Summary

  • The ending of The Lincoln Lawyer season 1 tied up loose ends but left intriguing threads for future seasons to explore, such as why Jerry Vincent was killed and why Lankford set up Jesus Menendez.
  • The true identity of the killer, known as the Man with the Tattoo, was revealed in the finale, setting up a new storyline for season 2 as the killer targets protagonist Mickey Haller.
  • The season 1 ending explored themes of corruption and justice, showcasing how characters outside of the legal system delivered justice when the system failed. The show is not solely about law and order, as season 1's "The Brass Verdict" episode demonstrated.

Netflix’s The Lincoln Lawyer season 1 ending explained what the show plans for future seasons. The adaptation of Michael Connelly’s popular The Lincoln Lawyer book series tied up a lot of loose ends but left open some intriguing threads for future seasons to explore. Why Jerry Vincent was killed, why Lankford set up Jesus Menendez, and the revelation of the brass verdict are some of the most important questions answered by The Lincoln Lawyer. Still, there's more that The Lincoln Lawyer leaves open.

The Lincoln Lawyer season 1 is based on The Brass Verdict, the second book in Connelly’s series. The Lincoln Lawyer season 1 finale saw the exoneration of Jesus Menendez, an innocent man wrongly convicted of a crime. As a former client of Mickey Haller, Menendez's conviction haunted Haller for years. Why LAPD detective Lee Lankford (Jamie McShane) set up Menendez was revealed, as The Lincoln Lawyer season 1 ending explained, but the finale set up further threads that feature in season 2.

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Why Lankford Set Up Jesus Menendez

Jesus Menendez in The Lincoln Lawyer

As The Lincoln Lawyer season 1 ending explained, after defense attorney (and Haller’s ex-wife) Maggie McPherson put Detective Perez on the stand, he revealed Detective Lankford was the one who ordered her to prevent key witness Gloria Dayton from testifying in Menendez’s defense and was therefore responsible for his conviction. The Lincoln Lawyer season 1 ending didn’t make it entirely clear why Lankford set Menendez up, but the novel The Brass Verdict gives further clues to fill in the blanks.

In Michael Connelly’s The Lincoln Lawyer novel book, Lankford was interested in securing a conviction and less concerned with convicting the actual guilty party. He plays a larger role in later books, and his decision to set up Menendez, largely unexplored in season 1, may bear out in further seasons. The Lincoln Lawyer season 1 ending explained little of this, causing audiences to reach for the novels. Season 2 also didn't elaborate on this plot thread, instead seeing Mickey searching for and finding the Man with the Tattoo.

Why Jerry Vincent Was Killed

Jerry Vincent in Lincoln Lawyer.

As The Lincoln Lawyer season 1 ending explained, Vincent was killed for interfering with a jury-rigging conspiracy. In their final meeting, Haller suggested to Judge Holder that she had a lucrative side hustle rigging juries and that she had Vincent killed because he “threw a wrench in it.” Vincent discovered that Juror Number 7 was rigged.

His decision to file for a continuance against his client’s wishes without informing his client was a giveaway that he knew about Holder’s scheme since it would have been a breach of ethics. The continuance would have required a second jury selection, excluding Judge Holder’s planted juror, and it cost Vincent his life.

What Is Cisco Doing For The Road Saints Motorcycle Club?

Cisco wearing sunglasses in The Lincoln Lawyer

In The Lincoln Lawyer's cast of characters, Dennis “Cisco” Wojciechowski (Angus Sampson) was an ex-member of the Road Saints motorcycle club. As The Lincoln Lawyer season 1 ending explained, he realized that Haller had compromised his reputation by trying to settle Cisco’s debt with the Road Saints, so Cisco visited them, insisting to their leader, Teddy, that his debts were his own. Teddy made an offer, which Cisco presumably accepted. However, the terms of Teddy’s offer were never revealed.

The books don’t explicitly offer an answer, but they do provide key clues. Although Cisco was a member of the Road Saints, he had a clear record, and the Road Saints were openly engaged in criminal activity. This suggests a darker storyline in the future for Cisco involving illegal activity. The end of the episode sees Cisco riding away on his motorcycle to begin his work for Teddy, which leaves open a thread for The Lincoln Lawyer season 2 to pick up, following Cisco on his new assignment.

In season 2, Cisco resumes working for the Road Saints, but he doesn't tell Lorna about it. This creates conflict between them, but he soon explains that he has a history with Kaz, who saved him from being arrested before, and who he was investigating as a possible informant. This ties into the debt he believes he owes the Road Saints. By the end of the season, though, it seems Cisco got his happy ending and a wedding with Lorna.

Why Does Bob Cardone Remove Maggie McPherson?

Neve Campbell as McPherson in court in The Lincoln Lawyer

The Lincoln Lawyer season 1 ending explained that Bob Cardone removed Maggie McPherson from her position to safeguard his reputation. McPherson believed Cardone was less ambitious than his political rival Janelle Simmons. In turn, he revealed his ambition when he ordered Maggie to drop her case against human trafficker and murderer Angelo Soto and then removed her from her position, explaining that he ran on a platform of exposing corrupt cops and detectives.

As The Lincoln Lawyer season 1 ending explained, McPherson’s case rested on testimony from Lankford, with whom she’d worked closely, and who Haller had revealed to be corrupt. For Cardone, McPherson’s proximity to and association with Lankford made her a political liability, to the point that even continuing the case or her remaining in office would have compromised his reputation.

Who Was The Man At The End Of The Lincoln Lawyer Finale?

The Lincoln Lawyer Tattoo Man Arm

The tattooed man shown in The Lincoln Lawyer season 1 ending was the real killer who committed the murder for which Jesus Menendez was convicted. Gloria Dayton, the key witness Detective Lankford prevented from testifying in Menendez’s case, holds the only clue to the true identity of the killer: a distinctive tattoo, which is revealed on his left forearm in the final moments of the season 1 finale. The closing image reveals a huge thread to look for in season 2 — a killer with a motive to retaliate against Haller is stalking him.

As The Lincoln Lawyer season 1 ending explained, Haller’s failure to secure an acquittal for Menendez years ago had thrown his life off track and shaken his confidence in his ability to practice law. The Lincoln Lawyer episode 1’s early moments featured a tortured Haller staring into the surf, unable to dive back in, distraught over the accident that led to his painkiller addiction and more over the Menendez case, as he later revealed.

The finale ended, fittingly, with a mirror image of Haller at the surf’s edge, diving confidently into the water. However, at this crucial moment in The Lincoln Lawyer finale, the tattooed man was watching Haller from the shore, asking whether he was being watched all along, or whether the stalking began after Menendez was exonerated. Now that Menendez’s name has been cleared, the killer is at risk again, and Haller’s zealous pursuit of justice for Menendez makes him a target.

Why Trevor Elliot Is Killed & What Is A Brass Verdict?

Trevor Elliot on The Lincoln Lawyer.

The Lincoln Lawyer season 1 ending explained that Trevor Elliott was killed because the justice system failed to convict him of the double homicide he committed, the target of a brass verdict. Detective Griggs explained to Haller that a brass verdict is when a jury returns a verdict of not guilty, but vigilante justice is later delivered. Carol DuBois, who shot Elliott, couldn't have known that Elliott was guilty based on anything other than a gut feeling, as the smoking gun evidence was revealed after the trial ended.

But DuBois was convinced of his guilt from the beginning of the trial, and she had a deep emotional connection to one of the victims. By law, DuBois would be guilty of some degree of intentional homicide. Without justification, she intentionally shot Elliott with the intent of killing him. Under the informal theory of the brass verdict, Elliott’s death is justified in an “ends justify the means” sense, because the failure of the justice system to convict him created a second injustice that was corrected with his death: the brass verdict.

What Does The Ending Really Mean?

The Lincoln Lawyer Mickey Haller Surfing

The ending of Netflix's The Lincoln Lawyer season 1 ties together themes of corruption and what justice looks like within and outside the system. Through season 1, the system fails. Elliott is guilty but is acquitted. Menendez is innocent but initially convicted. Soto is guilty, but the case is dropped. People at every level of the justice system are revealed to be complicit in the miscarriage of justice. Justice denied through the judicial system was delivered outside the system, as The Lincoln Lawyer season 1 ending explained.

DuBois achieved justice for Rilz by killing Elliott. McPherson achieved justice for her witness by assuring that Soto was tried by the FBI. Haller employed Cisco and Lorna to use unconventional means to finally secure justice for Jesus Menendez. The Lincoln Lawyer is a show about justice featuring a lawyer, but it's not about justice via law and order, and season 1's "The Brass Verdict" episode makes that clear.

How Lincoln Lawyer Season 2 Followed Up On The Season 1 Ending

The Lincoln Lawyer season 1 ending explained many of its plot threads. However, it did leave the identity of the true perpetrator for season 2 to follow up on. The Lincoln Lawyer season 2 primarily focused on the murder trial of chef Lisa Trammel. Trammel was accused of murdering real estate developer Mitchell Bondurant, and the question of her innocence is the biggest mystery. Evidence stacks up, but there are nagging questions. The Lincoln Lawyer season 2 tackles the Man with the Tattoo mystery early on.

As Mickey is assigned to defend a man named Russell from burglary charges in The Lincoln Lawyer season 2 premiere, Russell reveals he is the Man with the Tattoo. Unable to help Jésus because of attorney-client privilege, Mickey sets up an elaborate trap that sees Russell attempting to attack Glory Days and being caught in the process, clearing Jésus of all suspicion.

The Lincoln Lawyer season 2's Man with the Tattoo reveal was downplayed, as the arc lasted two episodes. However, it was necessary to delve into Mickey's case with Lisa and move The Lincoln Lawyer story forward.

lincoln-lawyer
The Lincoln Lawyer

Loosely based on novels by Michael Connelly, The Lincoln Lawyer follows recovering addict and criminal defense attorney Mickey Haller. Working out of the back of his Lincoln Navigator, Mickey takes on legal cases in Los Angeles.

Release Date
May 13, 2022
Cast
Manuel Garcia-Rulfo , Neve Campbell , Becki Newton , Angus Sampson , Christopher Gorham
Seasons
1
Writers
David E. Kelley
Network
Netflix