ReviewsTV Recaps

‘The Good Wife’ Review: The Case of Alicia Florrick’s Unexpected Day Off

0
CBS ©2014 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Did you hear that? No? You didn’t hear that loud sound? That was my heart exploding with love after finally getting from last night’s episode of The Good Wife what I have been asking for ever since the death of Will Gardner: a scene where Alicia is comforted by her mother. As much as I want to talk (more like gush) about this right now, we will get to that later.

Being the first of the final three episodes of this season, one would expect “The Deep Web” to be filled with numerous shocking moments. However, the ones who expect that clearly aren’t regular viewers of this show. This brilliant team of writers does not write simply to strive for shock value. After all, they have actually defined the ‘OMG moment’ (see episode 5×15, if you have been residing under a rock).

With that being said, I’d like to discuss a few of the moments from last night’s episode that stood out to me, whether it be for the humor or the poignancy of the moment.

Alicia reports for jury duty

Yes. Alicia Florrick, first lady of Illinois, name partner of her own firm had to report for jury duty. Who knew that was possible? Well, since I recently had jury duty, I did. Anyway, while there, a stranger grabs her attention when he offers his seat to an elderly woman. Alicia then offers hers to a very pregnant woman, who does not even offer so much as a glance in her direction, let alone a thank you (Alicia’s face? Epic). Daniel Irwin, the attention-grabbing stranger, tries to place where he knows Alicia from. He later, along with the rest of the courtroom, finds out exactly who she is and watches as she is dismissed from jury duty. Thus begins Alicia Florrick’s first day off in…forever? More on that later…

x12Dear Eli Gold: Never change

No really. Never. However, I do think he might be due for a vacation. If he was not calling Alicia to harass and annoy her or barking orders at his staff, he was dealing with Finn (And to think, he doesn’t even know about Peter and Alicia…yet). I think I will go out on a limb and say that ordering Finn around and trying to prep him for an interview seemed to make Eli feel…useful. Does he sense another opportunity to run a campaign on the horizon? Knowing Eli? Yes. Yes, he does. Shout out to Finn for insisting that Will Gardner was the hero during the shooting as Eli was prepping him.

Diane and Kalinda: Team BAMF

Let’s just please take a moment to appreciate the badass entrance of Diane Lockhart in this episode (Also, Kalinda’s purple jacket that I must have). If they weren’t working together to get to the bottom of a case involving the grandson of Diane’s friend, they were hell-bent on figuring out what David Lee and Louis Canning were conspiring behind her back. Diane also fired her assistant right on the spot when she found out she was forwarding her clients’ calls to David. My favorite moment between these two ladies:

x05“Kalinda, I feel like I’m channeling Will’s ghost.”

“Well then take care of him.”

Alicia has a day off

After she is dismissed from jury duty, Alicia calls Cary to inform him and tells him she’s on her way in to work. Cary demands she take the day off and it is the best thing ever. The poor woman does not have a clue as to what to do with herself. She tries to watch TV, but it won’t turn on. You guys. This scene. The entire thing. It’s my life. Alicia not knowing what to do with the TV and calling Zach? Me and my son (I did this a few weeks ago!). Alicia finally locating the correct remote, but then growing frustrated with the buffering and just giving up? Me. I loved this scene so much. Easily my second favorite of the episode. After trying to go to work anyway and Cary refusing her entry, Alicia meets with her mother for lunch. They discuss Will a bit, which prompts Veronica to say…

“Talk to him. Talk to Will. He’ll listen. May not answer, but there’ll be things…in the middle of the day…that seems like he’s answering.”

I refuse to believe I’m the only one that teared up at that. Unfortunately, Veronica’s friend shows up and interrupts their lunch causing Alicia to immediately form an excuse and leave. She then finds herself back at the courthouse, running into Daniel again and having lunch with him instead. Inviting her back for drinks later that day, it becomes quite obvious that Daniel wants Alicia, even though he knew that not only was she married, but she was married to the governor. I mean, I can’t blame the guy, but still. Creeper. Did anyone else catch that she ran into the bathroom after looking at his hand? It’s because it reminded her of Will, right? I feel like I was the only one that noticed. Or maybe I’m completely missing the beat on that one.

x14Best mom/daughter moment EVER

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, all I have wanted since Will died were scenes of Alicia’s family comforting her. It is so fitting that the perfect moment was with her mother. Veronica showed up at her apartment, apologizing in her own way for her friend interrupting their lunch earlier. After a few glasses of wine, they start talking about Alicia’s father and how she feels that she’s like him, “stuck being the good one”. Mothers’ intuition kicks in and Veronica questions her daughter…

“What’s going on, Alicia?”

“I’m spinning, Mom. I can’t stop.”

“You’re just hurting. I’m so sorry you have to go through this.”

“I don’t know what to do.”

Just so we’re clear, I’m now crying at this point. I thought I was done crying with this show, really, I did. Alicia breaking down and Veronica wrapping her arms around her sobbing daughter, soothing her, just completely wrecked me and broke my heart all over again, every time I watched it. Yes, I did rewatch that scene quite a few times. This…THIS is what I have been hoping for. I could not be more pleased with how beautifully written and acted this scene was. So much love for Stockard Channing and Julianna Margulies as mother and daughter. Now, if someone would be so kind as to assist me in getting my heart back from them that would be helpful.

One final thought before I go…

Alicia actually does go back to the restaurant to meet Daniel, but instead of going in, she stands outside watching him through a window, debating with herself whether or not to go in and join him.

“It’s one drink. Why is that a problem? Who am I being faithful to?”

The camera moving skyward and then looking down on her? Spoke to my forever in love with Alicia and Will heart. Then she walks out into an intersection without making sure there weren’t any cars coming. (I am sorry but I just cannot get over that.) Had this been another show, she probably would have been hit by a truck or something. Thankfully, that’s not how these writers play.

Absolutely loved this episode and thanks to the writers giving me my most wanted moment, I was on cloud nine after it ended and I kind of still am. Looking forward to the next two episodes and then we will have to bid adieu to our favorite lawyers until September.

What are your thoughts on this episode? I would love to hear them. Please, hit the comment box and let me know!

Chrissie Ortiz
Chrissie Ortiz is a one of TVSource Magazine’s most passionate columnists. As you can see by some of her favorite shows, she’s a pretty loyal viewer. She’ll usually stick it out no matter how bad it gets. Not one to assign herself to one genre, she looks for series that can pass her litmus test — holding her attention. Follow her on Twitter at @SourceChrissie.

‘Game of Thrones’ Review: ‘First of His Name’

Previous article

‘Once Upon a Time’ Review: Wicked Doesn’t Always Win After All…or Does It?

Next article

You may also like

Comments

Comments are closed.

More in Reviews