All Rise Recap: Days of Our Lives Bad Girl Steals the Show In Ripped-From-the-Headlines Celebrity Trial
Can a snarky influencer
It’s a case of “he said/she said” on this week’s episode of the OWN drama All Rise. The central case finds social media darling Gigi Raymond (aka Days of Our Lives alum Olivia Rose Keegan, who played firestarter Claire) taking on hockey star Tyler Pierce, whom she alleges turned their one-night stand into a brutal sexual assault
Live-in legal loves Mark and Amy are on opposite sides of the case, with him representing Gigi, while Amy’s charged with defending Tyler. The scenario is particularly sticky as the engaged attorneys are having a bit of a personal crisis, with Amy refusing to pick a wedding date. Rather than worry about a conflict of interest, presiding judge Lola suggests the lawyers live separately for the duration of the trial.
It quickly becomes clear that Mark’s biggest problem is going to be Gigi, who has a major likability problem. “Gigi has 1.2 million Insta followers,” points out Teddy, the young, inexperienced ADA Mark’s been tasked with breaking in. “Someone likes her!” Hoping to prevent a courtroom disaster, Sara has a private talk with Gigi, suggesting that some of her followers might also be victims of violence. “Stop just thinking about yourself,” she insists, seeming to reach the young woman.
On the stand, Gigi goes into explicit detail about the sexual activities she and the defendant were engaged in. “I’m not vanilla,” she defiantly declares. “It was fun!” Until, that is, it took a turn. She describes the encounter turning violent, admitting, “I thought he was going to kill me.”
Amy, however, produces Gigi’s text messages to the sports star, many of which indicate that the influencer had been looking for rough sex. The attorney is also able to suggest everything Gigi’s done since is part of an elaborate stunt to get more followers.
Next, Mark puts on the stand an expert witness who calls into question society’s perceptions of both victims and abusers. Gigi’s brash behavior could be seen as a defense mechanism, the expert says, while Tyler’s nice-guy image might be a facade. “You’d be shocked who goes home and beats up the person they supposedly love,” she points out. Much to everyone’s surprise, Teddy jumps up to cross-examine the sports star and scores a home run by bringing out the man’s aggressive side. In chambers, the newbie admits he was abused in the past by men like Pierce.
In the end, the jury finds the hockey player not guilty. As Pierce learns that he’s been kicked off the team for violating his morals clause, Gigi is thrilled to discover her followers crying “Justice for Gigi” outside the courtroom. “It’s verdicts like today’s that make abuse victims afraid to come forward,” sighs Lola to Sherry.
Elsewhere, Emily begins researching how to start a holistic law practice — focusing on the whole person as opposed to a single legal case — and quickly learns it won’t be easy. While visiting a women’s re-entry program designed to be an alternative to actual prison, Emily is caught up in a fight which breaks out. Despite taking a slap to the face in the melee, she remains committed to her goal. Unfortunately, her attempts to find funding for the program fail miserably.
Lola winds up under investigation thanks to Sherri’s well-intentioned efforts to “help” people on election day land them both in hot water. Lola is upset to find herself under investigation for election impropriety, saying that Sherri definitely should have known better. Lola receives notice that both she and Sherri will have to testify at an upcoming hearing on the matter, and it’s clear that things between the two are extremely strained.
As the hour comes to a close, Ness anxiously awaits the results of her bar exam. Assuming she’ll pass, everyone gathers to throw a party… during which she secretly learns that she’s failed the test.
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