Quantcast
Viewing all 53 articles
Browse latest View live

Josh Charles Discusses The Good Wife and Golden Globes

The supporting actor/actress TV categories at the Golden Globes include comedy, drama, mini-series and TV movie. This is a lot of different types of shows to cover and it often resembles a strange mix of genre and quite often famous faces. This year is no different and The Good Wife’s Josh Charles is the only network representative with comedy getting completely shut out – the other four nominees are Aaron Paul, Rob Lowe, Jon Voight and Corey Stoll – and he sat down with Gold Derby to chat about this nomination and this excellent season of The Good Wife.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife
Network vs. cable is discussed and Charles explains that he goes back and forth on the notion that it’s unfair to compare the two. What he does mention is that “good writing is good writing” and The Good Wife has been consistently on top of their game, with season 5 taking it to the next level. Time and structure are two constraints as cable has far fewer episodes and tend to shoot the bulk, if not all of them before they air. Whereas typically The Good Wife is only four episodes ahead of what has aired. This does work in their favor sometimes as they can respond to current news events and the references don’t feel stale by the time it is broadcast.

Individual episodes like “Hitting the Fan” and “The Giving Tree” are reference and both serve as series highlights. Getting into Will’s psyche was a fun experience for Charles as it’s rare for Will to drop his mask and from this Sunday’s preview (which you can watch below) it looks like Will has put the defenses back up and is using arrogance once again as a coping strategy.

Josh Charles has already directed two episodes and he reveals that episode 19 is his next time at the helm. When talking about guest stars he mentions Victor Garber. I am beyond excited that Spy Daddy is showing up on both Sleepy Hollow and The Good Wife in the coming weeks.

Watch the full interview and promo for this Sunday’s episode “Goliath and David” below.


Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The Good Wife Costuming: Alicia Plays Mind Games and Diane Lockhart’s Power Suits

The power plays continue between Alicia and Will on The Good Wife with costuming playing a role once again in perception. Instead of using clothing as a sign that memory differs from person to person when it comes to details such as color, Alicia’s outfit choice in “Goliath and David” is accurately imprinted on Will’s mind. We’re also going to be taking a look at Diane Lockhart’s never ending collection of incredible jackets and statement jewelry because they pretty much stop us in our tracks and we turn into a bumbling mess like Will.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 5.11 the suit
After Will uses something work related against Alicia in court to fluster her, Alicia takes this mind game to the next level and uses their personal relationship to fluster. In the last episode we saw both Will and Alicia having sex flashbacks to their time together and Alicia’s wardrobe change provokes a similar response as Will gets lost in an elevator hookup fog. This is the suit Alicia wore in the season 2 finale when they went from tequilas in a hotel bar to the Presidential suite and she’s not so subtly reminds him of this event. This shot of Will looking down at Alicia is pretty much from his POV and throughout the episode the pair are framed together in a tight space as they continue to circle each other in such a close proximity.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 5.11 Will and Alicia
Will tells Diane he is fine repeatedly and if I know anything it’s the more times you say you’re fine, the less fine you are. Will is taking on cases that aren’t even his just so he can go up against Alicia and it’s clear this is an attempt to heal his bruised ego and broken heart. The problem is Alicia is coming across like she is giving none of the fucks and while I think she does care, at this point the petty games have taken over and she’s just trying to get Will out of her orbit. This suit looks like the one in the imagined cross examination Will had with Alicia in the last episode and this further highlights its significance.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 5.11 Diane Lockhart
Diane spends most of the episode trying to maintain order at LG (ugh that rebranding) and reining Will in. Will and Diane conflict is nothing new and they’ve had many disagreements in the past; he’s impulsive and she’s level-headed. The Damian factor doesn’t help and he’s too cartoonish to take seriously as a character (plus the Kalinda love story is another dud in a history of Kalinda romantic subplots) and Diane’s side is by far the better choice at this point. This isn’t just because we’re in love with this outfit, but the combination of red and the statement necklace help give Diane a commanding presence in a room that is full of ego and emotions.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Diane Lockhart Leopard Print 5.11 The Good Wife
It’s another bold work choice and there aren’t many people who could pull off snow leopard print at work; Diane Lockhart is one of them and it’s worth noting again how fantastic the wardrobe choices are for this character as they avoid the usual ‘woman of a certain age’ at the office wear. She’s an incredibly stylish character, but these clothes also don’t overshadow who she is or the power she yields. Whiskey drinking scenes usually come at a time of celebration between Will and Diane, this one is more like a peace offering as Diane notes they have had a “psychological break.” Diane is rightly worried there is a frantic quality to Will’s expansion plan, however he can still use her decision to leave as leverage and she relents that he can have whatever he wants. Diane sounds resigned to Will as no doubt she will have to pick up the pieces and the glimpse we saw of Will’s psyche in the 100th episode is a sign of things to come.


Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The Good Wife: What We Wear and How We Are Perceived

Presentation and perception are at the heart of The Good Wife – it all started with a woman standing beside her disgraced husband with the media and public making all kinds of judgement calls. Alicia Florrick has come far since that press conference; she has her own firm and she’s the wife of the governor. So while we know Alicia’s origin story and we’ve seen her life as a stay-at-home mom, her attempt to go back to work immediately post-scandal is something previously discussed and not shown. “A Few Words” revisits this period as Alicia writes a keynote speech about “opting back in” after a period away from practicing law and we see her struggle to get a job thanks to her name and how a chance elevator meeting (of course) led her to Stern, Lockhart & Gardner.

One of the many striking aspects about The Good Wife is how costume designer Daniel Lawson uses clothes to add insight into a characters thoughts, feelings and background. This is something I have written about on multiple occasions this season and this episode incorporates many of these aspects; memory, power and sex. What you wear can be a powerful tool and the contrast between present day Alicia and the one we see in her flashbacks is striking.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 5.14 contrast
Alicia’s first flashback suit is a cornflower blue jacket and she instantly stands out while waiting with the other all male job candidates. These dudes are all pretty interchangeable even if their suits are slightly different colors. Alicia is reading a magazine (one that she buries beneath the stack as she sees her own photo) while everyone else is busy (or at least pretending to be) on their Blackberries. We’ve already seen Alicia in this attire in the previous interview scene and this just reinforces the notion of how much she has changed both in her style and who she is.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 5.14 buttoned up
Kalinda’s original investigation into Alicia reveals that Alicia was going to get fired from her job just prior to her leaving to raise her family as she lacked “a killer instinct.” This is something she definitely possesses now, it took time to get there but her departure from Lockhart Gardner demonstrated her killer instincts. What this past look at Alicia also shows is how buttoned up she is in both senses of the word; just look at that collar. This attire reeks of her well-to-do suburban lifestyle and this color is not something that would feature in Alicia’s current wardrobe.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 5.14 elevator
Here’s a slightly better shot of the jacket and the reunion between Will and Alicia happens in an elevator, as if it could have happened anywhere else. This is where memory comes into play and while there isn’t a suit color change this time – thoughts aren’t clouded by sex recollections – both remember their greeting in a slightly different way. Both recall the other calling them by their full name; the flirtatious, warm overtones are present in each one.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 5.14 cream jacket
Everything Alicia wears in the past is from a soft color palette and while Alicia still wears cream now, everything we see in the present in this episode is on the dark end of the scale.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 5.14 speech writing
Other than factors such as hair and makeup this provides instant coding as to what is now and then; Alicia is in a position of power and while she’s still trying to sell herself to other lawyers, she’s far from the bottom of the pile.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 5.14 pearls
Ah yes, imaginary conversations with Jackie Florrick as Alicia awaits her interview with Will and ‘Jackie’ tells her “You like nice things, so go be a whore.” ‘Jackie’ also calls Alicia a slut; imaginary Jackie as her inner voice isn’t very kind. Alicia’s interview attire is more revealing than her previous attempts and yet it still screams wife of a politicians thanks to the pearls. Grey is definitely going to make you look more lawyer like than cornflower blue.

So what purpose does ‘Jackie’ serve? Well she lets us know that on one level Alicia does feel like she got the job because of her past almost romantic relations with Will (bad timing remember). It’s a complicated situation, especially as Will claims he never linked work and Alicia together. This I don’t completely buy and maybe Will only pushed hard (phrasing) for Alicia because she was his friend at college, but a small aspect of it had to be down to their connection. Alicia has reconciled these feelings in her speech “Use everything you have to get the job and don’t feel entitled.” Basically don’t listen to your inner Jackie.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 5.14 Cary and Alicia
There’s a fun moment with Cary and Alicia’s first meeting – that is not a good hair look Cary – as Alicia asks what his first impression of her was. Cary initially lies (“I liked you”) and then admits he thought Alicia was entitled. Alicia agrees with this summation as does he with her assessment that he was a “cocky new associate.” Now look at them! The Cary/Alicia relationship progression is one of my favorite things on The Good Wife and it shows that sometimes we can be semi-right about our first impressions, but there is also much room for growth.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
the good wife 5.14 got the job
As we already know Alicia got the job (as did Cary) and between this closing scene and the diner handshake between Will and Alicia, I have a feeling she will be bailing him out soon in one way or another thanks to this line from Will “Alicia, when I’m broke and lying in an alley somewhere, do something nice for me.”

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 5.14 red tweed
Back in the present and the keynote speech not only acts as a way to add another layer to the Alicia/Will story, but it also shows Alicia trying to sell herself in another manner. Now it’s all about promoting the new firm and they want to land lawyers like Rayna who bring big business. The speech is the perfect way to do this and Alicia uses feminism as the overall theme to try and win Rayna over. It doesn’t quite go to plan and while they don’t end up with Rayna (she’s setting up shop with Elsbeth!), Alicia is definitely in demand as one of the original firms that turned her away because of her name offers her a job. She doesn’t take it of course, but it must be incredibly satisfying to come full circle in this manner; some new clients for Florrick/Agos would have probably been a better score though.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 5.14
Red and black are the present day color palette choices with a red tweed jacket as she’s writing followed by the black keynote speech ensemble. As I mentioned before it’s all about being taken seriously and these are Alicia’s confidence clothes.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 5.14 red jacket
Red is Alicia’s ultimate power armor and as she’s leaving the hotel she’s wearing this color. This is when she gets the job offer and all looks pretty good from here and in a previous scene Alicia’s responds to the question of “What do you want Alicia?” with “A happy life and to control my fate.” This is well within her reach, until it all comes crashing down next week with the election scandal brewing and Will’s huge dilemma.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 5.14 Elsbeth
In terms of perception, Elsbeth is incredibly disarming as we have seen on countless occasion as people underestimate her ability to go for the jugular. Just because she wears scarves and frilly collars that have an Austin Powers feel doesn’t mean she shouldn’t be taken seriously, even if ultimately Dubeck ends up gaining the upper hand. It’s always a joy whenever Carrie Preston guest stars and I think I might be shipping Elsbeth and Clarke after her “High Hopes” rendition.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 5.14 bird pin
There’s not a lot of Diane this week sadly, but she does make sure Will tells her what is going on and all while wearing yet another incredible pin that rivals the dragon fly (these pins tend to come from antique shops if you are on the hunt for one). This bird pin is like a mockingjay has just spread its wings and flown free.

“A Few Words” deals with a variety of the long term arcs like Will and Alicia’s relationship which has been present since The Good Wife started and other more recent overarching stories like the ballot box swap. How Alicia is perceived in relation to Peter is another consistent theme and this time feminism in the workplace is also in focus (as my friend Noel Kirkpatrick points out the last time they were this overt was with Caitlin).

Costuming helps signify how far a character has progressed and Alicia is far from the person we met in the pilot; professionally and personally. Alicia is no longer perceived as the woman standing behind her husband with a look of shame on her face; she’s standing tall upfront and on her own. Well, she’s not entirely on her own as the Florrick name is still important and with Peter heading towards another scandal, Alicia might have to dig down into those stoic reserves. If she wants to really be happy and control her own fate, standing by Peter’s side once again might not be the way to do it.


Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Wishful Thinking and Voicemails on The Good Wife

At the start of season 2 of The Good Wife Will left two voicemails for Alicia; one told her to forget his declaration of love that ended season 1. The second retracted this and instead reiterated his original “I love you” statement, reinforcing his point further by saying he’d loved her since Georgetown. The latter message is one she never heard because Eli deleted it (oh Eli) and “The Last Call” is the tragic voicemail sequel. This is an incredibly exhausting, draining and exceptional hour of television that features an endless stream of A+ performances as reaction to Will’s death vary including anger (Cary) and general disbelief at the situation. Alicia deals with a series of unanswered questions as she tries to come to terms with this news and the mystery reason behind his phone call.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 5.16 alicia
“Alicia… Hold, hold on Your Honor. I’ll call you back.” That’s all it is, no indication of what he wanted to talk to her about and Alicia spends the episode trying to piece together what happened in Will’s final hours and the reason behind his call. The voicemail is a distraction, so Alicia has something to do while she doesn’t know what to do. It’s why Alicia calls Kalinda, but instead of turning to each other with a couple of shots of tequila they both go about their separate business in searching for a why; Kalinda with Jeffery and Will’s final message for Alicia.

With a death this sudden it leaves a lot of unanswered questions from the more grand existential ones to the more immediate like how was he feeling before he died. The previous two episodes set up a reconciliation of sorts between Alicia and Will after months of anger and animosity; first over a semi-passive aggressive beer that cleared the air in a diner in New York. This was followed by Alicia sharing some information with Will to help him (well not in the end) with his client and it was clear things were finally thawing between them.

At this point it should have been clear that something was up, but as this is a show that doesn’t tend to kill its regular characters the signs were not all that obvious. Even if Will had been celebrating his last day, I wouldn’t have seen this coming. The sudden nature and finality of it all feels like a punch to the stomach to both the characters and us as an audience and while we were privy to the season 2 declaration of love voicemail, we are just as in the dark as Alicia on this occasion.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 5.16 Diane
Alicia asks those closest to Will in both proximity – Finn, the judge and his assistant – and emotionally – Diane – why he was calling. Diane doesn’t know, but she also doesn’t think Will was upset at her. This is one of the many bleary eyed scenes (to be honest my screen is looking pretty hazy as I type this) as Diane tells Alicia that Will loved her. Of all the reactions to Will’s death there are several moments where people recoil from a tender shoulder squeeze. Alicia rejects Eli’s attempt to reach out when Kalinda calls to tell her the news as Eli is part of her Peter world and has no place in this (even if he is of course saddened by the news) and David Lee does the same to Diane. David doesn’t want to let his emotions betray his shark like exterior as this is something he has perfected over the years. When he barks at people to leave a room at first I thought he might be thinking only of the business, to see him grief stricken for a moment is completely unexpected and shows that everyone, even David Lee has humanity. Well aside from one of Will’s clients who demands a meeting, amazing kickass reactions from Diane as she blackballs this douche to other law firms “They liked Will, they don’t like you.”

With Alicia and Diane it is different; they both know how the other felt about Will and they’ve already shown a public display of grief and unity in their lobby embrace. The hand holding/shoulder squeeze is in an extension of that and despite their recently fraught relationship, all differences get put aside. It’s also worth noting that both Alicia and Diane are wearing colors both associated with mourning with Alicia in black and Diane in purple. Alicia’s jacket is structured and armor like with its zips and Diane’s bold chain statement necklace suggests that she is unbreakable and steadfast even at a time like this.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 5.15 Will
There are two versions of Will that flash through Alicia’s mind when she first hears the news; the warm smiling Will who loved her and the angry Will who felt betrayed by Alicia. Maria, Finn’s assistant confirms Alicia’s fear that Will was calling to rail against her for stealing Candice as a client. There’s nothing Alicia can do to change this and a conversation with Grace about God, heaven and the meaning behind this is tainted with this belief that Will’s last message was rooted in rage. Grace tries to explain why it is better to have faith, with Alicia countering that her lack of faith is “not better, it’s just truer. It’s just not wishful thinking.”

One detail makes all the difference and that is the gender of the person who Will was angry at for stealing clients and not only does this swiftly deal with the character dead end that is Damian (so long, you will not be missed) it also gives Alicia some small comfort. While Finn can’t offer up Will’s last words as he didn’t have any – he was trying to speak but couldn’t – Will was not alone as Finn held his hand until the ambulance arrived. Even though this is the first time Finn and Alicia are meeting there is an instant rapport and I’m really glad that Matthew Goode has signed on for the rest of the season. I’m not suggesting this is going to lead to anything romantic (far from it, he mentions a wife and son for starters), but there is an immediate bond because of what went down in the courthouse. Finn is Alicia’s last connection to Will and while it’s most likely due to his drugged up state Finn shares one very important vague piece of information that is left open to interpretation “He wanted to tell you something.”

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 5.15 middle distance
Alicia constructs the fairy tale version of Will’s voicemail while Peter attempts to comfort her; Alicia has spent the entire episode avoiding him as he’s not part of her Will world, far from it. While she stares into the middle distance this is the call she imagines with Will telling her “Alicia I’m sorry. I want what we had, I want to be with you and only you, forever.Call me back please.” It’s her own version of the other voicemail she never heard and even though she can’t be sure what he was going to say, sometimes you have to cling to wishful thinking.


Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The Good Wife, Grief and “Are You OK?”

There are three women who have been deeply impacted by the recent tragic events on The Good Wife and each of them have their own battles to fight as they try and work through their grief. The episode opens with a scene I think we all need as Alicia and Diane share memories and thoughts of Will post funeral in their own alcohol soaked memorial of him. The two (metaphorical) mistresses at the Irish funeral are missing their third and while it was always unlikely that Kalinda would join them, there is a time that her company with Alicia at a bar would be a given. Will meant a lot to these three characters for a multitude of reasons; partner, lover, confidante and it’s going to be a long time before any of them are truly fine.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Diane and Alicia
Both Cary and David Lee suggest to their respective partner that they should take time off and this offer gets rebuked from both women; there is no such suggestion for Kalinda. Kalinda’s loner status means that no one is really asking if she is OK either and she’s out on an island by herself. Alicia and Diane are facing their own isolation and even though the drunken suggestion of a merger tethers them together, they are still working through what this loss means solo. Diane is up against it at work as even though they had their ideological differences, Will generally had Diane’s back and now she has to put up with the David Lee’s and Damian’s of the world with no real support network. This is in part why she reaches out to Alicia about working together as there is mutual respect between them. Diane mentions how the “partners look at me like I’m a gazelle on the Savannah” as if she is easy prey, whereas before she has been a predator. It’s a repeated cycle that looks set to continue as even with Kalinda torpedoing Damian (so long for real this time), David Lee has another ace in his pocket and that’s Louis Canning. If things continue like this can we expect to see not a merger, but Diane jumping ship to Florrick/Agos?

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife Jennifer
Alicia spends the first half of “A Material World” convincing everyone that she’s fine and her desire to destroy David Lee is how she initially channels her grief (the anger stage). After a cross examination that turns existential – when someone dies there is nothing left of them – the concerned look that is etched over Diane’s face is warranted. Not for the case, but for Alicia’s mental health and what might come of their previous merger chat. It looks like Alicia is going to break in front of the snow covered steps of the courthouse, this is until she sees a familiar face and it’s Grace’s old tutor Jennifer! And she’s still all about improv dance. Jennifer looks so out of place in her stunning gold outfit and yet she is the push Alicia needs to confront and embrace her grief rather than ignoring it. More unanswerable questions are raised as Alicia unburdens herself on an almost stranger; she wonders whether she made a mistake with her chosen profession. Jennifer asks “What would you do instead?” and Alicia doesn’t know.

Will represents the path not taken, of all the things that could have been and his death cuts off this avenue. Alicia still has choices and the first one begins with crawling under the covers and shutting out the world, followed by a good dose of Darkness at Noon - there’s no way that “white hats with black linings” and the questions of morality this fake show dishes out isn’t some kind of dig/nod towards Scandal.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 5.17 giving none of the fucks
Another almost stranger is a catalyst for Alicia as a home visit from Finn (and his hair has sadly regained its volume now he is out of hospital, you need to lose the blowout look, other than that Finn can most definitely stay). Alicia has offered her services to Finn as she thinks he is being served up to take the fall for what happened with Jeffrey. Finn’s stop by gives Alicia a reason to crawl out of her bedroom pit and while Alicia needed a day like this, having a reason to get up is also essential. Their previous conversation about Will happened while Finn was drugged up to the eyeballs so the intensity of Alicia’s relationship with Will might not have stuck with him. After surveying this scene, it becomes very clear just how much Will meant to her. Finn gives some words of advice just as others have – “It doesn’t get solved quickly and you can’t just shake it off” – and Finn’s personal involvement in this tragedy means that his offer doesn’t sound hollow. Finn represents a connection to Will that no other person can and this provides an immediate bond with Alicia. I also don’t think it’s a coincidence that he has mentioned his wife in two conversations with Alicia and it’s as if the King’s are letting us know they don’t intend this to be a romantic pairing.

Now here comes the humdinger of a conversation as Peter arrives home just as Finn is leaving, with Peter surveying Finn with caution as if to ask “why are you in my house?” Peter has gone from hugs to calling Alicia out on her Will feelings rather quickly and supporting his grieving wife over her true love was never going to be easy. No matter how much both Peter and Alicia have tried at various points to fix this marriage it has pretty much remained as empty as it was in the pilot, yes there have been a few good times but nowhere near as many as the bad. Nor have there been as many good moments as Alicia has shared with Will over the five seasons. I honestly can’t see a way back for this relationship after this episode, except for how they can benefit from each other professionally as Alicia has made it clear where her heart lies. Peter tries to suggest that she can’t be sure that Will loved her (I think it’s safe to say he did) and yes competing with a dead man is a losing battle before it begins, but this is done.

We’re so used to seeing Alicia so put together with her designer suit armor so this happening in full sweats, no makeup and puffy post cry face is jarring and incredibly powerful. There is no vanity here and it feels right that this moment of brutal honesty should come now. David Lee tells Diane earlier in the episode that she shouldn’t make any big decisions while she is grieving, Peter would probably say the same to Alicia but in both cases they are completely justifiable and it comes across as BS advice to protect David Lee’s own interests.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 5.17 Kalinda
Kalinda is very much the lone wolf of this show and she often holds people at arm’s length. There are some exceptions including Alicia before her past dalliance with Peter was revealed, Cary is a complicated case and then there was Will. I don’t think either Alicia or Diane realize the importance of their relationship or how Will is the only person who truly understood Kalinda and there’s no reason they would as they were never present for any of their whiskey fueled heart to hearts. Kalinda isn’t a sharer either so when she goes to Cary it’s to use sex to forget; instead it brings up flashes of blood spray and Will’s lifeless eye. These images are repeated when she sleeps with Jenna, this time she gets passed them as she is at Jenna’s to help Diane with her Damian problem. Help is what she does and ends up with a smack across the face from a very pissed off Jenna for rifling through her things. I wonder if Kalinda will reach out to Alicia or Diane, or whether she will continue hiding her grief in secret along with that photo she placed in her notebook.

The death of Will has left a gaping hole in the professional and personal lives of Alicia, Diane and Kalinda and with each “Are you OK?” there is no simple answer. There is the socially expected “I’m fine” and this is the answer given on multiple occasions. The truth is so much more complicated and the battle lines they have drawn with the likes of Peter and David Lee will act as an outlet for this devastating loss. I suspect that Alicia’s offer of help to Finn is going to incur a whole lot of messiness as it directly involves Will’s death and looking at who is to blame. This might not be the healthiest course of grief counseling, but I also thing that Alicia needs something like this to help her answer the why, even if there isn’t one.


Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The Good Wife and Getting out of Bed

“Is she still in bed?”

The NSA dudes have been playing the role of chorus on The Good Wife as they have knowledge of pretty much everything that has been going on and while they have been off the mark on certain relationships – one of them was a big Diane/Will shipper – this episode masterfully uses the NSA surveillance of Alicia and everyone she comes into contact with to propel both Alicia and the story forward.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 5.18 bed
It’s not clear exactly how much time has passed since the last episode and while it doesn’t appear to be more than a week tops, Alicia is still in the bed cocoon stage of her grief. It’s time to get back to work and a call from Finn about his computer being taken is enough of a push to get her out of her sweats. It still feels too soon and the bloody crime scene photos in James Castro’s office is enough to have Alicia blinking back the tears and looking shaky on her feet. There’s conflict at work as Cary is taking charge in Alicia’s absence and they immediately disagree with taking on a government related case. Cary also says a big no to a Lockhart Gardner merger – not that this matters anyway as David Lee has got Louis Canning on board before Diane could secure Alicia.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 5.18 Kalinda and Diane
Last week I talked about the three women in Will’s life and how his death impacts work and personal matters. Diane and Kalinda are immediately affected when it comes to work; he was Diane’s partner and in a world where Kalinda doesn’t really work for anyone he was her boss. Will was confidante to both of them. To have someone new infiltrating this world is hard to swallow, when it’s someone who has financially hurt the firm in the past it’s even harder and Louis Canning has always played the role of antagonist. It’s not surprising to see such a hostile reaction to the idea of this merger and neither woman hides their displeasure at his presence. Canning is in Will’s office and going through all of Will’s case files, which at first feels like a violation and yet it can’t be an untouched shrine as there is work to do. The sight of his chair and the baseball underneath are enough to give a sudden rush of Will Gardner related feelings, but once Kalinda and Diane see past Will and what Canning has done in the past they come to realize that Canning is actually helping.

Canning isn’t there to force Diane out, instead he has fixed some of the issues from Will’s enthusiastic expansion binge and he has the awareness to admit that he is still a scumbag, but he’s now their scumbag and sometimes it is good to have someone like this on their side.

A quick note on Diane’s costumes this week and the dress above has a seaweed like texture, so much so that if you cut it up and put it on a plate I would probably eat it. It looks exquisite on Diane and the gold pin appears to be growing from this frock.

Other notable Diane costume highlights include:

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 5.18 Diane
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 5.18 Diane and a martini
In the first shot the statement necklace is less bold than we’ve previously seen and yet the chain aspect still gives the impression of Diane’s unbreakable spirit. The second shot comes from her lunch with Canning and her royal blue dress is all the power dressing she requires; there’s no need for any kind of dramatic embellishments.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 5.18 Alicia and Finn dark suits
Finn’s getting hung out to dry for Jeffery Grant and for anyone who was worried that Alicia is too close to this case, her first crack at representing him goes terribly. Alicia’s is understandably distracted and the mere mention of Jeffery shooting Will coupled with Finn’s responsibility for putting Jeffery in general detention is almost enough to have Alicia crawling under those covers as she blinks back the tears again. That is until she gets the renewed vigor and a reason to fight; the NSA gives her just that.

Upon hearing of the wiretaps that have been placed on her and how Alicia is at the heart of the three hop warrant it is enough for Alicia to take Finn’s case back off Clarke (that she has only handed off to him 5 minutes before). This is the wake up Alicia needs and even though Finn isn’t connected to the NSA surveillance in any way, they are part of the system and right now she wants to kick some bureaucratic ass.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 5.18 Alicia and Finn light grey
One noticeable change between each hearing with Finn is what they are wearing and the mood that is represented in their color palettes. On both occasions they are in tune with each other; the first day their dark suits reflect the negative mood of the proceedings. Not so on the following day and they shift to lighter grey tones and when Alicia arrives it is clear that a weight has been lifted. Finn mentions Alicia’s brighter mood and Alicia responds that she “had a good night’s sleep.” Alicia beating down the smug assertions of a panel of guys who have used the same methods they are trying to punish Finn for is incredibly satisfying, as is getting this line past the standards and practices people “By going down on him?” Finn’s amused expression speaks volumes for us all. By highlighting the hypocrisy in this forceful, giving none of the fucks manner is just what Alicia needed to get out of her funk and it’s amazing to watch.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 5.18 chumhum tee
A fun bit of costuming to end with Jeff Dellinger’s Chumhum logo t-shirt (later on he sports an It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia one) and I’m going to miss the NSA dudes and their array of tees now that Peter used his dickishness for good to get those wiretaps dismissed.

We needed to see Alicia react to Will’s death in a way that feels honest to her character and the time for her to wallow is over; life must go on and the schedule meeting with Peter at the end of the episode indicates this is happening. The Good Wife has allowed Alicia, Diane and Kalinda the space to grieve, while also dealing with their professional obligations and I’ve been impressed with all of the post-Will episodes and how the characters have responded to this huge loss. It’s remarkable what the writers are doing as I have no idea what the landscape of this show will look like when season 5 comes to an end and this is incredibly exciting.

 


Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Distraction and Memory on The Good Wife

Alicia is keeping busy on The Good Wife and the opening sequence in “Tying the Knot” shows her juggling work, family and Finn continuing scapegoat status. The work aspect includes one the most tricksy clients, Colin Sweeney and in true Sweeney fashion death is not far behind him. Memory and perception has been a repeated theme this season with memory being used in multiple ways to dictate the emotions of an episode.

This began with memory-pops (what the writers call flashbacks, thanks Noel for pointing this out) as Alicia and Will both recalled a time when their relationship was more in tune, followed by Alicia’s choice of suit when she was trying to distract Will with memories of sex. Continuing with Alicia’s keynote speech and how she came to be at Stern, Lockhart & Gardner and the first flutters of those elevator encounters. Since Will’s death the use of memory became imagined encounters thanks to the voicemail Will left moments before he was shot and in “Tying the Knot” there’s yet another type of memory on display as Alicia’s short term recollections are picked over.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 5.19 Alicia
First of all I love this shot of Alicia as she contemplates her options and James Castro’s insinuations, weighing up factors from both this case and Castro’s less than subtle play to get rid of Finn from the SA office. Josh Charles does an incredible job directing an episode with so many moving parts and one that uses memory-pops throughout as Alicia’s experience at the party is the vital piece of testimony. While at the party Alicia receives and makes phone calls to Cary, Eli, Zach, Zach’s friend Shauna and Finn. All while dealing with Colin Sweeney and his demands regarding his new fiancee Renata. The engagement party feels chaotic and disorientating at the time and this is repeated in the memory-pops with the same piece of music playing in the background, the identical looking brunette bobbed waitstaff and the case of Sweeney mistaken identity. On one occasion Eli makes an appearance repeating the words he said on the phone and Alicia chats with an imagined Sweeney about his decision to take off his tux jacket.

Memory is unreliable and when there is this many distractions it gets even more convoluted. There are certain aspects that never change with how Alicia recalls her time at the Sweeney house and Alicia is being manipulated, not in her memory but in the staging of events so she can produce the perfect alibi for Sweeney as he’s only out of her eye line for the briefest time. Once again they help Sweeney get away with his murderous deeds and this time it wasn’t at the hands of Sweeney, instead it was part of his twisted couple’s therapy to give balance to his relationship with Renata. There are a couple of cases of mistaken identity first at the actual party when Alicia is on her brief Sweeney hunt, followed by Alicia misidentifying who she saw going up the stairs that adds credibility worries to the rest of her testimony. As Alicia reinforces, it is better that she owned up to her error than perpetuate a lie even if it adds doubt to her reliability.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 5.19 Finn
Memory comes into play in the courtroom not just in the form of testimony as Finn enters a courtroom as prosecutor for the first time since he was shot. Gone are the bandage and sling; the only physical sign we can see is the scar on his hand he is absentmindedly touching. Upon standing up Finn sees a pool of blood forming at his feet and as the camera goes in for a tight close up we are with Finn back in that courtroom as he sees flashes of both his hand getting shot and what appears to be Will going down (Updated to add this second shot could be the other one Finn was hit by, not Will). These flashes are so brief and this adds to the jarring nature and the sound of the gunfire that isn’t really there causes Finn to noticeably flinch. Instead of breaking down or exiting the court Finn pulls it together and while James Castro’s assertions that Finn needs some time to deal is perhaps correct, he’s not going to let his super smug former BFF get the better of him by using his vulnerability as a way to dismiss him. Nope, instead Alicia has a plan.

Finn’s running for State’s Attorney and what was originally going to be in name only so he couldn’t be fired for whatever BS reason Castro had come up with, has now turned into an actual campaign thanks to Peter’s endorsement. Peter’s been on fire in the past two weeks with how he is dealing with the suck ups and secret backstabbers as he decided to go with Finn after Castro attempts to sweet talk him. This is the Peter I can understand Alicia falling in love with, not that guy who called her a selfish bitch a few of weeks ago.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 5.19 wine cardigan
Owen’s back and he’s playing his usual role of no nonsense advice giver; this time as with most times he thinks Alicia needs to get laid and perhaps he’s right. We’ve never seen Alicia indulge in any kind of no strings sex and while you could argue that sex is never just no strings, it’s always just been Will or Peter. This isn’t to diminish what she had with Will and I’m even bristling at the thought of her with someone else, but Will is gone and hey sometimes you need something beyond work, wine and making dinner for the kids. Owen is Alicia’s truth-sayer and Alicia is his favorite person in the world, so while he might come across as interfering it is all done with love and he’s happy if she’s happy; you can count on Owen to pry just that bit too far.

This scene is hard as Alicia is holding back because she doesn’t want to cry anymore and Owen’s comment about Will making him laugh is just the thing that might tip her back into tear territory. The “facade of perfection” and Zach’s assertion that his parents are Bill and Hillary is a not so off topic conversation point with Alicia giving herself a new motto to get stitched onto a cushion “It’s a decision. I like decisions.” Alicia’s wine cardigan from Vince is rivaling Olivia Pope’s in my heart for best wine consuming style. It has the perfect wraparound factor meaning it’s pretty much the clothing version of a hug and this is what she needs right now.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 5.19 teary eyes
What follows is the only point where Alicia’s facade does slip as she stands alone against her bedroom door, the wounds of Will freshly opened by her chat with her brother, the red wine coursing through her veins; the chin quiver and pools of tears forming in her eyes is inevitable and something she can’t stop. This is an accumulation of everything Owen has just spoken to her about; Will, Peter and moving on. It’s also one of the only moments in “Tying in the Knot” where she isn’t focused on anyone else’s problems, just her own and it is overwhelming.


Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The Good Wife, Identity and What it Means to be Good

The word is in the title and question of ethics and morality have been at the center of both The Good Wife and who Alicia Florrick is since the pilot. The moral grey area has expanded with each season and Alicia is no longer naive and wide eyed when it comes to these boundaries. Alicia tells her mom that “Nothing’s as simple as it used to be” and considering how tangled her romantic life was prior to Will’s death this might seem like a ridiculous notion. There was simplicity in that there was Will and there was Peter and while that was a mess of sorts, it was something Alicia has lived with for five years (more if you include their bad timing at college). Now there is Peter and there is nothing, the nothing is the daunting thing and work isn’t enough to keep her occupied especially when Cary forces her to take a day off.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Deep Web
Will’s death continues to hang over each episode in a way that doesn’t make it too maudlin or disingenuous for Alicia and Diane. With Diane it’s mostly in a work sense (more on that below), for Alicia it has her questioning everything. There have been moments in each episode since this tragedy where something causes Alicia to have a teary eyed reaction and Julianna Margulies is working the glassy eyes so well as she draws breath and stops those tears from exploding. They do come eventually as she breaks down on her mother in a way she stopped herself from doing in front of Owen last week; with Owen Alicia still wants to appear as the pillar of strength she likes to project, but with Veronica she lets the facade slide.

The Good Wife is Alicia’s story and this season filled in some of the blanks of Alicia’s return to work after Peter’s scandal. For the audience Alicia’s role has always been more lawyer than wife so to hear her question this part of her life is jarring. It is something Alicia mentioned when she encountered Grace’s old tutor Jennifer and at the time it came across as an extreme reaction to her grief. Is this something we should take seriously now that she has mentioned it on more than one occasion? Alicia spends so much time between work and whatever she is with Peter now that everything else is muddled; last week she told Owen she was happy with this and at the time she was very convincing. However, the cracks continue to form and Alicia’s black/beige/white block Narciso Rodriguez jacket is trying to present some form of order and yet it highlights how fractured her life is.

Jury duty selection produces a meet cute and it is the catalyst for Alicia’s confusion this week as she doesn’t know how she should behave with Daniel. It’s always been Peter or Will so to throw in a brand new flirtation is rather jarring for both Alicia and the audience. There’s no real reason why she can’t go for a drink with Daniel – technically she is still married, but what’s one drink? – and it doesn’t even have to be about getting laid as Owen suggested in the previous episode. For Alicia it feels like she is cheating and when she asks who she is being faithful to, the crane shot and the look up infer that it is Will. I don’t know if the audience are ready for Alicia to move on this quickly from Will and while there has been some chat about her chemistry with Finn, for me they are reading very much as solid friends. This isn’t to say that something won’t happen down the line (he is also married), but their catch up call at the end of the episode felt very much like BFFs checking in on each other rather than romance.

The notable thing about this relationship is how Finn has become her go to person and as Alicia has always had a glaring lack of friends since the whole Kalinda breakup, I’m glad to see her find a friend as a result of this tragedy. During this conversation Finn mentions how Eli is trying to turn him into a hero and how Eli already made her a saint so we circle back on this idea of purity and Alicia’s identity. This might also have contributed to Alicia’s decision to not go into the bar for a drink and while we know Alicia isn’t a saint (because who is?!) this has become part of her persona as it has been reinforced on multiple occasions.

Saint and hero are both labels that suggest an inherent goodness and while Alicia and Finn are uncomfortable with this notion, they also let Eli manipulate the press to adhere to this image. Finn’s soft spoken answers about the shooting and his sister’s suicide help with this perception and so far he’s very much the good guy. We’ve also seen how Castro is not above leaking personal information about Finn and so this SA race is going to get dirty; will Finn be able to retain his hero status? Alicia has committed many actions that could impact the image the public has of her as the woman who stood by her man, Will being the main one and it’s the glance she is given in the bar that sets off her alarm bells when it comes to socializing with Daniel over lunch. There’s still so much conflict about who Alicia is and how she is perceived; at the moment her grief is compounding this further.

Alicia’s relationship with Will was never public and that impacts the legitimacy of it and how she is dealing with his death “It’s unreal. Like he’s, like he’s still there, you know? Or he was never there at all.” It was always so hard to define what she had with Will, particularly with the added emotional turmoil this season and so it is not surprising to hear Alicia complain that everything is in a tailspin. Part of the reason why Alicia decided to leave Lockhart Gardner was down to the overwhelming Will feelings as she used work to avoid her personal life. Losing Will has caused Alicia to look inward and she doesn’t like what she is seeing and this might be why she is questioning if she wants to be a lawyer anymore. It’s never really been about being a ‘good wife’ more like becoming someone beyond this label and this crisis has Alicia examining everything that makes her who she is and it is terrifying.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
the good wife 5.20 Diane
Over at Lockhart Gardner, Diane is taking a very different approach as she is concerned about the actions of David Lee and Louis Canning in regards to her clients. Diane’s not going to roll over and let them take the reins of the firm she helped create and she’s got Kalinda in her corner to help with any potential sneak attacks. Canning tells Diane he is dying, which turns out to be true and yet Diane’s instincts are spot on as he’s also trying to screw her. Kalinda notes there is something different about Diane in a good way – here’s that word again – and Diane explains that she feels like she is “channeling Will’s ghost.” It’s like Diane has taken the best of Will to help with her current situation. The women of Lockhart Gardner are making their presence felt as Kalinda and Diane are wearing colors that make them stand out; purple and royal blue are colors that emphasize power and neither are going to go gentle into that good night.

 

 


Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The Good Wife, Boundaries and Changing the Rules

Boundaries are important and these have shifted this season on The Good Wife; relationships are not what they were and the rules have been redefined. Loyalties changed, first when Alicia and Cary started their own firm and Will’s death has further altered the equilibrium. When Kalinda tells Canning “Or we could be adults, just ask questions and talk” it seems like the most simple and obvious statement, however this isn’t how things work in either the legal or political sphere and it’s all about gaining the upper hand by whatever method no matter how nefarious. Straight talking can make things even worse from hyperbolic off the cuff remarks to throwing a glass of water in someone’s face (actually that was pretty great) and there should be a certain amount of wall building, but there’s also a danger that you will cut yourself off from everyone as Diane is learning.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 5.21 Alicia and Finn
Alicia’s arrangement with Peter is problematic for all the reasons Eli lists as someone is always going to talk, no matter how much you think they won’t. Peter might be an incredibly savvy politician, but when it comes to his emotional reasoning he runs hot. We see this in his interactions and face soaking of Castro, but Castro’s not going to yell about this from the rooftops and yet if he sleeps with this intern (with a blog) then he’s the biggest idiot there is. She will definitely talk (or blog) and yes I love that lipstick too. It also calls into mind this New York magazine Eliot Spitzer cover, after all that is who Peter is loosely based on.

The goal posts have been moved and Will’s death did act as catalyst, but it’s not just this and Alicia reiterates her feelings of being tired and done with this aspect of her life, this time to Eli. Eli tries to appeal to her from an emotional standpoint mentioning how good they have been together over the past year and while part of me knows this is part of Eli’s job, I do also think he is the only Alicia and Peter shipper out there. Enter James Castro’s smear tactic and Finn claims there is nothing hiding in his closet – as an aside it’s interesting that the word divorce pops up with his wife and why haven’t we seen Mrs Polmar yet? Is this why he moved to Chicago from New York? – Castro takes something innocent as a suggestion of something duplicitous. It’s a security photo of Finn leaving Alicia’s apartment, Castro claims it was from only two weeks ago but Finn is wearing his sling in the photo which he definitely hasn’t worn for a while now. Instead of showing the photo to Finn or Alicia, Peter barely shows it to Eli and gets in a huff about it. To Peter it’s another Will waiting to happen and he probably thinks this is partly why Alicia implemented the new rules. Peter has been given no choice in this decision and that’s compounding these bratty reactions.

Boundaries have always been important to Alicia when it comes to her relationship with Eli; she imposed them when it came to using the kids during campaigns and there’s always been frankness to their interactions. So when Eli mentions they need more walls at Florrick Agos he is talking about the physical kind and yet he needs to break down the mental ones that both Peter and Alicia have erected so he can do his job to the best of his capabilities. The reason he interferes with Peter’s interactions is because if Peter fucks up it could bring the whole thing crashing down and the way he watches the Florrick family at home shows just how vicarious his relationship with them has become. Alicia notes “we seem to share everything these days” and Eli really is the third person in this marriage and there’s this blurring of professional and personal responsibility.

Alicia and Cary’s case is all about a lack of filter and how words can be worth a whole lot of money. Diane is learning this the hard way as a smear campaign is being waged against her by Louis Canning as he’s using Will’s death to try and undermine her. This is pretty low tactic, but it is Canning after all. Diane’s only really ally at Lockhart Gardner is Kalinda and really if I had to have anyone in my corner it would be Kalinda. Kalinda unfortunately doesn’t hold much sway in the grand scheme of things and Diane realizes this is a fight she has to go at alone. Cary didn’t seem overly receptive to Diane and her problems so while I’d love to see Diane join their firm, there will be resistance.

Costuming wise there’s an interesting amount of color palette sharing between the three main women, a few weeks ago this happened with teal and once again there is a mirroring. Both Alicia and Diane wear monochrome:

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 5.21 Diane monochrome
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 5.21 Alicia monochrome
It’s a flip reverse it take on monochrome with Diane in predominantly white and black dominates this look on Alicia. Diane’s includes a bow flourish standing in for the usual pin or statement necklace. The balance is off with both of these characters at the moment because of what happened with Will and these women are connected by their relationships with Will, as well as a professional and personal admiration for each other. It’s why Alicia doesn’t react in a hostile manner (as Cary does) to Diane’s accusations.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 5.21 Kalinda
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 5.21 Diane
Diane and Kalinda both wear deep shades of blue in “The One Percent” and this color has featured heavily in their costuming recently. Blue means loyalty and it’s significant that despite their very different styling this is something they share. Diane is pretty exposed at Lockhart Gardner and the only thing that will ensure her position is her monetary worth to the firm. Her worth could be impacted greatly by Canning’s tactics and he is doing a very good job of making her very paranoid. Kalinda’s loyalty is vital and it’s another case of these women being tied together by their relationship with Will; he might be gone, but the bonds he formed are still very present.

Next week is the season 5 finale and there’s a fight brewing. I’m not sure it can top the dizzying heights of “Hitting the Fan” or the shock of Will’s death and yet I am also very excited to see how they are going to finish this exceptional season. Everything has dramatically changed since this time last year and I don’t even want to try to predict where these characters will end up in the aptly named “A Weird Year.”


Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Betrayal, Privacy and Corruption on the Season 5 Finale of The Good Wife

Season 5 of The Good Wife has focused on the idea of starting anew and it has been a decision both thrust upon characters unwillingly and with careful plotting. Betrayal and corruption are in the DNA of this world; it is how we came to meet Alicia Florrick as she symbolically stood by her man in the pilot despite accusations of corruption and the betrayal. Alicia has come far since that press conference and this year has shown more than any, how much has changed since then.

As a viewer it has been a thrilling ride – even when dealing with the trauma of Will’s violent and unexpected death – and this finale captures the energy that has flowed throughout the entire season. It mirrors the explosive “Hitting the Fan” without coming across as a retread; featuring an energetic score, so many moving pieces, scheming and disloyal gestures. The shadow of Will looms and while “A Weird Year” is missing a scene as powerful as rage-filled table sweep, Will does ultimately play a role in how this season ends.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 5.22
Cary and Alicia started this firm for fundamentally different reasons even if their point of entry was the same. It was a direct result of the equity partner shenanigans in season 4 and how they had been mistreated at Lockhart Gardner, but Alicia’s final decision came because of her overwhelming Will feelings. Alicia doesn’t have the same level of animosity or resentment towards LG as Cary does and this tension heats up this week. Cary doesn’t want it to be like it was and now he has control, well control over his work life, his personal one is another matter all together. Cary sees a merger as a huge step back, Alicia disagrees and when Cary goes behind her back to Canning it blows up between them and in front of everyone. One issue I have with this storyline is how little they have focused on Cary and Alicia as partners; there has been the odd hint at tension, including Cary’s reaction to Diane last week, but this divide has occurred without enough to back it up on screen.

The layout of their offices has been a source of contention and comment whenever anyone visits (Eli is the most vocal) and while the open plan is very modern, it’s also means there is barely any privacy. Privacy or lack thereof has also been a thematic concern this year with the NSA wiretapping and it culminates with the use of the conference call camera in the finale. Lockhart Gardner leave their camera on by mistake and this leads to an ethical debate with Clarke being the only one who disagrees with this accidental surveillance. What it informs them of is so much more than just strategy as they become aware of multiple schemes including the plan to get Diane bumped from her role at LG, Diane’s merger idea and Kalinda’s manipulation of Cary. A result of the many different plots going on at once and the constant phone calls is that the tension is increased and there is a frenetic energy that is as disorientating to the viewer as it is to the characters. They are constantly in flux and nothing is certain, not even by the end of the episode.

Ok, let’s plot out who is challenging who; David Lee and Louis Canning are scheming against Diane and Florrick Agos, Diane wants to merge with Florrick Agos, Alicia is up for this merger and Cary is most definitely not. Elsewhere the State’s Attorney race has turned even more contentious as Eli has found something that will sink Finn, so they offer it to Diane instead. Diane is still pissed about what happened with the Supreme Court Justice position and doesn’t seem to want the SA position anyway. So this is where we are for most of the finale.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 5.22 Diane and Canning
Everything shifts when Canning brings word of his nuclear option and how Will’s acquisitions prior to his death is going to cause Diane’s downfall; it doesn’t matter that she had no involvement and there is nothing she can do about it. Canning’s motives for doing this are all wrapped in his own mortality “My work is my life” and he thinks it will keep him alive longer. The fact that Diane has built this firm from the ground up doesn’t matter to Canning and he really is as slimy as it gets. In this moment it looks like Diane is well and truly defeated and she even tells Kalinda that she has no fight left in her. There is an alternative path and thanks to a prompt from Kalinda – who is now very much Diane’s confidant – Diane proceeds with mystery option number 3.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 5.22 meeting
Not a merger, but Diane asks Florrick Agos to take her and her $38 million in billings and while this always seemed like a likely scenario it is still incredibly satisfying to see it play out. This meeting takes place in the no doors conference room and the tension between Cary and Alicia is palpable as they sit at either end of the table. Clarke continues to play mediator and this wide shot highlights all the major players in the scene. The flash of pink helps Cary stand out and Alicia’s light grey suit differentiates her from the others at the other end. Robin is the only character in casual wear, highlighting her presence and Diane is the focal point in both the red of her costuming and the message she is there to deliver.

Red is traditionally Alicia’s color, but since Will’s death it has been notably absent from her wardrobe. For Alicia red is often tied to sex, passion and power all of which has been missing since Will. Alicia asserts once again about how tired she is feeling, the ear this time is far less sympathetic and it’s something she has to yell twice before Cary hears her. Cary points out that work isn’t what is causing this inertia, implying it is Will. Alicia takes this suggestion rather badly, even if it’s true and it follows on from an earlier remark Cary makes about him being the new Will and that doesn’t go over too well either. It is still far too soon to poke this wound. It will be interesting to see how Alicia continues to move forward from Will as it still doesn’t feel like she has really confronted what this loss really means. Yes, she has made a decision with her relationship setup with Peter and yet there is this avoidance and repression that is classic Alicia Florrick.

Alicia’s lack of deep and meaningful relationships only goes to magnify her bottling up reaction. As an outsider, Finn has played an important role in Alicia’s post-Will life, not from a romantic perspective yet, but as a friend who doesn’t have all of this prior knowledge of Alicia. Finn is a blank slate in a way, he’s also a connection to Will and this gives him a unique position in Alicia’s life. Finn also doesn’t bristle when Alicia answers the phone with a not so welcoming “WHAT?” If Alicia does take Eli up on his State’s Attorney suggestion (which is met with a less aggressive “What?”) how will this impact her relationship with Finn? Of course we don’t know if Matthew Goode is sticking around for next season, the hope is that he will as he has brought a calming energy to the show.

Dirt exists on everyone and a fake affair with Alicia wasn’t Finn’s downfall in the end, even if it threw him out of favor with Peter initially. No, Finn bribed a prosecutor to help his sister and this is enough corruption to sink his SA bid. The only character who has yet to reveal their corruptible side is Clarke and he demonstrated just how much he believes in fairness by being completely against the monitoring of the LG camera, no matter how much it could help them.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 5.22 empty nest
The empty nest is referenced throughout “A Weird Year” and it is yet another upheaval and dramatic change for Alicia. I have to admit the screen got rather blurry at Alicia’s joy turned sorrow upon seeing Zach graduate, coupled with her “I just wish there was more time” remark. This statement could be read in a couple of ways; in the immediate as Alicia has spent so little time with Zach on his graduation day, in general terms as a mother or overall signifying the toll this year has taken on her. Time with Will has been stolen and it’s something she can never get back. It’s why her arrangement with Peter makes sense, even if the consequences down the line with red haired interns are going to be disastrous. Jackie can’t comprehend this decision when Veronica lauds it over her – I would love a Veronica, Jackie and plenty of wine sitcom – and it is problematic in how it means Alicia can move forward, but not really as she is still married and part of a power couple.

Eli’s career suggestion for Alicia is impulsive and I’m not entirely sure he’s thought it through as I’m sure there’s plenty of dirt on Alicia and her Saint Alicia reputation will get destroyed as soon as those hotel trips with Will get uncovered. Don’t get me wrong, I think a Good Wife where Alicia is SA and going against both of her old firms would be a lot of fun, it would just take some getting used to. The reason this season has been such a success is because they challenged the dynamics and while some of this was down to external factors like actors wanting to leave, Robert and Michelle King certainly rose to the occasion and delivered.

Below you can watch a conversation with Julianna Margulies about her career and towards the end there is a hint of where she would like to see Alicia go in season 6. It’s a long, but very fun discussion.

 


Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The Good Wife and the Saint Alicia Brand

The Good Wife kicks off the new season with yet another surprising move and while it might not elicit the same heart getting ripped out of your chest feelings as the Will twist did, it still packs a punch. Diane moving from her old firm to Alicia and Cary’s was what I expected to be number one on the agenda, instead this moves into the background as Cary ends up in prison as a result of some advice he may or may not have given – there is allegedly a recording which we don’t hear and Cary insists that he didn’t do the crime he is accused of – and what’s great is how equally disorientated both Cary and us as an audience are at Cary’s initial arrest and subsequent incarceration.

The amount of world building The Good Wife has achieved in the previous five seasons is showcased in “The Line” as old faces resurface from family members to former love interests and perceptions that were established in the very first episode are still very much on point.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 6.01 Alicia handshake
Take Saint Alicia and the brand that is making Eli pull out his big guns to get Alicia on board the State’s Attorney campaign ship. Eli is convinced Alicia should run despite her lack of interest in this political position and the polling numbers support his belief that she can win. Alicia’s brand is enticing to both women on the left and right as she stayed with her husband and set up her own business; she is both fiercely loyal and independent striking that rare balance.

Skeletons lurk in Alicia’s closet when it comes to her relationship with Peter, not only her past affair with Will but also the current ‘faking it’ marriage status. Add in the slight flirtation with Finn and the photos Castro already has of Finn leaving Alicia’s apartment which he planned to use against Finn, but could easily double for Alicia smearing (no matter how innocent this visit was) and there is a reputation to be besmirched. Calling someone a saint is a rather high pedestal to put someone on and Alicia could be knocked off this perch in quick fashion if someone was to stumble on hotel room records or CCTV footage. Will might be dead, but he could easily come back to haunt Eli if he goes ahead with this.

Eli is excellent at his job even while his daughter mocks him (I’m beyond thrilled to have Sarah Steele show up once again as Marissa, more from her please) and he expertly manipulates Peter into getting on board with his Alicia plan by using Castro to rile him up. Eli has another issue to consider with the Florricks as he is still concerned about the intern Peter has been flirting with, an intern who doesn’t wear underwear (they said the word ‘panties’ far too much for my liking in this episode) and will happily show the office that she isn’t when confronted about it. Lauren is the intern Eli was told he couldn’t fire last season and while the vagina flashing is maybe a stretch, she represents everything Eli worries about when it comes to Peter’s brand.

P.S. Lauren, your dress is super cute, but underwear should be a given in a work place like this.

I’m not sure how much Alicia would actually care if Peter did sleep with Lauren as she really has severed those kinds of ties with her husband in the wake of Will’s death; I expect there would be an exasperated eye roll followed by a ‘because, of course’ reaction. The voters would definitely care as Eli’s polling suggested and Eli is pulling out all the stops to ensure Peter doesn’t resort to old habits.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 6.01 Alicia and Finn
There are far more pressing matters than Eli’s latest attempt to get his doomed ship back together as bail for Cary has been set to the crazy high $1.3 million (to match the street value of the heroin in question) and Alicia has to work several angles to obtain this money. Despite the current fractured state of her relationship with Cary as a result of wanting to bring Diane on board, Alicia is even willing to get a second mortgage on her house to get Cary out. Cary has already faced a test in prison regarding his loyalty to Bishop and while he didn’t lose a finger, he did receive a rather nasty hand gash which he then had to pretend he got from falling on the bars. Cary is a target in lock up in part because he used to be an ASA and because he poses a risk to Bishop. He passed the test and that should afford him some protection even if he’s received the wrath of a guard for not following certain rules like crossing lines and keeping his eyes to the ground.

When Cary enters prison his suit has a disheveled appearance, but with his pocket square still neatly in place he looks like a rich dude who has been done for a DUI or some kind of drug possession – so grateful they mentioned the last time he did drugs was the hilarious season 1 mushroom incident – and when Cary changes into the beige prison uniform he looks small and vulnerable. The puffed up chest lawyer confidence is all but gone.

Diane is having to maintain appearances with Louis Canning and David Lee as they try and figure out her next move; David Lee doesn’t think Diane will move to Florrick, Agos as it is “too small potatoes” with Canning accurately acknowledging that it appeals to “Diane’s romantic soul.” It matches Diane’s brand and her client roster is worth an impressive and significant $30 million. This is in part what Diane is selling herself on to Alicia, that and the prestige her name brings; a name that could counterbalance the damage to this fledgling firm from Cary’s arrest and the Lemond Bishop connection.

Costume wise both Alicia and Diane are on top of their power game despite the tidal wave of shit that has hit them both from last season and in this episode. Alicia is all Hugo Boss suits and Emilio Pucci puffed sleeve blouses. Alicia’s color palette sticks to darker tones and neutrals like grey; however as the ensemble below shows this isn’t about becoming a wallflower and she still stands out thanks to precision tailoring and flourishes like those sleeves.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 6.01 Alicia
Diane is also not someone to fade into the background even with the fake retirement story she is serving up. This means an exquisite raspberry colored St. John Collection draped dress and Pono statement necklace. The shot below gives me shivers and with Diane representing Cary (as Alicia has been removed) he has yet another excellent and very vocal advocate. Perhaps this will get him on board with Diane as a new partner.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 6.01 Diane
Cary is but a pawn in the quest to bring down Lemond Bishop and no matter how hard Bishop tries to convey an appearance of being nothing more than a business his reputation precedes him and after all this is a pretty accurate assessment of how Bishop makes his money. Bishop can use intimidation to get Cary to keep his mouth shut, steer Kalinda away from her line of questioning and get the bail money. The latter is an issue now that Finn has requested a source of funds hearing as the funds are not from a legitimate source and were originally delivered in a duffle bag with $200,000 more than they needed (the removal of this extra money was hilarious). Does this mean Cary is going to languish in prison for even longer? Maybe they should tap up Colin Sweeney instead.

When Alicia suggests Finn is going hard after Cary because of his sister’s overdose she crosses a line by using her personal knowledge to suggest an ulterior motive. Instead he just wants to get one of the biggest drug dealers behind bars which seems like a perfectly valid reason and they shake on it not ruining their friendship.

There is an ease to Alicia and Finn in their playful back and forth even as Finn gets her disqualified – in an aside he notes how he didn’t want to go against her – that is free from the meaningful looks and complicated history that Alicia shared with Will. Not that I’m advocating a hook up just yet (this thing has to build) and gifs of Will and Alicia over on Tumblr still feel like a punch to the gut, but I have to admit that seeing the shoulder squeeze of thanks and the friendship declaration handshake makes me more than glad to have Finn Polmar as a an opponent and Matthew Goode retaining his regular status. Is he going to become the latest thorn in Eli’s side if he messes up the Saint Alicia brand?

 


Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The Wish List: Robyn’s Star Sweater on The Good Wife

Diane Lockhart is the character whose impeccable style I am in awe of, when in reality Robyn is far closer to how I actually dress. Not that this is a bad thing; Robyn is smart and disarms those she is investigating through her brightly colored/bold patterned attire. Not that Robyn has done a whole lot of investigating this season as she’s become more of an assistant (or confidant if you will ) to Alicia while Cary has been locked up.

If Kalinda does come to the new firm – this was one of Diane’s stipulations – I wonder what this means for Robyn and whether they can have two investigators on their books. Robyn and Kalinda’s style varies in a lot of ways and the most obvious is how they dress as Kalinda is all leather and knee high boots whereas Robyn looks more like a college student. Together they have proven in the past to be a formidable team and while Kalinda might prefer to act as a lone wolf, sometimes she needs to hang out with someone who is more fond of pack mentality. And would probably wear a wolf sweater – maybe something like this.

There are several TV sweater superstars and as we are finally in sweater season (insert happy dance here) it is time to relish in this moment. First up Robyn’s star number from The Good Wife’s season 6 premiere.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 6.01 Robyn star sweater
Robyn is wearing a star sweater with raglan sleeves by Olivia Moon and sadly it is no longer available (eBay is now the best bet), but there are other alternatives if you’re looking to go for a starry pattern. Ranging from affordable to a month’s rent prices here are a pick of our current favorites.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Warehouse
From Warehouse this grey sweater is perfect for casual hanging out or that new law firm you work at (maybe not the latter depending on your role).

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Wildfox
This Wildfox pullover has a more summery feel, but that be influenced by the jorts the model is wearing and it can be found at Bloomingdales.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Maison
Something a bit bolder with this red Maison Scotch sweater available from ASOS.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Chinti and Parker
This cobalt-blue intarsia stars constellation isn’t as crowded as some of the other jumpers on offer, but this Chinti and Parker Italian cashmere number is just as striking.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
DVF
Adding a moon to the night sky imagery is TV Ate My Wardrobe favorite Diane von Furstenberg.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Coach
Stars and the moon are one thing, now we’ve got Coach and their homage to the US Space Program and I could definitely see Robyn in this (April Ludgate too).

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Robyn 6.02
We will be keeping an eye on Robyn’s sweater game and her cardigans are just as fun including this Alice + Olivia cloud cardigan from “Trust Issues” (sadly no longer available, another eBay suggestion).

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 6.02 Robyn
And it’s worth noting that one of Robyn’s sweaters from “Trust Issues” is a repeat from last season (and previously mentioned DVF wish list item). It makes me so happy when a show reuses a costume. Although that dude behind Robyn is clearly judging.


Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Heroes and Villains on The Good Wife: Alicia’s Game Face is On

Alicia has spent the first three episodes of The Good Wife’s sixth season insisting to everyone who dare mention the State’s Attorney election how she is definitely not running and it’s been pretty clear that something or someone would eventually persuade her to join the race. After a series of conversations including Eli’s sometimes subtle and often obvious attempts to get her on board, Alicia comes to Eli at the end of “Dear God” asking what the plan would be if she ran. This is as close to saying “Yes I am running” as Alicia has entertained so far and in this episode we see Alicia make several compromises; moving position on whether she will enter the race and indulging in conversations about the Bible to help her win a case. Alicia might be referred to as Saint Alicia, but she definitely has none of the religious beliefs to back up a nickname like that.

What it takes to get Alicia to this point is an array of persuasive tactics and even if Alicia knows Eli is saying Peter will endorse Castro just so she puts herself forward, when Castro sinks to an abhorrent level even for him, she can’t ignore how terrible Castro winning would be. Castro is the villain of The Good Wife even when there are drug dealers/murders like Lemond Bishop; Castro is so much worse because he’s the guy who is meant to be good. Alicia also gets a push from another source as guest star and feminist icon Gloria Steinem acts as both an imaginary and real motivational coach.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 6.03 Alicia
Alicia’s feelings regarding Castro are pretty straight forward as she tells Eli “Castro is a bad man” even before he reaches a new despicable low by daring to bring up Will and their rumored relationship – there’s something supremely icky in the way Castro accusingly says ‘lover’ – which sparks her final visit to Eli’s office. Words like ‘good’ and ‘bad’ are both definitive and abstract; one is included in the title of the show and represents a certain image and perception of our protagonist. ‘Saint’ takes this even further and it’s a word that Castro invokes earlier in the episode as he tells Alicia “Very few saints survive oppo research.” This is something I discussed a few weeks ago here on TV Ate My Wardrobe and on Twitter in a conversation with Kristen Warner we speculated about how Alicia’s secrets could be the perfect setup for a ‘ripped from the headlines’ story involving the recent iCloud hacking. What better way to ruin a reputation that plays up on someone’s virtue than by shattering this perception with photos revealing an affair.

Hats off to Michael Cerveris as he is doing a fantastic job of making Castro so villainous without any metaphorical moustache twirling. Castro can’t quite let things go and plays into Alicia’s “Men always have something to say” challenge, which in turn works in Eli’s favor. Between Castro’s vile words and Gloria Steinem’s encouragement, Eli couldn’t have primed Alicia any better to say yes.

The Gloria Steinem moment is amusing (and amazing) for a number of reasons. First up is this facial expression:

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 6.03 Alicia
In an episode where Alicia is at her most unflappable, she has a moment where she almost loses it in a bumbling and very human way as Gloria Steinem encourages her to run and she effectively tells her to get out of her own way by asking the simple question “Would you do a good job?” and reinforcing the notion that “We need more good women to run.” There’s that word again. Twice.

Alicia also allows herself to daydream for a moment extending the conversation with Steinem in her mind as she briefly succumbs to the power of compliments from a woman she looks up to and respects. The eye rolls at herself and later a quick look around to make sure no one knows what she has been thinking can be added to the list of amazing facial expressions Julianna Margulies delivers in “Dear God.” In fact Steinem first ‘appears’ to Alicia while she is absentmindedly playing with her wedding ring in a church as a deity like presence, bathed in the same blue light from the stage that now appears to be other worldly. Blue is a repeated color throughout the episode with both Diane and Cary wearing this color throughout signifying a unity that might not be so obvious considering how combative the brief flashbacks to the office are.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 6.03 Gloria Steinem
In a conversation with Dean about religion, Alicia explains that she isn’t “genetically built” to believe and while she might not be open to a traditional form of worship she does have idols/heroes who help guide her in this episode, no matter how silly Alicia thinks she is for indulging in these moments.

Is it kismet or Eli manipulation that leads to Alicia’s bumping into Gloria Steinem and thereby adding another voice to the get Alicia to run campaign? It’s not as clear cut as the Valerie Jarrett phone call last week and I think Eli was hoping this encounter could happen. What he couldn’t necessarily predict is how well Castro would play up to his villain role and thereby aiding Eli’s master plan.

Alicia delivers the best ‘go fuck yourself’ face I’ve seen in a long time and coupled with her steely “Anything else?” I think we’re going to have quite the messy race on our hands. Alicia has come far since standing by Peter’s side in the pilot all meek and with little media awareness; I cannot wait to see her enter the fray and come out blazing even with all the oppo research threats Castro suggests will ruin her reputation. I say bring it.


Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The Good Wife and Secrets: “Were we up to Something Naughty?”

When we first met Alicia Florrick she had been thrust into the spotlight as a result of her husband’s dalliances; a casualty of a political scandal that hit at the personal. Before this she had lived in complete obscurity in Highland Park as ‘the good wife’ having lunch with her tennis chums, picking the kids up from school and drinking a glass of wine at five o’clock. When Peter’s indiscretions became a matter of public record, this anonymity was no more. Alicia has since restarted her law career and gone on to start her own firm, remaining somewhat in the public eye. There has been attention from the press of course as her husband is the Governor of Illinois, but now Alicia has come around to the idea of becoming a politician herself, despite her numerous attempts over the past few episodes to claim otherwise. The final push coming courtesy of a flattered ego (word up real and imaginary Gloria Steinem) and a not so veiled threat invoking the personal.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 6.04
Alicia claims she is still unsure whether she will run at the start of the episode (even though it’s pretty clear she will) and she reverts to her long ago hostess role preparing food and making sure there is wine. So much wine. Alcohol becomes important later on in the episode and while I don’t think Alicia has booze problem, it is easy for the opposition to spin it in such a way suggesting she does. If she had done the reckless thing and stayed in the bar for another drink with Finn and got a cab home instead of driving then there would have been no story. Or maybe a more salacious one.

The oppo research Eli has undertaken is extensive revealing deep dark secrets including Zach’s girlfriend Nisa’s abortion the previous year, her mother Veronica spanking a 5-year old boy in a department store and her brother’s affair with a married guy who also happens to be a porn star. Each of these things could have a negative impact on the campaign, but it also reflects how in politics even the people who aren’t directly involved are a target and represent a risk. Alicia’s personal life became fodder for the press when Peter slept with prostitutes and now her family will be placed under the microscope if she runs. The reactions vary greatly as Owen at first jokes about his mother’s actions and then is so disgusted by what Alicia tells him they have discovered – and I think he is far more annoyed at Alicia than Phil – that he dumps his wine in the sink and leaves without saying another word. Veronica plays along with Alicia’s demands and attempts to apologize to the mother of the child she spanked until she can’t exclaiming how she “should have spanked you, you bitch!”

Zach is the one who prompts the greatest reaction from Alicia as she can’t believe he would lie to her about something like this and the use of Zach memory pops in this episode underlie the feelings of betrayal, but should Alicia really be this surprised? There is no context as to what was going on with Alicia on August 5th the previous year and at first I wondered if this was when the Will shooting happened, but nope if Finn was seen leaving Alicia’s apartment on March 18th with his sling on, then this was long before Will’s death. Maybe it was around the time Alicia first decided to start a new firm, regardless it is easy to believe that Zach would and could keep a secret like this from his mom, no matter how open she has tried to be with her children. Everyone has secrets. Well everyone except Grace – Christianity 3 Atheism 0 – and her role in the episode is to provide the comedic interludes with her school choir practice and her old tutor/street dancer Jennifer.

A combination of playing voicemail tag and ignoring his calls means Alicia doesn’t have the conversation with Zach until the end of the episode and by this point Peter has alerted him to his mother’s rage. Alicia is angry at Zach for lying and she’s hurt not because they had an abortion, but because she was left out of the loop and it stings further because Nisa’s parents were there (in part because at 16 they have to legally be informed). It is likely this story will come out and if so Alicia wants Zach to tell a different story of how it went down; Alicia knew about it and told them she would help raise the baby, but they went for another option. This reeks of hypocrisy and it shows how Alicia can spin a story that has hurt her personally into a positive for her campaign “I need you to say I am a good parent.” Is she a bad parent for not knowing what Zach did? No of course not, teens can be sneaky and as Zach wasn’t the one who underwent the medical procedure it is something he could easily cover up with a story about visiting a college. She might not be a great parent for asking him to lie the second after she has yelled at him about lying to her, just so it will help her campaign.

The Good Wife centers on the education of Alicia Florrick and over the time we have spent with her we have seen multiple moral quandaries and compromises she has made whether in the courtroom or in her personal life. This is a show where the grey area is expansive and while words like ‘good’ and ‘bad’ get thrown around every character is complicit in some manner (yes even Grace Florrick). Darkness at Noon (Alicia’s favorite TV show) now has an accompanying post discussion show (so much AMC shade throwing in the episode) that’s not even a little subtle in its Talking at Noon title and includes guest star Joe Weisberg (creator of The Americans) discussing the symbolism of an elk (ha!) and who is the biggest badass on the show. They are talking in definitives and the question of whether someone is good or bad (or a badass) is in part redundant as these terms are abstract and can mean different things to different people. The middle ground messiness and flaws is where the fun is and while these digs at cable prestige dramas might come off as a touch petty, the sheer brassiness of these references adds to the hilarity.

Peter’s maybe recent dalliances are not discussed with Alicia and Eli finally gets his wish to fire Lauren, the intern with an aversion to panties and penchant for flirting with Peter. Eli’s raised ‘oh fuck’ eyebrow gets a later workout when he sees Peter flirting it up with Lauren’s mom who happens to be an ‘old family friend’ and also super hot. Eli’s putting out fires all over the place when it comes to the Florricks and their extra martial affairs with Alicia coming up with suitable answers for both surveillance photos of her with men who aren’t her husband. The one with Will cuts like a knife and that wound is still very fresh; it’s a picture from the hotel five years ago at the end of season 2 and if this one exists then surely there are more from their other hotel ventures. The second is another we have seen before and it was used by Castro last season to stop Finn from running as it shows him leaving Alicia’s apartment at 8.30 am. It’s all completely innocent as this was the day she was helping him prep for the disciplinary hearing.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 6.04 Alicia and Finn
For a brief moment Alicia contemplates staying for another drink with Finn and as with all their other interactions the chemistry is palpable – even when they are yelling at each other in court it is underscored with sexual tension – plus there is the natural warmth between them that has been present since their first meeting. Instead Alicia does what Alicia tends to do and go for the sensible hesitation option; it’s what we saw her do last season when she didn’t go into the bar to meet Richard Alpert from Lost and it is what she did on multiple occasions with Will. Alicia guards her heart for better or worse and even though it makes sense for her at this point to avoid any further messiness with personal entanglements I have to admit I was disappointed (though not surprised) to see Alicia not indulge in anymore witness prep.

One thing worth noting is how Alicia’s costuming goes from the high necked Jason Wu blouse, signifying an aspect of feeling guarded and covered while she is undertaking a personal undressing of sorts with Eli and her potential campaign manager Johnny Elfman to the slight décolletage revealing purple blazer in the bar. It’s not like she’s suddenly opting for all the cleav and nor would this outfit look out of place in court, however the contrast to her outfit in the first half of the episode is significant. Alicia’s relationship with Finn is already complicated considering his role in the Cary case and yet there are no hard feelings at this point. Finn is also a pair of eyes and ears on the inside with Castro as he warns Alicia that Castro will hit her where she is vulnerable. This isn’t exactly brand new information as Castro has already invoked the words ‘lover’ and ‘Will’ in the skeeziest of ways, however it is good to know that Finn is very much Team Alicia. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear if he is one of the people who has donated money on the page set up by another Alicia supporter. Finn like Alicia has a habit of joking about matters that can be taken out of context and his comments about doing something ‘naughty’ is enough to give Eli all the eyebrow reactions.

Nothing is completely clean on The Good Wife and Lemond Bishop is no longer a client of Alicia’s instead he has set up a PAC that has raised a lot of money in just a few days and before Alicia has even announced. If there was a source of funds hearing on this money (legal Q – is this even a thing or is that just for bail?) then this would be problematic even if Bishop is a few people away from the source and it looks like Bishop is hoping to have the future SA in his pocket. Corruption follows everyone. Alicia has a more current problem to try and quell with the rumors of alcohol issues thanks to the DUI stop that just so happened to get caught on camera. This race has already hit the smear levels and she’s not even officially a candidate; just how low is Castro going to sink and will Alicia join him in the mud? Saint Alicia no more.


Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

These Boots Were Made for Walking: A Few Thoughts on The Good Wife’s Departure News

Yesterday was pretty much the everything entertainment news days – HBO announcing plans for a standalone service, all of Friends on Netflix, NPH hosting the 2015 Oscars – but the one item that prompted the biggest response from me personally is the news that Archie Panjabi won’t be renewing her contract on The Good Wife. Rather than going the Josh Charles ‘secret exit even though we knew his contract was up for negotiation at the end of the season’ route, Panjabi has signed a development deal with Twentieth Century Fox Television which means it is time to announce her Good Wife exit.

This is a good move for Panjabi and hopefully whatever project she ends up with will serve her well. For me this news was met with an array of conflicted feelings ranging from well this makes sense considering how little Kalinda has had to do over the past few seasons to sadness that this character has really been left flailing for so long and it’s a shame they never really figured out what to do with her. It also means The Good Wife cast has got a whole lot less diverse.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 5.21 Kalinda
Kalinda has been reduced to the magical case solving unicorn on The Good Wife and the person who can seduce anyone of either sex. She knows everyone and is generally the solution to narrative issues generally regarding whatever case of the week they are dealing with. Kalinda’s personal life was stomped all over when they introduced her ex-husband Nick in season 4 and while the Kings were quick to realize how much pretty much everyone who watched this show hated this character/storyline (and I still have the image of Nick smashing eggs on Kalinda’s chest etched into my mind) the damage was done. Everything after this has come across as clutching at straws with Kalinda including her several romantic relationships which tend to lean on getting some kind of professional leverage in the form of seduction. Cary is perhaps the only one who doesn’t fit this pattern; however she did use her closeness with him to get information for Will about Cary and Alicia’s exit from Lockhart Gardner resulting in trust issues between the pair.

The two people Kalinda has been closest to in a non-sexual capacity are Will and Alicia; Will is gone and Kalinda and Alicia haven’t shared a scene (other than over the phone) in 34 episodes. The latter friendship was destroyed when Alicia found out Kalinda had slept with Peter before they had met and while Robert and Michelle King were more than happy to dispose of Nick in a swift manner, they haven’t succumbed to the calls for Alicia and Kalinda to reconcile. Just look how good they were together.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
kalinda and alicia
A complex, close friendship can be just as compelling as a romantic connection and the breakdown of platonic love can be just as heart ripping out sad as the end of a passionate union. Lady friendships that don’t include petty jealousy or arguments over dudes are still too far and few between on television and even though this one ended because of a guy, prior to this it included all the tequila/beer drinking and the kind of strong rapport that makes this kind of pairing so special. Kalinda is part of the reason why Alicia grew more self-assured and confident in her abilities. The dissolution of their friendship also goes some ways to explain why both of them are pretty prickly and wary when it comes to getting close to someone new; they let down their guard with each other and got hurt in the process. Just thinking about Kalinda’s elevator sobbing after Alicia found out breaks me. Without Will or Alicia, Kalinda has been set adrift in a sea of flirtation and trying to figure out whether there is an ulterior motive to the actions of the person she is interacting with.

Alicia has also lost Will and Kalinda, but instead of reducing her to one aspect of her character she has thrived since (although I still think she needs more friends) and she does have a few drinking buddies she can trust on hand. Plus Alicia is never going find herself as a story afterthought; she is the title character after all.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 5.21 Diane and Kalinda
Leather jackets, knee high boots and a notebook at hand (okay the above photo only has two out of three) are the Kalinda signature; however a character needs much more than costuming and props to be a fully formed thing and there’s been this constant struggle to find the right fit for her. So yes I am sad Archie Panjabi is departing, but I hope this means they will give her a kickass story to end on and hopefully one last shot of tequila with her former best friend (even if she disagrees with the ‘best’ part).

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

[Source]


Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Sucking it Up on The Good Wife

From Scorned Wife to State’s Attorney Candidate! The political press has been gifted a great fairy tale of sorts with Alicia’s announcement and it is not surprising to see direct callbacks to The Good Wife’s pilot this week; the media use the shot of Alicia standing by her man at the prostitute confession press conference to frame this narrative and the audience revisits the corridor of confrontation where Alicia slapped Peter in the very first episode and it acts as a Peter/Alicia showdown location once again.

This is a strong visual parallel and “Shiny Objects” is primarily concerned with the idea of compromise and while we’ve seen Alicia make a lot of sacrifices for Peter in the past, she’s no longer the meek looking woman standing beside him when he needs her to be the ‘good wife.’ If a relationship is all about the give and take, then Alicia is using this moment to show Peter how serious she was when she said their facade of a marriage would benefit them both.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 6.05 news coverage
Since Will’s death Alicia has questioned her role in the legal world, wondering if she made a mistake becoming a lawyer and this crisis of faith (the faith being the law) was completely understandable given the personal trauma. A new fire has been lit inside her and despite all of Alicia’s persistent remarks that she wasn’t going to run, it was very clear from the first episode of season 6 that Alicia would enter the SA race. Flattery is a big part of her decision and who wouldn’t want to run after multiple people (including personal heroes) have said how good she would be. On this stage Alicia is the shiny object and Peter is the one dishing out all the compliments and no matter how much disdain she has for him earlier in the episode, Alicia can’t hide how much pleasure she derives from Peter showing up like a hero at the crucial moment.

Peter might come across as the good husband at the end of the episode, but it is only after he has acted like a spoiled brat not wanting to share the stage with a dude who he thinks Alicia is sleeping with. It’s all about pride of course and during this argument Peter isn’t willing to concede. Instead he resorts to pathetic innuendos when Alicia tells him to suck it up, suggesting this is what Alicia has been doing with Finn. No, nothing has happened between this pair beyond so much flirty banter on the phone and in bars (just kiss already please). Alicia is the one with the power in her personal relationship with Peter as she laid out the rules of their marriage and there has been no wiggle room for reconciliation; these are Alicia’s terms and she’s not letting him get close again. This is until he swoops in to offer his endorsement after Finn has delivered his; this is quite the master manipulation moment and I wonder if this action will open Alicia up to a more cordial and receptive relationship with her husband.

The marriage for show arrangement to help both their careers is going to get more difficult as the spotlight will be firmly back on their every move and they might have to spend more time together to sell the whole power couple thing to the public. Alicia brought up the prostitute scandal to emphasize why Peter was out of turn for objecting to Finn’s involvement and considering the location of the argument (the same corridor from the slap in the pilot) it isn’t surprising that Alicia’s mind went there. Plus it is her trump card in any given situation considering she “stood by you like a grinning fool” – sidenote there is no grinning on display when Alicia stood by his side 5 years ago – and he really does owe her for this. Peter tells her to “Let it go” (cue singing) and is he justified in this response?

Eli and Johnny are both concerned that if Peter is on stage when Alicia makes her speech it will recreate the scandal photo and Peter knowingly stays on stage despite this strong visual reminder. It looks like he is making a sacrifice for Alicia by doing this, but to me this is all about creating an image of humility and it also removes any kind of spotlight that might have been on Finn. Alicia tells Peter that Finn is sticking his neck out with his standing in the SA office and if he is indeed jeopardizing his already wobbly relationship with Castro then Peter is making sure Finn is doing it for no plaudits whatsoever. Finn claims he isn’t sacrificing anything when Alicia tries to bump him from saying a few words by using concern for his job when Peter is the actual reason. The scene in the bar points to a couple of things; it is another case of flattery convincing Alicia as his words prompt her defiance in the face of Peter’s petty objection and Finn is rather attuned to Alicia’s moods as he can tell she’s not giving him the real reason. This is something we have seen time and time again with this pairing (including earlier on the phone in this episode) and there’s a real sense of compatibility here beyond the crackling chemistry.

Other than the positioning of which side they are standing on the two photos from the scandal press conference to the endorsement couldn’t be more different and it is perfect fodder for the MSM (oh Eli). Alicia hasn’t worn red for quite some time now and it is significant that she chooses her power color in this moment. It projects strength and it is the polar opposite of her ‘wife of a politician’ houndstooth suit and pearls; there is no way she would wear something like the 2009 suit now (in my head she had a burning ritual of all her ‘good wife’ outfits, or at least gave them away). The 2009 shot shows a washed out, meek woman standing by her husband in this humiliating moment. Today she is standing strong, her hair looks fantastic and her husband is the one at her side and he is beaming with pride. Alicia is in command and she made this happen by not taking any of Peter’s macho BS earlier in the episode while pointing out how this works in his favor too. Peter’s pride is a big factor in his earlier ranting and rather than back down from her position, Alicia makes him see how his bullish behavior isn’t going to work and the compromise is going to work for him if he will let it.

There are other sacrifices made this week and after Diane clicks on a link that makes her look pretty naive it takes her back to her former firm and the position of asking David Lee for help. It’s not something Diane is all too happy about and she approaches her old office tentatively, before returning to a power walk when she is in view of her old office and David Lee’s new one. Diane’s return to her former workplace attire as is still Diane Lockhart levels of chic, but the Akris houndstooth coat is relatively understated.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 6.05 Diane
Particularly when compared to the bold leopard jacquard Escada coat and chain statement necklace outfit she wore when she finished her last day at the firm. Same killer red lip color. Diane stalking the corridors of LG (or whatever its name is now) is always a joy to behold as she moves with such grace even when she is out of her comfort zone.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 6.02 Diane
Diane has a pretty shitty week and the romanticism of a start-up firm is trumped by the less than perfect surroundings that she has become accustomed to and the cockroach in her drawer is the final straw. Diane reveals what David Lee told her about the LG lease that is still in her name and while he tried to use it to gain the upper hand he has given Diane the leverage to move her new firm back to the old one. To me this feels like regression and I can’t imagine Cary will be on board with this plan even if it does fuck over David Lee and Louis Canning. There are so many memories attached to their old offices and this power play could disrupt the already precarious workplace politics.

Meanwhile Kalinda continues to do what Kalinda does and use all of her sources to get the job done and this means no personal sharing even after the most intimate of acts. Kalinda has strong boundaries and she could end up pushing everyone away if she doesn’t learn to open up to those closest to her. Now that it has been announced that Archie Panjabi will exit by the end of the year I hope they will build upon these trust issues beyond just the rotation of former lovers in positions of power.

Returning to Alicia and the new phase this character is entering as we have already seen how much this decision has impacted those closest to her by essentially alienating her son and brother. Pushing people away is something Alicia is very good at as a form of self-protection – and it’s something she shares with Kalinda – and this campaign will test the limits of those closest to her.


Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The Struggle is Politics: The Good Wife and Compromise

At one point in “Old Spice” Alicia comments that she “doesn’t like pretending to be someone she is not” as a result of the religion focused interview she has just taken part in. The question of who Alicia is or rather who Alicia wants to be (or even who she is perceived to be) is at the heart of The Good Wife from the title of the show itself to every move we have seen Alicia make from first-year associate to starting her own firm.

Alicia’s life has been entangled with politics since Peter entered this professional sphere, but it is the opening scene of her standing next to her disgraced husband that blurred the line between public and private; while we have seen glimpses of who she was prior to this our relationship to her has been primarily from this moment onward and it was only from this point that the press really cared about who Alicia Florrick is. Now there is a new update to the Alicia Florrick story and the media went crazy for the next chapter in Alicia’s life as she takes a leap from lawyer to political candidate.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
the good Wife 6.06 interview
There is a lot of talk about honesty this week as Alicia struggles with the idea of lying about her faith (or lack thereof) to secure votes and this ends up not only compromising her, but also Grace who has been helping her brush up on her religious knowledge (treating it like courtroom prep). It’s a bad position to be put in and when Alicia ponders whether she should simply refuse to answer the question she gets told there is no way around this; “it is none of your business” is not an option to this personal question, even if it should be enough. It is an interview that could sink or swim her campaign, a campaign she has only just entered and if she told the truth about her atheist stance as she has done in the past then she is torpedoing her campaign before it has even begun. Alicia complains to Johnny that the “political rules keep changing” but the religious question is one that has been prevalent for some time now and I’m surprised Alicia is surprised her lack of religion will be an issue (it shouldn’t be, but here we are).

Alicia talks of a struggle and when Grace presses the question wondering what this struggle is exactly; Alicia’s answer is “Politics.” Alicia doesn’t feel the need for God or faith and this circles back to her answer a few weeks ago about why she became a lawyer:

“I like clarity. I like rules.”
“And you wanted to help people with those rules.”
“No. I know I’m supposed to say yes. I just wanted to be inside something that made sense to me. I never thought about—”
“People?”
“Yeah.”

This is a pragmatic answer rather than an empathetic one and Alicia tends to work at things from this angle including her reasoning last season for why she ended things with Peter aside from their marriage as a political tool bump “It’s a decision. I like decisions.” This is pretty much Alicia’s mantra on life as she likes to know what the boundaries are and it is why she is thrown when someone is dishonest with her from Kalinda’s long ago betrayal to Zach’s more recent indiscretion and subsequent cover up. Now she is making these compromises herself and while this walking around the religion question by claiming she is open to the idea of it, is of course a barefaced lie it means she is still a viable candidate which is of course the goal of this entire exercise. There are two points where Alicia bristles during the interview; the first is when Will gets brought up and she doesn’t deny that she searched for faith at this time. Instead the opposite is true as when Grace approached her mother and told her that Will was with God now, Alicia rejected this notion and the idea of why this tragedy happened.

The second moment of looking uncomfortable during this interview and attempting to sidestep the question is when Grace is referenced and it is one thing twisting the truth entirely about her own beliefs, but it is clear she feels extra shitty when her daughter’s beliefs/guidance is mentioned. It’s not like Alicia can come clean to using her daughter as a religious cheat sheet for both this interview and earlier this season for a case. Grace gets praised at her Bible group and she looks extra guilty for this lie she is caught up in as her friends are so happy she has ‘reached’ her mother. Grace uses the same ‘struggling’ euphemism to sidestep how she reached her ‘hardened’ mother and this further compromises Grace.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
the good Wife 6.06 Alicia and Grace
Alicia’s ability to answer these questions without committing too much to anything shows she is already learning one of the all important tricks to the trade, in fact it is something she has been good at for a long time; it’s just she doesn’t normally have to use her daughter to notch up a win. Whenever Peter has run for anything Alicia has always been insistent that their kids are not involved and inadvertently both Zach (because of the oppo research) and Grace are already part of the SA campaign. It was inevitable that they would be a fixture of questioning and sadly the family/work balance is a question a woman is more likely to get than a male candidate and her role as mother/wife is something that will be taken into consideration even if it has nothing to do with the position she is running for.

The Saint Alicia brand has nothing to do with religion of course, but it would be a dent in that persona if she had stuck to her atheist guns and I can’t help but wonder when the other accusations of infidelity are going to be unleashed. My money is still on some kind of iCloud hacking ‘ripped from the headlines’ scenario.

Elsewhere, Cary is still getting himself into bother as he technically breaks his bail conditions landing himself a list of stricter terms including a ban from interacting with Kalinda; this is what she gets for calling him “the most honest person I know.” If Cary is going to break any of these restrictions this is going to be the one. Alicia hasn’t been very present at work and particularly with Cary as she wasn’t even aware that he had been rearrested until the next day and despite their many recent disagreements she refuses his suggestion of taking a break from work; in it together and all that. There is a lot on Alicia’s plate at the moment and as the season/her campaign progress I wonder what will fall by the wayside first.

While it was a meandering episode for the most part and even though I love Elsbeth I am finding it hard to care about the case she is part of or even the flirtation/hook-up with the just as kooky Josh Perotti. Except for the part where she got him with the single party consent, which was pretty awesome. Oh and every frilly shirt is an Elsbeth costuming dream.

The end is what really sells this episode and the return to their former Lockhart Gardner (& Canning) offices that have been trashed by the previous inhabitants (taking all the ‘F,’ ‘A’ and ‘L’ from the keyboards) is full of former ghosts and references to where they have come from.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
the good wife 6.06 Alicia
Insisting that Alicia takes her old office, Diane is turned down and there is something fitting about Alicia taking the office that holds so much meaning. I had reservations about the return to this office space, but the look shared between Alicia and Diane as she sits at what was once Will’s desk it is enough to convince me that this isn’t regression at all. This is all through very misty eyes of course and I don’t know why I hadn’t considered who would get Will’s office, but this hit me like a sucker punch of emotions. His name isn’t even uttered in this episode; however his presence is clearly felt.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 6.06 Diane
Diane standing defiant in her office while wearing yet another magnificent pin is something I will never get bored with; she thought she was doing the kind thing by offering to take Will’s former work abode by suggesting she needs a new start, but she sees Alicia will be more than fine in these surroundings. The slight mirroring between Alicia and Diane in this scene comes in part from their attire as both are working a zipped look, with Diane’s No. 35 jacket being far more showy with fur cuffs and trimmings than Alicia’s Akris belted grey dress and this fits their style as Diane tends to lean towards opulent detail whereas Alicia sticks to clean lines. Emotions are running high for both women and it is a big moment for them and us as an audience watching this exchange.

The Alicia we met in that pilot episode is so far removed from the one we see now and while Diane has been an influence on her, Will’s impact was far more than just romantic and when Alicia references how different things are from six years ago in her interview Will is a big part of that. Returning to the place where she started is not a step back for Alicia, it might be a regression for Cary who has been pushed to the side once again as his legal problems continue. Cary has always played second fiddle in these offices and it is understandable why he voted against moving back here no matter how many infrastructure problems their current home has. All control is getting wrestled away and while Alicia reassures him that they are in this together with him tucked away in David Lee’s former office and Alicia being so close to Diane they are aligned in both proximity and most recently with their decision making. Cary is the one making all the work compromises and it probably won’t be long before Cary makes a terrible hook-up decision as he did in “Old Spice.”

 


Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Who is the Hypocrite on The Good Wife?

The desire to run for political office can be motivated by many things and The Good Wife has featured several characters stating honest and clean intentions. As Alicia is now running it has intensified the focus on campaign strategy and opened her up to a whole new level of scrutinization. In “Message Discipline” Alicia flails revealing weakness in how savvy she is when the preparation hasn’t covered all ground. Alicia also accuses the new opponent Frank Prady of being a hypocrite and while Prady seems sincere it is hard to buy his good intentions speechifying as plenty state honesty and are anything but.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 6.07 Alicia
Last week I discussed compromise and how Alicia had to make certain omissions about her belief system (in that she is an atheist and yet claimed otherwise during an interview) to stay in this race. Who is the hypocrite now? Even though it didn’t sit well with her, she still went ahead and played along using Grace for religious prep and citing a ‘struggle’ when it comes to religion; really the struggle is with politics. Alicia and family are two disconnected entities at the moment so when Frank talks about the Florrick family sitting at the dinner table talking politics this image seemed far from anything we have ever seen. Have we ever seen them have a dinner with just the four of them? If so it was very long ago as on other occasions Jackie or Veronica have been present and it has been chaos. Relationships are fraught as their marriage is a sham and Zach got an earful over the phone a few weeks ago regarding the abortion that Alicia only became aware of during oppo research. The abortion is referenced this week during interview prep and rather than giving the restrained answer, Alicia lets rip at Johnny (who is role playing as Prady) showing the full force of why you don’t go after Alicia Florrick’s family. This is something they can work with as controlled passion is fine, but don’t say ‘horseshit’ (which of course gets blanked out and in doing so it drives this point home). BS is fine.

The personal and the political are intertwined and previously Alicia had some say in limiting the access to their children, but now as she is running there are going to be plenty of softball questions about her family. This includes the ‘how do you find the time?’ opener that totally throws Alicia during her interview with Prady. Alicia is all about preparation and she is constantly taking notes; when something unexpected takes place Alicia finds it hard to react accordingly and she comes across as cold and stilted.

Alicia Florrick is one of my favorite characters on television and I love to see her mess up like this. Flawed, messy and complicated are all attributes I am drawn to and of course Saint Alicia is a brand construction that has little to do with the Alicia we have been watching for the past 5 years and she has made plenty of mistakes over this time. Very few of these flaws are seen by the public and now she is out of her comfort zone, which means there is a higher chance she will make mistakes on a larger stage. This occurs in “Message Discipline” as Frank Prady gets a series of gotcha moments (I wonder what horrors we didn’t see) going for the softball family questions when Alicia had prepped for abortion, affair and criminal activity. Her “I’m going home to get drunk” remark is meant to be a joke, but we know there is a bottle of red wine and a rather large glass waiting for her. Or at least another bar meeting with Finn (just make out already).

There are similarities between Frank Prady and Alicia if he is to be believed as they were both courted by an outside party and convinced to run for State’s Attorney. The other big similarity (also *if* Prady is being honest and who the hell knows if he is) is they both only entered after someone came after them with a personal attack as Alicia was tipped by Castro taunting her regarding Will’s death (and with Gloria Steinem’s encouragement) and an essay leak prompts Prady’s decision to enter. This is a piece of work Alicia didn’t want leaking and if he is telling the truth then Eli and Johnny made a mistake in alerting Castro to this essay. Of course Prady could be full of shit and his nice guy demeanor might all be part of his campaign strategy. It does feel like Alicia is making a mistake by calling him a hypocrite as she is basically doing to him what Castro did to her by making it personal. Prady’s unannounced visit is enough to rattle her and seeing Alicia reaching for her glasses and pretending to do work when he comes in is hilarious in how transparent it is.

Johnny and Eli are a dream team of scheming and manipulation when it comes to campaigning and while Eli knows Alicia very well (he still misjudges the whole Prady leak) they can’t prepare her for everything and it is clear much more work needs to be done. They know politics and Alicia knows the game to a certain point, but her involvement up to now has been very much as a periphery player and how many of her values can she really hold onto now she wants to win? Alicia does still say no to the things she thinks are dumb or beneath her, but she is malleable and it is up to Johnny and Eli to mold Alicia into a viable candidate and this includes doing the things that seem stupid.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 6.07
A quick note on costuming before I turn my attention to the Cary situation and the episode is bookended with simple monochrome outfits while Alicia is at the office. The two jackets Alicia wears while visiting Prady are striking and she is wearing richer power colors for the campaign in contrast with her general work attire of late, which has been sticking to neutrals.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 6.07 blue
The blue Escada* toggle jacket (with matching toggle-detail dress) contrasts with Prady’s burgundy tie (which mirrors the color of Alicia’s jacket during their first meeting) and yet she ends up blurring into the blue of the background. It is bold jacket and strong blue tone, but she doesn’t stand out here and it is indicative of how horrible this experience is for Alicia.

*The tuxedo style jacket Alicia wears in the final scene is also Escada and this outfit instantly reminded me of this season 5 outfit when Alicia returned to L/G for the first time after the big split (this jacket is also by Escada).

While Alicia has to scramble for half of the episode, Cary continues his journey down shitstorm alley when Finn discovers yet another potentially devastating piece of evidence relating to Cary and Lemond Bishop’s drug empire. Cary is also dealing with the Kalinda 3o foot rule and never has an iMessage conversation been so sad on television. The longing looks that punctuate this conversation between Cary and Kalinda is matched by the equally heart wrenching phone conversation at their new former offices. Their office space has walls now, but when they are made of glass they are perfect for intense and emotional forbidden discussion moments. They can’t stand next to each other and yet these are some of the most intimate interactions we’ve seen between this pair. Castro’s desire to get Cary has nothing to do with Cary; it is all Alicia related so it makes it worse that Alicia is so preoccupied with her campaign she has no idea just how much shit Cary is in. A desperate last minute ‘good luck in court’ is not enough. Alicia promised last week they would work at this as a team and so far she is failing to come through with this claim; their relationship is already strained and I wonder how much more Cary can take.

Finn has quit the SA office as a result of Castro’s tunnel vision with this case so if Alicia does win this frees up any kind of power disparity between the pair. There also happens to be a whole floor of office space available and late nights are very much a thing on the cards. Finn still can’t reveal anything about the Cary case to Alicia, but maybe after a few more drinks he will spill.

Alicia hasn’t always been the confident lawyer she is today and her campaign missteps are reminiscent of her early court days. Someone else who bears a resemblance to Alicia is Ramona; the mother of the intern who favored sans underwear and a Florrick family friend. Like Alicia, Ramona is returning to the law after raising her family and Alicia ends up asking all the questions she got when she also came back to her former profession. There is warmth here amid the slightly patronizing tone and Alicia really hasn’t kept up to date with her friends from her ‘good wife’ days. Ramona has good instincts where she lacks in confidence and I have a suspicion there might be a Peter/Ramona connection a la Will and Alicia, as Peter stumped for her in the same way Will did for Alicia in the beginning.

When it was just Castro versus Alicia it was about the bad versus the good with a dollop of personal animosity in the mix; now Prady has entered the race the dynamic has completely changed. The energy David Hyde Pierce brings in this first episode is entirely different as his temperament is very mild mannered, but beneath the surface he comes across as incredibly savvy and I am so happy to have him on board to mess with both Alicia and Castro.


Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The Good Wife and Entitlement: “I’m Marie Antoinette”

After the praise comes the negative feedback as Alicia hears the unfiltered thoughts of a focus group participant and spends the episode obsessing about it. While The Good Wife doesn’t go to the same lengths as Leslie Knope on Parks and Recreation after a guy suggested something similar – he couldn’t see himself bowling or having a beer with Leslie – Alicia does learn some important campaign lessons from this incident while imbuing some very good advice to Cary also pertaining to an entitled attitude.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
the good wife 6.08
Every detail of Alicia’s life is being scrutinized from her religious affiliation to her achievements and her marriage is going to play a big part in someone’s general perception of her. For one older woman standing by Peter is a big tick in the Alicia column, whereas Sally a younger voter sees this as a negative point and she is the one who we see going back and forth on her Alicia opinions. Prior to Alicia announcing her candidacy the most anyone would know about her is from the press conference where she stood by Peter’s side and that was over five years ago; they are really reintroducing her to Chicago as a successful lawyer who has set up her own firm and for some it is hard to see beyond the woman who was all meek and pale while her husband admitted to sleeping with prostitutes.

A few weeks ago Alicia was getting nothing but praise as Eli was trying to convince her to run and this wasn’t just from a regular Sally, nope this was Valerie Jarrett and Gloria Steinem who were telling her she would make an excellent State’s Attorney. With Steinem it went a step further as she saw flashes of her bathed in a god like glow (mirroring the blue stage lights) telling her how amazing she is. This week they played with this notion of inner voice in a different way with an imagined version of Sally who made the initial entitled comment. In these scenarios she is both favorable and even more negative towards Alicia and while Alicia eye rolls at herself for this inner dialogue she still indulges in this behavior.

Negative comments like this that strike at the core of who Alicia is as a person are way more likely to cause obsession than if someone is complimentary so when Eli and Johnny tell her not to obsess about it this is a futile demand as all she can hear are the words ‘entitled’ and ‘selfish.’ And all she can see is this scrunched up face of disapproval:

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
the good wife 6.08
Obsess is what Alicia does about these remarks and this calls for a chat with her new favorite drinking buddy who just so happens to be in his new office on the 27th floor. The current chair situation is the window sill so it’s a good thing Alicia brought her own glasses and whiskey. It is much quieter that their usual bar haunts and if a security photo of Finn leaving her building could harm her campaign couldn’t these very public bar meet ups do just the same amount for rumor stirring? I digress and Finn is currently confidant number one for checking in and dealing with any ‘how was your day?’ questions.

Finn is the only non family member/colleague/campaign person who is close to Alicia in any way and she doesn’t mind being vulnerable in front of him, most likely because when she first met him she was at her lowest ebb. There is a connection that goes beyond anything romantic that may or may not happen in the future (yes I yelled make out at the screen for the second week in a row) and Alicia is far less guarded with Finn than she currently is with anyone else on the show. Finn has also been told in the past that he is obsessed with his own pain/achievements by his ex-wife (the fact that she is now referred to as his ex-wife is also important in terms of future hook ups as it reinforces his singledom) and there is common ground here too.

In what was not meant to be a photo op Finn suggests to Alicia that she come volunteer at the same soup kitchen as he does – flirty banter times one million with the word saint being bandied around – and when she turns up in her super expensive suit from court they joke about what she is wearing. What is a joke between them including how he dresses down well (“you know I have a consultant”) turns into a bad news item for Alicia as she is photographed washing what looks like a clean pan while on the phone and in her fancy attire. This is not a good look to stop those entitlement claims and Alicia fixates on the already clean aspect of the pot the story is reporting. It is a small detail, but because she did actually do the cleaning it really pisses her off. The photo itself is kind of hilarious as it does make her look out of touch and shows just how easy it is to use the Saint Alicia brand against her. It’s the quotation marks around “works” that has got to hurt.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
the good wife 6.08 Saint Alicia
What this demonstrates is how naive Alicia is with campaigning and the press even though she has been through this process with Peter on several occasions. The soup kitchen was never meant to be a photo op situation and yet it became one as pretty much everyone has a camera in their pocket. Eli and Johnny are both incredibly experienced with every aspect of a campaign and Alicia finally gives herself over to them after this turns into a PR disaster. Protesting against using this as a moment to sell herself Alicia relents and goes through with an actual photo op dressed in suitably casual clothing – which explains this behind the scenes photo – although I’m surprised that Sally didn’t find this to be just as disingenuous as it is clearly a second attempt to get this moment right (even though the initial photo wasn’t staged). Alicia doesn’t actually have to become a better person, she just has to appear that way to the voters and if she really wants to be a good person; Eli will tell her “where to send the check.”

Alicia isn’t just getting called entitled, she is using it as a way to get through to Cary as his testimony in the mock trial is pretty much him raging and coming across terribly on the fake stand. If he does this in real court a jury will find him guilty. While Alicia has been mostly absent on commenting on strategy she does give him some excellent advice as he is so lost in his own indignation, he is making it impossible for anyone else to see the injustice. Cary is acting like a privileged brat and it is a front to cover how scared he really is; Matt Czuchry is doing a stellar job at showing the rage and fear. His ties and shirts continue to pattern clash including paisley and stripes followed by stripes and plaid. Cary still looks good, but the bold attire doesn’t do enough to cover the cracks. And never make jokes about Beyonce, the Beygency is always watching.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The good Wife 6.08 Cary
Part of him is all “I could never go to jail for 10 years” but the way he shakes the desk and yells at Diane reveals he is aware of the possibility and he can’t quite believe it. Kalinda has been a stabilizing factor, however she can’t be all that he wants her to be and not just because of the 30 feet rule that has been imposed as she is still in a relationship with Lana. It is hard to tell how much Kalinda cares for someone as there is always an aspect of self-preservation, but the hair down softer side and the breaking of the card Bishop gave her indicates this is more than just sex and a good opportunity to get information.

There is a variety of gender politics on display this week including the ripped from the headlines case involving rape on a college campus and how the universities are failing to protect their students. The focus group is told about this case and there is a divide in the room with it kicking off when one of the men refers to Alicia as a feminist activist like it is a bad thing. It is an important issue and The Good Wife has a track history of highlighting these kinds of real life crimes in a fictionalized form without sensationalizing it. Entitlement and perception comes into play with questions of how much alcohol was consumed and the only reason this student is expelled is due to a drug infraction. They win the case without really winning it.

We continue down the Alicia is still learning about campaigning tour with a valuable lesson of listen to Eli and Johnny, don’t fixate on one comment and accept that perhaps thanks to your privileged position you will come across as entitled. Also give good advice to your colleague who is in danger of going to prison and don’t listen to Eli when it comes to which cases you take on no matter how much it might impact your campaign as some things are worth more than voter points. Oh and now it’s just Alicia versus Prady as Castro has dropped out in a curiously out of the blue fashion.


Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Public and Private Spaces on The Good Wife

“I always hated it that these offices were glass.”

Private spaces are hard to come by on The Good Wife and offices made of glass windows mimic the scrutiny of Alicia’s current situation. There are few places where Alicia doesn’t have to contend with all eyes on her and one such place is her home, but even this is not entirely private as the security camera shot of Finn leaving her building reminds us. For Cary he doesn’t have the luxury of feeling safe anywhere, including his home as his life has been threatened and he’s incredibly vulnerable.

The Good Wife likes to play with different locations and once again elevators are used to great effect to show a variety of emotional states. “Sticky Content” was written by Good Wife creators Robert and Michelle King and they are experts at producing an episode that oozes tension and forward momentum weaving both the campaign and Cary stories together.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 6.09
Attack ads and introductory videos are the campaign order of the day with David Krumholtz joining the Florrick team as Josh Marnier, a campaign media specialist. Josh is another expert who ends up having to tell Alicia that her strategy is wrong and how she just needs to let her ideals go and let them do what they do best. Marissa Gold returns as Alicia’s bodywoman and all round voice of reason/snark. So far Alicia has been a pretty terrible candidate and she should have gone to Johnny straight away with the shoe box of dirt rather than stewing over it with an Alicia sized glass of wine; no matter how much will power she possesses, she was always going to crack. Like Johnny I am pretty cynical of Prady’s motives as this comes across as a manipulative power move wrapped up in an ‘oh shucks, I’m just a good guy’ routine. And it works as the first envelope sends Alicia into a mini tailspin. The Finn and Will (*sob*) photos don’t have an impact; it’s the ones of Peter and Ramona that sticks the needle in.

Alicia is all about control so when something disrupts this she tends to react in two different ways; confrontation and avoidance. These normally coincide with each other so she rings Peter up to yell at him – and the manner in which he answered sounded like his voicemail – and instead arranged the sit down interview to show how happy their marriage is. The second moment comes when she pops into see Finn after the super fake all smiles and hand holding Peter interaction. What this is motivated by is anger at Peter and Ramona coupled with desire as they’ve been flirting it up a storm for weeks now. A line is about to get crossed and Alicia seems somewhat relieved when she finds his office empty, but then he returns coffee cup in mouth and his usual super charming/attentive manner. The sofa conversation is the unlikely combination of awkward and comfortable; the warmth is there and yet there is an unspoken tension that overspills with a brief touching of hands. With Peter this gesture was empty and symbolical, here it is spontaneous and fully charged.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 6.09 finn's office
What this is reminiscent of is those moments in “Heart” and “Red Team, Blue Team” between Alicia and Will where empty office spaces and heightened emotions led to Alicia letting down her guard and allowing herself to be impulsive. Of course this is a very different set up and an interruption/realization of how public this space is causes Alicia to flee before anything more intimate can happen. The following day the weirdness of the night before is discussed and Alicia refers to the mood as “worrisome” – I think this is Alicia’s way of saying I think you’re hot but I can’t right now – and that people have expectations. It’s even more complicated than when Alicia was involved with Will and even if they want it to be simpler that’s just not happening right now. The line has been crossed as feelings have been verbalized (underneath layers and layers of subtext) and if they can find somewhere that has actual non see-through walls then maybe a conversation can be had (or something way more fun than talking).

Perhaps Alicia should take a page out of her husband’s book and improvise with the spacious car he is being driven around in. Peter rebuffs Alicia’s Ramona accusations, however it is worth nothing that he doesn’t deny having an affair with her back when they lived at Highland Park and this also supports the theory that Lauren is his child. Peter is also lying about the Ramona thing as the car smooching demonstrates. Alicia claims that she is angry not because she is jealous or that their agreement is invalid, but because this could fuck everything up for both of them. I think a small part of this is jealousy, particularly if this infidelity stems back to a time when she thought she was in a good marriage. At the same time it is very telling in how strongly she emphasizes that no, she will not be standing by his side again (“not in a million years”).

After this conversation Alicia is red dress wearing, guns blazing and she is willing to use and exploit her scandal and tragedy to sell herself in the introductory video. It sounds so incredibly fake and sincere all at once, because we know exactly how she really feels, but she’s selling to a public who don’t know her yet as the woman who went back to work in a time of hardship (she didn’t wallow) and then saw gun crime take away the person who took a chance on her when no one else would. There’s the perfect amount of misty eyes and resilience, plus she looks killer in that red dress. Until of course Prady’s mother wears the same dress in his own boohoo version of his life and why he wants to run; this is where I think the Prady campaign are being tricksy as if they did their research they know that Alicia’s power color is red. Coincidence? I think not. Or maybe I’m too cynical, but I don’t think Prady is the good clean guy he suggests he is.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
the good wife 6.09 alicia's dress
Digitally changing the dress doesn’t work and she ends up looking like she’s wearing a wallpaper design and trying to recapture the (fake) sincerity of the previous version falls so flat. We do get the jokey version of Alicia including why she wanted to be home with her kids “because child services said I had to be” as she eye rolls through her terrible, terrible second attempt. It’s really fun seeing Alicia sucking so much at this, not that her campaign team is reveling in this really bad performance. In the end the decision is made to just go with the same dress as it is a far better option than this new take.

A leak is to blame for the Prady DINO attack ad, which comes in response to a “Who is Alicia in bed with now?” negative commercial from the Prady PAC. This is in reference to her clients (Sweeney and Bishop), but they could also be laying the foundations for affair accusations and this question could easily apply to both work and personal matters even if it is just an insinuation.

Let’s talk about one of The Good Wife’s favorite locations:

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
the good wife 6.09 elevator
Elevators! Here this space looks huge and it shows Alicia as contemplative and lonely after the interview reinforcing the idea of a good marriage with Peter. This is her returning to the office to go see Finn and maybe do something about their flirting in what could be considered as a retaliation move.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Good Wife 6.09 Cary elevator
For Cary this space is precarious as he doesn’t know what will welcome him when the doors open as he’s just heard a tape with Lemond Bishop threatening his life. It’s a tight claustrophobic, perhaps even coffin like location and at his building the shots are either in a close up or emphasizing how closed in he is. The flashes of someone with a gun coming up and shooting him add to the tension and fear. Elevators mean a whole lot on The Good Wife and we have seen them used as a place to sob alone, hook up or even as a host of awkward conversations; they can be equal parts private and public.

Cary’s home is no longer safe and in a bold move he chooses to visit Bishop in his after an encounter at the office reveals Cary’s new bodyguard (when the elevator doors opened – see you never know who is going to be on the other side) insinuating Cary has flipped. With Bishop’s son present in his home this is probably the safest place Cary could have gone to have this discussion with Bishop, but it still doesn’t stop Cary and the audience from feeling nothing but fear as Bishop’s presence alone is intimidating in any location. Cary is back on Bishop’s good side, but how long is this going to last with jail looming over Cary’s head?


Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Viewing all 53 articles
Browse latest View live