Ted Black’s first criminal defense case reaches a shocking verdict in Suits LA episode 6

Suits LA episode 6 was an eventful one as Ted Black (Stephen Amell) reaches a turning point in his first case as a criminal defense attorney in Lester's murder trial. The case has been playing out since the season premiere, and after six episodes, the first half of the series, Ted Black's trial finally reaches a verdict.

Ted took on Lester's case in the first place because he believed in his innocence. He has staked everything, including the future of his law firm, on Lester's innocence, but the truth revealed in Suits LA episode 5 teased that he may have backed the wrong horse. Lester's secret came crashing down on Ted mid-trial in episode 6, making it seem like the case is doomed.

However, unlikely alliances later, a tricky criminal defense case leads Ted Black to his first proper case as a defense attorney since he came to Los Angeles. Moreover, the case also makes way for Ted to make amends with his former partner in Suits LA episode 6.

Suits LA episode 6: Ted Black wins his first criminal defense case

Things are heating up in the courtroom as Lester Thompson's murder trial officially starts in Suits LA episode 6. The episode titled Dester opens with Elizabeth Smith and Ted Black delivering their opening statements in front of the jury. During Ted's opening statement, he tells the 12 jury members that their verdict at the end of the trial will not only seal Lester's fate but also dictate the future of his law firm.

But unknown to Ted, as he stakes everything on Lester's innocence, he already admitted to killing his business partner and friend, Simon, four days ago, as seen at the end of episode 5. Also unknown to Ted is that his investigator friend Kevin had already taken Lester's confession in a videotape for future purposes, which becomes useful in episode 6.

What blows Ted's defense out of proportion is the witness Elizabeth brings to the stand—a woman and server who allegedly saw the incident and heard Lester say, "I'm going to kill you dead, Sir" to Simon. After the witness' statement on the stand, Ted confronts Simon, causing him to confess to the murder. Ted also discovers that Kevin knows all about it.

And despite the killing done in self-defense, it will not hold in court because Lester's original plea was not guilty, and it's too late to change his plea to self-defense. With the case seemingly going down the drain for Ted, he turns to his former partner and friend-turned-enemy, Stuart Lane, for help.

With the surprising alliance formed, the two brainstormed ways to save Ted's fledgling case. At the last minute, when both think that there's no way out, Stuart gets the idea that would save the case. It turns out that Elizabeth did them a favor when he insisted on pushing the divorce negotiation transcripts as part of the evidence.

In the transcripts, Lester's wife noted that Simon said during one of their conversations that he wanted to kill Lester. It means that there is already evidence that could justify them changing the plea to self-defense because Simon threatened Lester's life. It is enough to sway Judge Mosley to let them change the plea, and Lester takes the stand again to reveal the truth about what happened.

He explains, correcting what the witness heard that night, that it wasn't him who said, "I'm going to kill you dead, Sir." It turns out that it was Simon telling him, "I'm going to kill you, Dester," using the nickname he's always used for him. However, Elizabeth isn't about to give up on the case and makes one last move by accusing Lester of never telling his version of events until she brought the witness.

Conveniently, as mentioned, Kevin already had his videotaped confession sent through certified mail four days earlier. Elizabeth can't do anything to stop the recording from being played to the jury. It didn't take long for the jury to find Lester not guilty, giving Ted Black his first win as a criminal defense attorney in LA as Suits LA episode 6 draws to a close.

What else happened in Suits LA episode 6

Besides Ted's win in Lester's murder trial, several unlikely events happened in Suits LA episode 6. The first one is Ted and Stuart patching things up after their fractured relationship in Suits LA episode 1. The two have been on the outs since Stuart left Ted out of a merger and left the law firm they started some ten years ago to partner with Ted's ex, Samantha Railsback.

However, in Suits LA episode 6, Ted decides to enlist Stuart's help, who was initially Lester's attorney. While Stuart doesn't want to work with Ted in the beginning, reminding him that he stole Lester from him and punched him in the face, Ted reminds him of what he always says, which is that he puts his clients' needs first.

In the end, the two reconcile their differences, with Ted even admitting that he "probably" didn't respect Stuart's work as a defense attorney before. They stay up all night to think of how to turn the case around. However, Ted's reunion with Stuart isn't the only reunion and reconciliation that happens in Suits LA episode 6.

Straight from his win in Lester's case, Ted visits Samantha in her office. And while the two have a better relationship than he and Stuart, they also have some old issues they have to work on. In episode 6, Ted finally asks for Samantha's forgiveness for not being there for her years ago, especially when her client died because of him and his case with Pellegrini.

He also admits that the man's death was his fault, something that he said he should have admitted long before. They close the episode with a hug, teasing that he is ready to mend whatever broken relationship he has with the people around him.

Catch Suits LA episode 6, as well as other previous episodes in the series, streaming on Peacock, with new episodes being released every Sunday evening on NBC before they arrive on streaming the very next day.

Edited by pshmueni