Mark Watches ‘Monster’: Episode 52 – The Lawyer

In the fifty-second episode of Monster, I have been personally targeted and attacked by this show. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Monster. 

Trigger Warning: For alcoholism

I wasn’t ready. I WASN’T FUCKING READY. 

Before I talk about The Thing—which just might be the greatest, most cleverly disguised twist I’ve seen in ages—I want to talk at length about how this episode presents a compelling notion of justice and morality. Part of me is worried to invest anything in Fritz Vardemann because it’s possible that Johan is just going to take him out as soon as he gets even close to the truth. Actually, at this point, I feel like everyone is a potential victim, so… great. That’s great. But anyway! Fritz fascinated me because I imagine he’s never met a person quite like Dr. Tenma. Both of them are highly principled, though they approach morality in such different ways. One of my favorite things about “The Lawyer” is how it loops the narrative back around to the question posed by the premise: was it right for Tenma to save Johan over Mayor Roedecker? And did that single act invalidate Tenma’s belief that all people are equal? 

Within Franz’s backstory is a similar exploration of justice. His own father experienced an injustice so severe and so deeply cruel that it inspired his son to devote himself to “saving” people who might possibly be innocent. It’s an admirable and noble mission, of course, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy or without its complications. When Schuwald first approached Franz, he actually rejected taking Tenma’s case. Why? Because there was too high of a chance that Franz would be motivated by profit. Like Tenma, Franz sticks to a rigid set of rules, and for him, he has to want to genuinely prove someone did not commit a crime. And like Tenma, he never truly knows if the person before him is good or evil. Instead, he has to have faith that the job he’s doing will put some goodness back in the world, especially since there was no goodness offered his father. 

I think Franz recognized that sort of selflessness in Tenma, especially since Tenma wasn’t interested in proving his own innocence. Tenma’s moral code necessitates that Johan be identified and stopped because Johan has put so much evil into the world. Plus, Tenma still feels an immense responsibility for Johan, since he could have operated on the Mayor instead and avoided this entire nightmare. Now, I recognize why Tenma feels this, even though the real responsibility lies with Johan. Johan was the one who chose to be a serial killer, and he was the one who chose to be a living nightmare. Still, this is what Tenma has dedicated his life to, and now, he’s got another supporter, one who might actually be able to change Tenma’s fate. And hell, Tenma might not have even gone down this path if he hadn’t met Gunther Milch.

WHAT A WEIRD STORY THIS IS. I don’t really have a reason to believe that anything Milch said wasn’t true. His “origin” story was just… what the fuck??? But what’s so intriguing about this is how Milch’s desire to escape in the face of one impossibility after another inspired Tenma. Why? Well, I’d argue that Milch made it clear that Tenma had given in to despair. Yes, Tenma’s predicament feels hopeless, but has hopelessness ever stopped Milch? No, he’s gonna escape and travel to Tunisia one day because WHY THE FUCK NOT. Walls and bars haven’t stopped Milch; why should they stop Tenma?

I say all of this, but recognize that this is still deeply, deeply complicated. I don’t know what Franz’s plan is going to be. (And his plan is, of course, horribly messed up by The Thing, but we’ll get there.) As Franz discusses with Dr. Reichwein, Tenma has fantastic character witnesses, as there are plenty of people who will testify that he was a wonderful person to all of them. On the other hand, there’s a ton of circumstantial evidence, and Tenma does not have a single alibi for ANY of the murders, especially those committed once he left Düsseldorf. Well, he has one, but Eva Heinemann is not exactly someone who can be a credible witness for the court. Dr. Reichwein knows this, too! He watches as she rejects the offer to testify to save Tenma, claiming she’d rather know that he suffered in jail for the rest of his life. FOR DUMPING HER. Even though, if I recall correctly, she was the one who abandoned him??? So, is her own mental trauma around witnessing Johan leaving the scene of Junkers’s murder enough to push her to testify? And even if she agrees, there’s a bigger problem.

Yeah. The lawyer that Dr. Tenma’s patients hired is not someone named Mr. Baul. I am still reeling from that final scene, when Tenma looks up and sees ROBERTO sitting across from him. I LEGITIMATELY FORGOT ABOUT HIM. Even though I (correctly!!!!) claimed that I couldn’t count him as dead without seeing his body! And there’s something so perfectly insidious about his character spending months in hiding and then using Tenma’s arrest to get back to him. It’s exactly what I would expect of him, so I didn’t question the believability of the reveal at all. 

Roberto’s next target is Eva. Oh, fuck, y’all, is he still working for Johan? WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING.

The video for “The Lawyer” can be downloaded here for $0.99.

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