Homecoming
With Wallace now free, episode 2 of For Life Season 2 sees Marie drive her husband home as he reflects on the applause he received from the prisoners inside. Back home, Jaz and Ronnie busy themselves to make sure everything is perfect for Aaron’s return home. Darius is, of course, gone and the Homecoming is a sweet moment that’s been years in the making. Despite trying to remain calm and collected, the sound of police sirens passing outside sends Wallace into a bit of a dizzying spin. Eventually he composes himself as the conversation turns to his first day on the job (at least outside the prison walls). Wallace is going to follow through with Jamal’s case and visit his sister Georgia to begin with. However, apparently Henry has a big deal for him too so at some point he needs to hear him out. Despite being freed and Maskins out the picture, Wallace is assigned a top probation officer called Williams. The man in charge (we’re not given a name) tasks Williams to go after Aaron Wallace and “trip him up”. After all, with that much power inside the prison and being able to overturn such a strong conviction, they believe that he must not be clean. With the man calling him a “crafty son of a bitch”, Williams sets out to watch Wallace like a hawk. Wallace awakens in the morning and takes in the fresh air. It’s the little things in life that he’s cherishing now, and even sees Jaz as a little girl while he’s cooking in the kitchen. It’s obvious that he’s still not over his ordeal inside and given how much time he’s lost, it’s clearly a difficult thing to adjust being back in the real world again. Wallace meets Jamal’s sister and wants her to help prove that Jamal had a bad lawyer. In order to get Jamal out, he needs to prove Tony was violent and that means getting Georgia’s statement and the file from that case. Elsewhere, Marie struggles to connect with her husband, voicing out a message for him and then changing her mind over the words she chooses. It must be difficult for her too, especially given what happened with Darius. Wallace meets Henry and learns that Spencer Richardson has a big deal for him. He agrees to do so and listens as Richardson apologizes for the mistakes he made in the past. However, he does offer something to help him going forward. Wallace is given an opportunity to work with Richardson to help a lot of people. Wallace sees straight through this façade though and realizes that all of this is for Spencer to save face after the truth about Wallace broke up. However, given the amount of money he’s offering, Wallace is in a tough position not to say yes. To make matters more complicated, Wallace is approached by his probation officer when he returns home. Williams grills Wallace for ringing the doorbell too, proceeding to take numerous pictures around the house. They’ll meet officially twice a week and he needs to be inside at 10pm on a strict curfew. He also isn’t allowed to talk to any felons. Only that’s a bit difficult given he’s actually a lawyer. This is only made worse by the fact he’ll need to run everything he does by Williams first who holds the keys to his future. Wallace is also told to stay away from Georgia as well as attend a course on how to find employment. Wallace is obviously not happy about being treated this way – especially given he already has a job – and finally understands that he’s not really free. Not yet anyway. In the morning, Wallace heads in to see Williams and hands over all the files he’s requested. When Georgia is brought up, Wallace hands over his phone and shows messages he’s sent to her. She hasn’t replied but it soon becomes clear why. It turns out the night after Wallace went to see her, the police were called in to a domestic abuse claim – and Georgia was the one somehow arrested. He pleads with Wallace to stay away but given his pride, Wallace isn’t about to play by the rules now. Wallace visits Georgia who confirms the police forced their way into her house. She tried to stop them which is why she’s inside. Unfortunately during this impromptu raid, the police found valium at hers without a prescription and as such, they’re going to get her with a misdemeanour for that. It certainly doesn’t look good for Georgia either, as she’s stuck behind bars for the time being. Wallace works his magic and phones Marie, asking her for help in tracking down programs that can help abuse victims. With Wallace serving as Georgia’s lawyer, he makes his case to the judge about enrolling her in a program. Georgia is initially hesitant but Wallace manages to get her home – on account of the girl being forced into taking random drug tests. It’s not ideal but at least Georgia is back home. When Wallace returns to Marie, she reveals that Spencer called earlier in the day. He wants to know whether Wallace is taking the deal or not. In the morning Wallace makes his decision and meets Richardson. He has new terms, which includes his own office and being able to take whatever cases he wants. He agrees to take the deal but Richardson has something for him to deal with first. If he can follow this all through to the end, Wallace will receive half of his original offer – especially given the leniency Richardson is now taking to allow Wallace to help those inside the prison. That evening, Jamal calls Wallace from a burner. After a reunion call, Wallace heads back home late (is it after 10pm?) and breaks the news to Marie that he’s taking the deal.
The Episode Review
So what is Richardson’s big case? It seems like we’ll find out sooner rather than later but the interesting dynamic with Wallace outside the prison on probation adds another dimension to this series. I’d imagine Williams will step in and act as a big block to Richardson’s case file, casting big doubts over whether Wallace will even be able to do his job properly or not. Despite being free, Wallace is still a slave to the system given he’s on probation, and Williams treating him like a felon is evidence again of the issues within the American justice system. This episode essentially acts as the first episode of the new season after last week’s conclusive chapter. The new faces included this time around certainly pose an intriguing prospect going forward too. For now we’ll have to wait and see what happens but one thing’s for sure, For Life is just starting to settle into a comfortable rhythm.
