Burden of Truth Season 4 Episode 1 Review: River City
Laura Nowak
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We're finally starting the fourth and final season. The show could have easily ended with Burden of Truth Season 3 Episode 8 when Joanna Chang (Kristin Kreuk) won her season-long case and found out she was pregnant.
However, the show made it work by doing a similar strategy that they employed between Burden of Truth Season 1 and Burden of Truth Season 2 after Joanna won the Matheson Steel case, including digging deeper into character arcs.
On Burden of Truth Season 4 Episode 1, all of the characters struggled with personal issues, but Joanna clearly struggled the most.
She and Billy tried to balance parenting their new daughter while taking on a controversial legal battle against a powerful mine company that wants to open an old gold mine outside of Millwood.
Joanna's client Helen believed that the land needs to be protected. She feels land is what roots us for future generations, and that kind of farmland is irreplaceable.
When you protect the land, so shall you protect its daughters.
Helen
The whole town is against this idea, including Joanna's mommy group. One of the moms, Beth (played by Good Witch's Sarah Power), was chosen to tell her that she couldn't be in the group anymore. It really did look like a mean girls clique back in middle school or high school.
Helen: It's about you and your baby, not a bunch of mean moms.
Joanna: It's just like the girls in high school.
They didn't think Joanna was committed enough and even implied she was a bad mom for going back to work so soon, especially when Joanna and Beth saw a van following them.
The accusation that Joanna might not be a good mother cut deep because of her past with her own mom. Joanna felt the other moms don't understand the pressure she's under, and she feels like she's a failure at motherhood.
Since they both have ingrained family issues, Joanna and Billy have been in their own little bubble trying to parent their daughter without any help.
Billy grew concerned about Joanna. He thought she took on too much too fast and urged her to get a settlement for Helen so they could focus on their daughter.
Joanna tried to play nice in court but soon realized she's up against Elise Mills, who she once mentored. Elise claimed she learned everything she knows about corporate law from Joanna.
Elise wasn't afraid to play dirty and taunted Joanna about what prompted her to leave Toronto and run to Millwood originally. She also reminded the residents what Joanna did in Season 1 with Matheson Steel.
Since she used to be just like Elise, she knew how dangerous she could be, and Joanna urged Helen to take Elise's deal.
It's almost a done deal, but then Elise taunted her even more about why she left Chicago. Joanna does something she's never done. She backs out of a signed offer. Joanna is so distraught by this decision that she began playing with the salt packets obsessively and had an anxiety attack.
I felt for Joanna. She's such a perfectionist. She's so worried about being the perfect mom and keeping the baby on a routine for fear of messing up. She's tired of hearing that she can't excel at both motherhood and being a lawyer.
It totally hurt to see Joanna question if there was something wrong with her and if she only returned to Millwood because she couldn't handle the pressure in Toronto. Kristin Kreuk totally shined in these emotional scenes, and I felt every emotion.
I could see how torn Joanna felt. She hated breaking the law; she truly believed that Oro North were con artists and wouldn't provide jobs.
I loved how she approached the judge to get an adjunction, comparing Oro North to the Music Man. She even admitted she used to be a ruthless lawyer.
I used to be the Music Man's lawyer. I don't want that to happen to Millwood.
Joanna
Moving on from Joanna, both Taylor and Luna experienced some of their own struggles and self-discovery as well. Luna and her new girlfriend, Stevie, helped clients at the North End Legal Centre.
I am not surprised that Luna wanted to help people like the young woman who was wrongfully evicted from her apartment. She related to these clients who deserve justice but who don't have the money to get it.
It's an unlawful eviction, and if you don't give her immediate access to her apartment, we'll have to bring an action against you.
Luna
Stevie questioned why she would want to work at the free legal aid clinic when she could work anywhere. While trying to help, Stevie set up drinks and a job interview for Luna.
Unfortunately, Stevie set Luna up to have drinks with Gavin Page, the lawyer that defended Clear Dawn in Burden of Truth Season 3. He tried to entice with a large offer, but we saw Luna was loyal to her sister and her clients.
I love how far Taylor has come. She's blossomed while becoming a cop under Owen's wing. I can't imagine how hard it was for her to return to Millwood after the traumatic relationship with her father.
She's very similar to Luna because she wants to make her dreams come true while fighting for justice. We saw Taylor undercover, trying to bust a drug ring.
While they're not supposed to, Taylor and her partner stopped one of the vans and found three girls who could have been part of a sex-trafficking ring. She was worried about the girls, but I could see how proud she was of herself.
Joanna's night got even worse. As she and Billy were relaxing, she got a call that Helen was in an accident. Unfortunately, I fear Joanna was right, and some employees of Oro North went after Helen.
How well does Stevie know Luna if she'd set her up for a job like that?
Was Helen's accident on purpose?
Do you think the girls Taylor found are connected to the drug ring?
Chime in TV Fanatics, and let us know.
Let me know in the comments, and do not forget you can watch Burden of Truth online right here via TV Fanatic.
Burden of Truth airs Fridays at 8 pm.
Laura Nowak is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on X.
