Mortal Combat - Recap

Taylor and Eli meet with Sam Russell, former KNIB news anchor, telling him about the settlement agreement from Bay West. Sam isn’t interested given there’s a non-disclosure statement involved. Meanwhile, Maggie, Matt, and Paul Rollins, meet with Bay West and Maggie warns that Eli won’t advise Sam to settle. The Bay West CEO, Dan Buckley, insists he doesn’t have the time to take the stand and Paul points out that will make the company seem unsympathetic. Sam insists that he was fired for making a commercial sponsor appear unsympathetic, and he’s standing up for other anchors who have done the same thing.

As Eli bids Sam good night, he sees gladiators go marching by. He follows them and discovers them fighting in an arena. One gladiator wins but the other one manages to get up at the last minute and kill his opponent.

The next day, Eli asks Patti to check out his vision and she wonders why he doesn’t go to Frank. Eli says they’re not talking. Eli spots Taylor who wants to know what the status is of the Bay West memos that Maggie took. Eli tells her he’s filed a motion to force Maggie to turn over the memos. Eli asks Taylor for advice on his vision and she says that he should talk to Frank or Nate as well. Jordan comes in to get a muffin and things get uncomfortable between him and Taylor. Taylor makes a quick exit and Jordan tells Eli it’s just a little family matter and he should worry about Sam’s case. Eli asks Taylor who says her family is different. As they arrive at the courtroom, they run into Maggie and Matt. Maggie tells Eli not to lecture her on ethics. Matt insist the documents belong to his client and Taylor notices that he’s being careful around Paul., but they agree to meet for the sonogram check the next day.

Eli talks to Maggie and asks for answers, wondering why she’s withholding evidence. Maggie insists that she’s fighting for her client and will only show him the documents if the judge orders it. The judge refuses Eli’s motion to compel and Maggie insists there’s nothing that obliges her to show them because they’re privileged because they were copied to Bay West’s counsel and predate when Sam was fired. The judge agrees with Maggie, who moves to disqualify Eli on the grounds that he thinks he’s a prophet and claims it’s an unfair advantage. Eli agrees and then points out that they all have personal issues and Maggie’s motion might be based on personal issues. The judge doesn’t disqualify Eli but warns them all not to bring it up in court.

In court, Sam’s former news director Ryan Church talks of how he offered Sam a less competitive time slot due to a loss in ratings. Eli brings up the fact that Church killed a story Sam did on one of their advertisers, Zyre Motors, the day before Sam was demoted. Eli shows that they didn’t have reason to justify his story.

At the offices of Posner-Klein, Paul wants to send Maggie in because of how she went head-to-head with Eli. Taylor calls Matt to say their appointment has been rescheduled and Matt tells her that he can’t take the time off because of pressure from Paul. Taylor isn’t happy.

In court, Sam testifies about how the news has become profit oriented and that was the reason for his demotion. On cross-examination, Maggie notes that his popularity rating was decreasing, accounting for his demotion. Sam responds by noting that popularity ratings didn’t affect newscasters, but Maggie responds by noting that sponsor pressure did.

At the office, Eli admits that Maggie is much better for having been scorned by him. Jordan comes in and they’re forced to admit Sam’s testimony didn’t clinch the case. Eli notes that Jordan is keeping something secret, and gets him to admit that if they don’t win Sam’s case, and win big, they’ll all be unemployed.

Taylor wakes up to find Matt serving her breakfast in bed, despite he wasn’t there the night before. He apologizes for not being there and Taylor explains him in confidence that Wethersby-Stone needs the cash infusion achieved on by winning the case. Matt tells her that Posner-Klein is looking for a family lawyer but Taylor isn’t interested in working there.

In court, Buckley testifies that ratings have been improving since they fired Sam. On cross-exam, Taylor shows a tape of Sam’s successor, Kimberly Chavez, who has been doing puff pieces since. Buckley insists it’s standard procedure but is forced to admit she’s done no exposes on their corporate sponsors. Taylor also brings out that their owning company’s CEO was indicted for fraud and Buckley’s station didn’t run the piece.

As Eli and Taylor leaves and Eli congratulates Taylor on her success, he has another vision of a gladiator in modern-day Rome. The gladiator is busy ogling Maggie. As Eli goes after her, he trips and snaps back to reality. He explains to Taylor what he saw and how he couldn’t get to Maggie. He admits he shouldn’t have slept with Maggie and Taylor points out that he loves her. Eli denies it but Taylor insists it’s obvious to everyone. Eli is forced to agree and admits he’s been feeling alone. Taylor tells Eli to talk to her.

In court, Eli asks Maggie to talk but the judge arrives before they can say anything. Maggie calls Jesse Bates as their next witness. Eli objects but Maggie notes she was one of the John Doe witnesses they filed. Jesse is brought in under subpoena and is forced to testify that six months before the corporate piece, Church discussed with Sam that he might be moved to the earlier timeslot but Russell didn’t quit then. Later, Eli confronts Sam on the matter and warns that the jurors don’t care no matter what Sam believed was a discussion or a demotion. Sam warns that Eli is starting to sound like Bay West in his belief the jurors don’t care. He insists that they should treat the jurors as intelligent, but all Eli can say is that he and Taylor have a long night ahead of them. Jordan comes in to note it’s not a good idea to berate a client, but Taylor insists they don’t need his help when he offers. Once Jordan leaves, Eli wonders why she’s mad at her father and Taylor explains what happened. Eli tells her about what he learned of Frank’s involvement in his father’s death. Taylor admits it’s too late for things to happen and the window of opportunity has closed, and Eli gets an idea.

Eli goes to the judge and notes that the documents Maggie is protecting are affected by the six month timeline that Jesse testified to, and that they’re no longer predated before Sam’s firing since it was discussed six months earlier. The judge grants the motion. Eli and Taylor get back to the office only to discover there’s a truckload of notes. Taylor calls Matt, who defends what he did. She wonders if that’s how he does business, and Matt responds by wondering if some of her anger is father-related. She insists it is, but it relates to his suitability as a father.

Jordan and Patti help Eli go through the documents and Eli spots a document box with “Gladiator Archival” on the label. He takes the memo to court and shows it to Buckley, who has him read it. The memo confirms that Buckley told Church to take care of Sam. On cross-exam, Maggie has him read the rest and notes that Buckley never said he was firing Sam. Eli responds by having Buckley testify what the problem was that he wanted taken care. Buckley admits the sponsor wanted to make sure Sam didn’t press on the story.

Outside the court, Taylor tells Eli to talk to Maggie right away and he reluctantly agrees. He pulls her into an office and gets her to listen as he apologizes but explains he was glad they slept together. Maggie admits that they’re sleeping together finally helped her get over Eli, giving her closure. She insists that once she beats him in court, they can be friends again. She smiles and leaves, with a disappointed Eli left behind.

Jordan goes to court to hear Eli’s summation. Eli appeals to the jury’s intelligence and reminds them that they’re the ones who can send a message to the media to live up to their responsibility. Maggie responds by conceding Eli is right and the news media has lost its center. However, she notes that if Sam was interested in helping the news media become more responsible, he would have stayed and worked from the inside.

Eli, Jordan, and Taylor worry while the jury considers. Jordan admits they both made him proud. Eli gets a call and tells Jordan and Taylor he’ll be back in a moment. He walks down the hall and Matt drags him into a supply closet. Matt offers a settlement offer and notes that Bay West knows about it but his team doesn’t. Bay West is offering Sam $5 million in return for a public statement that he resigned, and Matt warns that Eli’s firm needs it.

Eli, Jordan, and Taylor take the offer to Sam, who is reluctant to take it and wants Bay West to admit their culpability. Eli points out that Bay West will be reluctant to fire another lawyer. However, Jordan steps in and insists that Sam needs to stand up for what is right, even if Sam (and the firm) don’t get any money. Jordan speaks from personal experience of living with regret rather than defeat. Taylor admits he’s right and Sam refuses to take the settlement. Eli goes to tell Matt and finds himself back in a vision of Rome. He sees Maggie sitting on a bench and starts to approach her, but sees her together with Paul Rollins. The two kiss while Eli looks on.

The jury comes back and finds in favor of Bay West. Back at P&K, Paul congratulates everyone and notes they hurt Wethersby-Stone where it hurts. He particularly thanks Maggie for her efforts. As Matt leaves, Paul calls him over and tells him never to go behind his back again.

Eli, Jordan, and Taylor try to come up with a way to save the firm. The best they can do is get maybe six months. Jordan smiles when Taylor calls him dad. Matt comes in and asks for his old job back, and admits he has some past mistakes to make up for. Jordan warns they can’t pay him but Matt is undeterred. Taylor tells him the baby is a girl and she’ll be proud of her dad.

Later, Eli goes to see Maggie and bring her flowers, but he can only look on as she gets into a car with Paul and drives away.

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