You know a show is getting insanely good when every episode could easily be mistaken for the kick-ass season finale. So far, The Good Wife is at two in a row with two
more to go. Or, given the explosive nature of the promos for the finale episodes, it's more like two in the chamber. Fortunately for viewers, Julianna Margulies is amazing. Seriously, any lesser actor at the helm would have dropped the ball, but she's sheer perfection in each and every scene.Because Julianna's skill cannot be overstated, we'll begin there. Her acting choices have always been spot on in this role, giving Alicia Florrick a quiet resolve and inner strength that's captivating to watch. Above all, she hits a home run with subtlety, a quality which is all too lacking on network TV. For truly nuanced performances, I find myself turning to cable more and more (speaking of which, the Justified finale is on tonight and if you haven't been watching that show, you've been doing yourself a true disservice). The value of subtle acting is that it keeps a show from being over-the-top, unrealistic, and most of all, soapy. For me, that's one of the primary aspects separating drama from melodrama and The Good Wife has it in spades. When done correctly, it's the little things, the quiet moments, and the things left unsaid that are the most powerful. When it comes to Alicia Florrick, Margulies has no easy task on her hands, but she pulls it off like a pro. It's hard to single out one individual scene where she shined the most, but I'd say her conversation with her children hit the hardest. To borrow a phrase from an episode of In Plain Sight, there comes a moment in everyone's life when the fog of childhood lifts and you see your parents as people for the first time. For those with strong, grounded, reserved parents, I think this moment comes as even more of a shock. To see Alicia, who has been through hell over the past two years, break down now, after it all appears to be over, hits the kids like a ton of bricks. "Mom, you need to protect us more," Grace pleads with her mother, her seemingly unshakable rock, only to witness her mother break down sobbing for the first time ever. The panicked glances between Grace and Zach were particularly effective. Geez, when Alicia Florrick melts down, what the hell do you do?!
That's one of the reasons I would have liked to have seen Alicia be more forthcoming with the kids about why this was all happening. In their minds, they're probably thinking of a million horrifying things that must have happened to have prompted this reaction from Alicia, and most of them would probably be worse than the truth. Nothing is scarier than the unknown, and to ponder what could reduce the unflappable Alicia into a puddle of tears is a daunting prospect. I'm not saying that Alicia should have told them everything, but I think their imaginations are going to run wild with this. What could possibly be worse than everything Peter has already done? I don't know. If they were younger, I could understand better why she was so vague with them, but they're teenagers, not toddlers. I guess this is just part of who Alicia is. She wouldn't denounce Peter to his children, no matter how warranted it may be. In the end, I think probably a lot of her reasoning behind keeping the separation a secret is that she feels mortified and betrayed. I can see where you wouldn't want to talk to your kids (or anyone, really) about that. She's right that the timing of the break-up will invariably make it look politically
motivated and will make them fodder for public ridicule. Keeping things under wraps is necessary, but ultimately unsustainable, even if Alicia and Peter keep the details of what's going on from everyone they know, even their parents, kids, and, well, Eli. I always love the scenes between Alicia and Eli because their dynamic has grown and changed over time into this weird blend of mutual respect and guile. That even someone as obtuse as Jackie could see that they're friends made me smile. "You want me to talk to Alicia?" "Yes, Eli. She likes you." So do we. Best of all, in spite of the effects their separation will have on Peter's future political ambitions, Eli doesn't press Alicia for details, he doesn't harp of the politics of it all, he genuinely seems concerned for her welfare. As a man who knows of Peter's lesser qualities and dirtier deeds more so than most, I'm sure he has more than a few ideas about what could have spurred Alicia to action. Their conversation didn't feel like a political wife and a campaign manager discussing the ramifications of her actions, it felt more like two unlikely friends trying to keep their heads above water. Really lovely acting job by Julianna and Alan in that scene. And every other scene, for that matter.In terms of conversations with Alicia in her office, the tenderness of the Eli visit is juxtaposed with the pure venom of the Jackie visit. Man alive, if you didn't hate Jackie before (anyone? anyone? Beuller?), you can't help but to hate
her now. "Damn you to hell!" Jackie hisses at Alicia as Jackie's pathological adoration of her son shows all its ugly colors. It was shocking and brutal and completely unwarranted, but it's perfectly fitting with her character profile. It was almost funny to see this little old lady, with that silly hairdo and high-society outfit and granny jewelry, saying something like that. To say that Alicia's reaction to this kind of interaction was measured doesn't do it justice. Wow, she's a better woman than I. There is no chance in hell I'd have been able to keep my mouth shut in the face of Jackie, but Alicia managed it incredibly smoothly. She was gracious for Jackie's help with the kids, and then very matter-of-factly removed Jackie and Peter from her life. Kudos.Aside from Alicia's forced calm being consistent with her character, I think it was a brilliant decision on behalf of Julianna and the writers to show just where Alicia's priorities lie. She devolves into uncontrollable tears with her kids, but she keeps her cool with Jackie, and to a shocking extent, Peter as well.
It points to the fact that Peter has wronged her so greatly in the past, that in spite of her willingness to give her marriage a second chance, she's still cautious. Peter never fully regained her trust, and with good reason. Based on the promos for upcoming episodes, Alicia has a full-on nuclear meltdown with Kalinda, so in terms of emotional resonance, the revelation of Peter's and Kalinda's one-night-stand affects Alicia more so when it comes to Kalinda than Peter. Even when Peter had the gall to throw some of the blame Alicia's way, she kept most of her cool, appearing to be more upset by the insinuation than the fact that Peter had once again betrayed her. No so with Kalinda. With Peter, it's as though she was fully expecting the roof to cave in eventually. Having been betrayed and lied to like Peter had, it's impossible to regain 100% of the trust that was lost. I think Alicia has spent the last two years waiting for the shoe to drop, and now it has. Alicia has been in this impossible holding pattern where she had to be "the good wife" and give Peter a chance, but now she finally has the ammunition to make a clean break. Well, as clean as possible. It really showed Peter's true colors that he accused Alicia of sleeping with Will. When it all boils down, in spite of Peter's grandstanding about how much he's changed, he fights dirty and protects his own interests, no matter what. No, Peter, in fact, Alicia has been holding back from Will for two years now because of her attempts 
at salvaging the marriage, so you can just back the hell off now.I liked that Alicia didn't flat out deny an affair with Will. At the time of the fight, I was hoping she'd hit Peter with everything she had and put him in his place, but upon reflection, I quite enjoy that Peter has to wonder if she's been sleeping with Will all along. Plus, Alicia was not in the wrong here, no matter what Peter can conjure, so she shouldn't have to be on the defensive in the first place. It's a tricky situation for all involved because the affair took place before Alicia had ever even met Kalinda. I don't think it's so much that Peter slept with Kalinda as the fact that no one said anything. Peter has basically been lying to Alicia for two years now and Kalinda... well, that's a whole other story. Peter has been swearing up and down that he's a changed man, that all his dirty laundry has come out, and that the affair he had with the blond (Amber?) meant nothing. Well, that affair may have been meaningless sex, but sex with Kalinda, a colleague and badass, is far from a trifling hook-up. Far beyond that, the fact that Peter allowed Alicia to become friends with Kalinda without saying anything is a total slap in the face. Alicia has basically been duped into becoming best friends with someone she should hate and that's gotta hurt. I don't doubt that Alicia's relationship with Will is... questionable... but she never actually crossed the line, even if she totally totally wanted to several times. Indeed, after the way Peter had treated her and betrayed her, I could hardly have considered it cheating even if she had slept with Will. I'm going to happily let Peter sit and wonder about the nature of their relationship like any good hypocrite would. Seriously, there was fire in his eyes when he accused her, and when she didn't deny it, I'm pretty sure he started to boil. Yeah, you stew on that one, you bastard.
In spite of Peter's vitriol, Alicia kept it pretty cool. She started to boil over toward the end there, but she never completely lost it like most people would have. Her showdown with Peter stands in stark contrast to the confrontation with Kalinda to come. Oh my god, that part of the promo when Alicia tells Kalinda to get out of her office or she'd scream? Wow. At this point in Alicia's life, as a result of the past two years, Kalinda and her kids are the people that matter to her, not Peter and certainly not Jackie. Her emotional response is a reflection of this. Kalinda's friendship was a
life-saver that kept her head above the most turbulent of waters, and now that's been taken away. She expected to be betrayed by Peter, but Kalinda? Never. To be clear, Alicia is well-aware that Kalinda uses her sexuality for various purposes and to achieve various goals. To borrow a line from Kill Bill, I think this is a situation where Alicia is thinking what The Bride was thinking toward the end regarding Bill's betrayal.Bill: "Was my reaction really that surprising?"
The Bride: "Yes, it was. Could you do what you did? Of course you could. But, I never thought you would or could do that to me."
Bill: "I'm really sorry, Kiddo. But you thought wrong."
That Kalinda would sleep with a married man can't possibly come as much of a shock. That Kalinda could sleep with Alicia's husband and never say anything? That's where the surprise comes. Again, the fact that Alicia had never even met Kalinda at the time of the affair is a factor, but only in terms of the sex itself. Peter wasn't sleeping with Alicia's bestie Kalinda behind her back, he was sleeping with an employee who owed him a favor. Indeed, I'd be very interested to know exactly how that transaction was defined. Did Peter give Kalinda a new identity then compel sexual favors as payment? Or did they arrange the terms ahead of time and sleeping with Peter was part of the deal? It's pretty icky to think about either way, but one certainly sheds a different light than the other. I'm guessing we'll never know the details, but ultimately I'm not sure it would matter. The sex is incidental. It's the lying that's the problem. Alicia must feel like a fool, a dupe, and a puppet after all this. One of the worst feelings in the world is that you've been played, and Alicia has been played by the person she trusted the most. The fact that the world has not been what she thought for the past two years must be jarring as hell and I think Alicia will be feeling the aftershocks for a good long while. Man alive, the thought of Alicia confronting Kalinda (who already suspects that the jig is up) makes me all sorts of nervous inside. I loved the dynamic between these two and it's going to be absolutely heartbreaking to watch that crumble. Geez, just the promos make me all tense in the chestal area.
Well, the cat's out of the bag now and I it's going to affect every single aspect of the show. The writers are setting up next season to be cra-zy. Going into a third season, a show needs to up the ante and reinvent itself. With your average legal procedural, there's only so many places you can go. With The Good Wife? They've just changed the game entirely. I do not use the term "game-changer" lightly, bear in mind, so when I say that pitting Peter against Alicia for season three is a game-changer, I mean it. These first two seasons have established Peter and Alicia as two strong, smart, cunning, and clever people. Peter has been on the mea culpa end of the relationship since day one, but now, things are about to change. I can't be sure how it will play out, but I think making Peter and Alicia adversaries opens up a whole new avenue of awesome for the show to explore. On top of that, one word (er, name): Cary.
Oooooh, it's gonna be good, peeps. I was sure that with this season ending, Cary would end up back at Lockhart Gardner, and I was thrilled with the idea, but I think putting Cary on Peter's team (sort of) makes things a whole lot juicier. The look on Peter's face when Cary told him who he was was chilling. The musical cue was pretty damn brilliant as well. Just as Alicia had cued up the badass music when it was time to take charge, so too does Peter get such a soundtrack when the gloves come off. We've only ever seen glimpses of Peter's political brutality over the past two years, but I think we're going to see a whole lot more in the years to come. I say "years" because in spite of The Good Wife's less-than-stellar ratings, it's the only critically-acclaimed network drama out there and CBS knows it. Rumor has it, they are currently working out a multi-year contract and that that's why an early pick-up hasn't been granted yet. Indeed, Alan Cumming has signed on for the next three seasons, so who knows what's in the works.With momentum they've kept for the first two years, and the number of twists and turns they've thrown our way, I have no doubt that this show could be awesome for the long run. Given how insane the past two finale-worthy episodes have been, it's incredible to see that there are still two to go. I think the next two will deal with the Kalinda/Alicia fallout heavily, open the door for a Will/Alicia reconciliation, and lay more groundwork for the Alicia/Peter war that's a'brewin'. As per usual, this whole situation puts Cary in a unique and ambiguous position. He still feels wronged by Lockhart Gardner, but he and Alicia have reconciled. He's working for Peter, but owes more allegiance to other people. And finally, he's in love with Kalinda, but even she doesn't know where she'll end up. Depending on how things go down, I could see Kalinda leaving Lockhart Gardner, but it's hard to imagine her ending up back at the State's Attorney's office with Peter and Cary. What's more, with the current arrangement, would Chris Noth be a series regular next year? Peter's a bastard and all, but he's a tremendous character and I would love to see more of him on the show. Who knows. There are about a million possibilities up in the air and I can't wait to see where they all land. Hopefully, the show will have several more seasons for me to find out.
All that awesomeness, and I didn't even mention the return of
Martha Plimpton. That's how awesome this show is. I got tired of writing before I even had a chance to give her a shout-out. Speaking of people who need to be on this show more often...In semi-related news, my talking lion is in the mail. :)
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