Mickey Haller (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) knows how to get into the minds of his clients to get them acquitted, but in the first episode of The Lincoln Lawyer Season 4, the defense attorney gains a whole new perspective. You can see for yourself by watching the first six minutes of the new season now, ahead of its premiere on Feb. 5.

So how did Mickey go from defending the accused to becoming one of them? Well, at the end of Season 3, Mickey is driving through the streets of LA in his Lincoln Continental when he’s pulled over by a cop, who informs him a suspicious liquid is dripping from his back bumper. Despite Mickey’s protests, the officer pops the trunk and discovers the dead body of con man Sam Scales (Christopher Thornton). When we pick up in Season 4, we find Mickey in prison — complete with a blue jumpsuit and full beard.

“Every murder case is like a tree,” Mickey intones in the opening scenes of Season 4. “A tall, shady tree, and it’s the prosecutor’s job to feed and water that tree … because the bigger and stronger that tree grows, the easier it will be to get a conviction. And that’s what it’s all about. That’s the number one rule of any murder case: No matter what, somebody has to pay. So if you’re accused of murder, what you need is an axe — chop that tree down and burn it to ashes.” 

Mickey is sharing this wisdom with a fellow prisoner who’s asked the lawyer to look at his file, but his musings could also apply to his own situation, as he too is locked up awaiting trial — and very much in need of an axe. When Mickey tells his quasi-client that his chances of being found not guilty don’t look good, things get violent. 

It’s looking grim for the famed Lincoln lawyer, and his ex-wife Maggie (Neve Campbell) knows it. She tries to reassure their daughter, Hayley (Krista Warner), that her dad “knows the system like the back of his hand. He’s got this.” But there’s more than a hint of worry on her face as the clip ends. 

And even if Mickey does find a way out of his predicament, co-showrunner Ted Humphrey says the attorney won’t walk away unscathed. “You couldn’t possibly come through this experience unchanged,” he says. “Being wrongfully accused of something and having to fight for your very life … it can’t not change you.”

Find out how Mickey fares when The Lincoln Lawyer returns for Season 4 on Feb. 5. And watch the first few minutes of the season premiere above now.