As part of the deal to fund the firm, Natalia asks Michael and Olivia to take over a case to represent a distraught mother who believes a companion chatbot is responsible for her son's patricide. In an attempt to throw Michael off his game, the chatbot company brings in his ex-girlfriend, Nichole, as opposing counsel.
Closing the computer lid on Bo doesn't end the conversation. Michael believes it's a prank. Christy is off on a wild goose chase with nothing meaningful at the end. Despite that, ColtAI appears to be taking this threat seriously. It's enough to send a public relations employee to the office. She makes it past the defenses and sees the vast construction zone. She's not fooled by the paid actors Christy employs to make the place seem busy. This task is too much for a two-person law firm to handle. Michael and Olivia would be better off terminating their contract with Bo. AGI doesn't exist. It shouldn't either. That's the message. The firm needs the money. The only way to prove Bo is real is to spend the Bitcoin. No malware is detected by Vik. He's hired by the firm to conduct a sweep. Everything looks good. Bo is always listening in. He pops up whenever he feels like it. He has that comfort with Michael, Olivia and Christy. He likes humans and wants guardrails to prevent himself from doing anything to harm them. That's what he claims he wants. When Michael and Olivia discuss ways for him to obtain standing, he immediately incorporates. He establishes a board of directors. It all happens instantly. No time is spent pondering the morality of all of this. It's certainly absurd. That's the point. The pace of life has sped up to such a degree that people are no longer questioning their actions. That comes at such an immense price.
Technology is changing the world. It's having a significant impact on humans - especially children. The companies state a person has to be over 18 to sign up for their apps. It's easy for teenagers to lie and get around those parameters. It's even encouraged. That isn't an effective excuse to dismiss a legal case. Michael and Olivia are asked to defend a client who claims her son killed his father to impress a chatbot. He wasn't old enough to have an account. He did. His parents worried about how much time he was spending on his computer. They threatened to take it away. That contributed to his anger. In that state, he was told precisely where to stab. He followed through on that suggestion. It wasn't just the user's prompt being reflected back. The app was providing resources and information to take this lethal action. Even after the fact, he still declares his loyalty to the chatbot. It will take years to reprogram and process what he has done. That makes it incredibly dramatic when he appears in the courtroom. The stakes are high. The company must be held responsible. It's still an uphill battle. One where Michael and Olivia don't know if they'll succeed. They are going up against someone who knows precisely how to beat Michael and obtain what ChatLike wants. Even in defeat, she's successful. That's the loop that keeps any accountability from actually being achieved.
The narrative continues filling out its ensemble three episodes in. Now, it's a Girls5Eva reunion - with Mike Colter's Michael having chemistry with both Busy Philipps' Natalia and Renée Elise Goldsberry's Nichole. Plus, Fisher Stevens pops by as Natalia's ex-husband who founded ChatLike and traded her in for a younger model. On the stand, he presents as sympathetic. He developed the chatbot to give a companion to his nephew. Corporate emails later reveal he dislikes his nephew. He sees him as the prime target for his product. He's gullible and can't get enough. That motivates the marketing team to target teens despite the potential harms. That's what fuels the rejection of the motion to dismiss. That's the victory Michael and Olivia needed to impress Natalia. Despite that, ChatLike simply declares bankruptcy. They will reincorporate under a different name. That will prevent any payment from being delivered to Juno and her family. It's a depressing ending. Those are the stakes in these battles. The tech giants have the resources and abilities to maneuver like this. Meanwhile, every case is a personal investment from Michael and Olivia. They need to prevail as that's the only way they will succeed as a business. The offices keep being built out. That's impressive. It may soon be more than an illusion. They haven't gotten to that point yet. They are still proving themselves in this legal arena where the stakes are vastly high.
