Alo

I'll admit I hate the sight of blood but you'd have to be some kind of slasher-flick weirdo to not be revulsed by the opening flashback scene.

Nevertheless, if you can get past it, the remainder of the episode is pretty much as close to film noir as it gets on television.

Billy McBride gets a grisly warning. His buddy TJ takes to the streets to get more info. The dirty cop knows he's in too deep. Marisol finally realizes she's in too deep. And the pointless daughter character is still on the show for some reason.

I enjoyed S1 of Goliath overall, but it went from a fine conspiracy thriller to a statement about workplace politics to warmed-over L. A. Law over the course of its 8 episodes.

I don't know whether David E Kelley handed over writing in S2, or the switch of show-runner from Clyde Phillips to Lawrence Trilling changed the series, but S2 is very satisfying noir, with a grittiness a lot closer to the darkest episodes of Breaking Bad than anything from Goliath S1. And that's a great thing in my opinion. There is very little of the comic relief that we go in S1 and the characters of Patti, Britanny and Marva all seem more grounded in reality than caricature.

Billy senses Mirasol's dishonesty but isn't positive. He tries to get a couple pieces of evidence eliminated, but forces beyond his control destroy any chance at that. The cops are so corrupted. We find out about the cartel and how it came to be. It is a horror on earth. There is dismemberment and horrible consequences for anyone who crosses the drug lord. Meanwhile, one of the players is getting scared and becoming a liability. Well done episode with some block building that will give us some perks later.