Diksha Sundriyal
Twists and turns abound in the third season of Netflix’s ‘The Lincoln Lawyer,’ as Mickey Haller dives into the investigation into the murder of Gloria Dayton, aka Glory Days. The second season ends with the discovery of her murder after Mickey receives a call for help from Julian La Cosse, who has been accused of the crime. Pretty soon, it becomes clear that Julian didn’t kill Gloria, but the only way to prove that is to find out who actually did it. Every turn of the investigation leads Mickey to some very dangerous people who are ready to do whatever it takes to keep their secrets from coming to light. SPOILERS AHEAD
Who Killed Glory Days?
In the second season, Gloria asked for Mickey’s help when she was arrested for a drug charge. Mickey finds a way to get her out of jail by having her testify against a cartel boss called Hector Moya. In return, the prosecution drops the charges, allowing her to go free. Gloria promises Mickey that she is going to Hawaii to her mother and even sends a postcard. However, when she turns up dead, it becomes clear that she never left California. In fact, as opposed to her promise, she went back to being an escort. Moreover, Mickey discovers that the deal regarding Hector Moya had been in the works even before he got on the case.
Working as an escort put Gloria in the circle of bad people, including Hector Moya. DEA agent James DeMarco wanted to bring him down and was ready to do whatever it took. He didn’t do it out of the goodness of his heart but because he was paid by the other cartel, who wanted Hector Moya and his faction gone to establish their supremacy. So far, Hector Moya had managed to stay away from prison, so DeMarco approached Gloria to work for him. He gave her a gun that she planted in Hector Moya’s apartment. Following this, a drug bust happened, Moya was arrested, and the presence of a gun in his place made it easy for the prosecution to send him to prison for good. In prison, Moya met Sly Funaro Sr, a former lawyer who studied his case and found that the gun thing could actually help Moya. Sly got his son to represent Moya and made him send a subpoena to Gloria. When she got the subpoena, she got scared and called DeMarco.
Gloria was scared because the subpoena meant that she would be questioned about the gun, and if her lie was caught, she would not only face prison time for perjury but she would also be targeted by Moya, who would want revenge for setting him up. But she didn’t realize how far DeMarco was ready to go to protect himself. When he realized that Gloria’s testimony could land him in trouble and get Moya out of prison, he decided to do away with her. On the night of her murder, Julian did come to see Gloria and had an argument with her, but she was still alive when he left. Meanwhile, DeMarco tracked her down with Neil Bishop’s help. He used the back entrance to avoid the cameras in the front, entered Gloria’s apartment, killed her, and slipped away, leaving Julian as the only suspect.
What Happens to Julian? Is He Found Guilty or Not Guilty?
Considering that he was the only person who visited Gloria shortly before her murder, it made sense for the cops to find him as the guilty party. He was seen entering and leaving her apartment on camera; he admitted to having an argument with Gloria, in which they also had a minor physical altercation. The cops didn’t find any evidence to prove that someone else came to see Gloria after Julian left, which put the guy in quite a pickle. If it weren’t for Mickey Haller, Julian would be as good as dead. However, Mickey’s dedication to get justice for Gloria trumps everything else and he ends up discovering the connection between Neil Bishop and James DeMarco.
Through Trina Trix, Mickey discovers that Gloria has been working as an informant for DeMarco. He also discovers that DeMarco is corrupt and wants to keep his connection with Gloria a secret. He also has a connection with Neil Bishop, which goes back ten years. To make DeMarco relevant to Julian’s trial, Mickey finds a way to get him and Bishop together. He uses the ten-year-old case to lay a trap, which ends with Bishop and DeMarco breaking into a potential witness’s house and planting evidence to render him useless to the trial. They don’t know that they are caught on tape. When Mickey shows the tape to Bishop, he decides to come clean about the whole thing.
On the stand, Bishop reveals everything, from his connection to DeMarco to how DeMarco went into Gloria’s apartment the night she died. His testimony proves beyond doubt that DeMarco is the one who killed Gloria. Unfortunately, Bishop kills himself shortly after his testimony. Following this fiasco, the prosecution decides to drop all charges against Julian, which means he is free to go. This comes as a great relief to him because not only had the past few months of his life been hell, but he also almost died in prison when DeMarco had him stabbed by another prisoner.
Mickey takes things a step further by planning to sue the state on Julian’s behalf. He knew that for the injustice done to him, the prosecution would offer a sum in restitution, but it would be meager. Emboldened by winning the case and angry about being wrongfully incarcerated for months, Julian, through Mickey, asks for a higher amount. At first, it seems that the prosecution is ready to go to court for it, but then, they settle and decide to pay Julian quite a lot of money. This money is enough for him and his partner to start their life anew somewhere else, and it is also enough for him to pay enough to Mickey’s firm, such that they all get bonuses following the win. In the end, it all rounds up pretty well for everyone.
Is James DeMarco Caught? Does He Die?
By the end of Julian La Cosse’s trial, it is clear, beyond doubt, that James DeMarco abused his position as a DEA agent to fulfill his own agenda while helping a drug cartel get rid of its competition. He tries to do everything in his power to keep the truth from coming out. He threatens and almost kills Mickey; he has Julian attacked and almost killed in prison. He tries to tamper with the witness that he thinks might connect him to the case, even though it later turns out to be a decoy. Still, the truth comes to light in the end, and the evidence is so overwhelming against him that DeMarco has no choice but to run.
On the day Neil Bishop takes to the stand, DeMarco has one of his men in the courtroom to keep him updated on the situation. The moment he is told that Bishop is spilling all the beans, DeMarco knows he is done for. Mickey had expected this, which is why he told Cisco to keep an eye on DeMarco. Still, the DEA agent manages to escape Cisco and is in the wind. The prosecution dismisses the charges against Julian, but this also means that Gloria’s murder case is still open. While the authorities are on the lookout for DeMarco, Mickey has little faith that he will be caught, especially since his arrest and the revelation of his crimes would put the integrity of the DEA into question. While the system doesn’t seem so keen on bringing DeMarco to justice, Hector Moya has other plans.
It was due to DeMarco that Moya went to prison. Moreover, the DEA agent had been working with the enemy, so Moya couldn’t simply let him go. He puts his men on the job, and eventually, in a few months, they find DeMarco. They execute him, leaving his body in a place where everyone gets a good look at him. They also leave a snake around his neck to indicate that it’s their handiwork. Not only this, Moya also has a picture taken of his dead body and sends it to Mickey’s office, giving him closure about the fact that Gloria’s death has been avenged and justice has been served, though not in the way Mickey would’ve liked.
What Happens to Hector Moya? How Does He Get Out of Prison?
At the beginning of this season, Hector Moya is found in prison. He was arrested in the second season, owing to the gun Gloria was told to plant on him, along with the testimony she gave against him. While he may have committed most of the crimes he was accused of; Moya knew that the gun thing was not his fault. It also happened to be the very thing that got him the life sentence, so he tried to find a way around it. It is clear to him that Gloria had something to do with the gun, and he tells as much to his lawyer, who subpoenas Gloria, which eventually leads to her death.
In solving Gloria’s murder, Mickey discovers a connection with Hector’s case. The lawyer wants to get Julian out of prison, but this means that he will have to make a deal with the devil. In return for his help, Mickey offers to be Moya’s co-counsel. When the whole truth about Gloria’s situation comes to light, DeMarco loses his power and goes on the run. This leaves people like Trina free to testify against him at Moya’s trial, which leads to the gun charges getting dropped, which means that Moya’s sentence is rendered null and void, and he is a free man. This is why, a couple of months after Julian’s trial, we see Moya out and about in the world. Not only is he free now, but he has also avenged himself and Gloria by killing DeMarco, the evidence of which he promptly sends to Mickey’s office. His freedom also means that this might not be the last time we see her. After all, Micky did help him with the case. Considering how the season ends, Mickey might need his help the next time around.
Why is Mickey Arrested?
Trouble is never far from Mickey Haller, and the point is proven in the final scene of the show’s third season. After proving Julian’s innocence and getting him a lucrative restitution amount, Mickey decides to take a break. He’d previously considered retirement but decided against it following an encouraging conversation with his daughter, Hayley. Still, he needs a vacation and expresses his desire for it to his team. He basically leaves everything in Lorna’s capable hands and walks out of a celebratory dinner in a great mood. But then, he is stopped by a cop. At first, the issue seems to be the lack of license plates, but then the cop notices blood coming out of the car.
When the trunk is opened, a dead body is found, which shocks the cop just as much as it shocks Mickey. Of course, Mickey is innocent, and he has no idea how the dead body got in his car’s trunk. However, he does know the victim. It is Sam Scales, aka Daniel Varela. The character made brief appearances in the previous seasons, making him an easy-to-dismiss character. In the third season, however, he is given more screen time. Considering that his case has nothing to do with Julian’s, one wonders why he is being focused on so much. However, all doubts are cleared away when he appears as the central plot point for the next season.
For now, all we know about Sam Scales is that he mainly deals in scams. He has been known to indulge in credit card fraud, among other things. In the third season, he is represented by Lorna, who helps him with the charges against him following a scam of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Apparently, he raised money in the name of a charity but then kept about two-thirds of that money for himself. Still, Lorna finds a way to help him, and neither she nor Mickey want anything to do with him anymore. But then, he turns up dead in Mickey’s car, which means that the next season will shed more light on Sam and his life and crimes. The final scene shows that the next season is set to adapt the sixth novel in the ‘The Lincoln Lawyer’ book series.
Titled ‘The Law of Innocence,’ this succeeds ‘The Gods of Guilt,’ which served as the source material for the third season of the show. So far, the show seems to be going with the books in their original order (except for the skipping of the second book in the series). ‘The Law of Innocence’ focuses on the investigation into the murder of Sam Scales, with Mickey representing himself from behind bars. It turns out that Sam got himself into a deadly situation by conning an organized criminal gang in LA. The scam in question also has the FBI involved, which makes things even more intriguing, to say the least. Haller and his team find themselves wading into dangerous waters, but the only way out is through, and this involves dealing with the criminals as well as the FBI. The stakes couldn’t have been any higher!
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