FAMILY LAW – Season 2 Episode 5 – SPOILERS

Nina Beasley, the Svensson and Svensson receptionist whose name is a thinly veiled reference to MOOMLIGHTING (the Blue Moon Detective Agency‘s receptionist was played by Allyce Beasley), is off backpacking around the world with her dad. Last episode, a temp filled in, but was too timid for the job, but this week Winston Verdad (Ryan Lino) takes over.

Had Nina stayed, she and Cecil Patterson (Brett Kelly) might well have gotten together. Cecil, whose first name means “sixth”, is in many ways similar to DiPesto’s boyfriend Herbert Quemtin Viola, whose middle name means “fifth”. Cecil gets off on the wrong foot with Winston by taking all the credit for work that the new receptionist helps him with.

This week’s client is Phaedra (Rebecca Jenkins) who runs an escort agency. Harry (Victor Garber) has hired one or two of her employees over the years to entrap the spouses of his divorce case clients. The two meet for lunch, and Phaedra tells him that four years ago, she met Arthur Jenkins, the man of her dreams.

Arthur died suddenly, leaving Phaedra half of his estate, and his daughter Esme (Rochelle Greenwood) is contesting the will. “Arthur and I met when his wife, Linda, was still alive,” Phaedra explains. “She had Parkinson’s. He nursed her through her long illness until her death, three years ago…We moved in together a month after Linda passed, but Arthur had been mourning her for years. Esme couldn’t accept it, or us.”

The court upholds the validity of Arthur’s will, so Phaedra’s situation seems to have nothing in common with what befell the daughter of King Minos.

Craig the Pug (played, according to the end credits, by a dog named Dexter) still accompanies Daniel (Zach Smadu) to the office. Daniel is currently dating Clara (Françoise Yip) but has also met Martina Hadish (Miranda Edwards), who is a chef, and around whom (according to Lucy) he seems less uptight. Lucy may have a point. Last episode, Daniel took a date (not Clara) to Martina’s restaurant and qualified his dinner order with “No bread for the table, fish baked with oil, not butter, sub the rice for extra veg, sauce on the side, and easy on the salt.” Martina has the server refuse his request, and (after his date abandons him) provides Dan with a dinner that includes nearly every item on his do-not-eat list (pan-seared rib-eye medallions with a mushroom-peppercorn sauce, served with potatoes cooked in white truffle butter, topped with Gruyère cheese). Daniel decides he likes it.

Lucy (Genelle Williams) is bothered by Abby’s suggestion that Harry was probably unfaithful to every woman he was involved with, including Lucy’s mother. “I have this vivid memory when I was six,” Lucy tells her brother. “I kept agitating for all of us to sleep in a tent in the backyard. My mom finally agreed, but she said it would just be the two of us, because Dad was working late again. I heard him pull in the driveway around three in the morning… then she started crying. She was trying to be quiet, so I wouldn’t hear.” Daniel suggests she could just ask Harry about it, but cautions her to be prepared for the answer. Lucy is still separated from her pregnant wife Maggie (Ali Liebert) who is presently sharing an apartment with Alyse (Camille Atebe).

An unfortunate situation develops when Abby goes on a date, leaving Sofia (Eden Summer Gilmore) and Nico (Brendan Sunderland) in the care of their grandmother Jojo (Lauren Holly), who goes out somewhere and leaves the kids alone. Sofia accesses the liquor cabinet, takes a bottle with her to a friend’s house, and gets wasted. Nico, now alone, decides to walk the seventeen kilometers from Deep Cove (where Jojo lives) into Vancouver to visit his grandpa.

When Frank (Luke Camilleri) discovers all this he decides he should have full custody of both kids and takes them away. Frank has reacted excessively to every family crisis, making one wonder if there might be something else he doesn’t want Abby to find out.

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Seasons One through Three of FAMILY LAW cam be streamed on The CW.
In Canada, Season Three will begin airing on Global TV this winter.
In Australia, Seaaons Two and Three can be streamed on 9Now.