Annie Flynn Ray Bello, aka Rebel, loves hell and she’s not going to take it anymore.
The ABC drama by Krista Vernoff (and loosely based on activist / executive producer Erin Brockovich) begins with the title character (played by Boys of anarchyKatey Sagal) crashes a corporate party to Mr. Ask Duncan, a CEO, about who sent his email about the faulty heart valves of his company.
Rebel gives him one last chance to address the matter and he tries to throw her out of the party, which causes the legal clerk to call in the cavalry: an army of protesters. Of course, the cops are summoned and Rebel goes through the famous process of removing her jewelry before it is taken away in handcuffs – but not before he falls off the stage while calling out the corporation for their harmful product.
While in prison, Rebel talks to a woman who has been arrested for stabbing her abusive boyfriend with a knife. She tells Naomi to call her daughter, Cassidy (Lex Scott Davis), who is a lawyer. We also learn that Rebel has several ex-husbands because of her job, including police officer Flynn (Matthew Glave).
Rebel takes bail and argues with Cassidy, who is upset about her mother for “getting drunk and assaulting a CEO.” She does not think anyone will touch the heart valve cabinet, but Rebel is determined to pursue it. With the car of her current husband, Grady (John Corbett), she borrows to the house of the strong lawyer Cruz (Andy Garcia) to try to get him on board. Cruz, however, is not interested in tackling the matter and closes the door for her.
The next morning, Rebel steals Grady’s wallet and asks her friend Lana (Tamala Jones), a private investigator, to investigate it because she suspects him of cheating. In the hospital, Rebel makes another pro bono reference to her daughter before trying to convince her son Nate (Kevin Zegers), a gynecologist, to get involved in the heart valve case. She wants him to start a study, and he will not do so as the evidence she has is at its best. Their relationship is strained, mostly due to the fact that Nate was raised by ‘babysitters’ while she did not want to save the world.
Elsewhere, Cassidy meets with Naomi about her case of domestic violence. When Naomi has trouble recalling certain details, Cassidy concludes that she may still be in shock. In a trial, Cassidy gives a passionate testimony on behalf of her client, impressing her father Benji (James Lesure), who offers to hire her as a co-worker. But Cassidy does not want to work for the dark side, or corporate law.
Meanwhile, Rebel visits her friend Helen, who got one of the faulty heart valves, it’s not going well and wants to give up. However, Rebel makes it clear that she will take the valve out of her friend if that is the last thing she does. She even suggests taking out a second mortgage on her home, which Lana immediately fires off because there is a better way to do it without jeopardizing her finances. It’s time to head back to Cruz.
Rebel holds a seat with a group of protesters in Cruz’s office and forces him to finally listen to their stories. One by one, they share their disturbing experiences with the heart valve, including a woman whose baby is extremely ill after becoming pregnant. When Cruz continues to deny the case, Rebel pushes him further and reminds him that his wife also died because of the valve. Cruz slaps and reveals angrily why he’s so against it: he does not want to be reminded of what happened to his wife. Rebel says she will be angry with him for making innocent people suffer if he can do something to stop it. This only makes Cruz even more furious, and he fires his consultant.
In Rebel’s Children Are Struggling news, Cassidy tells her father that she is exhausted by her mother, who has the need to address every injustice in the world. It’s overwhelming, which makes her father’s offer attractive. On top of that, Rebel’s daughter Ziggie (Ariela Barer), who is just out of rehab, attends a support group and meets a cute man named Sean. If he asks her, she rejects him because it is better to concentrate on her recovery.
Lana has not yet met with Naomi and escorted her to her apartment to pack her abusive boyfriend’s belongings. They find drugs and an unlicensed rifle in his drum kit, which means he is likely to receive an increased sentence – especially since Lana called Flynn to make sure he received the evidence. The festive mood shift wants Naomi’s boyfriend to show up and try to attack her, but is taken down by Lana. Not only has he torn stitches, but he will likely get even more time to displace a police offer.
At the bar, Rebel drinks away her grief when Lana calls her with a gift: the abusive boyfriend has been arrested. Rebel goes to jail and threatens to rain a hell of a fire on the abusive musician if he does not agree to stay away from Naomi, setting the record right in court. Guess what he chose to do?
It’s time to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Rebel and Grady. The family got together for the surprise party, and it’s one of the few times they seem happy together. Lana receives a call explaining what’s going on with Grady: he was in contact with a high-quality divorce lawyer. Upset, Rebel confronts Grady who is lying and claims it was a job.
When Ziggie reveals that she has found divorce papers in his possessions, Grady finally comes clean. He tells everyone that he is tired of his wife always working and not being home “to cook dinner for me” – a sexist statement that deeply offends the whole family and leads to Nate punching him. Nate immediately leaves to visit Helen and begin the heart valve study for his mother.
In the final scene, Rebel throws Grady’s clothes into a fire. Cruz shows up – Cassidy fills him in on what happened – and offers to take her out for a drink. But Rebel refuses because she wants to remember how she feels at this moment. At the heart of his visit, Cruz hands over the results of his wife’s autopsy. He was afraid to look at it earlier because of what it would say – that she had killed herself because of the pain. However, it was concluded that she had died of a heart attack. Rebel looks at the documents and meets Cruz: “Let’s crush those villains.”