“La Culebra,” the October 17, 2024 premiere of The Lincoln Lawyer season 3, gives Mickey Haller a difficult choice: defend Julian La Cosse, the man accused of murdering Glory Days, a friend and former client. The episode’s strongest idea is that Mickey’s grief and his professional duty are not separate problems—they complicate the same case. Its opening flashback deepens that conflict, while Julian’s defense supplies a mystery with room to grow.
A defense that cuts close to home
Julian La Cosse is accused of killing Glory Days, someone Mickey knew as both a friend and a former client. That makes the defense more than another assignment: Mickey must work for a man accused of harming someone he cared about, while confronting his own loss.
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Co-showrunner Ted Humphrey describes the dilemma plainly: “Normally, he wouldn’t want to represent a person accused of murdering somebody he cared about.” Humphrey says Mickey eventually becomes convinced Julian did not commit the crime and that there is more to the story. The distinction matters: Mickey’s decision is not presented simply as emotional loyalty to Julian, but as a judgment about the case that grows out of his investigation.
The premiere’s character-first approach gives that judgment weight. Mickey is not choosing between caring and doing his job; his care makes it harder to approach the job at a distance. The legal mystery and the personal crisis therefore reinforce each other, at least in the premise the episode establishes.
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#1 Best Overall
- A lawyer defending a wealthy man begins to believe his client is guilty of more than just one crime.
What the flashback adds
The opening flashback places Mickey earlier in his life: surfing, newly established in his marriage to Maggie, and coming off an acquittal. A disgruntled police officer warns him that somebody will end up dead because of his courtroom behavior. The sequence sets that earlier confidence against the lawyer now facing Glory Days’ death.
Netflix says the flashbacks were added for the series; The Gods of Guilt, the novel season 3 adapts, does not use this device. The showrunners wanted to introduce Mickey as a husband and father as well as a lawyer. That choice gives the premiere a way to frame the cost of his work through his personal history, rather than treating his professional identity as the whole character.
Rank #2
A larger mystery, not just one client
Julian’s defense is the episode’s immediate case, but the showrunners signal a wider story behind it. Co-showrunner Dailyn Rodriguez says, “There’s a bigger conspiracy behind it.” That is a setup, not proof that the premiere has already delivered a fully developed conspiracy. Its effect is to widen the question beyond whether Julian is guilty: what else might Mickey uncover as he investigates?
The resulting balance is the premiere’s main test. Glory Days’ death gives Mickey a strong emotional reason to take the case seriously, while the broader mystery offers forward momentum. The two strands are closely connected by the premise; the episode’s success depends on whether the legal work keeps that mystery concrete rather than letting the personal stakes crowd it out.
Rank #3
How season 3 relates to the books
Netflix identifies season 3 as an adaptation of The Gods of Guilt, the fifth Lincoln Lawyer novel by Michael Connelly. The novel is the source, but the show’s flashback structure is a television addition, so the season should not be treated as a scene-for-scene reproduction of the book.
Read the book behind the season: The Gods of Guilt is the novel the season draws from. The adaptation changes at least one notable storytelling device by adding the flashbacks.
Rank #4
Premiere details and reception
- Episode: “La Culebra,” season 3, episode 1.
- Release date: October 17, 2024.
- Season length: Netflix lists 10 episodes for season 3.
- Rating: TV-MA, according to Rotten Tomatoes’ episode listing.
- One critic’s response: Rotten Tomatoes lists a 9/10 review by CBR’s Brittany Frederick, dated October 21, 2024. Frederick called the premiere “both breathtakingly exciting and emotionally draining.” This is one critic’s assessment, not an aggregate score or evidence of a broader consensus.
Netflix is listed as a streaming option, but catalog access can change by region and date. Check Netflix in your location for current availability.
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