Drop Dead Diva Recap and Review: Season 4 Episodes 4

Wow! Can DDD get any better? We’re a little late coming with the latest recaps and reviews. But, that doesn’t mean we’re not enjoying them!

Episode 4 of Drop Dead Diva starts with a whole lot of sweaty men. It’s lawyers versus judges, and Grayson (Jackson Hurst) is struggling to find the basket. Owen (Lex Medlin) is doing well. Jane (Brooke Elliott) wonders if Grayson is working too many hours. Turns out Teri (Margaret Cho) is a heckler. Not really surprising news.

Jane and Kim (Kate Levering) meet with opposing counsel on a wrongful death suit. Their client’s wife, Renee, killed herself after being told she was too ugly for an Ugly Duckling makeover the night before her transformation was supposed to start. It’s the day before trial is supposed to start and the defendant, the plastic surgeon with the cold bedside manner offers $50,000 settlement offer. Jane calls his attorney (Alimi Ballard) out of the conference to ask what the heck with such a lowball offer when they’re suing for $2 million. He points out that her firm is not in a position to compete. Apparently the firm’s money troubles are not a closely kept secret. She thinks he’s a jerk. Teri points out that he’s been name top litigator.

Parker is not pleased that they turned down the offer on a contingency case since it could at least have covered the rent for a couple of months. Luke (Carter MacIntyre) hires a jury consultant (Liza Lapira – if she looks familiar maybe you’re watching Don’t Trust the B in Apartment 23) to help them win.

According to the consultant, 3 on the jury are for them, while 3 are for the doctor. The other 6 are undecided. They need 9. The consultant points out that Jane behaves like a runway model and some of the jurors find it off-putting. Jane confronts Luke. She thinks this is all to push her to exile Deb and fully be Jane. He says it’s not all about her.

The defense questions the client about an affair he had and didn’t he think that that drove Renee to suicide. He feebly argues that she never knew, but they don’t need the consultant to see that the jury is beginning to side with the doctor. After the defense questions the dead woman’s therapist about her anti-depressant medication, they move for a directed verdict.

Kim and Jane dig deep, and Kim has an idea. The next day, she questions the doctor about the show’s schedule being changed so that filming was only 4 months long which would not have been enough for Renee to recover and that was why she was cut. Not because she was too ugly. She moves to amend the complaint to include a claim for breach of good faith and good dealing. The judge (Bruce Davison) allows the case to go forward. Which is all to the good except a juror seeks them out in the elevator and tells them that they’re going to win. He has a crush on Kim. This could lead to a mistrial. Kim tells Jane that they just won’t tell anyone.

Of course the defense finds out and brings it to the judge. He replaces the juror but tells Jane and Kim that they will deal with this after the trial. The jury returns a verdict of $2 million and another $4 in punitive damages. The judge pretty much orders Parker to donate the firm’s portion of it to the Ethics Foundation. He’s not thrilled with either of them.

Parker has an arbitration. He’s explaining to Grayson the whys and wherefores of how he became an arbitrator when someone interrupts. It’s Eric (Jaden Harmon). Elisa (Brandy Norwood) told him about Parker, and he took a bus to see him. They’ve been living in Ventura. Parker has his assistant call Elisa with the news that Eric is safe, but Eric asks to sit in on the arbitration since he wants to be with his dad.

In a nutshell: Jane handles the case of a man whose wife committed suicide after being rejected for a reality TV makeover show. The case pits her against a smooth lawyer and a blunt jury consultant whose criticism of Jane’s style makes her believe it’s Luke’s plan to make her act less like Deb. Parker is thrown by a case of two women fighting over a guinea pig they claim is their mutual reincarnated lover and by the appearance of his son at the firm. Stacy gets Teri to help her open her “pakery.”

We’re really loving the confident attitude Jane is bringing this season. The show is becoming less about a plus size lawyer trying to fit in and more about a lawyer kicking butt! Bravo, Lifetime. Bravo! So BOLD!