reasonable Doubt starts with news breaking of Kaleesha’s death. The police are investigating this as a homicide. Detectives show up and find out that Kaleesha and Ryan Moore (her partner) were separated but seemingly on the cusp of getting back together. When Rich rings and lets Brayden know, he seems taken aback by the news and genuinely shocked. Jax and Rich are on the way over to help him prep for what’s to come, warning that when police get involved they may well begin questioning the nature of their relationship, including his affair. The detectives show up first and immediately pry, asking questions about Kaleesha until Jax saves the day, pointing out their shoddy police work. Jax shrugs off Miller though, pointing out that he’s Rich’s client and not hers. However, Jax receives a call from Daniel, her private detective, telling her that the police have found a receipt in Kaleesha’s house from a restaurant Brayden and her ate at. This means Brayden was at Kaleesha’s house that night, implicating him in the murder. Jax returns to Rich, who points out he received a call from Miller that night. He was on his way over to visit Kaleesha and get her to sign the NDA. And she did! The details here are hazy but it would appear that Miller has no motive to kill, especially if he actually got this signed. Unless he did so forcibly and decided to kill her afterwards to keep her mouth shut, of course. Rich asks Jax for help, but she believes Miller is only using her as a “token black attorney” on the case. Rich is quick to point out that’s not the case and that Jax is actually good at her job, especially as a criminal defence attorney. Jax scoffs at this though, pointing out that she only takes on cases she wants to do. After breaking attorney-client privilege with her friends, Jax heads to church with Lewis and the kids. Damon happens to be there though and it completely catches her off-guard. When Jax confronts him about it, he agrees to find another church to attend in the future. However, Lewis and Jax go on a date, despite being separated and apparently having a lot of problems, but acting like everything is fine. The kids aren’t stupid though and know there’s something up between them, contemplating whether they’re going to get divorced or not. Now, it turns out Jax actually cheated on Lewis in the past, which could explain their issues – especially if Damon is involved – but when things get hot and heavy between the pair, with Lewis telling Jax to turn around and face the camera when they’re getting intimate, she gets the hump. Lewis wants to just talk without going to couple’s therapy but Jax is having none of it and eventually walks away. The next day at work, Jax believes there’s more to this Kaleesha story and is excited by the prospect of getting stuck in. She decides to take on the case but not before a trip to the coffee shop with Damon. Together, they berate the barista for not understanding “black coffee with milk”. I’m not sure about you guys but a black coffee with milk is basically a white coffee right? Why not just ask for that? Anyway, Jax shrugs it off claiming the barista “knew what Damon meant.” The next scene they’re at the beach without their drinks. I’m guessing they drank them before leaving but Damon has actually brought her there because it has been a dream of his for a while now. Damon admits that he confessed so he could be released and try to live his life. As for Jax, this case actually broke her and stopped her wanting to be a Public defender. This chat gives Jax the motivation to confront Brayden head on. She rings him and demands to know the truth – did he rape Kaleesha? He tells her he didn’t and his conviction sees Jax decide to take him on as a client. Rich has already arranged for a meeting with the police though, which Jax isn’t happy about. She believes they need to prep him before talking and she scrambles to try and find him. He’s late to the meeting. Brayden is actually down on the basketball court, shooting hoops. It’s very clear that he had feelings for Kaleesha, and he admits as much after confessing they had sex together the night she signed the NDA. The pair head to the police station together, where Jax announces on TV that she’s representing Brayden, Fallon watches at home, seething with anger. “That bitch.”
The Episode Review
Reasonable Doubt’s second episode is a mild improvement over the first but there’s still not enough here to get excited about. There have been a myriad of different law dramas released this year and based on everything we’ve seen across these two episodes, Hulu’s latest falls in the realm of “underwhelming mediocrity.” Jax’s flaws are more evident this time around and it’s clear that there’s some serious issues in her past that she needs to iron out and tackle before she can even think about moving forward with her life. The situation with Lewis back home is very hot/cold and it’s hard to know what to make of this, especially as it’s negatively affecting the kids. One minute she wants the kids, the next she’s palming them off to Lewis or her mum. No wonder Lewis is frustrated! It would appear that Kaleesha’s murder is going to be the driving force for the majority of the season moving forward and I can’t help but feel that Ryan Moore is the culprit. If Kaleesha and Brayden had sex that night, Ryan could have seen them together and snapped, accidentally killing Kaleesha in the process. It’s a brief moment but he claims they were “separated but getting back together.” If that’s the case, then why did Kaleesha have sex with Brayden? Unless Brayden is lying of course! Either way though, the ending to this episode definitely leaves the door open for a dramatic chapter to follow next week; let’s hope this one steps up a gear.
