‘Bull’ Flashforward Eliminates All Suspense for Jason & Benny’s Fates
Spoiler Alert
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Season 4, Episode 15 of Bull, “Flesh and Blood.”]
Benny (Freddy Rodriguez) collapses in court, and while that ends up being more about law student Chunk (Christopher Jackson) taking over the case, at no point are we actually worried about Jason’s (Michael Weatherly) brother-in-law. And that’s solely because of the Bull Season 4 premiere flashforward.
At the end of “Labor Days,” Jason and Izzy’s daughter recounted the episode’s case to her significant other 27 years in the future — until her father and uncle called them inside. And that served two purposes: it assured fans that Jason and Benny would move past their conflict after the latter learned the former slept with his sister at their father’s funeral, and it let viewers know both men are still alive in 27 years.
And because of that, Benny’s discomfort, building up to him collapsing in the middle of court in “Flesh and Blood,” doesn’t carry the same weight it would have if another character had been in his shoes. Therefore, we’re not worried as Benny refuses to let Jason take him to the hospital, as the judge notices something’s wrong, or even as he passes out and Jason yells for someone to call 9-1-1.
(Jeffrey Neira/CBS)
It feels like the episode tries to build a bit of tension as the doctor talks to the others, but that falls flat. Benny’s appendix burst, and she shares that it would’ve been better to catch it early. “Once the appendix bursts, it releases all manner of infectious agents into the body, he could be battling potential infections for weeks, and he needs to be monitored,” she says. But we know he’s going to be fine. The only thing keeping him in the hospital bed is Chunk getting trial experience, not any real possibility of Benny not making it.
At this point, the only thing fans really need to be worried about is Benny perhaps moving on from his job at TAC. Even if he does, they know he’s going to remain in Jason and his niece’s lives. Plus, given that Benny returned after a brief departure over what happened between Jason and Izzy, another job change is unlikely to happen any time soon.
So, that begs the question. Was it really worth that new storytelling technique to reveal the outcome of the premiere case? Or is it nice to know that you don’t have to worry about Jason and Benny dying during the show’s run?
Bull, Mondays, 10/9c, CBS
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