Open Season
By Hank 74
Lennie-10/10
Ed-10/10
Van Buren-8/10
Jack-10/10
Serena-10/10
Arthur-10/10
Supporting Cast-10/10
Plot-10/10
Performance-10/10
Value-10/10
Total Grade-98/100
Notes:
WOW!!!! 
This has to be one of the best episodes we have seen in
quite some time. Clearly this has to be seriously considered in the top 50 of
all time, perhaps even the top 25. I'm not ready to put in the ICSS
stratosphere, but everyone needs to get a tape of it and keep it for a long
time since this one will become priceless!
At first, I was going to be a little down considering it
went from the police as suspects to some constitutional extremist. What I
didn't get is why would someone like Bruce want to kill an attorney who
champions on defending the Constitution and quoting it at trial? If the
opportunity took place where this nut needed representation, who better than
Brody. Then it came clear the motive for Bruce and his followers had something
to do with this crazy Jewish conspiracy against him. At least, that's what I
got out of this. In the end though, the finale was explosive and touched all
the hot buttons of terrorism, civil rights, and bigotry. This led to a great
character all these years cling to her life.
I'm afraid this is the last we have seen of Danielle
Mellnick. If so, what a performance she gave before us. I loved how she
strongly defended herself against these charges and told Jack to kiss her
fanny. Clearly this was just like "House Counsel" when Jack had a
dillemma on his hands with his friend Koppell. In both instances, he didn't
want to go after them, but as an officer of the court he had to. The only
difference I could see between HC and this one was in HC, Jack's conscience and
instinct forced him to go after Koppell. In OS, the screws were really placed
by Arthur and emphasized by Serena. All of what we saw in the second half with
the prosecution of Mellnick and the aftermath was clearly the result of
Arthur's presence in the DAs office. We certainly know who's in charge. The interesting
thing is that Serena appears to have a lot of influence, contrary to what we
may believe. That leaves Jack, as the veteran in the "Order" part, on
the outside. Moreover, he appears to now act as the calming voice of reason
compared to the more gung ho approach of Arthur and Serena. Several seasons
ago, Jack would be the maverick against the likes of Adam, Claire, and Jaime.
Back to Mellnick, I can only hope we will see her in some
capacity in the future. However, one of three things will happen. She dies, she
lives but like Cerretta slows down, or she makes it and no longer practices
law. Of course there is censure, but it seems the charges are so serious that
her days as a lawyer are finished. I only hope she makes a return to continue
being a royal pain to Jack but also a sweet reminder of what the adversarial
system is all about. There is no doubt that what Shambala Green was to Ben,
Danielle Mellnick is to Jack.
Finally, I enjoyed the continuing friction between Ed and
Lennie. Serena doing her pose as an activist wannabe was hilarious. If you're
wondering will she be disbarred like what almost happened in "DR
1-102", don't worry since this time she hid her attorney status throughout
and acted like an undercover cop.
I love the mingling and clashes of both the personalities
and ideologies in this one. Superb job!