Now that was probably the strongest season premiere of the fall season so far. The Good Wife is at its best when it mixes Alicia’s personal and professional lives to maximum effect and their collision in this hour was beyond fantastic.
What started out as a simple traffic cop encounter for Alicia and family, soon transformed into a potentially awesome long-running arc for the season. I adored Alicia banding together with her son to try and handle the problem only for Peter to get involved and really complicate things. Alicia’s commitment to solve the matter without her husband’s “name” was also quite endearing and only served to deepen my love for this wonderful protagonist.
And for the first time in a long, long time, I’m extremely fascinated by Kalinda’s subplot. She was just such a badass in this one from wielding a hammer in the teaser to that brutal encounter with Nick (from the elevator to the parking lot). Both of them just pop on screen and if I’ve heard correctly, things between them are about to get even more intense this year.
In addition, I enjoyed Kristen Chenowith’s minor appeaarance. Her special brand of venom fits perfectly within the show’s world and I’m hoping we get to see more of her (although I heard about the injury she got on set so that might be a long shot unfortunately). The new trustee however is particularly amusing and I very much enjoyed his scene with the ever hilarious and sneaky David Lee.
And finally, that end scene was a tender little thing as Diane and Will celebrated with a drink together while Alicia watched on in secret. What I love about The Good Wife is that it doesn’t play the love traingle card (and I hope it never will). These characters are mature adults and its always refreshing to see them act their age.
Conclusion
All in all, a marvelous little hour that capably sets the stage for a great comeback season (after a slightly disappointing third year). Excellent.
Nad Rating
A-
I respectfully disagree, heh. The main case opened with a little intrigue, but the show relies way too much on viral videos and internet junk. They do it all the time, and the kids are never going to be interesting regardless of how much screentime they're given. And I wasn't feeling the Kalinda thing either. The elevator fight just came off as a little silly, while I'm still a little bored with her relationships in general. She fights with men and has sex with them, every woman in the Tri-State area has slept with her, etc. Ugh. It's just too repetitive at this point.
I didn't hate it or anything, but most of the stories remain a little tired. Even the political stuff feels like it's been done already, likewise the downsizing thing. I think I've sort of fallen out of love for this show.
I totally see your point of view on this one. This is such a love it or hate it episode but and I'm of the former opinion. But all the points you made are valid. Kalinda's storyline can easily be viewed as stupid and a lot of plot points seem like they're being recycled, but I somehow loved all of it. Really I surprised myself because I'm usually so harsh on this show. Go figure.
I smiled when I read maxpower03's comment. The firm does seem to be poorly managed as they keep finding themselves in real financial trouble season after season. This is a story that has been done; time to move on.
On the flip side, however, I simply loved Peter's tirade. That man is his own worst enemy and something tells me that he is going to regret what he said as he lost his temper.
Please, oh please, bring Alicia and Will together again. They bring out each other's better angels.