Summary
Episode 5 turns into a game of chess as it falls apart for all the characters.
This recap of Amazon Original Goliath season 4, episode 5, “Spilt Milk,” contains spoilers.
Read the recap of the previous episode.
Like the previous season, the final ever instalment of Goliath gets darker. There’s an air of unpredictability. This is the end of the road for the character and the series. There’s a lot to solve as we reach the halfway stage of season 4.
Goliath season 4, episode 5 recap
Episode 5 opens with a children’s show, and they are being taught about medicine. The host of the show tells the children that a pill is safe as long as they follow FDA regulations. The children proceed to ask cynical questions. Season 4 has done a great job in making this topical regarding the opioid epidemic that has swept the USA.
Billy meets an old adversary in episode 5 – Donald Cooperman. He wants a favor, but Donald wants to hear from him directly. Billy asks for research letters he wrote 25 years regarding Zax Pharma. Donald reminds him that he told him not to take on Zax Pharma as a client back then. Cooperman tells Billy to destroy George Zax and his son and go after the rest of them — as he’s running out of time in his life, he wants to help Billy and stick it to the industry. And then Billy meets the attorney judge who is handling the Big Pharma cases, and to who he showed contempt in court. He wants her to come to his disciplinary hearing, so she knows the truth.
Back at the law firm, Russell Drug offers the law firm a $160 million settlement after Billy’s actions, but Patty says it is still $900 million — it negotiates down to $600 million. Outside in the smoking area, Britanny meets Patty and passes her a message from Billy. Samantha catches them talking and interrupts — it’s super awkward between the three women. As Brittany walks away, she tells Patty not to go to Billy’s disciplinary hearing.
At the disciplinary hearing, they ask for disbarment. Billy argues his case, which is not relevant to his conduct; he raises how Zax Pharma created an experimental drug 25 years ago that was meant to be non-addictive, and that he wrote a research letter on it; this means that the company knew that their drug was highly addictive 25 years ago. Regardless, Billy is suspended from law practice for a year, and he has to retake the exam. The attorney judge attended the hearing, and she talks to Samantha — she explains how Billy put his career on the line to raise a point against Zax Pharma. Samantha is now in a corner — she may have to go to trial against Big Pharma. Her colleague Eva feels she should take the position and go to trial.
While Billy remains on the outskirts, Patty is under pressure. Eva tells her that the attorney judge wants the Big Pharma case to go to trial and that she will be taking on one of the biggest trials in history. She wants Patty to step aside so Samantha can take the case — she doesn’t trust Patty. Meanwhile, Rob tells Samantha that he’s resigning and brings up how she would never make him an equity partner. Samantha then receives a call from Tom’s wife — Tom True is dead. It’s falling apart for everyone.
Samantha meets Billy at a bar where they get their medicine. She tells him that Tom True is dead and that it is has been marked as suicide. Billy tells her that she can still get on the right side of all this and reminds her that her father is dead, but she is not. Samantha then destroys the karaoke machine in anger with her walking stick — a song was playing that reminded her of the engagement party she had with Rob.
It’s falling apart for Kate, too — she is dismissed by Zax Pharma, and all her work has been removed. George’s assistant tells her to review her non-disclosure agreement. And then Kate meets Billy, and she wonders if he has the test results. Billy reveals that he is working from the outside and that she needs to trust him.
The ending
As the episode reaches an end, Samantha meets George and asks if they can have a new agreement if they go to trial — if his company wins, she’ll lose her firm and admits he has her cornered. George tells her to lose the case, and then they’ll talk, but Samantha wants a guarantee. George is not interested in the slightest. As George walks off, Samantha shouts after him, claiming that Tom True would not have killed himself.
When Kate returns home, it’s clear her apartment has been flipped over. Frank appears and tells her that George is coming for her.
Additional points
- George Zax meets an official from the FDA to discuss the new drug. There’s a hint that George will sort out the official’s retirement — it’s a bribe.
- Billy’s black and white film returns in his subconscious — his daughter tells him that he never wanted the responsibility. Billy admits he used to hate his father, but now he knows him. In his dream, there’s a note that says, “look into Arthur.”
- Billy tells Brittany to pass a message on to her daughter — “that he doesn’t resent her.” Brittany tells Billy that she’s settled down with someone called Mike, who is a good man. Billy is happy for her.
- Billy receives a package from Donald Cooperman.
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