The Good Wife 3×22 – The Dream Team

Although this wasn’t the strongest season finale, The Good Wife still managed to give us a perfectly great episode of the show that still worked pretty effectively. My issue issue with the show this season is that it really didn’t build up a coherently satisfying arc throughout the year. It just seemed like the show was flip-flopping from one arc to another without much purpose. Whether it was Will’s indictment, Peter’s new governor campaign, or Lemond Bishop’s various threats, this season just didn’t have a consistent through-line. Sure it made for entertaining television but it wasn’t as carefully constructed as the show’s previous years.Perhaps the season would have ended on a more thematic note if the final shot was Alicia standing by her husband as he announced his governor run a few episodes back? It just felt more like a full-circle moment echoing back to the pilot than this finale ending with Alicia deciding between her car and her family (which was cute but nowhere near as powerful as the last seconds of a season should be).

Perhaps the season would have ended on a more thematic note if the final shot was Alicia standing by her husband as he announced his governor run a few episodes back? It just felt more like a full-circle moment echoing back to the pilot than this finale ending with Alicia deciding between her car and her family (which was cute but nowhere near as powerful as the last seconds of a season should be).Nevertheless while I do sound like I’m harping on the show a great deal, I must say that I enjoyed this

Nevertheless while I do sound like I’m harping on the show a great deal, I must say that I enjoyed this hour immensely. After all, who wouldn’t love the return of two of our most awesome villains now part of a pretty kickass dream-team? I’ve always found Patty to be a pretty formidable adversary and she was no exception in this one (her baby daughter constantly interrupting things was also a hilarious touch). Moreover, the dream team gave us one of my favorite moments of the hour as they threatened to take down Lockhart-Gardner only to leave our core trio staring above at flickering lights. Simply awesome.

Kalinda on the other hand also seems to flail about without a purpose. While I enjoyed her admitting to Alicia she’s “flexible” and not gay, now we have to deal with her husband back in town? Granted his phone calls to Alicia were suitably chilling, we were instead left wondering how this plot would be resolved next year as our favorite investigator waited with a shotgun in hand (albeit in a very cool little scene). Of course, I can’t forget Kalinda’s other badass moment of the episode as she broke the wall and armed herself although it was a bit of a letdown in retrospect.

In other news, as much as Peter’s actions have been detestable since the beginning of the series, I found myself enjoying him and Alicia slowly bonding again. Much like The Vampire Diaries, the writers of The Good Wife have crafted a realistic love triangle where both potential core relationships make sense and cause you to question which works better. Could there have been a more awesome visual moment in the entire year than the elevator door opening with both Peter & Will standing before Alicia in the middle? Beyond magnificent. Hell, this could have been an epic final moment for the hour.

All in all, this was a pretty great hour on its own but it should have had more impact as a season finale. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this season of The Good Wife and this hour was a good reminder of the show’s strengths and enduring charm.

Nad Rating
A-