Zin has one of his underlings shot and frames Cole (known as Troy Montana) for the murder. Cole is in jail, awaiting a trial. His public defender has no intention of fighting and would much rather make a plea deal to reduce the death penalty to twenty years in jail, although he's revealed to be working for Zin. Mel is trying to find the real Troy Montana, the underwear model whose appearance Cole took on when he first arrived to Earth. Vic is reluctant to believe that Cole isn't Montana, but he does tell her that someone may have spotted Montana at the airport. He also suggests that she try to convince a once-great lawyer named Jonas Carr to take Cole's case. Carr is reluctant to practice law again but agrees to consider it if Mel can prove to him that Troy Montana is a separate individual from Cole. Zin's henchman Vax tries to take out the real Montana, but Mel saves him and takes him to her bar, although he leaves almost immediately. Carr agrees to take the car, and Mel fires the public defender. Cole tells Mel he sensed an alien life force in the courtroom. Mel uses Cole's computer to fake Montana's agent's voice to lure Montana to a coffee shop, where Cole uses hyperspeed to swap places with him. Cole goes to the scene of the crime, where he is confronted by Vax. Cole defeats him and takes his life force. He finds the security tape showing the murder, but it self-destructs right after viewing. Cole manages to recover the original video despite the damage. Carr introduces the evidence in court, showing that it was a juror, one of Zin's people, who did the actual shooting. Cole (under the guise of Vax) helps the bailiffs subdue the juror. Cole and Montana finally meet face to face, although the actor claims they look nothing alike.
- Artistic License – Law:
- Cole is wearing his orange prison jumpsuit in court, even though defendants are usually given suits so the jury doesn't subconsciously assume they're guilty just because they look like an inmate.
- Lawyers freely enter the open area between the judge and the attorney desks, even though it's quite rare in Real Life and usually requires first asking permission from the judge.
- And, of course, the judge bangs her gavel plenty of times, which is common in fiction but is extremely rare in Real Life.
- The judge reluctantly allows Carr to introduce new evidence during the prosecutor's cross-examination of Montana.
- When Carr is trying to introduce evidence exonerating his client, the judge demands that he follow the rules and first give it to the prosecutor. Except disclosure works only one way: from the prosecution to the defense, not the other way around. Prosecution isn't allowed any surprises, but the defense isn't bound by such restrictions.
- It's also unclear how Zin managed to get one of his people onto the jury panel, since jury selection is supposed to be random.
- The prosecutor uses the fact that Troy Montana was born Percy Greenstein as proof that Montana tends to lie, even though he had it legally changed, so it's not a lie for him to call himself that.
- Awesome McCoolname: Troy Montana, although it's revealed that his birth name was Percy Greenstein. He had it legally changed when he got into acting.
- Blinded by the Light: Vax, being an Enixian, is extremely sensitive to loud noises and bright lights. When he's trying to kill Montana, he accidentally trips the fire alarm, causing him to be temporarily disabled by the noise. When fighting Cole, Cole uses his powers to trigger bright lights, after knocking down Vax's sunglasses.
- Frame-Up: Zin has one of his people shoot another in a parking garage, right after hiring Troy Montana (the actor and underwear model, whose appearance Cole copied) to shoot another guy in a small indie movie. The security tape was then doctored to make it look like Montana shot the victim, while the real Montana was sent for a shoot in France. This way, the cops would arrest Cole. Zin also paid off the public defender to make sure that Cole would end up in prison for many years and even managed to put one of his own people (the shooter) onto the jury panel.
- He's Back!: Jonas Carr used to be the best trial lawyer in Illinois. Then he burned out, lost his wife, and refused to practice law again. Mel convinces him to take Cole/Montana's case, and Carr reluctantly agrees. While he starts out on shaky ground, winning the case restores his faith in his own abilities.
- Improbable Aiming Skills: During the fight with Vax, Cole punches a hubcap, so that it curves around a column and hits a pipe, causing it to swing down and knock out the Enixian.
- Line-of-Sight Name: When Vic points out that he doesn't even know Cole's last name, Mel looks around and spots a parking sign saying that a spot is reserved for "M. Hauser", then tells Vic that Cole's last name is Hauser.
- Self-Destruct Mechanism: The security tape Cole views that shows him the real murder self-destructs after detecting unauthorized access. It's unclear how a regular VHS tape can be made to self-destruct that way.
- Small Name, Big Ego: Troy Montana thinks himself a big actor, even though he's only been in a few minor roles and a few ads.
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: Cole takes on Vax's appearance to show up to court without getting people to wonder why there are two of him.
- We Will Not Use Photoshop in the Future: No one questions the authenticity of the security camera recording with Cole shooting the victim. Strangely enough, prosecution is challenging the validity of the tape exonerating Montana.
- You Have Failed Me: A Nodulian fails in a task given to him by Zin. He begs for another chance. Zin provides him one, by having him shot and framing Cole for it.
