The Law According to Lidia Poet – Season 1 Episode 4 Recap & Review

Episode 4

A woman is brought out in a wheelchair and paraded through a crowd shouting “murderer” as episode 4 of The Law According to Lidia Poet starts. Her name is Margherita Sangiacomo, a reputed professor at the university. We go back into Enrico’s home. At the dinner table, Jacopo feels Lidia is blaming him for something. But he doesn’t know what, indicating that she hasn’t confronted him about meeting Nicole in episode 3.

Lidia does not think Margherita committed the murder. She becomes an easy target for the reason of not behaving like a normal lady and going to university to study. Jacopo feels there is a strong motive as Professor Braschi, who is the victim, stole her research. And, she had access to the poison that killed him.

At the court, Lidia is in presence as Margherita shocks everyone by pleading not guilty and dumping her advocate. She is placed at the convent after her release on bail. Margherita has developed some kind of fever that has put her in a wheelchair. Lidia visits her. She proposes the name of her brother as the new lawyer. On Margherita’s table, Lidia finds a lot of paper swans. The professor maintains she did not stay with Braschi for the whole day, despite the caretaker’s claims, who says he saw Margherita with Braschi at 7 PM. She left right after lunch, whereas Braschi was killed at around 8 PM.

The mother superior could testify in favour of Margherita but she “is too involved” according to the persecutor. She also tells Lidia that her mother was a prostitute and that Margherita grew up in the convent after her mother died. Enrico is against taking the case but Lidia is able to convince him eventually when Teresa speaks in favour of Lidia’s reason. It is payback for the time that Lidia helped convince Marianna about buying the new dress. While talking to the caretaker at the convent, Lidia notices something strange with his drink.

When she sees he cannot write their names in the register, she takes a sip and confirms he is drunk. She threatens to report him and he tells them the truth that Margherita perhaps might not have been there with Braschi till 7 PM. Lidia suspects Professor Manganelli might have a strong motive after the caretaker says he heard him fight with Braschi. Manganelli is casual admitting he did not like the victim but has a solid alibi. Andrea teases Lidia about Jacopo and says that perhaps, now doubts are creeping into her mind if work is truly the most important thing in her life.

Jacopo gives Lidia his notes about the appeal she is writing to the Court of Cessation. He says the judges are seven men and they must not be told what to do, especially by a woman. He suggests Lidia tell her own story in the appeal. Lidia meets Ferrero, a student of Manganelli, to ask about substances that could stay in someone’s body for a while and take effect, not at the time of consumption. He tells her about vegetable carbon, which becomes poisonous when it melts.

She takes this theory to Enrico but he calls her confused. He is right as it weakens their strategy because Margherita could have administered it just as easily as Manganelli. Lidia gets an idea that her gardener might have seen her that day and he could provide an alibi. Lidia looks at the swans and uncovers that all of them are old news articles. One of them is about Professor Antonio Borghese, who took his own life several years ago. That is the year her mother died too. Lidia feels there is a connection.

She goes to Attila and Jacopo to look at previous crime reports. They find that several prostitutes died due to an unusual kind of poisoning in that era. That night, Jacopo visits Lidia’s room and they have sex. After, she brings up the woman and Jacopo gets tense. She asks him to go back to his room and apologises for making him uncomfortable. The next morning at court, Lidia confronts Margherita. Her theory is that Margherita did kill Braschi. Several years ago, Braschi and Borghese were working together on an antidote for scarlet fever.

They used to test it out on prostitutes, like guinea pigs. And several of them died as a result. One of them was Margherita’s mother. She admits the theory is correct. Lidia urges her to say the truth as “without truth, there is no justice”. Those who killed the prostitutes will never be held accountable if Margherita is acquitted. When the trial begins, things go as planned. But when it is a chance for Margherita to speak, she listens to Lidia’s suggestion and exposes the cartel. What happens next remains a mystery to us.

While working on her appeal at night, Lidia sees Jacopo burying something in the yard. She goes down to inspect. Teresa finds out about Lorenzo and Marianna when she sees them kissing. In the buried bag, Lidia finds a rifle, a gun, and a watch pocket with the picture of Nicole.

The Episode Review

Matilda de Angelis has shown a remarkable ability to cry on cue. My God, can the lady bring on the waterworks. It is really effortless how she has taken to the character of Lidia Poet. Her exploits in the legal world of Turin continue to enthral, with this episode giving her a jolt early on with Margherita’s profile but Lidia remained professional throughout. The final touch of “without justice there is no truth” was this episode’s highlight.

It goes  to show some things in life are to be done without keeping in mind personal gain or loss. The scene with Jacopo in bed ensures their affair remains a mystery. She is a step closer to unravelling Jacopo’s secret plan going on in the background. We know he is an anarchist but how will that characterization influence his arc or the show as a whole?

It remains a compelling mystery, for now. We also have to see how Teresa reacts to Marianna and Lorenzo. Going by how she has portrayed herself, it cannot be anything good. Let us hope Lidia is not dragged into this; for if she is, things can get ugly very quickly from here.