What I’m Watching: Trial and Error

Trial and Error: Season 1, Episodes 9 and 10 “Chapter 9: Opening Statements” and “Chapter 10: A Hostile Jury” (B+)

The absurdity on this show reached new fantastic heights in this episode, starting with a video game simulation of Larry killing his wife which got even Larry to applaud. I loved the jingle that got written for the commercial for East Peck Glass, which managed to find the perfect way to advertise after Larry through at least one person out a window, which didn’t make him look particularly innocent. There were a lot of ups and downs in this episode regarding the case, with Rutger’s surprise non-comatose appearance in court coming at the worst possible time since Josh was trying to paint him as a monster, and then the revelation that he was faking being in a coma ended up zeroing things out since he promptly tripped and fell right into a coma. Alfonzo testifying wasn’t terrible until Larry convinced him he didn’t mean anything to him and then threw him out the window, but that was negated when Alfonso eagerly accepted Larry’s heartfelt and strangely helpful profession of affection. The very long graphic testimony read back multiple times was amusing but not as great in my mind as things like Josh being encouraged to change his hairstyle and use the word “buttload” instead of “preponderance,” and lines like Larry’s “Don’t judge me, I already have a jury for that” and Dwayne’s “I don’t think, I operate purely on instinct.” The jury being sequestered is good, but Larry being fully aware that he has Margaret’s cell phone in his drawer means that he’s definitely hiding something and not entirely guilty only of saying stupid things.