This can not be overstated: there’s no other show on television quite like The Good Wife.
In season five, this captivating legal drama catapulted into the stratosphere and produced what is probably my favorite season of television ever, and it continued that trend with a terrific sixth season. I”m hoping that brilliance will continue, and with news that so many beloved actors are joining the show (Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Vanessa Williams, Margo Martindale), I couldn’t be more optimistic.
Alicia dabbling as a bar attorney was a welcome change of pace. If nothing else, The Good Wife thrives when it’s endlessly shifting the status quo. Watching Alicia struggle after gaining so much confidence over the past few seasons felt like a real callback to the pilot, and this arc effectively introduced us to one hell of a new character: Lucca Quinn played by Cush Jumbo. To say that I wasn’t enjoying Kalinda the last few years would be an understatement, and in the span of one episode, I already love the friendship that’s brewing between Alicia and Lucca even more. Not only was it a hoot to see Lucca win Alicia’s case without barely trying, but the two sharing a drink at the end? Pure awesomeness. This is the kind of dynamic that The Good Wife has been missing.
Shockingly enough, Bond saw the destruction of Eli and Peter’s professional and personal camaraderie. I honestly never expected Peter to fire Eli, so it was a powerful bombshell that provided Eli with a fantastic story arc for the rest of the season. Watching him mope, only to come back with a vengeance with a ruthless plot to use Alicia against Peter (and become her chief of staff) was simply incredible. Not only do I adore the dynamic between Alicia and Eli, but I absolutely can not wait to see these two pair off against Peter and his new campaign manager, Ruth Eastman (seriously, can Margo Martindale do no wrong? She’s phenomenal.)
Finally, I would just like to mention that for the first time in seven seasons, the writers have finally figured out what to do with Grace and it is glorious. How amusing was it to see her accept fake calls and pretend to be Alicia’s secretary at her home office? Beautifully played writers.
Cases & Bits
– Hilarious moment: Alicia denying she’s Marie Antoinette just as her limo arrives.
– So who thinks Alicia will join Canning at some point? Although I enjoyed them sharing a drink and the reveal that he had sent her the client, I don’t think I can stand him in every episode.
– The kind of nifty stunt that The Good Wife pulls off oh so well: Canning telling Alicia the story of people bumping into each other with shots of exactly that happening.
– I missed David’s evil ploys. Zack Greniere’s performances on this show are always so despicably masterful.
– Loved Alicia bumping into someone and apologizing. Also, I’m an “I’m sorry” person too!
– How nice was it to see Lucca asking the judge to give Alicia some of her clients? Talk about girl power!
– Alicia asking Diane why she’s so hard on her really broke my heart.
– Even more heartbreaking: Eli telling Alicia he was never truly her friend and slamming the door in her face. This made his apology later on all the more touching.
– I’m not exactly sure about Cary’s storyline at the moment. So he’s trying to fit in with the young ones? And one of them thought he was gay? Hmmm…
– Love the passive aggressiveness from Alicia when dealing with Ruth (and insisting that she would keep Eli).
– Eli’s new haircut is indeed very “sleek”.
– Lucca dancing by herself; now that’s confidence!
– All the experts in Alicia’s case were a hoot. Also, I found Judge Farley very funny. Please bring her back often.
Good Lines
Canning: You seem like you’re gonna launch into a inspiring soliloquy about self-sufficiency.
Alicia: David. Spreading your cheer far and wide, I see.
David: I thought you were working as a bond court pimp.
Judge: You’re what?
Witness: An adhesive expert.
Judge: Really? That’s a job?
Ruth: Eli’s very good, but I have a more national presence.
Ruth: We hopefully won’t eat up too much of your time, but we need the voters to see the real you.
Alicia: I’m not sure they’ll like the real me.
Ruth: Well, that’s why we need to mold a real you that they’ll like.
Alicia: Rehabilitate me?
Eli: From your failed campaign last year, from your scandal. They need to make you a wife again.
Judge: Okay, where are we? Are we going to hear from a scissors expert today?
Ruth: You planned it all out.
Eli: Not quite all but… enough.
Conclusion
Witty and confident, this was a fresh start from The Good Wife and I absolutely loved it.
Nad Rating
A-
The first episode back was good.
I enjoyed the subplot involving Eli, the new campaign manager played by the wonderful Margo Martindale, and Eli's plan to get back at Peter for firing him. Eli knows a lot of Peter's skeletons and Peter should be very afraid of Eli with that knowledge now working for Alicia. I look forward to the new dynamic between Alicia and Eli as her Chief of Staff.
I like the new friendship between Alicia and Lucca, and I'm interested to see how it grows through the season. But I still mourn for Finn, whose character and relationship with Alicia weren't entirely given proper development last season due to scheduling issues and the introduction of another love interest. I don't much care about Kalinda being gone unlike Cary. I think Cary misses having her and Alicia around in the firm because with them gone, he's left with the older, out-of-touch partners and the young associates who have trouble seeing why a partner would want to be friends with them for reasons other than sexual favors which one of them thought Cary was going for. Honestly this storyline was my least favorite in this episode.
I admire that Alicia hasn't joined Canning already and I hope that she never does though she is willing to accept clients he'll throw in her way for the sake of business. Alicia joining Canning would mean a full-on return to the firm vs. firm status quo that was compelling in Season 5 but lost a lot of steam and formation over the course of Season 6. I want the show to venture into new places and not return to the ones it has already visited. Like having Grace be her mother's secretary which has been the best use of her character I've seen so far on the show. She seems very good at her job.
Always great to read your comments suncore. Glad to see you enjoyed this as welL
I still mourn Finn as well (and the other love interest whose name I can't even remember now). Both of them got so much attention and development only to fizzle out. I guess the writers didn't plan well and all the scheduling difficulties interrupted all the momentum. It's a real pity nothing tangible happened between Alicia and either of them.
I also agree with you about venturing into new places. I so hope that's exactly what will happen this season! Grace is the perfect example; best thing they've ever done to the character by FAR!
Nad, speaking of love interest, I have a bad feeling Jeffrey Dean Morgan's character will be used as such in addition to filling Kalinda's role as investigator. I would very much hate that. Either they bring back one of Alicia's previous living love interests (sorry Will) or have Alicia have nothing to do with any romantic tension from this point on and have the show solely focus on other aspects of her life.