‘Bluff City Law’ 1×02 Review: “You Don’t Need a Weatherman”

Bluff City Law’s “You Don’t Need a Weatherman” proved once more that the heart of this show isn’t the cases that they handle day in and day out. It’s the people, the family that many of them are and soon will be that is at the heart of everything when it comes to this show. I see it when it comes to Sydney, despite her anger at her father. I see it when it comes to Emerson, even though he doesn’t know his place with his sister yet. And I see it in Jake, who is turning out to be more than basic white boy #1 who is a sex magnet. Each and every single person on this show helps define Bluff City Law as a story about a family finding its way and I’m absolutely here for that journey!

Sydney and the Power of Anger

Sydney spent most of her time in “You Don’t Need a Weatherman” testing her father (or like the gif above; hanging out with her perspective giving friend that was helping her deal with the reason why she was angry.) Part of her was doing it on purpose. Her father did have a secret love child that now works with him and no one else at the firm knows about besides Della and Briana. The other half of the time she was just trying to figure shit out because there was something about this all that made her irrationally angry and left behind. And I love that her character got to work through that.

Female characters, particularly ones that “break the mold” like Sydney, aren’t usually allowed to be irrationally angry or upset. Hell, women in general aren’t allowed to be angry in general because that obviously means there’s something wrong with us. We’re looked down upon if we’re angry. We’re mocked if we’re angry. We’re dismissed if we’re angry. The fact that we saw none of that when it comes to Sydney and her anger is AMAZING!

DID YOU HEAR THAT WORLD?

A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

Because I get angry. I get pissed sometimes even. And like Sydney I don’t deserve to be dismissed because of my anger or have my opinions pushed aside because “she’s having a moment.” Now, if you’ve gotten to this point in the review and you’re shaking your head, wondering why the hell this matters so much, even after I explained it, listen here: We learn about the world around us by what is on our screens. We learn how to act, what’s acceptable and what’s not, and how the world is growing.

That’s why seeing all of this on TV matters and that’s why I’m glad Bluff City Law portrayed such a woman and her anger.

I Love Emerson

I love Emerson, and it isn’t just because he’s Latino. Gotta support fam and all that jazz but I love Emerson because he went and asked Sydney if he should stay or go. He didn’t have to do that. He just talked to his dad and he reassured him that he belonged at the firm. Coming to Sydney felt like him taking a stand in his own life and what direction it was going in. And I appreciate the hell out of him for doing this.

Coming to Sydney also felt like him respecting his half sister’s pain, anger, and resentment. Sydney’s not perfect, far from it in fact, but Emerson knows that his presence has side swiped Sydney. I know that he’s worth it and I hope he sees that he goes on in the show, but he put the great work that his family does first and that’s a move I didn’t expect. I expected family squabbles til the cows come home and I’m glad that so far we haven’t seen that when it comes to Emerson’s relationship with Sydney.

I love found family tropes in my stories. And that’s what I see between Sydney and Emerson. They might be related by blood but they don’t know each other all that well. But at some point, through many trials and tribulations, they will get to know each other. Sydney will see him as something more than his father’s indiscretion. And Emerson will see her as more than the sister from another missus. They’ll choose to be family because that’s how great stories like this go, or I’m hoping that it goes.

And I can’t wait!

Jake Isn’t Just a Basic White Boy

Men like Jake, I feel like I’ve seen them before. Truly a dime for a dozen. And I was prepped and ready to think that about him from the moment I saw him. I’m glad the writers proved me wrong about the kind of man he is or the kind of man that he can become. There’s growth here, in the present and in the future.

There’s also legit caring for what he does on the job and how he can help people. He isn’t at the firm because ladies probably find it hot he’s a lawyer that helps people. (Let’s not lie to each other and pretend the horny dude trope was kind of played by Jake for a second while sitting on that staircase. Here’s hoping he steers clear of that stereotype.) Jake’s at the firm because he actually cares for people. So much so that he intruded upon his colleague to lend a hand.

Jake including himself, kind of rubbed me the wrong way, but he was there to help and I’m ok with giving him a chance to grow past his self centered nature. Plus he was helping another client who really didn’t think he deserved a chance to be happy. Jake saw something in him and helped him because he’d want someone to do that for him too. Here’s hoping Jake goes up from here on out in the growth and helping categories of it all.

Bluff City Law airs Mondays at 10/9c on NBC.