Warning: Spoilers for The Lincoln Lawyer season 3.The Lincoln Lawyer‘s showrunner explains the most emotional death in season 3. Returning for its third installment, the Netflix drama introduced a host of new characters. That includes Eddie Rojas, played by Allyn Moriyon. A former babysitter to Mickey’s daughter, Hayley, Eddie has the role of being Mickey’s new driver. But it’s a short-lived role, as Eddie dies in a car crash well before The Lincoln Lawyer season 3 finale.

In an interview with Screen Rant‘s Jordan Williams, showrunner Ted Humphrey was asked about Eddie’s death and whether he considered keeping the character around. Humphrey, who serves as showrunner alongside Dailyn Rodriguez, responds that there was some consideration about keeping Eddie around. Humphrey continues, in the quote below, and cites ER executive producer John Wells in discussing the goal of emotionally impacting audiences. The showrunner also touches on some of the book inspirations:

We did. We love the character and we love the performance, but, you know, in part, that was why it made sense to do what we did. I think it was John Wells who used to talk about audience testing of shows, and he was like, you know, the studio would complain that all the dials went down when the kid died. And it’s like, well, yeah, they’re supposed to go down. You’re supposed to feel sad when the kid dies. That’s how you know that it worked, right? So, yeah, I love that you loved him, and I love in a weird, twisted way, that you were devastated. That means it worked.

And, you know, we did create that character. Because, as you say, there’s a character in the book who fills a similar role, but that character, who is a driver named Earl, is a character that had recurred in earlier books, and we never had that character in our show, because we had created Izzy, and we had done some other things. And so we thought it was a great opportunity to create a new character, give him a backstory where he was meaningful to Mickey, meaningful to Hayley, and hopefully meaningful to the audience, and then, you know, be able to have that same moment with him that would have the same effect on the audience.

What Eddie’s Death Means For The Lincoln Lawyer

It Impacts Crucial Characters

Eddie isn’t the only new face among The Lincoln Lawyer‘s cast of characters. Season 3 saw several new additions, played by the likes of John Pirruccello, Philip Anthony-Rodriguez, and Alias star Merrin Dungey as Judge Regina Turner. Eddie’s inclusion, however, and his loss, ultimately, go to a different level because of what the character means to Mickey and Hayley. In the relatively few episodes that he appears in, Moriyon shares scenes with series lead Manuel Garcia-Rulfo and propels the story forward.

The loss of Eddie, for example, causes an argument between Mickey and Hayley (Krista Warner), with the daughter initially blaming her father for Eddie’s death. It happens during a season in which the main thrust of the narrative has Mickey dealing with the loss of Gloria (Fiona Rene). The death of Eddie, as unexpected as it is, serves a purpose in terms of illuminating what Mickey is going through. It adds a sense of danger, urgency, and conflict that’s needed to keep the story compelling.

Our Take On Eddie’s Death

It Raises The Stakes

The Lincoln Lawyer season 4 is looking likely, although it is not renewed at this time of writing. By killing off a character that could become a popular recurring or even regular presence, it ups the ante for other popular characters like Andrea (YaYa DaCosta) and Maggie (Neve Campbell). It signals to the audience to expect the unexpected. And, when done right, that can be a strength in itself.