‘The Rainmaker’ Boss Breaks Down Sarah’s Power Move Against Rudy

[Warning: The following post contains MAJOR spoilers for The Rainmaker Episode 5.]

Rudy Baylor (Milo Callaghan) might’ve made a name for himself with his ability to conjure up caselaw in law school classes, but in a real-deal, consequential hearing, he got put to shame by his once-girlfriend Sarah Plankmore (Madison Iseman).

In the latest episode of The Rainmaker, Rudy and Bruiser (Lana Parrilla) took Tinley Britt to court to compel discovery about the “Tissue Committee,” the secret hospital advisory group that Sarah accidentally spilled the beans to Rudy about. Before the big day, Leo Drummond (John Slattery) convinced his bulldog Brad (Wade Briggs) to get close to Sarah and help her with the hearing — more importantly, to coach her on the firm’s “blood on the floor” adversarial strategy — and it worked. After getting under Rudy’s skin by mentioning the bar exam results, which she knew he didn’t get back yet, she gave him an absolute drumming, and Rudy ended up getting himself fired… again.

Christopher Barr / USA Network

“Hers is also a Faustian bargain, but we have to watch each one of them have moments of stumbles and moments where they rise. And this is a moment where she rises. She’s got the law on her side. She feels really confident. His confidence is shaken, but hers is not,” show creator Michael Seitzman told TV Insider of the scene. “What we saw prior to that scene was a moment of a little bit of Machiavellian behavior on her part, right? She wanted to figure out what was going to shake him, and she figured it out, and it worked, which is what Bruiser notices when they’re standing out in the hallway. So, I think she just walks in there like the warrior that she’s trying to become. And I think this is a moment for Rudy where he has a setback.”

Another setback for Rudy came when Bruiser decided to terminate his employment with the firm — not because of his courtroom loss, but because, in a moment of frustration, he consulted with a detective about his theory that Pitcher is a serial murderer, despite Bruiser telling him not to.

Related

'The Rainmaker': Milo Callaghan Defends Rudy's Costly Decision

“The thing about Bruiser is she’s just fiercely honest all the time, and she expects the people that work with her to be just as honest. And I think for her, it wasn’t even a question of whether it was right or wrong that he went to the police. It was a question of the fact that he works for her, and she told him not to, but he did it anyway without telling her. So, for her, it was a betrayal that she can’t abide,” Seitzman said to size up her decision.

Elsewhere in the episode, Deck’s (P.J. Byrne) research revealed that Melvin’s (Dan Fogler) mother was a former drug addict with a criminal history. Meanwhile, Kelly Riker (Robyn Cara) ended up being hospitalized after her husband’s latest abuses, and Rudy paid her a friendly visit at the hospital, however ill-advised that might be. Also, Jackie (Gemma-Leah Devereux) came very, very close to escaping Melvin’s grips by luring him to her ex-husband’s shed with a mention of the drive of files she kept on him. And Sarah was rewarded for her good work in the motion hearing with a private jet trip to London alongside Leo and Brad. Salt, meet wound.

The Rainmaker, Fridays, 10/9c, USA Network