‘The Lincoln Lawyer’: Yaya DaCosta Teases ‘So Much Fire in That Courtroom’ in Season 2 Part 2
Spoiler Alert
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for The Lincoln Lawyer Season 2 Part 1.]
Mickey Haller (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) may now be all over in the press in The Lincoln Lawyer Season 2 (the first five episodes of which are out now on Netflix), but opposing counsel Andrea Freeman (Yaya DaCosta) in the new murder trial is not impressed.
Mickey befriends (and falls into bed with) a chef, Lisa (Lana Parrilla), who ends up accused of the murder of a real estate developer she publicly (and vehemently) opposed, and the evidence is starting to stack up against her by the end of the first half of the season — especially when Andrea presents her gloves, with the victim’s blood on them, in court.
Here, DaCosta talks about Andrea’s confidence and what to expect in court going into the second half of Season 2.
I love that Andrea says so much about how she feels about Mickey with just a look.
Yaya DaCosta: [Laughs] Listen, I gave all of my looks to Andrea Freeman, looks that I’ve never given before. It was so much fun.
Lara Solanki/Netflix
This first half of the season, when it comes to the trial, ends with Andrea having to reveal Lisa’s gloves. How is Andrea feeling at that point about her case?
Going into the trial, she’s extremely confident. I, Andrea, was extremely confident because I’m used to winning, especially against people like Haller. Mickey Haller is really a character, as far as I’m concerned, that acts out of integrity. And if I believe that I have a case and that’s rooted in truth … I fully believe in the justice system. And so I go in really confidently. [With] the gloves, I think that there is a moment of relief and confidence because right before that, I could see that he was going to play some tricks and I’m not used to ever feeling uneasy. And so by the time that episode rolls around, I’m very happy to be back in my pocket of confidence.
So does Andrea truly believe that Lisa is guilty?
One hundred percent. [Laughs] Yeah, I really do believe she’s guilty.
Andrea advises Mickey to think twice about taking Lisa’s case. Is that because of something we’ve already seen or something to come?
It’s both. It’s something that you haven’t seen that that happens behind the scenes. Again, it’s about Andrea’s confidence as a lawyer. It’s about her suspicions about his involvement in the case being possibly out of integrity as well, and then some information that she gathers. You’ll see. There are a couple times during the trial — without giving any spoilers — where the timing of information being shared is kind of part of the excitement, part of the game, part of the drama. Any attorney’s going to say, “Yeah, I presented it when I could,” so who knows? But I’m sure that there are some things that, in that moment on the elevator, Andrea feels like she has in her back pocket. But there’s always a right time to confirm evidence, there’s a right time to present new information.
Andrea tells Mickey he loves eyes on him, and he then turns that back on her and says she does, too. So who is more likely to have that potentially be their downfall, Andrea or Mickey?
I don’t know about it being the cause of the downfall if there is a downfall, but I definitely think that it’s more true for Mickey. I think Andrea obviously likes to show up in court at her best, not just prepared and quick and witty and intelligent and researched, but also spiffy and cute and in the fly suits and her hair is laid. And so yeah, she knows that how she presents herself to the jury and to the judge matters. But when she says that he likes all eyes on him, she’s talking about the press, she’s talking about the public, and that’s not Andrea’s concern. So I think that statement is definitely more appropriate for Mickey.
Lara Solanki/Netflix
At one point, Mickey tells Lorna (Becki Newton) that Andrea is good and might even be better than Maggie (Neve Campbell). Would it surprise Andrea that Mickey actually said that out loud?
I have to say Andrea’s really cocky. She would be surprised if he had ever said it to her face directly, but if she heard through the grapevine that he said it out loud to someone else, it would make total sense and I think that she agrees with that. And I also think that she thinks Maggie agrees with it.
With that line though, it seems like Mickey does respect Andrea. How much does she respect him and how has that changed because of the way that he’s like now in the press?
The press is not a way to Andrea’s respect. That’s actually a deterrent. It’s actually looked down upon. She really believes in the separation of church and state and the separation of trials and public opinion because she’s seen how the press can muddy cases and how their coverage of things can kind of alter public opinion. Juries, even though there are strict rules about what they can and cannot be exposed to, people get around it, especially nowadays. Everything’s at our fingertips with these smartphones. And so she’s really wary of allowing outside influences into the sacred space of the trial. That’s how much she loves her job and believes in what she does. It is sacred and the press and the presence of it and the dramatic entrances that Mickey makes are just a distraction and honestly have the potential to weaken her case. So she’s not interested in that at all.
I really like what we’re seeing of Andrea and Maggie’s friendship because it’s really coming across as one where they just want the best for each other. That is the case, right? There are no hidden agendas there?
That is the case. They’re not “best friends call each other every night” friends, but they have real respect for each other and affection for each other. They take yoga class together. They can talk freely about their lives and sometimes even their work. So yeah, that is genuine. Now, does that mean that relationships aren’t complicated? I think most humans have had experiences where not everything is black and white or, rather, one way or another. And so as time goes on, there may be some interesting things happening, but it is a genuine friendship.
What else can you tease about where the trial is going and what we’ll see from Andrea versus Mickey in and out of the court in the second half of the season?
Honestly, there’s so much fire in that courtroom. I really love the way the writers take the viewers on a journey and present the information and the twists and turns in such a way that we really don’t know what’s going to happen, we really don’t know who to believe, and that makes it so exciting. So yeah, I think for the second half of the season, just look forward to even more tension, conflict, excitement, and chemistry.
As an actor, it’s one thing to just play a role, but when you can play with an energy of really intense back and forth between characters — and usually people use the word chemistry in a romantic way, but really, it’s any kind of energy on screen where the players are really feeding off of each other, where sparks are flying. They could be sparks of resentment, they could be sparks of competition, but whatever kind of sparks are flying, they will fly.
What else is coming up for Andrea in the remaining episodes? How much are we going to get a sense of who she is away from work?
Most of Andrea’s scenes in Season 2 are in the courtroom. However, you do get to see more of her personality. You get to see more of where she’s coming from. And in the final episode, there is another scene outside of the courtroom.
So Mickey is the Lincoln Lawyer. What would Andrea’s show title be?
Deputies Dance, Too
The Lincoln Lawyer, Season 2 Part 2, Thursday, August 3, Netflix
