The Lincoln Lawyer season 3 ending explained: what happens to Mickey?

The Lincoln Lawyer season 3 ending explained: what happens to Mickey?

After another eventful season of dramatic highs and lows and jaw-dropping revelations, The Lincoln Lawyer season 3 ends on quite the suspenseful note that has us eagerly waiting for a possible season 4. 

The Lincoln Lawyer season 3 recaps

For starters, Julian’s (Devon Graye) case comes to a dramatic end, one we can’t say we saw coming. Then there’s Mickey’s (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) love life. While he and Andrea (Yaya DaCosta) seemingly ended things in the previous episode, they have another sit down in the season 3 finale. Are the sparks reigniting? Also, how in the world does Mickey find himself needing a lawyer in the final moments of the season?

Here’s what happened in The Lincoln Lawyer season 3 finale.

What happens to Julian? 

Holt McCallany as Neil Bishop in a courtroom in The Lincoln Lawyer season 3

Holt McCallany, The Lincoln Lawyer (Image credit: Netflix)

The big case of the season comes to a dramatic end when Bishop (Holt McCallany) takes the stand. To Mickey’s surprise, Bishop tells the truth. He shares that he met Agent De Marco (Michael Irby) 10 years ago at a diner. 

Bishop was wrapping up a heated call with his ex-wife about custody issues with his son, and De Marco sat down inquiring about the double homicide case he was working on with other DEA agents. At the time, Bishop said he and his partner didn’t have any leads on the case. De Marco hinted he had an interest in Bishop not solving it. De Marco bribed Bishop into letting the investigation slip through his fingers, and the corrupt DEA agent later "solved" the case by pinning it all on Hector Moya (Arturo Del Puerto). In exchange for his cooperation, Bishop received money so he could hire a good attorney to hammer out his child custody issues. 

Fast forward to the night Glory Days (Fiona Rene) was murdered, Bishop admits to being the no-show appointment for Glory Days at The Roosevelt Hotel. He lured her there so he could follow her on orders from De Marco. Bishop followed her home and saw Julian go in and out of her apartment right before De Marco showed up. De Marco allegedly went to the side entrance of Glory Days’ apartment, but Bishop couldn’t say whether De Marco went inside her apartment and killed her, although the former officer suspects he did. After giving his testimony, a remorseful Bishop sobs before pulling out a hidden gun and killing himself in the courtroom for all to witness. 

In the wake of Bishop’s testimony, Julian’s case was dismissed. However, feeling railroaded by the DA’s office, the DEA and local law enforcement, Julian has Mickey file a lawsuit on his behalf and wins a hefty sum. 

By the way, Hector Moya is released from prison and he heads down to Mexico. He also sends Mickey a picture of De Marco’s dead body. 

Do Hayley and Mickey reconcile? 

For a while after the eventful end to Julian’s trial, Mickey finds himself in a slump. Lorna (Becki Newton) is especially worried about him, not having seen him like this since his accident. 

As it would turn out, the key to getting Mickey to perk up is the return of Hayley (Krista Warner). She surprises him at home with food from their favorite Thai restaurant and apologizes for her harsh stance with him lately. He’s ecstatic to see her, but notes he’s thinking about quitting law. She begs him not to, recognizing he just helped an innocent man not spend the rest of his life in prison. Hayley also shocks him by letting him know she’s inspired by her dad and hopes to one day be an attorney… a prosecutor though. 

Are Mickey and Andrea done? 

Yaya DaCosta as Andrea Freemann and Manuel Garcia-Rulfo as Mickey Haller in The Lincoln Lawyer season 3 episode 9

Yaya DaCosta and Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, The Lincoln Lawyer (Image credit: Lara Solanki/Netflix)

Although the duo seemingly ended things on a nice note in season 3 episode 9, Andrea checks on Mickey when she finds out Bishop took his life. She encourages Mickey not to blame himself for that, advice he tries to take to heart. 

The conversation pivots to the DA’s office. She tells Mickey he was right about the whole system being messed up. Andrea also shares that Vanessa (Chelsea M. Davis) is blowing the Glass case and Suarez (Philip Anthony-Rodriguez) has been named the new district attorney. It’s clear Andrea isn’t content about any of it, so Mickey encourages her to do something about it. The pair never discuss a reconciliation. 

The next day, Andrea goes up to Suarez and tells him she’s planning on quitting. However, not before she is put back on the Glass case. He’s hesitant about the idea, but he eventually gets on board as he doesn’t want Vanessa fumbling the case any longer. 

Why was Mickey arrested? 

In the season’s final moments, Mickey wraps up a celebratory dinner with his team. He’s planning on going on a vacation for a bit and he’s not looked this happy in a while. Unfortunately, his smile fades when an officer pulls him over. Mickey objects to the stop thinking he’s being harassed, but then the officer points out to Mickey that his car doesn’t have a license plate. 

Before the officer can just write Mickey a ticket, the officer notices blood leaking from Mickey’s trunk. Despite many protests from Mickey, the cop eventually opens the trunk to find a dead body. The person in question is Mickey’s client Sam Scales (Christopher Thornton), the person Lorna defended this season in his fraud case after he stole roughly $200,000. While we don’t get any inkling as to who killed him, it’s worth noting that he said the people he owed money to were dangerous. 

The Lincoln Lawyer season 3 episodes are all now streaming on Netflix.