‘Reasonable Doubt’ Finally Showed Us How Jax and Damon Met (And Fell In Love)

Warning: Spoilers for Reasonable Doubt Episode 5 ahead.

At long last, Reasonable Doubt finally gave fans what they’ve been thirsting for: Jax and Damon’s backstory.

Since the premiere of Hulu‘s sexy legal drama, created by Scandal writer and Little Fires Everywhere producer Rammala Mohamed, fans questioned the relationship between Los Angeles attorney Jax Stewart (Emayatzy Corinealdi) and her former client Damon Cook (Michael Ealy). The pilot ended with Damon getting parole and revisiting a letter Jax wrote him in 2007, which read, “Words cannot express how sorry I am I let you down… No matter what happens I will never forget you, and I will always fight for you. I wanted more for you — for us. And no matter what I say, you should know at the end of the day I love criminals.”

In Episode 5, “So Ambitious,” the show finally digs deep into Jax’s and Damon’s past, unpacking their history over the span of 50 fulfilling minutes and showing the lead-up to that emotional letter. On top of gaining more insight into Jax’s relationship with her mom and Paul, we now know why Jax left her career as a criminal defense attorney behind, why sexual tension mounts every time she’s near Damon, and how their love led her to her husband Lewis (McKinley Freeman).

The episode kicks off in 2007. Jax is a young, spritely, hopeful criminal defense attorney telling a jury the case before them has “a whole lot of reasonable doubt” and asking them “prevent an innocent man from going into the prison system and becoming something he’s not.” This isn’t the Jax we were first introduced to in the series. She’s more genuine, more steadfast in her morals, and less jaded — but it’s not enough to keep her innocent client from seeking a plea deal to avoid prison. She’s discouraged by the system, but then she meets Damon, a man charged with second-degree murder who swears he’s innocent. Jax believes him, and he believes in her.

Jax finds quite a few holes in Damon’s case, but after learning his prints were on the murder weapon she advises him to take a deal. “Damn, I thought you were gonna fight for me,” he says, relighting her spark. She reviews his file again, finds a new argument, and advises him to go to trial. He agrees, and the walls between him and Jax start to fall. Between Damon nicknaming Jax “Fairfax” to her entertaining his personal questions, the two start pushing conversational boundaries and sharing meaningful moments of silence. Once they start having after-hour calls, their relationship crosses emotional lines, too.

While out with friends, Jax steps away to chat with Damon. “I love hearing you boss up. You’re brilliant. You’re attentive, strong, and fearless. Whether you can see yourself or not, I see you Jax,” he tells her. When she hangs up, her friends tell her she looks like her “pussy is pulsing.” Another night, when Damon calls her from his cell using a burner phone, Jax goes from zero to telling him her best friend is getting married while she’s “hella single.” The man is awaiting a literal murder trial, so there are obviously bigger issues at hand, but he welcomes the distraction and the opportunity to initiate a steamy, unexpected phone sex session. “What are you doing to me?” Jax asks after touching herself mid-call. “Same thing you’re doing to me,” he replies.

After Damon crushes his testimony and Jax gives the arguments her all, the jury still finds him guilty. Ahead of the trial, Jax shared that she wanted to represent “people who have nowhere else to turn” instead of “rich entitled assholes,” but after the pain of losing Damon’s case, she turns her back on that dream, cries to her mom, and cleans out her desk. When she visits Damon in prison, he says, “You did your best Jax, but it’s over. You can’t be in this with me. One day we’re gonna see each other again and you’re barely gonna remember who I am, but I ain’t never gonna forget you.” She lets him know she loves him, and drives home in such a daze that she rear-ends a car. But not just any car, the car of her future husband Lewis. *Gasp*

In addition to seeing the origin story of Reasonable Doubt‘s steamiest on-screen duo (and Jax and Lewis), part of what makes this episode so enjoyable is the show’s commitment to a new timeline. From set designers crafting Jax’s old, modest apartment to filling her closet with a 2007 wardrobe ripe with camisoles and sequined “going out” dresses, we feel physically transported to earlier years. And watching the actors embody different versions of their characters — including Jax’s friends, her mom, and especially Jax — helps sell the extended flashback even more. In the first four episodes, Emayatzy Corinealdi gives Jax a sharp edge, tough skin, and the kind of confidence that comes at costs. But in Episode 5, Corinealdi carries her character differently. Along with her essence of naiveté, Jax is visibly more at ease, carefree, and fun. Whether she’s eating pizza and drinking beer on her couch, letting loose at a bachelorette party, or complaining about the cost of her friend’s wedding, Corinealdi convincingly steps into the shoes of a woman in her 20s. The juxtapositions in Jax’s personalities emphasize just how hard she took Damon’s verdict, and how the experience shaped the woman she’s become.

Before the episode ends, we cut to present-day where Jax is in bed staring at missed call notifications from both Lewis and Damon on her phone. She hits one, we hear the phone ring, and with a “Hey, you busy?” the end credits roll. We’ll have to wait until next week to learn who she dialed, but after diving into her past with Damon I can’t imagine anyone else’s voice on the other end of that line. Here’s hoping they give their romance a chance in the outside world.

New episodes of Reasonable Doubt hit Hulu on Tuesdays.