Summary
The opening chapter of the final season reveals a new case, but the world feels different after Billy survived a near-death experience. The brilliant acting and directing remain as sharp as ever.
This recap of Amazon Original Goliath season 4, episode 1, “Hadleyville,” contains spoilers.
Read the recap of the season 3 finale.
It irks me that Goliath is not talked about more, especially regarding social media and award nominations. It’s brilliantly directed, and the acting is applaudable and consistent. We reach the final ever season, so let’s enjoy it as much as we possibly can.
Goliath season 4, episode 1 recap
The opening of episode 1 shows a news report. A student named Amanda was a victim of the opioid crisis, and father and lawyer Thomas True is attempting to sue Tillingerheath and Russell Drug. The scene flits to Tom, and he escapes his apartment as his law firm comes to check on him. Goliath season 4 is going to involve the opioid crisis.
And then we arrive back to the final scenes from season 3. Billy leaves a bar, and Diana shoots him. Dead at this point, Billy’s subconscious travels to what looks like a black and white western film — he’s in a town called Hadleyville. And then the scene flits to a living room, and he’s sat with his father watching TV. In the present day, it’s revealed that Billy survived — he has post-injuries from the shotgun wounds, but a doctor in Chinatown is helping him, prescribing him medication where he has to go to a backstreet bar.
Late at night, Patty heads to Billy’s apartment. She tells him that the opioid case is extensive and she could use some help, but Billy is not interested. The conversation does not last long as Patty is irritable. Across the way in another apartment, a man is watching them.
The next day, Billy joins Patty at the fancy law firm she works at — they have a meeting, and the group announces that Thomas True has disappeared, so Billy is taking his place. Soon after, Billy has an anxiety attack and leaves. He’s clearly impacted by what happened to him.
At the backstreet bar, Billy bumps into Samantha Margolis, the managing partner at the law firm. Billy tells her he once was against her father Samuel in court. Samantha talks about her medical conditions and that she’s also referred for medication from the same doctor in Chinatown. Billy opens up, stating he has half a lung — he reveals he flatlined for 6 minutes and witnessed a fractured movie about his life.
Late in the night, Billy receives a strange call. The man on the phone tells him to look near the sink on the top draw. Inside, there are binoculars — the man across the way in the other apartment points his fingers at him to make a gun sign. Once again, Billy finds himself in danger.
Trying to get a feel for the case, Billy enters Thomas’s office. He then finds Rob watching a video of George Zax (played by J.K. Simmons), the CEO of Zax Pharma. Rob tells Billy that he’s a showman. Billy asks Rob for Tom’s notes, but Rob tells him he did not trust the system — he does not believe Tom would walk away from this case as it was personal to him — Rob feels someone spooked Tom.
The ending
As we reach the ending of episode 1, Billy watches a deposition led by Tom — in the video, he can hear a phone call with Tom that suggests he was talking to a whistleblower. As Billy walks home, a car seems to be following him. While Billy’s life has drastically changed, he still attracts enemies.
Additional points
- Late at night, Billy rings Brittany, and they catch up. It’s clear he isn’t speaking to his daughter Denise at this point.
- Samantha and Rob at the firm are concerned about Thomas True’s whereabouts.
- It’s clear that the firm is financially strained, but Samantha is confident that they will win with Billy and Patty.
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