Goliath season 4, episode 8 recap – the ending explained

This recap of Amazon Original Goliath season 4, episode 8, “It’s Time” — the ending explained — contains spoilers. 

Read the recap of the previous episode.

Well, this is it, folks — the final ever episode of Goliath. We will miss Billy, but there are so many rewatchable chapters in this series to replay that there’s a comfort that this will be a series to look back on with fondness.

Goliath season 4, episode 8 recap

The final ever episode opens with Denise in a flashback. She finds her father Billy drunk at a bar and she’s disappointed. Billy expresses that he does not need a nurse anymore after his shotgun wound. Denise desperately tries to stop him from drinking, but it leads to a heated argument. Billy admits he is trying to kill himself, and the anguish on Denise’s face is evident — she’s significantly hurt, and she’s the only person looking after him in his demise. Billy storms out but then falls over, and his daughter tells him that he’s dead to her. This is not Billy’s finest moment.

In the present day, we get a goodbye scene between Brittany and Billy. She gets upset and tells him she cannot worry about him anymore but thinks he will be okay. It’s an emotional goodbye, and she even gets to show Billy her partner, Mike. It’s nice to see Brittany with a happy ending.

George Zax is next up on the stand in court. He delivers his testimony; that his brother Frank could have been brilliant, but he was constantly suffering from mania. He claims he was never warned about the addiction to opioids and that pain management was something the family was personally invested in due to suffering. George continues to lie, stating that all research led to the drug not being addictive, and his company decided to invest in research and development when it turned out that the painkillers were addictive. George becomes the true salesman to the jury, as he persuades them, making them believe his company tried to fight the opioid epidemic.

Surprisingly, Samantha takes the line of questioning for George. She talks about how he funded and marketed to doctors, and you can tell George feels uncomfortable. She asks why he gave away free 30 days doses if he did not want to hook patients. Samantha continues, showing a photo of Tom True’s daughter Amanda, who died due to the opioid epidemic. She accuses him of creating a marketing campaign for painkillers designed for excruciating pain, like cancer patients.

After many hard-hitting blows coming George’s way, Samatha then brings up the patent for the non-addictive painkiller, and the judge warns her that she’s treading a fine line. And so, the dismissal of Frank returns, and she raises to George how Frank was the inventor of the non-addictive painkiller. She asks an obvious question — why was Frank developing a non-addictive painkiller if their products were not seen to be addictive and if Frank never warned him? It’s a “gotcha” moment, and George looks at Billy intently, knowing he has been outplayed. George admits that he knew that his brother was developing a non-addictive opioid when he fired him but that he did everything by the book and had outside legal counsel. Samantha dismisses that as hearsay.

It turns out Samantha was baiting George all along — she wanted George and his lawyer to react regarding “outside legal counsel.” With few options left, the defense calls Billy to the stand because he is the one that advised them on the non-addictive opioid 25 years ago. The defense claims that Billy told them to cease development on the experimental drug because it is dangerous. It’s also raised that Billy was prohibited from the case, and the defense proves that Patty and Samantha met Billy before this court session.

Billy admits that he has helped them on their case, so the defense tells the judge that Billy has manipulated the trial, and they submit a request for a “mistrial.” Samantha states that if Billy is innocent of the allegations, there’s no problem, so the judge allows the session to proceed.

The trial continues, and at this point, it is fascinating. Samantha asks Billy if he visited her last night, and she encourages him to share his concerns. She gives him a document, but he knows the evidence will hurt her, so he’s reluctant to continue as he knows it will hurt her. Samantha then falls over, so Billy helps her up. She whispers to him that she’s okay. Due to the dramatic turn of events, the judge asks for a recess. Samantha knows Billy cannot answer the questions due to guilt, so she gives Patty the line of questioning.

With Patty now leading again, when the session resumes, Billy reveals to the court that George Zax told Samantha about the new painkiller, and she and the billionaire worked together all this time to dismantle the civil cases. He states he was hired, so he could not use evidence against George Zax. Patty then provides evidence that proves Zax Pharma, Tillenger Health, and Russell Drug paid Samantha’s law firm $2billion to Samantha as a “retainer,” which is flagrantly inappropriate and suspicious.

Despite the objections, the judge wants to hear more. Billy tells the jury that this is a conspiracy orchestrated by George Zax to make an obscene amount of money. He sympathizes with Samantha, stating that George used her — a woman struggling with a painful illness herself and trying to keep her father’s firm alive — he puts it on the record that it is not her fault. He is clearly thinking of criminal trials against Samantha in the future.

Billy’s emotional plea to the jury continues, stating that George Zax is in the addiction business and he wants “more, and more, and more money.” He tells them about the millions of victims and gives the jury the power not to be a slave to this man anymore. This was a wonderful moment from Billy — it’s a great way to signify the end of the series.

The jury reaches a verdict, and they find the defendants guilty of the claims. The damages and amount owed to the plaintiff are $14 billion, which brings a shocking murmur in the courtroom. WIth celebrations immediately apparently, Patty asks Eva to be named partner at the law firm immediately. An angry George asks Samantha for his $2billion back, and he states he is going to bury her. His son then punches his father, and they comically start fighting.

The ending

The emotions of the final episode then hit the viewer. Outside the court, Billy tells Patty that he’s moving back to LA. They promise to keep talking to each other. Patty wants to know that in her mind, she’s hugging him. Billy looks overwhelmed in a rare moment — there are unspoken words that mean a lot to Patty. She knows he cares.

As the episode reaches near the end, Billy dreams about his daughter again, and then it flits to Hadleyville. He gets on a train which is a one-way ticket. His father tells him to get off the train as the pain only worsens for them both. There’s a brief moment of understanding between father and son — maybe Billy has made peace with this part of his subconscious, and he’s ready to live again.

The episode ends with Billy meeting his daughter, ironically at a bar, but the father and daughter smile at each other, implying that they will find a way forward. A fitting ending for a complicated character.

Additional points 

• Samantha thinks she will die in prison, but she appreciates Billy for bringing her out of the darkness.
• Billy gives Rob evidence from Britanny, proving Tom True was dragged into a car the night he died.

What did you think of Goliath season 4, episode 8 and the ending? Comment below.