* Contains spoilers
Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Maria Bello, William Hurt, Olivia Thirlby, Mark Duplass, Ana de la Reguera, Nina Arianda, Lou Diamond Phillips, Diana Hopper, Molly Parker, Tania Raymonde
Between the first season of Fargo (2014) and Goliath, Billy Bob Thornton has turned in his best work in years. In Goliath, Thornton plays Billy McBride, a down-on-his-luck, boozing attorney ousted from the prestigious law firm he co-founded. Now living in a motel and frequenting the bar next door, Billy's prospects are dwindling when he is tracked down by inexperienced lawyer Patty Solis-Papagian (Arianda). Patty has a case for Billy: A boat exploded in the middle of the Pacific Ocean killing its only occupant. The man's employer is a huge arms manufacturer which also happens to be the highest profile client of, drum roll, the same firm Billy co-founded: Cooperman/McBride, now run by Billy's ex-wife Michelle (Bello) and the reclusive, sinister Donald Cooperman (Hurt), scarred over half his body by burns and who nurses a burning hatred for Billy.
Battling his former firm's sharp legal minds, their unlimited resources, and the shrewd and devious Cooperman, who is not above buying cops and creeps to make Billy's life miserable (not to mention try and have him killed), Billy plays the underdog role has he attempts to use his nerve and sharpness to stay one step ahead. It is a daunting challenge, but it has lit a fire under him for the first time in ages. Season one focuses on the lawsuit against the criminally negligent corporation. When Thornton first appears, we think are getting a Bad Santa retread performance, but this isn't the case. Thornton is vulnerable, wounded, filled with guilt and self-doubt. He's not a mope, but human, smart, and resourceful.
William Hurt, as Billy's former partner and now bitter enemy, seethes from his dark office in the bowels of his law firm. We don't know exactly what caused his burns, but he sure does blame Billy for them.
Season one works best as a courtroom drama and procedural which makes the Thornton-Hurt feud the center of its universe. What happens between the two men is left open-ended, so we will likely see a continuation in the future. When Goliath strays from this formula, it suffers a bit, but not fatally so. Season two begins with a gripping first five episodes that ungainly segues into yet another drug cartel story. Billy, fresh from his lucrative win in season one, is still drinking and guilt-ridden about his lover's death from season one. A friend who works at his watering hole (Phillips) comes to him with a family crisis. His older sons were involved in gangs and drug dealing and were shot dead. His youngest son Julio stands accused of murdering two men while seeking vengeance. The kid insists he's innocent and Billy takes the case, especially after the father is gunned down on his way to a preliminary hearing.
Mayoral candidate Marisol Silva (de la Reguera) knows Julio and would like to see him exonerated, but there is a vast conspiracy afoot involving a Mexican drug lord who has a history with Marisol, and a top LA real estate agent (Duplass) who stands to lose a lot if Marisol does not win the election. Fine so far, but then the season is bogged down with this cartel business. Drug cartels have become the go-to villains these days, and the problem is each cartel seems to have to up the ante in terms of viciousness and ruthlessness. The whole subplot derails the story. Do we really need to see people have their limbs surgically removed? Do we need to see gruesome blood and guts, decapitated heads, and one character's bizarre sexual perversions? It's disheartening to see the normally astute Billy go completely dumb on us and fail to realize something shady is going on while attending a party in the drug lord's house. How could he not suspect he is in the presence of a drug lord? Didn't the bodyguards with automatic weapons give it away? It is here when the series stops being about Billy and more about contrived plotting. It's all kind of depressing. Let's hope season three bounces back and gives us what Goliath does best.
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