Ep 3. The Union Leader

The Union Leader is the third episode of the first season of Pearson, an American political drama television series that premiered on USA Network on July 17, 2019, created by Aaron Korsh and Daniel Arkin. The show is a spin-off of Suits and features Gina Torres reprising her role as Jessica Pearson, a power attorney, who relocates to Chicago and becomes involved in politics.

In this episode, Jessica struggles to balance her professional and personal life as tensions rise between the City of Chicago and the Chicago Police Department following a shooting incident. She is tasked with negotiating with the union leader Cal McGinty (guest star Patrick Mulvey) who represents the police officers, and the Mayor Bobby Novak (Morgan Spector), who is also her friend and ally.

As Jessica tries to find a solution to the problem, she realizes that the situation is more complicated than she initially thought. She faces several obstacles, including resistance from both sides, and tries to navigate the political minefield while maintaining her integrity. Meanwhile, Jessica’s personal life comes under scrutiny when her dance instructor, Angela Cook (Chantel Riley), tells her that she wants to take their relationship to the next level.

The tension between Jessica and Angela creates a distraction for her, and she starts to lose focus on her negotiations with Cal and Bobby. This causes her to make a critical mistake that could jeopardize her career and reputation. At the same time, Jessica’s friend and confidant, Keri Allen (Bethany Joy Lenz), starts to question her loyalty and motives, and their relationship becomes strained.

Throughout the episode, we see flashbacks of Jessica’s past, where she faced discrimination and racism as a black woman in the legal profession. These flashbacks provide insight into her character and the struggles she faced to get where she is today.

In the end, Jessica manages to overcome the obstacles and succeeds in her negotiations with Cal and Bobby, but at a cost. She realizes that in politics, one needs to make compromises and sacrifices to achieve their goals. She also makes a decision about her personal life and decides to focus on her career for the time being.

The Union Leader is a well-crafted episode that showcases the complexities of politics and the challenges of balancing a personal and professional life. The episode is beautifully shot, and the performances of the cast are noteworthy, especially Gina Torres, who shines as Jessica Pearson. The episode leaves the viewers wanting more and sets the stage for the rest of the season.