‘Pearson’ Season 1, Episode 6 ‘The Donor’ Review: Family

Pearson is gearing up for campaign season and rooting a corrupt official both helped the city and made the mayor look good. Now, the esteemed adviser balances taking time with her lover along with work. However, things, as always, do not always go as planned. In this chapter, the main characters mainly deal with family issues, expected and unexpected.

On Wednesday’s episode of Pearson, Jessica Pearson (Gina Torres) and Bobby Novak (Morgan Spector) discard Pat McGann’s (Wayne Duvall) campaign funding in search of a cleaner backer. On the sidelines, Jessica enjoys Jeff Malone’s (D.B. Woodside) company, but worries about her cousin Angela Cook (Chantel Riley) and her family’s inevitable eviction. Meanwhile, Derrick Mayes (Eli Goree) consoles Yoli Castillo (Isabel Arraiza) who worries about her mother, Irma Castillo’s (Bertila Damas) fate.

Immigration Issues

Irma lovingly kissed Yoli before her daughter went to work. It was strange to note how bothered Irma seemed,  telling Yoli that she is proud of her. Irma’s words came with a tinge of being separated from her family. That night, Yoli comes home to her grieving father, seated at the table. The IEC did a routine sweep just as Irma was on her way home. Sadly, the IEC officials took Irma in and are refusing to release her.

Yoli could do nothing but break down and cry when Derrick asks her about the problem. She did not have the guts to tell Jessica the problem, either, given how she does not feel like she earned her keep yet. It was saddening to watch as her father cried and how Yoli tried to console him. Not knowing where your wife is and how she is doing is maddening, especially given the implications of their situation. Jessica is of sure help to Yoli in this situation, so she is bound to ask her boss for help when she finds the strength to do so.

A Place to Stay

USA Network

McGann prefers to keep his investors happy, so he disregards the deal he made with Jessica and had his crew set up for demolition. With that, the Cooks are now homeless. Throughout the episode, Jessica does what she can to help the Cooks, but sadly, her efforts are all futile. Despite being with Jeff, Jessica remained distracted by her thoughts. Jeff saw how heartbroken Jessica is with the fact that the Cooks, her family, have no roof over their heads. To an extent, Jessica even blamed herself. Seeing this, Jeff decided to step in, understanding what Jessica meant when it comes to family.

Jeff’s kind heart made him decide to talk to Angela and have her, Lillian Cook (Juanita Jennings) and her kids temporarily stay at the apartment. Admittedly, Jessica seemed surprised when she comes home to them but is nonetheless delighted. It was touching to watch as Jessica playfully offered her nephew ice cream. The entire sequence oozed of happiness and family, something Jessica wished to have since she moved to Chicago.

Clean Funding

USA Network

McGann seems to be a thorn to everyone’s side. On Bobby’s end, McGann is, unfortunately, the source of Bobby’s campaign fund. It took Jessica some time to do what she could to try to take McGann off Bobby’s sleeve, but the opportunity to take him out was not there. Until now. When Jessica went off to McGann to talk about the demolition, she learned the truth. McGann claims to be forced to start the contract by his investor, some rich fuck-up named Albert Chan (Ivan Shaw).

Jessica’s abilities prove useful and untainted in this situation. Initially meeting with Allan Steiner led her to nothing, since he knew and disliked Bobby’s involvement with McGann. The ending, however, is when both Bobby and Jessica cut to the chase. If there were anyone they could count on to fund Bobby, it would be someone who wanted revenge on McGann. Luckily, they knew someone: Thomas Lauder. Sure, the man had grudges with McGann alright; he suspects him of having killed a close friend of his, Tommy Diehl. Thanks to Jessica’s wits and Bobby’s smooth talk, they got Lauder to reconsider. Still, Nick D’Amato (Simon Kassianides) is bound to go paranoid on this one since he did kill Tommy Diehl. Now, there he was, driving for two people who just made a deal with Diehl’s close friend.

‘Pearson’ Season 1, Episode 6 ‘The Donor’ Final Verdict

Pearson is starting to have things sizzle in its plot. We have McGann, who just lost his mayoral bet/puppet. Also, we have the Bobby and Keri dynamic, now risking a trip to New York to spend time together. Also, his wife, Stephanie Novak (Betsy Brandt) is starting to suspect him, too. To top that, we have Yoli’s immigration problem. Indeed, the show is a mix of personal life types of drama as well as in a political, institutional sense. With all of these events unfolding, one can expect nothing but more controversy and red tape to arise; and Jessica would dive in headfirst to try to fix them.

Pearson continues Wednesday, August 28th with ‘The Immigration Lawyer’ at 10/9c on the USA Network.