Geeze - total plot device that she was terrible and almost let the kids slip through Kidman's character's fingers..
Also I had no recollection of Kidman's character being an attorney. Missed that entirely... or they just made it up.
So true. It really felt like she was working undercover for the mother in law the way she was like "take the plea deal" and also didn't object to things during the proceedings. She just stayed quiet. The lawyer was crap and I would have sacked her on the spot.
shareIt seems that most of the posters here forgot that Mary Louise’s attorney gave her a list of all his best colleagues in the area, and told her to call every one of them and discuss retaining their services. That would make them inaccessible to Celeste: conflict of interest. She made those calls before Celeste was served her papers, so she had very few options for counsel unless she brought someone in from far away. Remember what else Mary Louise’s attorney said: “NO one wins a case like this.” He’s absolutely right, and Ms. Barnes knows it. Remember, this was a civil hearing, not a criminal trial by jury. Dramatic behavior gets a scolding from the judge, who I thought was really good, and not a rush of sympathy from a lay jury. Objections in civil cases are entertained much less than they are in criminal matters. Ms. Barnes played defense, and was not Perry Mason on the attack. And she was also the best that Celeste, who was clearly an attorney in Season 1, could get.
shareThanks , great post...informative, insightful, and only slightly lessons my frustration of the attorney character...I rolled my eyes when she gave Celeste a hug at the end of the trial.
shareShe wasn't that bad. It's important to realize that a family court in a custody trial has different rules than most courtrooms.
shareYes. I thought Celeste's lawyer in the hearing scene where the grandmother was making a statement trying to get undue influence with the judge was a good one, and she was 100% right. Celeste always being able to be counted on to over-reacting and get emotional ... is a good point that she is not firing on all cylinders as mother or a person ... but that's not to say the grandmother is a better custodian for the children.
What I found fake was that Celeste is maybe not brilliant, but we have to assume she is above average intelligence, but she missed the grandmother's overbearingness, heavy-handedness and bullying style. Why did Celeste exhibit zero boundaries with that woman who undercut her very being by accusing her at every turn. No one could miss that and it was hard to accept that Celeste did.
I would not trust your opinion if you did not watch the first season close enough to remember when Celeste was helping Maddy legally with the Mayor who was working with ?? the Laura Dern character to shut down the puppet play. That was not a minor thread.
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