Lincoln Lawyer Season 2 Ending Explained: Is Lisa Trammel guilty of murder?

As it happened with the first season, in Season 2 as well, The Lincoln Lawyer proved to be one of those series that keeps you on your toes until the final scene. You always look for something you didn’t see, and the truth is never the one you feel is apparent. One of the reasons is that Michael Connelly’s mastery is behind the series, but that’s not the only one: the TV show can take the initiative and expose facts a little differently, which happened in Season 2.

1. Did Lisa Trammel Kill Michell Bondurant?

The Lincoln Lawyer Season 2 Part 2 came to a close on Netflix on August 3, 2023, and it was a wild ride from start to finish. The season finale, titled “Bury Your Past,” answered many questions but also raised a few new ones.

One of the biggest questions that was answered in the finale was who killed Mitchell Bondurant. The penultimate episode revealed that Walter Kim, a health inspector, Mickey Haller’s client Trevor Elliot had bribed, was the natural killer. Kim had killed Bondurant because he was threatening to expose Elliot’s corruption.

With Kim dead, Lisa Trammel would be found not guilty of Bondurant’s murder. However, in the finale, Mickey had a post-coitus epiphany and realized that Lisa had killed her ex-husband, Jeff Trammel.

Mickey had previously suspected Lisa of Jeff’s murder, but he had let it go because he was too focused on defending her against the charges of killing Bondurant.

Haller forgets about the husband after the trial when Lisa has been found not guilty. But then, one day, he hears the same sounds he’d heard in the background while talking to Jeff on the phone. He asks Cisco to look into something, and his suspicions are proven right.

It turns out that the man who posed as Jeff and asked for money was Lisa’s ex-employee who had worked at the restaurant a while back. He was an out-of-work actor whom Lisa hired to pose as Jeff. It was he who talked with Haller over the phone.

In the finale, Mickey confronts Lisa about Jeff’s murder. When Jeff filed for divorce, she risked losing the restaurant she’d worked so hard to build, so she killed him and then buried him in the backyard, where she planted cilantro, which he hated.

The garden ensured that no one would dig there except her, which meant Jeff would never be found. This was another reason why she didn’t want to leave the restaurant even when offered millions of dollars to do it.

If she gave up the place, then sooner or later, the body would be dug out, and she would have to face the consequences of her actions. She couldn’t risk anyone knowing it.

Lisa admitted that she had killed Jeff but claimed she had done it in self-defense. She said that Jeff had been abusive towards her and that she had killed him in a moment of rage.

Mickey didn’t believe Lisa’s story, but he had no evidence to prove that she was lying.

When Haller found out about it, he was shocked and appalled. He wasn’t her lawyer anymore, but he didn’t feel he could tell the cops.

Lorna, on the other hand, didn’t have any such inhibitions. Haller exits the restaurant after talking to Lisa, and the cops arrive at her place. Haller tells them where the body might be buried, and once that’s found, Lisa’s guilt would be proven, and she would have to spend the rest of her life in prison.

2. The Unexpected Death Twist of Season 2

Despite telling Mickey that she will go to Hawaii for a while at the end of The Lincoln Lawyer season 2, part 1, it’s revealed in the finale that Glory Days met an untimely end in Los Angeles instead. Given the reveal of Glory’s murder is the last big moment before the end of The Lincoln Lawyer season 2, what happened to her and who’s behind her murder is a central mystery for the series.

However, Glory’s death and who killed her has a far more considerable significance than just serving as a twist ending, potentially becoming a crucial turning point for the series.

Glory Days’ murder is a devastating reveal for The Lincoln Lawyer, with Mickey’s new client being connected to the case, making it even worse. After the conclusion of Lisa Trammell’s trial in The Lincoln Lawyer, Mickey learns that he has a new client, Julian Lacosse.

Lacrosse has been accused of murdering his friend, Giselle Dallinger, a crime he maintains that he had nothing to do with. Something even more puzzling about Lacosse’s case is the fact that Lacosse says Giselle recommended Mickey to him, though Mickey has no recollection of knowing a Giselle Dallinger.

Tragically, the mysteries surrounding Julian Lacosse’s case begin to make sense when Mickey goes to identify the victim, Giselle.

When Mickey arrives, he realizes the person that Lacosse is accused of murdering isn’t really “Giselle Dallinger,” but one of his repeat clients, Gloria Dayton (aka Glory Days), who was last seen at the beginning of The Lincoln Lawyer season 2.

Not only has Mickey learned of the death of his acquaintance, but he now has to defend Julian Lacosse, the person accused of committing the crime.

3. Why Glory Days’ Death Will Be So Important In The Lincoln Lawyer Season 3?

Glory Days’ death is one of the biggest reveals in The Lincoln Lawyer season 2, but her death will be much more important than just a twist ending. Before the release of The Lincoln Lawyer season 2, part 2, it was unclear what the plot of season 3 could be, with several books equally likely contenders.

However, by showing Glory’s body, The Lincoln Lawyer confirms that the next season will at least partially be based on the fifth book in the series, The Gods of Guilt. This is the most significant update about The Lincoln Lawyer season 3 thus far, placing paramount importance on season 2’s final scene.

The hint toward The Lincoln Lawyer season 3’s storyline also signifies that the next season could be a significant shift for the series. In the first two seasons of The Lincoln Lawyer, Mickey is called to defend people he doesn’t know, accused of committing crimes he has no attachment to, making the cases merely work for him.

However, Julian Lacosse’s case will be radically different since Mickey knew Glory, the victim of the crime. This will undoubtedly bring an emotional edge to the legal side of The Lincoln Lawyer that has previously been unexplored, meaning season 3 could be the Netflix adaptation’s most important installment yet.

4. About The Lincoln Lawyer

The Lincoln Lawyer is an American legal drama television series created for television by David E. Kelley and developed by Ted Humphrey, based on the books of Michael Connelly.

It stars Manuel Garcia-Rulfo as Mickey Haller, a defense attorney in Los Angeles who works out of a chauffeur-driven Lincoln Navigator rather than an office. Neve Campbell, Becki Newton, Jazz Raycole, Angus Sampson, and Christopher Gorham also star.

The first season is based on Connelly’s 2008 novel The Brass Verdict, a sequel to his novel The Lincoln Lawyer. It premiered on Netflix on May 13, 2022.