All Rise Recap: Did Pandemic Episode Make A Satisfying Finale? — Plus, 7 Tidbits About How They Pulled It Off

Just as the coronavirus outbreak has challenged people's jobs, relationships and mental well-being in real life, so did it, too, during All Rise's virtually shot, pandemic-themed season finale on Monday.

In the episode, Lola has her hands full, trying to convince her at-risk mother to stay home instead of delivering care packages. Meanwhile, her BFF Mark is going stir-crazy at home and exercising up a storm. He also finds another way to release some pent-up energy via virtual sexy times with girlfriend Amy! Elsewhere, Sherri is managing by labeling spices, Judge Benner is failing at cooking, and with transcription work dried up, Sara is delivering Instacart orders.

But even though much of life in Los Angeles has come to a standstill, arrests haven't stopped, and the backlog of trials is piling up. Given the "appalling" conditions in jail, Lola suggests to her fellow judges that they should hold an online trial. Judge Laski protests that fundamental rights would have to be waived, but Judge Campbell notes that there's not much point in trying the accused if they're no longer alive. Dark times, indeed.

Lola's chosen test case is a dispute between two brothers, with Emily and Mark on opposing sides. Even though Lola and Mark are close friends, Benner makes an exception and allows it since they're running short on judges and lawyers. During a stairwell chat in their respective homes, Lola and Mark set some ground rules, but he still gives her enough lip in virtual court to raise eyebrows. The trial also hits some logistical snags, after which the accused demands a real trial. Benner reminds Lola that a fair trial this way might be the only way forward, so she needs to figure it out. Then a conversation with her mother inspires Lola, who appeals to the brothers' history and asks them to see past the limitations of their screens.

"All year, I've been hearing about the Lolacoaster," Mark tells Lola, after a plea deal is reached. "I get it now. There's something magic about you in that chair."

"I hope you enjoyed it, because you are never going to see it again!" Lola responds. "I cannot have you in my courtroom, Mark... because I need you as my friend."

Meanwhile, Luke is tired of sitting around and wants to go to county jail to help with the large number of releases. A worried Emily convinces him to find the soon-to-be-released inmates housing instead. The episode ends with a virtual date night between Luke and Emily — who's staying with her brother, his wife and his kids — while Amy tells Mark that she's in for moving in and isolating together. Then an all-cast (and crew) dance party breaks out.

All Rise fans, grade the season ender via the poll below, then continue to Page 2 for behind-the-scenes details about how the show pulled off the ambitious episode.

All Rise executive producer/director Michael Robin and star Simone Missick reveal how the virtually produced, pandemic-themed episode was shot: 

* "We created our own private network" via a video conferencing system called WebEx, Robin shared during a Zoom conference with reporters. "So basically, we gave phone numbers and call times to the actors and said, 'OK, at this time, we're doing this scene number, so dial in,' and we gave everybody that was in that scene that dial-in for that scene number. We switched it every time. So literally, if an actor happened to be like, 'Oh, I'm going to go in early,' they didn't just sort of like walk into your scene."

* Supplies, such as Ethernet cables, WiFi boosters, lighting setups, and makeup and wardrobe items, were gathered, sanitized and delivered to the actors.

* Prior to filming, the crew did tech scouts with the actors to see what spaces and props were available in their houses. "I would say 95 percent of this is stuff that we found in each actor's home," Robin revealed. Added Missick: "They had location scouts, virtually, where they would walk around, we would have our computers, and we're showing them different parts of our house, and it also managed to be a technical scout in a way, where they could test, 'OK, is the signal working? Is it strong here? Nope, that's not as good there. We're gonna try it somewhere else.'"

The virtual table read

* Even though the actors had "a lot of input" when it came to certain aspects, "we still had all of our crew in video village saying, 'OK, you need to fix your light,'" Missick recalled. "Our DP David Harp was saying, 'OK, put the camera here, put the light there so that you can get more of your face in the shot. Oh, it's supposed to be nighttime. Do you have something to black out the windows?' Or 'the sound sounds too roomy. I need you to put a blanket underneath.'"

* Although most of the cast did their own hair and makeup — Missick joked that viewers would see quickly who opted for a "no makeup" look — the heads of both departments were made available for virtual consultations. In the mornings, Missick would text the two women who do her makeup to ask, "'What do you guys think?' And they're like, 'You did a really good job. Bump up the lipstick,'" the actress described. "Our hair department head, she certainly on day one was like, 'That is not a Lola Carmichael hairstyle. We have to adjust some things.'"

* Virtual fittings were conducted, with the head of wardrobe combing through the cast's closets. But dressing up as Lola was tricky, because Missick knew that she owned nothing close to her character's style. "So our costume designer had to quickly find some things to get over to me," the actress said. "There was that moment of, 'How long was it in transit? Which fabrics are OK? Should I stick it in the dryer? Do I spray it with Lysol? How can you send this back?' So there was the very real concern that I think we all have with getting boxes and unpackaging things."

* In the end, the 64-page script took six 10-hour days to shoot, versus the show's usual 60 pages in seven-and-a-half 12-hour days. "Interestingly enough, it shot faster than a normal episode does," Robin noted. "But strangely enough, it was oddly more exhausting... There's this odd tired after we're all sort of living through these screens for a long, long time."