All Rise – Season 1 Episode 3 Recap & Review

Online Fraud

CBS’ legal drama, All Rise, returns this week with a slightly tamer case for Carmichael while Callan fights a lost case of his own, determined to make things right with the justice department again. This episode also introduces some new characters to the fold too, as we’re introduced to both Carmichael and Callan’s new partners.

This week’s main case is an online felony – Andrea Monroe is accused of cyber hacking and theft in a popular online game. During the trial, the first witness, Doctor Malachi, claims to have identified Monroe through her IP address. However, Lopez soon manages to get him to admit that the IP address could have belonged to someone else.

While out running, Luke is suddenly arrested by the police, however as they reach the police station they realise they have the wrong man. Meanwhile, Callan tries to persuade his boss to let him defend Soraya Bayani, a woman who was threatened and almost run over by a man who told her to “go back where she came from”. Choi agrees to the defence, but not before telling him it’s a lost cause.

Luke goes to see Carmichael and apologises for being late, explaining his reasons why. She asks him if he wants her to do something about the agent in question, but he refuses, believing it wouldn’t change anything. Carmichael decides to visit Callan at his flat to ask for his help understanding the online game, Skyrise, from her case. While there, she finally meets Callan’s girlfriend Ria. After briefly talking about his upcoming case, Callan starts showing Carmichael the game.

The next day, the victim, Jenny Cartwright, is on the stand but has trouble answering questions about the game and her avatar. Carmichael suddenly has an idea and suggests she testify as Errk, her avatar. As Errk, she accuses Monroe of killing her character. Cartwright’s lawyer, Driscoll, is not happy with Carmichael’s methods and threatens to report her.

Callan’s trial is up next and after hearing the testimony from the manager, Soraya is nowhere to be seen. Callan finds her outside though but she explains that she’s too scared to face her assailant, Shane Spradlin.

After a recess, Carmichael offers to discuss the case informally and off the record, wanting to see if they can reach a fair agreement for everyone. Andrea agrees to it straight-away and starts talking to her old friend. She admits that she was jealous and missed her which is the reason she killed the avatar. After Cartwright accepts her apology, Carmichael gives her 36 months’ probation and 200 hours community service due to financial implications to Cartwright, which both parties agree to.

Callan meanwhile, gives his closing statement in his trial too. He manages to prove Shane wasn’t trying to park but trying to run her over instead. Having won the case, he decides to visit Soraya to tell her the good news.

In the evening, everyone attends an award ceremony for heroic services including the policeman, Agent Murphy, who arrested Luke. Before giving a heartfelt speech, Luke confronts Murphy and tells him to be smarter. The episode then ends with Lopez and Luke sharing a nice moment at a diner.

All Rise continues with its familiar set-up this week, with Carmichael’s case acting as the main plot and Callan’s the supporting act. While the judge’s trial didn’t feel as dramatic this time around, there’s some nice work done with Callan’s, briefly depicting how racism is still an ongoing issue in America and how too many people are getting away with it.

While All Rise felt a little slower this week and Carmichael’s case was a bit underwhelming, there’s enough here to make for a decent enough episode, especially given the new characters and deeper characterisation for our main cast. Quite what next week holds for us though, remains to be seen.