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Series / Defending The Guilty

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A Kafka Komedy about an idealistic, young barrister Will (Will Sharpe) is shown the ropes by a worldly mentor Caroline (Katherine Parkinson).


Tropes:

  • Arc Words: Everyone calls the law a "creaky system."
  • Both Sides Have a Point: Will and Danielle conspiring to leak the truth about Pia giving the handjob is odious and Pia is right to be both devastated and furious but Pia (and Liam) are both much more privileged than Danielle and Will and are given much better jobs despite being no better at their jobs because they're upper-class.
  • Chekhov's Gag: Danielle and Liam's disastrous attempts to backstab Pia via a Twitter account leaking "secrets" appear to be a one-episode joke, as they only know one other secret, that Will has kissed a juror. It comes back dramatically when Will's long-suffering and suspicious girlfriend happens across the Twitter account and learns the truth.
  • Chekhov's Gun: Caroline's favourite website,"MoreLaw.com", a gossip forum about law, which is how Will leaks the gossip about Pia after Liam and Danielle's plans fail.
  • Corrupt the Cutie: Happens to Will throughout the first series, starting from when he cheats on his longterm girlfriend with a juror in the first episode. However, a bit of Alternate Character Interpretation when Will's longterm girlfriend learns the truth and gives him a thoroughly deserved "Reason You Suck" Speech, suggesting that he's actually repressed how corrupt he is from the moment he cheated on her.
  • Freudian Trio:
    • Among the pupils (excluding Will, the protagonist), Danielle is the id (as aggressive, Hot-Blooded, and ruthless), Liam is the ego (as the nervous posh boy who pretends to be harder than he is), and the sweet Pia is the superego.
    • Among the barristers, the viciously sexual Miles (who is cheating on his wife with Caroline) is the id, the weak, performatively nice Ashley is the superego, and Caroline is the ego.
  • Iconic Item: Will's headphones.
  • The Ophelia: Pia's transformation into one of these is a Played for Laughs variant after Will reveals that she gave her boyfriend a hand job in chambers.
  • Soundtrack Dissonance: It's full of Will's indie music, while he and Caroline participate in the dirty tricks of law.

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