This week’s episode of The Good Wife was a mixed bag — half interesting case, half boring nonsense that I thought we were done with. Plus a little Eli, which this time around unfortunately wasn’t for the better.
Eli is wading back into his ex-wife Vanessa’s (Parker Posey) State Senate campaign, and while I’m all for learning as much as we can about Eli, he seems more like a petty, scorned man than anything else in this story. Why would he ever want anything more to do with a woman who not only cheated on him, but who did so with a bin Laden? Get over it and move on, Eli.
Next: finally cleared of all charges by the State’s Attorney’s office, Will found himself under judicial review by the State Bar Association for the money he “borrowed” from a client’s account fifteen years ago, the effort being led by old friend Lionel Deerfield (Edward Herrmann). Am I alone in scratching my head at Will’s and everyone else’s aversion to taking the six month suspension over what would seem to have been a guaranteed disbarment (especially considering the fact that Will was admittedly guilty and the review board had sufficient evidence to prove it)? Fight it? What in the world was Diane talking about? I’m sorry, but they all sounded like insane people having that conversation. Anyway, I think it’ll be good for all of us if Will takes a step back from the show for a while.
The one happening part of this episode was the case. And this is where we got to see a slew of familiar faces. Best of all was the return of Judge Abernathy (Denis O’Hare), he of the unusual sympathies and a courtroom full of lawyers trying to kiss up to his bleeding heart. This time it was Occupy Wall Street that caught his eye; aside from how dated the reference is at this point, if he was so moved I wonder why he didn’t join them out there on the street.
Our old buddy Patric Edelstein (Jack Carpenter) was back as well, this time as the force behind a lawsuit aimed at a major competitor of his firm. Neil Gross (John Benjamin Hickey) was back as well as Edelstein’s nemesis. We can do better than not even bothering to veil the reference, don’t you think?
What I enjoyed about the case most of all was actually the conclusion. Will determining that it would be tech support that would break the case open for the prosecution was brilliant, although it was the discovery of service contracts that really put it all together. Still, that’s the kind of legal maneuvering that The Good Wife came to be known for two seasons ago; somewhere a long time ago that magic got lost. I’m hoping it’s reappearance this week is a good sign.
I know there’s no answer to a lingering question I have, but I must ask: how would Kalinda have gotten hooked up with a clearly in-the-know Syrian dissident like Samir (Omid Abtahi)? Not only that, but one willing to talk to an immodest Western woman like her? It sure was a great hookup, but a plausible one?
What are your thoughts on how season three’s doing? Is it maintaining the tradition, or has it been lacking for you as it has been for me?
Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Feb 20, 2012 @ 23:41 EST5EDT
I’ll admit that it has gone a little more to the character side this season, but I don’t think the quality has gone down.
I think it may be suffering from a problem similar to Leverage’s. I’m convinced the writers of Leverage ran out of really clever cons after the first season (and I can’t really blame them for that). Has the writing room of The Good Wife run out of those clever case-busting moments?
Also, Peter and Alicia were so much more interesting and provided better drama than Will and Alicia. That’s been a huge difference, imo.
*POST AUTHOR*
I’m beginning to wonder if it’s the “show within the show” that I enjoy most, i.e. the legal stuff but not the characters and their lives. Like them as lawyers but not as people? Could be.
You have to give the creators credit though, here we are one procedural lover and one procedural hater who both watch the show regularly. It’s a wonder why the show doesn’t get better ratings.
*POST AUTHOR*
Absolutely. I just think they did a better job creating an even balance certainly in the first, but also in the second season. It was the Will and Alicia relationship that pushed things too far (that, and the mad search to find Kalinda something to do after she won awards in season one).
I still think that Emmy win was completely bizarre. Panjabi does a very nice job, but I just didn’t see that there was material there to justify an award.
You and I are generally in agreement when it comes to Alicia and Will. I was greatly vindicated when Alicia admitted this season that she was never in love with Will, but instead infatuated with the idea of someone other than Peter. I’ve been harping on that concept since season one.
When did Alicia say she wasn’t in love with Will? I don’t remember that. And, every scene with Will since they ended things, it has seemed like she still has a torch for him. The timing is just not right.
It was towards the beginning of the season when she was talking with Owen. He asks if it’s love and she takes a moment to consider and then sadly says no, which leads me to believe that she was speaking the truth.
There’s a clip of it here: https://www.aoltv.com/2011/10/10/the-good-wife-season-3-episode-3-recap/
I never really believed her there though. It was a quick response to his question, like she didn’t even want to consider the question. Also, their relationship grew throughout the season.
The reason she left Will had more to do with her family than her feelings for Will.
I’ve never seen anything between them that made me think there was something more between them than friendship and sex. In fact, the more I think about it, the more I struggle to find anything remotely appealing about Will as a person. In my opinion he is dull, immature, and amoral.
Three small things:
– The show without Will will suffer unless we get lots of scenes with him in his down-time life, and hopefully still interacting with the firm’s characters in some way. JC is brilliant in this role.
– How did Kalinda get hooked up with the Syrian dissident? Are you kidding me? How does Kalinda do any of the amazing and preposterous sleuthing things she does. It’s written into the character. You’re either a fan or you’re not.
– IMO the show continues to be well-witten and superbly performed. No complaints at all. The Kings’ intention is to balance procedural drama with character development. Winning on both counts.
*POST AUTHOR*
I don’t think it’s a question of being a fan of Kalinda (or the show, not sure which you mean) or not. I think much of what she unearths is farfetched. But locating a source who is knowledgeable and willing to talk to a woman in the Syrian resistance movement? I’m just asking the writers to think a little higher of our intellect … or at least give us a transparently flimsy explanation for how she swung that.