The Rainmaker on USA episode 9 review: The end begins

SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for The Rainmaker Episode 9.

The next-to-last episode of The Rainmaker finally starts the Great Benefit trial, while also tying up loose ends from the rest of the series. It’s here that the USA show’s deliberate pacing is truly showing itself. Eight hours of plotting and arguing comes to a head — but the episode feels slower and quieter than ever.

Audiences are likely expecting a tense, dramatic trial after all of the build-up. There are some moments that feel that way. It’s appalling when Sarah Plankmore cross-examines Jackie Lemancyzk, and also when she attempts to get Jackie’s ex-boyfriend’s wife to sue Jackie. Anyone who had any doubt about Madison Iseman‘s character has it erased by how Sarah behaves in this episode. It makes her less interesting, but it’s also expected — because the emotional arc of the show has always been building to Sarah vs. Rudy Baylor, from the very first episode.

Yet the trial doesn’t pop with a lot of energy. Rudy reminds everyone what a novice he is by using his opening statement to introduce a murder claim at a medical malpractice trial. But when the judge calls everyone into her chambers afterward, it just feels like a kid being called into the principal’s office. Leo Drummond has the same cold…