(S02E02) "I mean, how can I not judge someone who creates their own harem and then tosses out the competition when they hit puberty?" - Foster

Already this is shaping up to be leaps and bounds ahead of season one of Lie to Me. The cases are more interesting, the writing is tighter, and most importantly, it's becoming far more personal for the employees of The Lightman Group. Every case has far more meaning when Cal and his team are in it for more than just a paycheck. That isn't to say that I'm against seeing cases like we saw in the season premiere with Erika Christensen, but finding out that Cal's daughter Emily has a connection to a statutory rape case he's investigating is far more compelling.

With a college football player on the line for having sex with a minor (one of Emily's classmates, so she was only 16), I was initially inclined to side with Cal. There really was no reason for him to get involved with it, especially since it turned out to be one of Zoe's first cases as independent counsel (remember - she quit her government gig). However, as we saw to some extent last season, Cal is extremely protective of Emily, so his decision to dive in wasn't terribly surprising.

The extent of Emily's involvement was the shocker. She's been painted as a very good kid thus far. So to find out that she has a fake ID, is on birth control pill, and frequently attends college bars (for the music, not the beer) was interesting. There are obviously many layers to her that we don't know about yet and I'm guessing this is probably going to create a bigger rift between Cal and Zoe, since Zoe is obviously more sympathetic to what her daughter is going through.

The B-plot was equally interesting. By defying the government's wishes and aiding in the escape of the cult's only dissenter, Foster essentially did to Loker what he did to her last season when he lied about the CEO embezzling case. Now he's in the position to lie for her. Granted, the leader for the cult was a complete pompous ass and you can easily argue that helping the mother and her children escape is a good thing, but this was still very much out of character for Gillian.

A few more thoughts on "Truth or Consequences" --

• I mentioned earlier that the writing is a lot tighter and it's resulted in some great moments like Cal and Torres at the frat party, Torres getting a buzz on, and making the comment to Cal that none of these college guys "could give her a good hump." Just simple, light-hearted moments between the characters that we didn't see a lot of last season.
• I was hoping for a bit more from James Marsters as the rival ADA, but the role didn't really lend itself to a big performance, especially since the race card and his supposed bigotry seemed like it was going to take center stage and it never really materialized.

Back to Foster. Essentially, she destroyed the government's chance to potentially shut down the cult for good. I'm guessing this won't go away and it'll be very interesting to see if the IRS does lean on The Lightman Group as a result. Usually, it's Gillian chastising Cal for a poor choice and now the tables could be turned.

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