Pearson Season 1 Episode 7 Review: The Immigration Lawyer
Jasmine Blu
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Nick is on the run!
Our darling Nicky fell victim to a desperate Pat on Pearson Season 1 Episode 7, and his world is crumbling around him, and so is the show's best unexpected friendship.
Nick, please let Jessica help you!
Pat McGann is a slimeball who needs to go down, and it's going to take all of them to take him down and out.
Of course, that's assuming he doesn't ruin everyone beforehand.
Related: Pearson Season 1 Episode 6 Review: the Donor
When he's backed into a corner, he comes out swinging hard. Bobby backed him into a corner, and he didn't take kindly to the young Novak asserting himself and trying to get from beneath his control.
What happened, Nick? Now that Bobby is trying to get his freedom back, McGann showed his hand, didn't he? How bad is it?
Jessica
As suspected, the blackmail tape Pat left with Stephanie pertained to the death of Tommy Diehl. Is anyone else getting tired of them saying the man's full name every time they reference him? Goodness!
To get back at Bobby, Pat is willing to take down Nick, and it should be impossible to feel this bad for a man who killed someone, but eff it, Nick doesn't deserve this.
He's always the pawn. The bastard is the one who consistently gets screwed.
We have an understanding of who Nick is and what drives him, and he's passionate about family and protecting them. It makes sense; he didn't grow up the way Bobby did, so he clings to family in whatever form he gets it.
Nick: No one would shed a tear if he fell off one of his buildings.
Bobby: Listen to me. You stay away from him! I'll deal with Pat.
Nick felt as if Pat was his family. To Nick, Pat was the father he didn't have since Pete Novak didn't give a damn about his love child. It was Pat who did all the things a father would do with Nick.
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In hindsight, Pat probably never cared about Nick. He was likely playing a long game and taking advantage of how he could use Nick and his relationship with him in his favor. Nick was probably the type of leverage he could use against Pete Novak.
How else can you explain Pete's supposed best friend doing all the heavy work playing father-figure to his best friend's kid instead of calling his friend to task for being a lousy father?
Pat had Novak take over as union leader after getting Nick to kill Diehl, and Pete promised him Bobby. The whole damn family bent to Pat's will.
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Nick and Pat's confrontation was illuminating and heartbreaking. All Nick ever wanted was family, and he's always on the outside looking in. He broke two of Pat's ribs, but he's right, if pushed Pat off of his buildings to his death, no one would have batted an eye.
Regardless of how Nick felt, there was no way he would've been able to kill Pat -- a man who served as his father-figure even though it wasn't genuine -- without feeling guilt.
Diehl's death has him wracked with guilt as it is.
Nick was spiraling. He wanted to take the fall and pay for what he had done since he was the one who killed Diehl and should pay, not Bobby.
Pat: You better get outta here, Nicky.
Nick: Or what? You're going to take care of me?
He wanted to protect his brother and his legacy. He also wanted to hurt Pat for bringing so much pain to his family, and he wanted to lash out at Jessica for stirring up trouble.
Nick was like a wounded animal lashing out, and it was gutwrenching. Yes, there's no hiding it. This girl is a diehard Nick fan and wants him to get from beneath this at whatever cost.
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Everyone, people he thought were like family (Pat), and even his actual family (Bobby) were treating him like a bargaining chip or as if he was disposable. It's a shame but far from surprising that he distanced himself from the one person who was genuine in wanting to help him (Jessica).
You killed Tommy Diehl for McGann, didn't you? Running is not going to solve the problem. Not for you. Not for your brother. I can help you. Let me help you.
Jessica
Their final scene together was a punch to the gut. Jessica has come to care about Nick and does want to help him. She didn't flinch when he confirmed he killed Diehl and wasn't judging him either. She would have his back if he let her, and it might be the only time someone truly did.
I'm betting part of Jessica shredding those files in the premiere had to do with destroying evidence to protect Nick and Bobby. That has to be what's happening, right?
And hell, maybe Jeff's business card will come in handy for our boy, Nicky too.
The relationship between the two brothers is captivating. Bobby insists that he and Nick are family and he doesn't treat him as anything else. He swears that they're in everything together, but it doesn't change how different their lives were and are.
Nick's first concern when he found out about the tape was how it would affect Bobby. Bobby was also worried about how it would affect him. It wasn't so much that Nick would go down, but it was that either way, he was going down with Nick as well.
Jessica: C'mon, Keri. You don't share a bed with someone for five years and not know their secrets.
Keri: Wow.
Jessica: I'm sorry for being so straightforward, but this is important.
What Bobby was missing was that similar to how things would work if his affair with Keri came out, he would be affected, but he's not getting the brunt of everything. At some point, he can get past this.
The tape could irrevocably destroy Nick, and Bobby always has the option of distancing himself from his half-brother and surviving. We don't know if he would do it or not, but he could. It's an option.
He already suspended his brother and is back to doing Pat's bidding. He wasn't kissing Pat's ass while doing it though, so that was a relief. Bobby is sick and tired of Pat, so he kept the ballsy Bobby energy he was exuding before while dealing with Pat, and that's respectable.
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Bobby's posturing is what screws him over often. He jumps at the chance to appear as though he has the upper hand even when he doesn't or other people have done all the heavy lifting. He didn't have long before Pat was hitting him up for something else, and that was the Ickarus contract.
Thanks to everyone but Bobby, Chicago got the Ickarus contract, but after Albert Chan pulled out of the deal with Pat, he wanted that contract too. Pat is a proud man, and he loves others to view him as a powerful one. He didn't take his Chinese investor backing out well.
Chan didn't see him as a heavy-hitter, which left Pat affronted. The one good thing that may come out of this deal is we won't have to witness Keri and Bobby canoodling on a work trip turned lover's escape together.
Frank: Someone like you doesn't do anything out of the goodness of your heart. It's always transactional.
Jessica: I want to know about Tommy Diehl's death.
Jessica: Drop dead.
Other than that, this could be a mess. One can't help but wonder how this will affect what Jessica tried to do with Kramer.
We knew how much what she did to him ate away at her on Pearson Season 1 Episode 3, but he had no way of knowing. He had every right to believe she was another ruthless, cutthroat businessperson who didn't give a damn about the little people.
Jessica figuring out how to make amends was cathartic and humbling. He came for her integrity and character, and it was difficult to see her doubt herself again or imply that she was not equally compelling on Suits, but it made sense.
Everywhere she turned someone was challenging her intent and character. She was going out of her way to made amends with Kramer, but when he wasn't holding her feet to the fire, it was Derrick.
Angela: You're a good person Jessica Pearson.
Jessica: Am I?
Jessica's intentions with giving Kramer the Ickarus contract were well and good, because of how she screwed him over, but Derrick had every right to come at her about the Minority-Owned Business clause.
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Derrick, in some ways, probably has the most frustrating position where he has to rein Bobby in and work double hard to make sure he can improve and make things better too. Yoli sometimes questions his methods, but Derrick is passionate and wants to make a difference too.
Jessica trying to make amends with Kramer, while due, shouldn't have to impede on the administration honoring their promise to give often excluded minority-owned businesses work, especially on a project that is screwing over predominately minorities via gentrification.
Before the conclusion, it was easy to suspect how Jessica could appeal to both. It was the first thing to came to mind when Derrick said that after we had met Mia.
Frank: Go ahead. Ask. I know what you're thinking. Did McGann kill him?
Jessica: Did he?
Frank: McGann's too smart to get his hands dirty. He always had bag men to do his dirty work for him.
Jessica: I have no idea who did his dirty work then.
Frank: You don't need to. You know who does it now.
Mia was smart, savvy, and busting her ass working for Kramer. She was loyal too. But the construction business is a boy's club, and even though Mia was exceptional, she wasn't given her due since she was a woman.
Kramer is a bit of an old boy himself, so it was hard not to side-eye the man for not giving Mia the props she deserved on his own. He knew the place wouldn't function without her, but nothing outside of his praise of her reflected that.
Kramer has his business. He owns as close to half of it as he can while still benefiting from the minority-owned business aspect since Mia is a woman. It's better than nothing, but in this case, it serves them all well. But with Pat involved, God only knows how this will play out.
Angela and the boys are in a sad transition between staying at Jessica's apartment and being homeless. It's nice that she's staying with Jessica, but her mixed feelings on the matter are understandable.
Maybe the projects weren't the safest, but they were a community, and she cared about the people there. She has a place to stay until she gets settled elsewhere, and it's with her wealthy cousin who had a part in people losing their livelihood.
Meanwhile, their homes are a construction site, and it's Tent City out there. People are homeless, living in the streets and in tents with nowhere else to go. The commuting is taking a lot of Angela who is working long shifts and trying to appease her boys and taking them to school. It's a lot for anyone to deal with given everything else going on.
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The series squeezing in these aspects to show how people are affected by these backroom deals and decisions is what makes it all work.
Jessica: I tell myself I took this job to make a difference, but sometimes ...
Angela: Sometimes, what?
Jessica: Sometimes, I think I'm that same ambitious woman who ran that law firm.
Angela: Then don't be.
The same applies to Yoli's immigration debacle. Isabel Arraiza's performance was emotional and nuanced.
Yoli is barely keeping it together, but she doesn't have a choice. Her parents depend on her to keep her wits. They did everything to ensure she had opportunities, so her mother wants her to focus on her job; otherwise, if Yoli lost it, all their sacrifices would be in vain.
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Derrick was the most relatable. He wants desperately to help Yoli, but he doesn't know how. Plus, she's not receptive to any of his suggestions. He's watching someone he cares about suffer, and there's nothing he can do.
My mom came to this country to give me a better life. If I lose the chance for one, what was the point?
Yoli
His frustrations over her not telling Jessica are reasonable too. Yoli is in over her head, and she has to give Jessica the benefit of the doubt. She's not going to lose her job over this, but she's going to burn herself out trying to do everything alone.
She needs help; she has people around who can provide it if only she reached out.
The situation with the immigration attorney was gobsmacking. The world can be shitty due to the people in it, so it shouldn't have been shocking that people are exploiting the immigration issue, but gosh dammit!
He took all of her money -- $1500--, and her mother is still in an orange jumpsuit with no aid.
My heart breaks for the Castillo family. It's gutwrenching to know that this is the reality of real people every day, and it seems to only get worse by the day.
Yoli, much like Nick, has to let Jessica help her!
Over to you, Pearson Fanatics. The truth is out about Nick killing Diehl, but what do you think will be done? Is Yoli's immigration arc breaking your heart? How can they beat McGann? Sound off below!
You can watch Pearson online here via TV Fanatic!
Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. She is an insomniac who spends late nights and early mornings binge-watching way too many shows and binge-drinking way too much tea. Her eclectic taste makes her an unpredictable viewer with an appreciation for complex characters, diverse representation, dynamic duos, compelling stories, and guilty pleasures. You'll definitely find her obsessively live-tweeting, waxing poetic, and chatting up fellow Fanatics and readers. Follow her on X.
