overall i'm kinda delightfully shocked about how much good faith went into jerry espenson's character in boston legal. Yeah the actual portrayal might ruffle feathers nowadays, but the show never showcases him as anything other than sympathetic to a degree several of the other main characters don't really get. Even at his lowest and most inept in any situation he cares about, they never try to imply his social issues and tics are moral failures, or that he deserves differential treatment or kiddie gloves.
he fucks up almost every single episode he's in one way or another, and obviously his louder tics are occasional sources of comedy, but they never dehumanize jerry not even accidentally. they never imply his shit doesn't matter and they don't imply being neurodivergent to the point that he is should mean he's treated different or like an invalid. Jerry's the smartest person in several rooms he's in and by the time he manages to figure out some self-regulation strategies that work, he's a force to be reckoned with much more often than other characters we were told were masters at their craft.
sure, a lot of the cast is rotated out as contract negotiations fell apart and the show got less and less budget, and this fucks up every single character arc. but I'm glad Jerry stayed in. even when they have to restart his current bit because the last two or three people he interacted with on the regular aren't here anymore, his character has the kind of dignity, strength and finger on the pulse that so many characters nowadays written to be as non-offensive as possible simply fail at. we went from jerry espenson to the good doctor. wild how quick culture changes.
