In Mea Culpa, a lawyer commits a grave mistake by having an affair with her client. The movie is now streaming on Netflix.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers
Plot summary
Mea and her husband, Kal, who haven’t been getting along, are doing couples therapy. Kal’s close relationship with a childhood friend of his, Jenna, is bothering Mea.
Mea is already struggling to tolerate her mother-in-law, who hates her a lot. For Kal and his brother, Ray, their mother, Azalia, is very important. They have been extra caring for her since she is dying of cancer.
Currently, Kal is jobless and living on Mea’s paychecks. However, he hasn’t told his mother or brother about it.
Azalia thinks her son is perfect, and it’s Mea who doesn’t deserve him. On her birthday, Azalia even comments that she wishes Jenna was her daughter-in-law. The only friend Mea has in Kal’s family is her sister-in-law, Charlise.
Zyair Malloy, an artist who is currently on trial for killing his girlfriend, Hydie, visits Mea to hire her as his lawyer.
Unfortunately, Mea can’t take the case as it would be a conflict of interest. The assistant DA is her brother-in-law, Ray, who is handling Zyair’s case.
However, Zyair is adamant about having Mea represent him. Mea tells him that she will look at what the prosecution has and get back to him.
Kal’s family decides that she won’t represent Zyair on her behalf without even discussing it because Ray is running for mayor and he is going to build his campaign on fighting crime by winning Zyair’s case.
An infuriated Mea doesn’t like Kal’s family making a decision for her and decides to represent Zyair.
Working with Zyair, Mea gets to know Zyair better. Zyair has a charm that women like, and Mea is also somewhat charmed by him, but she stays strictly professional.
Zyair eventually falls for Mea, and he knows that Mea is attracted to him as well. He wants Mea to admit that, which she won’t.
When Jimmy, Mea’s most trusted private investigator, sends a picture of Kal and Jenna entering a hotel room, Mea decides to sleep with Zyair.
The next day, she finds out that Kal, Jenna, and everyone moved to a place near the hospital because Azalia wasn’t feeling well. They were all together.
Mea instantly regrets sleeping with Zyair, but it’s too late for that now. Mea intends to quit working for Zyair, who isn’t willing to let Mea go.
Jimmy encourages Mea to not give up because of his mistake. Hence, Mea keeps working and visits the art gallery owner, who is still making money off Zyair’s art.
The art gallery owner, Renee Chester Wilson, reveals that Zyair is a snake. He is a liar who has charmed Mea just like he charmed Renee once.
Mea finds everything Renee says to be true. She discovers paintings of other girls beneath hers on the roof of Zyair’s apartment.
One of the paintings is of Hydie, with a threat written on it, which is enough to take Zyair down.
Back home, Kal’s family has found out that Mea has been in an inappropriate relationship with her client. While Kal confesses that he has been jobless for months, Mea confesses that she spent a night with Zyair.
Ending explained:
Hydie’s return
Azalia kicks Mea out of the house. Following this, Mea goes on a vacation to clear her head. While jogging at the resort she is staying at, she crosses paths with a staff member who looks like Hydie.
When Mea asks her if she is Hydie, the staff member hesitates and makes a run for it, confirming that this person is Hydie.
Hydie escapes, but this suggests that Zyair is innocent; he hasn’t killed anyone.
Ray and Azalia’s plot
Mea calls Ray to inform him about Hydie and that Zyair is innocent. Ray finds this ridiculous, but he agrees to send his investigators. However, he wants Mea home.
When Mea returns home, Jimmy calls her and sends her some important information by email. Jimmy knows he made a mistake last time, but he wants Mea to trust him this time.
While Mea is processing the information sent by Jimmy, she discovers a room at Ray’s house that has Zyair’s paintings.
Azalia conveniently falls on Mea and breaks her phone, making sure Mea won’t have the means to call for help.
Mea confronts Ray and asks him to check his e-mail. It turns out that Azalia doesn’t have cancer. Ray is using this lie to gain sympathy because he is going to be running for mayor.
They also set Zyair up because Charlise slept with him too. Now that Mea knows their secret, they can’t let her go.
Kal’s motives
Mea and Charlise fight back. Unfortunately, only Mea escapes alive, as Charlise is stabbed by Azalia.
On her way, she is picked up by Kal. However, Mea finds out that Kal is in this with his family. Kal doesn’t regret his actions since learning that Mea slept with Zyair.
Kal thinks he should have listened to his mother and brother and beat Mea up to bring her in line.
Mea claims that she hooked up with Zyair because he is a real man with money and success, unlike Kal. Mea messes with Kal while he is driving and causes an accident to escape.
Mea and Zyair’s fate
Following this debacle, Ray is arrested for covering up evidence in a crime, along with several other charges, which are in connection with the Zyair Malloy case.
Zyair is let go, and he thanks Mea for the save. Mea watches Zyair from a distance. She receives Zyair’s text, saying that he wants to see her.
Mea throws her phone away, which suggests that she is not interested in getting back with him.
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