**SPOILER ALERT** (If you haven't seen the latest episode yet, read no further.)
So yeah, let's dispense with the preamble and get to the heart of the issue. As that soul-sucking scumbag Blake Calamar deduced, it wasn't Kalinda's old identity that has her so touchy on the issue, it's that establishing the new identity meant she slept with Peter Florrick! Emphasis on the "ick"! Oh my god, my heart completely sank when Blake rubbed her nose in it and she started tearing up. Kalinda. Tearing up! It was especially pointed and painful because we were actually led to believe, for one brief shining moment, that Kalinda had finally won and that Blake was out of her life. Yeah, no. I really should have known that it wouldn't be that easy. Man alive, I just wanted to take Kalinda's bat and go to town on his kneecaps. I hate that guy. To his credit though, he managed one hell of a parting shot. Seriously, after Kalinda basically implicates him in an affair with a gangster's wife, there are only so many ways to get back at someone. Well, Blake, hat's off to you.
The fact that Kalinda slept with Peter, in and of itself, is one thing, but it's the impact this will have on Alicia that is at the crux of the matter. I have to wonder if the writers had this in mind all along or if they formulated this storyline during this second season. Knowing this show, I wouldn't doubt for a second that they had these sorts of designs in mind for ages, but I have a feeling the details were hammered out just prior to season 2. I guess I just think that Kalinda wouldn't have attached herself to Alicia the way she did if she thought this information might every come out. Or, maybe she was just supremely confident that her tracks were well-hidden. Or, best of all, maybe Kalinda wanted to keep an eye on Alicia, just in case her past with Peter came to the surface, and accidentally became friends with her. I can absolutely see Kalinda approaching Alicia with one set of motives and having the rug pulled out from under her when she realized just how much she adores her. It's impossible to tell for sure with Kalinda, because her actions toward those around her are generally pretty cryptic, but I think the writers did a lovely job establishing Kalinda's and Alicia's relationship in such a way that this revelation is totally believable and utterly devastating. Learning the truth informs on all of Kalinda's actions in one way or another. I really liked how Blake put the
pieces together. In wasn't just that he was finding out things about Kalinda's past, it was that he was digging up dirt that would hurt Alicia that blew Kalinda's cover. And with good reason...This is going to be completely humiliating and devastating for Alicia. That Peter had affairs is old news, but that he had an affair with her best friend? And that she's been keeping this a secret for so long? Ouch. Kalinda became Alicia's friend after this all happened. That makes things better in one way, but much worse in another. On the one hand, at least Kalinda didn't betray a friendship. On the other, it means that Kalinda, knowing what she knew, forged a very close, very trusting relationship with the woman whose husband she'd slept with. Even worse, Alicia really hasn't had many people she could talk to about her life, her marriage, and her sense of betrayal over the past two years... except for Kalinda. Oh good god, the thought of Alicia finding out that she had been confiding in one of her husband's conquests is pretty tough to handle. That's where the real sense of betrayal comes from. You just sat there, listening to everything I had to say about Peter and our marriage and his affairs, and you WERE one of his affairs?! That's pretty mortifying. Alicia is one of the very few people on the planet whom Kalinda trusts and now she risks losing that. Beyond all the other fallout that will likely rain down on Kalinda for this, that's going to be the toughest, methinks.
In terms of how this will affect Alicia and Peter, I honestly don't know. Their marriage has weathered affairs, lies, betrayals, and just about everything else over the past year, so I'm not sure this latest tidbit of extramarital sex will fundamentally change things. I think this will affect Alicia's relationship with
Kalinda far more than it will her marriage. That prospect makes me unhappy for a number of reasons. Aside from how hard it's going to be to watch Alicia find out about her best friend, I doubt it will even have the benefit of ending her marriage. (That didn't come out right...) To clarify, I've never been shy about criticizing Peter and I think Alicia would be better off without him. That in no way means that Peter isn't an awesome character. Deceitful son of a bitch? Absolutely, but that's what I love about him. It's a love-to-hate situation most of the time, but I have to admit, he's really grown on me over this season. He may be corrupt and a liar, but he really does seem to want to set things straight. I honestly can't imagine the show without him, but for Alicia's sake, I hope she bails. It's not even really an issue of the two of them as a couple anymore. I think they actually have some palpable chemistry together (and the current season has done a nice job of showing viewers why she fell in love with him in the first place), but in terms of the affect he has on her life, I'm not a fan. Alicia doesn't want to buy a big house and be the upper-crusty stay-at-home politician's wife and neither do I. For so much of their relationship, Alicia has had to play the role of "the good wife" even when she didn't want to. That's what would be heartbreaking to see. Alicia's dynamic with Peter isn't really the problem. It's Peter's effect on her life. Indeed, less and less these days does it have anything to do with Will at all. In season 1 I very much wanted to see Alicia and Will together, but over the past several episodes, I think it's clear that they've drifted apart, sometimes forcibly.Now that I've discussed the potential ramifications of what happened last night, I need to backtrack to how we got there in the first place, because that's pure gold. I love it when the A-plot intersects with the B and C plots in surprising ways and The Good Wife does this better than any other procedural on the air. On the surface, random A-plot about
Lamond Bishop's divorce seemed almost like a distraction from the nail-bitiness of Kalinda's grand jury investigation, but no. As is so often the case, not only is the A-plot not simply an A-plot, but it factors into every other aspect of the show in a very real way. When Kalinda began answering Cary's questions, I honestly didn't know what her plan was or who all was in on it (they did a very nice job muddying the Cary/Kalinda waters). Oh man, as Kalinda explained that she had followed Blake to that hotel, room 333, it took me a second to remember all the implications that would have, because, well, there are a hell of a lot. Kudos to the show for selecting a memorable room number, by the way, that definitely helped. It's been a blast watching Blake and Kalinda one-up each other in the most sadistic of ways, so to see her pummel him like that was incredibly satisfying (you know, until he leveled her later on). Best of all, Cary was totally in on it.Yeah, much more important that the Alicia/Peter/Will situation is the Kalinda/Cary situation. I have always loved their character dynamic whether it be flirty or feisty or dismissive. You name it, I'll take it. That said, seeing the two of them (Kalinda in particular) really start to appreciate the other has been best of all. Aside
from the playful chemistry they've always had, there's always been an undercurrent of one using the other (usually Kalinda using Cary). I think for a long time she under-estimated him, but this season, things have definitely changed. Sure, he's an asset that she wants in her corner, but it's way more than that now. You don't send random political assets a change-of-address notification. Unless Kalinda is the smoothest operating in town and the best manipulator ever created, she likes him. A lot. Even if she won't admit it. :) I had suspected that Cary would conspire with her to keep her out of jail, but with this show, nothing is certain. After he asked Kalinda, "Are you comfortable?" though, I could be pretty sure he was invariably in her corner. God, Matt Czuchry has gotten so good. I mean, he's always been good, but in this role, he's really blossomed. As with most of this cast, he uses subtlety in the most powerful of ways. There was just something about the way he asked Kalinda if she was comfortable that was somehow warm, flirty, menacing, and suspicious all at the same time. It makes the interplay between characters all the more fascinating to watch and keeps the viewers on their toes with even the quietest of scenes. Especially with the quietest of scenes.So yeah, Kalinda and Cary planned her escape. I loved how Alicia called Kalinda out. "He was in on it! He knew exactly what to ask you!" Heh. Of course he did. "Cary's a great guy..." How could that not be followed-up by a rendition of Kalinda and Cary sitting in a
tree, I mean really? The whole Peter/Kalinda angle of this episode kind of put a damper on things, but it's still there. It makes me wonder just how much behind-the-scenes conspiring Cary and Kalinda have been up to. I assume she told him the full details of Blake's blackmail scheme, but I have a feeling she casually left out their interrogation strip search... and the fact that she has a husband... and certainly the fact that she slept with Peter. Oh Kalinda, give an inch, keep a mile.Of all the unfortunate-ness spurred by the grand jury situation, one of the nicest side effects was that Cary and Alicia finally buried the hatchet. Kalinda needed saving and that was a cause that Cary and Alicia could both get behind. I loved the phone call between the two. The both of them just sitting on either end of the line, not saying a word, spoke volumes. He knows he conspired with Kalinda, Alicia knows it, and everyone is thrilled with the outcome. In a way, they're both in on the secret and that makes the bond between them resurface. I also think that at least 5% of it was that Cary's work situation may very soon fall under the purview of Alicia's husband so he figured it was time to make nice, but I honestly don't think that accounts for much. I always liked Alicia's and Cary's vibe back in the day, and while it's been fun to see them as adversaries, I'm glad they're friends again.
There are only a few episodes left of this season and I can't wait to see where we're headed. I'm more than a little apprehensive about the Kalinda/Peter/Alicia shitstorm that is to come, but hey, that's all part of the fun, right?
In other news, Eli Gold makes my day. "You kids are evil!"
Update: After posting this, I did a little web-surfing and came across a wonderful interview with the showrunners for The Good Wife on TVline which actually addresses several of my concerns and questions. I try not to read anything before I formulate my own ideas, but this sure would have shortened this post a bit... Apparently they had this in mind when they initially pitched the show. I should have known. They're too good not to.
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