Netflix's The Lincoln Lawyer set up Season 4 in several ways with the end of its latest batch of episodes.
Season 3 of the hit streaming drama just came to an end, putting its titular car-based attorney in a precarious spot.
This time around, The Lincoln Lawyer saw Manuel Garcia-Rulfo as Mickey Haller back, along with the bulk of the remaining cast, as he eyed to redeem one of his former clients, a sex worker named Glory Days, in the wake of her death.
3 Ways The Lincoln Lawyer Set Up Season 4
While no official announcement has been made about the development of The Lincoln Lawyer Season 4, that has not stopped the hit Netflix drama from setting up potential story beats that would likely be the focus of any sort of follow-up.
Thus far, the series has played quite close to Michael Connelly's line of mystery books of the same name, and a fourth season would likely be no expectation.
Some have speculated, based on where the show is at in the story of the books, that a potential Season 4 of The Lincoln Lawyer would tackle the events of Connelly's The Law of Innocence (the fifth novel in the Lincoln Lawyer book series).
[Get to Know Allyn Moriyon from The Lincoln Lawyer Season 3]
Sam Scales' Death
The big plot twist that brought Lincoln Lawyer Season 3 to an end was that Sam Scales was found dead in the back of Mickey Haller's. It turns out that Haller had no clue the dead man was bleeding out in his trunk, and it was a check during a routine stop by police that revealed the hidden body.
Scales (played by Christopher Thornton) had appeared in several episodes of the series before this, appearing as a fraudster who crossed paths with Haller on several occasions (read more about Sam Scales' death here).
Heading into a potential Season 4 of the Netflix series, Scales' murder would likely weigh heavy.
In the book a fourth season would likely be based on, the details of Scales' death are a key point, providing the narrative drive behind that particular story.
Throughout the story, it is revealed that Scales was a conman whose death ended up being a small part of a greater plot by mobster Louis Opparizio.
Opparizio, who has clashed with Haller several times in the past, killed Scales and planted the body in Haller's vehicles to frame the lawyer for murder, something that has (at least coming off of Season 3) worked.
Mickey Gets Arrested
Season 3 ended with the discovery of Sam Scales' dead body in Mickey Haller's trunk during a routine police stop, and the titular Lincoln Lawyer was arrested.
This sets up the story of The Law of Innocence perfectly, as Haller is forced to do something he has never done before, defend himself in a court of law.
The evidence looks quite damning against the titular attorney, but he has never been one to turn down a challenge before.
This will not be so easy for him though. Haller will have to build his argument from within a jail cell all while some of his political enemies working within the Los Angeles justice system eye capital punishment for the unorthodox defense lawyer.
Part of this incarcerated plot, sees Haller constantly harrassed from within prison as the powers that be hope to never see him walk free.
That is until he and the team build what they call the perfect case against the dastardly Louis Opparizio and the Los Angeles mob.
Mickey's Team Bands Together
Fans may remember Mickey's close team of confidants he was seen partying with at the end of Season 3. Well, they will be key in saving the Lincoln Lawyer from his iron confines in Season 4.
It is just after this night of partying with the team in the Season 3 finale that Haller is pulled over and arrested thanks to the bleeding-out body of Sam Scales in his trunk.
Haller will have to lean on this central team while in prison to help him build a case against Louis Opparizio and prove his innocence.
In the book, the team realizes Haller and Opparizio have a history. Years before the events of the series, Haller worked alongside Opparizio in his criminal enterprises.
However, things ended poorly between the two, as Haller was responsible for a significant financial loss for Opparizio which would bump the mobster down in standing in the criminal organization and eventually put him onto a path of revenge.
The key to bringing Opparizio down, and freeing Haller, at least in Michael Connelly's books, comes down to a government-subsidized biofuel company in the Port of Los Angeles called BioGreen.
Through the investigative power of Haller's team, it is discovered that the mob is using this company as a front. It turns out, that the U.S. government is paying the company per barrel of product produced, so the mob has been recording its input/output multiple times, to illegally boost its profits.
Connecting this company and Haller's knowledge of it to Opparizio ties the mobster to why he would want to have Haller's personal and professional lives ruined.
This will likely be key in building a case that lets the series' central attorney walk free in Season 4.
The Lincoln Lawyer is now streaming on Netflix.
