Unveiling the Unpredictable: The Lincoln Lawyer's Lisa Fate Shatters Season 1 Clichés with a Shocking Twist in Mickey's Future

Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for The Lincoln Lawyer season 2!

Summary

The second season of The Lincoln Lawyer introduces a fresh storyline by altering Lisa's guilt, avoiding the repetition seen in the first season. Additionally, it brings a new twist to Mickey's future. Although this divergence from the source material avoids redundancy in Mickey's cases, it also means missing out on an exciting career change for him in the third season.

In the book, Mickey declares his candidacy for LA District Attorney after Lisa's trial. However, this twist is omitted in The Lincoln Lawyer. In season 2 of Netflix's The Lincoln Lawyer, there is a change in Lisa's fate that thankfully differs from the case in season 1. However, this change also keeps the show from introducing a crucial twist regarding Mickey's future. Season 2 of The Lincoln Lawyer adapts The Fifth Witness, the fourth novel in Michael Connelly's series featuring defense attorney Mickey Haller. However, the TV show takes some liberties in depicting the aftermath of Lisa Trammell's trial verdict and its impact on Mickey's realization of her guilt.

The Lincoln Lawyer Season 2 Changing Lisa's Guilt Avoids Repeating Trevor Elliott's Ending

In The Fifth Witness novel, it is revealed that Lisa, the protagonist, was indeed responsible for the death of Mitchell Bondurant. This realization prompts Mickey, the lawyer, to devise a cunning plan to ensure justice is served. He successfully arranges for Lisa to be arrested for the murder of Jeff Trammell instead. By deviating from the guilt storyline portrayed in the book, The Lincoln Lawyer's second season avoids repetition of the first season's plot, which revolved around Mickey defending Trevor Elliott, a man accused of killing his wife and her lover.

In the end, Mickey discovered that Trevor was actually guilty, despite securing a "not guilty" trial verdict. If the outcome had been the same as Lisa's in The Lincoln Lawyer season 2, it would have been repetitive for the series. This would have inevitably led audiences to anticipate that all of Mickey's clients are guilty, even if the jury declares them "not guilty." However, Mickey's successful defense of an innocent woman in a crime she was accused of prevented The Lincoln Lawyer from introducing one of the most shocking twists found in The Fifth Witness book.

Lisa's Innocence Meant The Lincoln Lawyer Season 2 Left Out Mickey's Exciting Career Twist

While the shocking twist conclusion in season 2 of The Lincoln Lawyer revolves around Glory Days' murder, an unforeseen turn of events in The Fifth Witness centers around Mickey Haller's career change announcement. In the novel, Mickey becomes deeply disturbed by Lisa's apathy towards her act of killing Mitchell Bondurant. This compels him to alert the authorities about Jeff's body buried in her garden. Subsequently, Lisa pleads with Mickey to defend her in the upcoming trial for her husband's murder. However, Mickey declines her request and instead reveals his intention to run for the position of Los Angeles District Attorney. By doing so, Mickey strives to absolve himself from defending ruthless murderers like Lisa.

Throughout The Lincoln Lawyer, Mickey has grappled with the moral dilemma of defending guilty clients. Characters like Trevor Elliott, Russell Lawson, and Lisa Trammell serve as prime examples of remorseless killers. If Mickey were to leave his position as a defense attorney to become LA’s District Attorney, it would create an intriguing storyline for The Lincoln Lawyer season 3. Additionally, it would align him with his ex-wife Maggie on the same legal side. While there is a possibility that the defense of Glory Days' accused killer in season 3 could still lead him down this path, the conclusion of season 2 required a more optimistic emotional turn.