Eddie From the Lincoln Lawyer is in front of the courtroom

Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for The Lincoln Lawyer season 3!

Netflix’s The Lincoln Lawyer showrunners achieved their goal when breaking the hearts of viewers everywhere with the shocking Eddie twist. Going into season 3, Mickey knew he would need to find a new driver since Izzy shifted her focus to the dance studio. Luckily, he found the perfect choice in Eddie Rojas. Hayley asks her father to help her old babysitter Eddie – played by Allyn Moriyon – who she considers family. The young man was arrested for carjacking a Lambourgini after a man assumed he was a valet and threw him the keys. Luckily, Mickey helps him the charges dismissed.

While the defense attorney says that Eddie doesn’t need to pay him back, he says that he always pays his debts. He accepts Mickey’s offer for him to become the lawyer’s new driver, starting a very warm relationship between the two men. Unsurprisingly, Eddie became a fan favorite character in The Lincoln Lawyer season 3 due to his optimism, emotional sensitivity, and loyalty. Sadly, Eddie dies after five episodes, devastating the characters in the show as well as the audience. It turns out, this was exactly what the showrunners aimed for when creating the character.

The Lincoln Lawyer Wanted Fans To “Fall In Love” With Eddie Before Killing Him Off

The Lincoln Lawyer’s Co-Showrunners Wanted Eddie’s Death To Emotionally Destroy Fans

Mickey and Eddie sit at the defense's table in court in The Lincoln Lawyer season 3. Eddie smiling as he opens up the car door in The Lincoln Lawyer season 3
Cisco, Mickey, and Eddie all looking to the right of the screen in The Lincoln Lawyer season 3 Eddie wears a black shirt in The Lincoln Lawyer season 3Eddie stands in the car door during The Lincoln Lawyer season 3 episode 5 Mickey and Eddie sit at the defense's table in court in The Lincoln Lawyer season 3.
 Eddie smiling as he opens up the car door in The Lincoln Lawyer season 3 Cisco, Mickey, and Eddie all looking to the right of the screen in The Lincoln Lawyer season 3 Eddie wears a black shirt in The Lincoln Lawyer season 3

After the third season released, I sat down with Dailyn Rodriguez to interview her for Screen Rant, asking her about the biggest events thus far and what to expect in season 4. One of the most pressing questions was whether she regretted killing off Eddie in The Lincoln Lawyer season 3. This is what Rodriguez said:

“We did the job! We did it. I mean, it’s terrible, but I love it because we did what we needed to and what we set out to do. We had five episodes to create a character that everybody fell in love with, and then we pulled the rug out from under them.”

The showrunners knew exactly what they were doing by building up a character that’s so easy to love, getting the audience to emotionally invest in him. Ultimately, they succeeded. Even Allyn Moriyon adored the character, calling Eddie Rojas “ such a puppy dog ” in an interview with Tudum, and he described himself as “heartbroken” when reading that Eddie died in the script.
How The Lincoln Lawyer Books Inspired Eddie’s Character In Season 3

Eddie’s Death Filled In For A Cut Storyline From The Gods Of Guilt

A statue of a woman holds a scale on the cover of the Gods of Guilt book.

When explaining the reason for Eddie’s death, Rodriguez brought up the division between Hayley and Mickey in Michael Connelly’s The Gods of Guilt book, on which season 3 is based. The defense attorney helped someone get out of a DUI charge, and the defendant went on to kill the mom of one of Hayley’s friends while drinking and driving. Because they didn’t include this part of the book, the showrunners needed a new reason for Mickey to feel isolated from his family.