Everyone rises for the dramatic climax of Judge Michael Desiato’s terrible story. Season 2 of “Your Honour” has concluded, answering many questions about what lies ahead for the troubled New Orleans group we’ve grown to love over the last two seasons.
This season, Michael Desiato (Bryan Cranston) must deal with the consequences of Adam’s (Hunter Doohan) death. Following a terrifying confession, Michael serves a year in prison before being released to assist the government in bringing down the Baxter crime family. As the season develops, Michael discovers the truth about his wife’s murder, grows closer to Fia (Lilli Kay) and his grandson, Rocco (Benjamin Wadsworth), and struggles to break free from the lies that have kept him trapped for so long.
However, this season delves further into the characters who comprise the mosaic of Michael and Adam’s lives. We learn more about the Baxters and their dealings, Fia’s golden heart and desire to leave the family business, Big Mo (Andrene Ward-Hammond) and Little Mo’s (Keith Machekanyanga) complicated lives and relationships, and, most intriguingly, Charlie Figaro’s (Isiah Whitlock Jr.) involvement in areas we were unaware he played a role in.
After seeing Season 2’s startling finale, which featured significant revelations, breaking relationships, and many unsolved issues, we delved into what the season’s end means for the characters and storylines of “Your Honour.”
This season, Big Mo and Little Mo face a variety of challenges. Not only are they both working on their own separate agreements, but they also have a disagreement that jeopardises the integrity of their partnership for the whole of the season. However, Little Mo abandons his pals in order to regain Big Mo’s favour, and the two rejoin as a team at the end of the season.
Now that Big Mo is in business with Gina (Hope Davis), everything may change for her. To be honest, Big Mo needed the win of being able to sell in the quarter without the Baxters chasing her, especially since Janelle (Ciara Renée), the love of her life, ended her relationship. Janelle was Big Mo’s only human connection, and the primary reason Little Mo is still alive. Now that she’s gone, Big Mo is likely to bring in a new, dangerously fierce period in the company.
Little Mo is securely back at Big Mo’s flank, and it appears that he has finally learnt his lesson about what happens if he opposes Big Mo’s orders. The two are excellent parallels to Carlo (Jimi Stanton) and Gina, and the interaction between the four of them in the last episode paves the way for a spin-off.
One of the most intriguing aspects of “Your Honour” Season 1 is discovering which police personnel are connected to the separate Baxter and Desire gangs. This season focuses on police corruption in New Orleans and introduces a few new characters to connect into the death of Michael’s wife, Robin. When Michael discovers the police corruption, he immediately informs Detective Nancy Costello (Amy Landecker), who agrees to assist him. Furthermore, Nancy and Lee (Carmen Ejogo) work well together with Olivia Delmont (Rosie Perez) to eliminate police corruption in the New Orleans administration.
Though the three strong women have sworn to uphold the integrity of the New Orleans judicial system, it is unclear whether any future officers will be linked to corruption or fall under the Baxters’ rule to ensure their wrongdoings are never punished. For the time being, Robin’s murderer has been apprehended, and the most corrupt of them all, Rudy Cunningham (Cullen Moss), has died.
This season, the viewers learned a great deal more about Charlie. The idea that Charlie is genuinely working with corrupt officers in the force is one thing, but the most shocking discovery is that he was the one who called Robin, Michael’s wife, on the night she died. After they spoke on the phone, Charlie called the police officers he worked with and informed them of her knowledge, which resulted in her death. Michael eventually confronts his best friend about this, and he confirms it.
Throughout the season, Charlie’s major preoccupation has been whether or not he will win his reelection bid for mayor. After Michael dropped the truth bomb in court about Kofi Jones (Lamar Johnson) removing his car at his request to protect Adam, Charlie was expected to be implicated. However, because the corruption in the police department has already been exposed and Michael has never specifically mentioned Charlie’s name in court, Charlie’s position as mayor is safe… for the time being. With Gina and the Baxters still roaming the city and his constituents dissatisfied with all of the promises he has failed to keep, it is unclear how long Charlie will remain in government.
One of the most intriguing and unexpected aspects of this season came from Fia and Adam’s son, Rocco. The adorable infant is born long after Adam’s death and becomes an unexpected addition to the Baxter family. Fia desperately wants Rocco and Michael to be together, and they eventually do. However, after discovering the truth about Adam murdering Fia’s brother and Michael and Jimmy (Michael Stuhlbarg) covering it up, Fia hits a breaking point with everyone she knows in New Orleans.
Fia actually seeks sanctuary within the church where she intended to baptise Rocco. She understands that her family is capable of awful acts and that she cannot trust Michael, so she decides to leave New Orleans and start over. However, as a 17-year-old who has not yet completed high school, she understands that she will not be able to keep herself on the run from her family and rear a child, so she places Rocco for adoption.
She knows he will find a better home than she can provide, so she makes a clean break. Ultimately, this decision benefits them both: Rocco has a loving home away from the threat of becoming a Baxter, and Fia has the opportunity to do the same for herself and forge her own path. Still, Fia is the only character who hasn’t done anything wrong, and her entire world is upended, resulting in a sad finale for the mother and son.
The most startling, yet least surprising, aspect of the climax is Gina’s resolve to ruin the men in her life and take over. She convinces her father that Jimmy would jeopardise the family by going to the police, so he shoots him. He is sentenced to prison for attempted murder, and Jimmy is in serious condition. Gina has always been the genuine genius, therefore it is only natural that she takes over and becomes the crime family’s leader. With Jimmy out of the picture and Carlo at her side, Gina begins doing business her way, beginning with a contract with Big Mo.
The difficulty here, however, is that Jimmy Baxter is not killed in the incident. The audience is supposed to assume he did, but they are shortly shown a video of him waking up in the hospital. This poses a significant threat to Gina. If Jimmy discovers that Gina set him up, the outcome is unpredictable. Jimmy could talk to Gina’s father and get him out of prison, which would open up a whole new set of troubles for Gina. Jimmy could simply confront Gina and retrieve what he had inherited and worked for, or Gina could launch another attack on Jimmy. In any case, are the Baxter crime family’s patriarch and matriarch going up against each other? That may make for a terrific, stressful, and drama-filled spinoff.
In the conclusion, Eugene (Benjamin Flores Jr.) is still on trial for Adam Desiato’s murder. Throughout the season, the audience has learned more about Eugene, his heart, and even some of his mental health challenges. Every action and moment builds up to the trial, in which Lee must do her best to persuade the court that Eugene is not guilty. She succeeds with the help of Michael, and Eugene is free to leave. However, as one of New Orleans’ most sought men, Eugene understands that he must leave if he is to live a clean life.
That is where Olivia comes in. She understands that the Baxter trial will be major, and she believes that putting Eugene in witness protection will keep him safe and allow him to start over. Olivia does this because she cares for him, not because she needs him.
Eugene may now start over. It will be difficult for him to have lost his entire family and experienced so much pain at such a young age, not to mention the fact that he will have to spend the rest of his life looking over his shoulder. However, when Eugene is driving away to his new life, we watch his character experience actual calm for the first time – this is how we know he will succeed.
The ending raises doubts about Michael’s willingness to testify in court. Michael has been conditioned to hold secrets for so long in order to protect his son that he finds it difficult to reconcile coming open right now. However, Michael has the option of lying on the stand and claiming he did not see Eugene. However, Michael decides to disclose the truth, and while he does not directly set Eugene free, he does aid by informing Lee about the gas leak.
What’s fascinating here is the parallel between Eugene and Adam. Both were good youths attempting to support their families and live normal lives when they were involved in a war they never intended to fight: Eugene with the Desire Gang and Adam with the Baxters. Michael, despite his grief at his son’s death, clearly recognises a resemblance to Adam in his killer. Finally, Michael exposes the truth since he can’t save his son and has nothing left to live for.
Eugene still has a fighting chance in the world, and Michael believes he can help by informing Lee about the gas leak. Michael’s thoughts are further confirmed after the trial, when he speaks with Eugene and sees his decent heart and significant guilt over his wrongful killing. It’s a stunning scene that serves as a fitting redemption for Michael.
Some fans may forget that Michael was not intended to be released from prison in the first place; he was let out on the condition that he would help Olivia bring down the Baxters. Throughout the season, Michael struggles to comprehend why he lied in the first place, aside from to protect his son. Now that Adam is no longer alive, Michael is less concerned with concealing the truth, so he decides to reveal it.
This means that Michael, finally deciding to accept responsibility for his acts, confesses to everything: manipulating Carlo’s trial, covering up Adam’s murder, and more. Michael appears to have left Charlie out of the picture, which is extremely generous given Charlie’s role in his wife’s death. But, aside from that, it appears Michael tells the cops everything. How long will Michael serve his prison sentence? Who knows. What we do know is that he is very content to do so, especially because he is still deeply anchored in the law and believes he deserves it. Plus, with Adam gone and baby Rocco out of his life, Michael has no one left to protect. This allows him to come clean and accept full responsibility for his mistakes.