It’s rare that I don’t have much to say about The Good Wife, but this felt strangely void and uninteresting.
Unfortunately, the racial profiling case with Chumhum didn’t prove to be the most engrossing of storylines. The highlight for me was Monica’s return (her appearance a few weeks back was pretty astounding and powerful), but she sadly didn’t do much this week. I hope she becomes an integral part of the cast instead of someone they can just trot out whenever there’s a racism case. There’s certainly potential to see her bounce off Carey for a while so maybe that could be an avenue to explore. God knows Agos has been without purpose this season (and we can add Diane to the list too).
In addition, I’m growing immensely tired of Alicia and Jason. In fact, I’m starting to think that the writers have absolutely no idea on how to handle Alicia’s romantic entanglements. They always seem to start out with potential, but somewhere along the way, the writers drop the ball and we’re left with an unsatisfying resolution. It doesn’t help matters when Jeffrey Dean Morgan pretty much has that same darn smirk at the end of every line delivery. Is that a network mandate or his own addition? Whatever it is, it’s getting tiresome and repetitive, (and even Alicia and Eli’s fight did nothing to add some spice).
Interestingly enough, it seems we’re going to be seeing Alicia running for Senate in the near future (thanks to Courtney’s focus group donation). I always felt like the writers missed a wonderful opportunity last season with Alicia losing the election, so maybe this was their plan all along? Make Peter President and Alicia his First Lady Senator? I could definitely get on board with that, although I’ve always wanted Alicia to end the show with some sort of upper hand on Peter.
Cases & Bits
– Ruth noticing the sparks between Alicia and Jason – priceless.
– I kind of felt like Jason was going to punch Eli after the latter began questioning him.
– Very cool touch with us hearing Alicia screaming at Eli a second time but this time from Jason’s perspective inside her office.
– Eli sending Nora to watch Alicia and Jason made me laugh. She definitely needs to be used more.
– Why was Grace non-existent this week after being the show’s star player last week? Unacceptable.
– I can’t believe the judge actually fined Alicia 5,000 dollars. Not cool dude!
– I don’t know if I’m rooting for Carey and Lucca to get together, but I enjoyed their night out dancing. The Good Wife definitely thrives when it taps into a sense of fun.
– How bizarre was that ending with the zoom in through the keyhole starting with Eli and going towards Alicia? It sure looked nifty, but I’m not sure it added much from a storytelling or thematic perspective. Just bizarre.
Good Lines
Canning: And, uh, my firm’s a little pale at the moment.
Lucia: What an honor. My parents would be so proud.
Courtney: You’re staring at me. I can feel it.
Eli: I can’t help it. You are very sexy when you’re writing a check.
Guy: You don’t get claustrophobic in here?
Eli: I’m actually starting to like it.
Guy: Yeah, Stockholm syndrome.
Eli: Jason is in your office, working.
Alicia: Uh-huh.
Eli: Seems like a nice guy.
Alicia: Uh-huh.
Eli: He reminds me of… Actually, he doesn’t remind me of anyone.
Conclusion
The weakest episode in quite a while. Here’s hoping the show bounces back and sets its priorities straight.
Nad Rating
C
I agree that this episode was largely uninteresting and that the writers seem to do a poor job with Alicia's romantic entanglements post-Will. I want Finn back. He was the most solid of Alicia's love interests. Matthew Goode's time in Downton Abbey will be ending with the Christmas special. That should free up his schedule. On the show, they could come up with a scenario in which Finn and Alicia reunite after things didn't work out with Finn's ex-wife, partially because Finn couldn't get over his feelings for Alicia. Finn ends up joining Alicia and Lucca's practice, and his relationship with Alicia gets to finally pay off.
I did enjoy the chemistry between Cary and Lucca. I hope they have more scenes together. It would be the most interesting use of Cary this season.