The Good Fight Season 5, Episode 5 recap: And the firm had two partners…

The Good Fight Season 5 continues to incorporate COVID-19 into its storyline and is perhaps one of the only shows that have been doing it in a way that doesn’t traumatize you. The year was difficult and tragic for so many people around the world, so watching it on a television show and having to relive the horror is not ideal.

This series interweaves the pandemic into the episode this week via Jay’s (Nyambi Nyambi) near-death experience with the virus. He contracted COVID-19 last year, but it was his time in the hospital that oddly ends up being crucial in a case.

While he was in the thick of his symptomatic COVID chaos, aka a coma, Jay was privy to random conversations between nurses and doctors. These tidbits seeped into his memories as numbers and random facts, which didn’t surface until he started helping Liz (Audra McDonald) and Carmen (Charmaine Bingwa) with a case.

Jay’s experience as a comatose patient during the thick of COVID-19 reminds how hard all the brave healthcare professionals worked during an awful time. We continue to be in awe of all those in the trenches and salute you for all the sacrifices you made and continue to make.

The Good Fight Season 5, Episode 5 recap: Oscar Rivi

Jay’s astounding ability to recollect hidden memories comes in handy after Oscar Rivi (Tony Plana) is released from jail. He decides to pursue a lawsuit against Harbor Hospital for negligence in taking care of his daughter, who passed away due to COVID.

The hospital fights back with full force, saying they did all they could do, but thanks to Jay’s investigative abilities, he finds a TikTok video starring a Harbor Hospital nurse. In her videos, she talks about the racial disparity between White patients and patients of color. She felt that patients of color were the last priority and didn’t shy away from calling out the hospital as much as she could.

Sorting through his memories, Jay recalls a specific number later connected to the hospital reclassifying COVID deaths as pneumonia or heart failure. The guess here would be is that they were trying to hide their racial discrimination practices, but the hospital’s lawyer, “Racehorse Diaz” (Danny Pino), is dead set on proving that was not the case.

In fact, his time as a seasoned lawyer who never loses becomes problematic for Carmen, who can’t take him on alone. This is why Liz joins her in fighting against Harbor Hospital, per Oscar’s wife, Isabel’s (Stephanie Nogueras) request.

The episode reveals how one nurse’s pleas over social media eventually become a problem as she gains more recognition. Her efforts were noble, but in a world where social media can give you all the attention you’re looking for, those efforts can get lost.

Rivi’s case against the hospital doesn’t end up as strong as he would have liked and ends with Diaz beating the crap out of him. He was at his wit’s end, and Diaz is all kinds of awful, so I get it.

Through this whole story, I couldn’t help but think about how The Good Fight Season 5 was trying to tell the story of the pandemic. We got an interesting perspective of the trenches, but more so on the racial and societal discrimination of the ordeal. Not to mention, it gave us perspective on how healthcare providers had to make urgent decisions with dire consequences. It wasn’t always a race thing but more of a “who is healthier and who is sicker” thing. We all remember the horror of ventilators running out and doctors making the final decision on who could get them or not.

I don’t like to look back, but it’s an unfortunate reality that took place, and my heart breaks thinking of what the ones impacted the most had to endure. The Good Fight simply reminds us of the hardships that came with it for all those involved, and it’s heartbreaking.

The Good Fight Season 5, Episode 5 recap: Kurt–guilty or not?

The Kurt (Gary Cole) storyline wraps up with a neat little bow after a lot of back and forth drama. He had been caught in the middle of the Capitol insurrection because of his gun-training group, who he inadvertently trained ahead of that horrible day.

Of course, he didn’t know about any of it, but the blame fell on him, and everyone involved refused to come forward to vouch for him. Diane (Christine Baranski) can’t help but get involved in the case, although Kurt eventually asks her to leave it and has Julius (Michael Boatman) take over. There is a bit of animosity between them because Diane is why Kurt is being investigated in the first place. Had she not called in to report one of the men involved with the insurrection, the spotlight wouldn’t have been on Kurt.

And there is also the fact that Kurt refuses to give up any names, so Diane decides to do some work behind the scenes with Marissa’s (Sarah Steele) help. They track down the women from Kurt’s group and ultimately blackmail her into speaking up on Kurt’s behalf.

It works like magic and ultimately gets Kurt out of the clutches of the FBI–and maybe, just maybe, saves his and Diane’s marriage. But the verdict is still out on that.

Until next week!

What did you think of this week’s episode of The Good Fight Season 5? Tell us in the comments below!