The Rainmaker’s Lana Parrilla Breaks Down How [Spoiler]’s Firing Affects the Rest of the Season (Exclusive)

The Rainmaker took a shocking turn with that firing — but what comes next?

During the Friday, September 12, episode of the USA Network show, Rudy (Milo Callaghan) crossed a line at work that caused Bruiser (Lana Parrilla) to fire him from J. Lyman Stone.

“Rudy ends up running his own show. He’s making decisions without Bruiser’s approval. She sees this in him now,” Parrilla, 48, exclusively told Us Weekly. “She sees how earnest he is, how good-hearted he is and how right he is about this case. But it’s how he’s going about it that she doesn’t agree with.”

Bruiser’s decision will chart a new course for Rudy.

“She has to pull back on the reins and let him know who’s in charge here. He needs her at this stage in his career. So it’s a hard decision for her to make but she’s doing it because she needs to protect her reputation and protect the case as well,” Parrilla noted. “It’s not just the firm that she’s trying to protect or her reputation. She’s also trying to make the best decisions here for her client. So she lets him go and it’s more like a teaching lesson. It’s not an easy decision for her.”

Based on John Grisham‘s 1995 novel of the same name, The Rainmaker follows young lawyer Rudy, who is fired from his prestigious white-collar firm and signs on with small-time ambulance chaser Bruiser. Rudy subsequently faces off against his former boss in court. The book was adapted into a movie by Francis Ford Coppola in 1997 starring Mickey Rourke and Matt Damon.

USA Network’s version of The Rainmaker features several changes from the book and movie — including gender-swapping Parrilla’s character.

“I think Bruiser is a great character to gender swap for so many reasons. One, she’s much more powerful as a woman. The reason being that Bruiser — in the novel — is super, super shady and questionable,” she exclusively told Us Weekly. “In the movie version, Mickey Rourke portrays Bruiser, and that character is present in the beginning, but then goes on vacation and escapes to the Caribbean.”

Parrilla was thrilled to expand the role on the show.

“Rudy has multiple maternal figures [on the show], but Bruiser is the one who comes from a place of tough love. She’s like his coach and his mentor, who’s really pushing him to think outside of the box,” Parrilla noted. “She really has this great relationship with Rudy that I don’t think this character would have if Bruiser was male. It just would’ve been a battle of egos.”

She continued: “I feel like she’s much more effective as a woman and her influence with Rudy — but also in a courtroom. She’s a smart, sassy and ballsy woman who has a lot of street smarts and grit to her. She’s a much more interesting version of Bruiser. Everyone’s version is great, but I really just love that this character gets to be a woman.”

The Rainmaker airs on USA Network Fridays at 10 p.m. ET.