‘The Good Wife’ Review: What’s the Plan?

If ever there was a time to start a drinking game based on The Good Wife, it’s now. Though, had we taken a shot every time Alicia insisted that she is not running for State’s Attorney or after her countless magnificent eye rolls in last night’s episode alone? Can we say alcohol poisoning?

While the case in “Dear God” was far from interesting, having to move it to Binding Christian Arbitration did provide much of the humor in the episode. All of the lawyers involved were clearly way out of their comfort zones as they went through the ‘Matthew Process’. If looks could speak, the ones Alicia and Cary exchanged, especially when the words “Let us pray” were said, could tell their own story. That was not the only thing going on in the episode though, so let’s touch on a few other events.

Cary is free! Right?

The episode starts out with Cary meeting with his pretrial services officer, Joy Grubick (such a joy to see Linda Lavin!) and learning that she will need to speak with his colleagues to decide whether or not he should remain free or behind bars. His reveal that he was with Kalinda and her suspected involvement with the disappearance of the prosecutions key witness actually caused more harm than good, seeing as it causes the SA’s office to request a revocation of bail hearing. After meeting with Alicia and Diane (which I’d like to point out that both interactions were absolutely priceless), Ms. Grubick decided that Cary should remain free. Now, I’m not sure if it was her interactions with the two women that rattled her or if there is another source, but, was it just me or did Ms. Grubick seem a bit…nervous?

Mama Lockhart

“Everyone stop!” Yes, children. Stop fighting. Whether it was mediating arguments within the firm or instructing Cary on how to carry himself in bond court, Diane was mothering all throughout the episode. And she looked divine while doing so. Given their tense history, I especially loved her scenes with Cary. No matter what, she truly does care about him and is ready to fight to clear his name. Obviously, he’s not so quick to forgive and is having trouble adjusting to the new situation with her as his partner. But, at least he’s not pushing her away. It’s the little things. As in love as I am with her in mom mode trying to keep all of her children (the firm) under control, I’d really love to see her play the role of wife as well. Just sayin’. Also? Where is Clarke Hayden? The two of them assuming the role as the firm’s parental units would be pure GOLD.

Alicia the Adorable Atheist

Ah, yes. Talk about unfamiliar territory for Mrs. Florrick. Binding Christian Arbitration? That’s a foreign concept for her. So, what does she do when she needs assistance grasping certain aspects that she believes will help her in her case? Luckily, she has a very religious daughter who willingly shares her opinions and is ever eager to nudge her mother into a clearer state of understanding when it comes to God. Grace does so well that by the end of arbitration Alicia’s just reciting bible verses one after another. Ok, let’s be serious, while I did simply adore this mom/daughter scene seeing as Mommy Alicia is my favorite. My biggest takeaway was how adorable Alicia in glasses is. No, really. More please.

Eli the Sly

Knowing full well that Eli is simply hell-bent on Alicia running for State’s Attorney, one can’t help but wonder if all of these random reports and visits pertaining to her ‘campaign’ are all his doing. I’m even willing to bet he had something to do with Gloria Steinem mentioning and expressing her support of her running. Yes, you read that correctly. The Gloria Steinem appeared in this episode and said to Alicia “You’re that amazing”. Indeed she is. I’m not saying it’s impossible for her to know this on her own, but I smell a sly little devil of the Gold persuasion. Is it that unbelievable that he would? No. I mean, come ON. He knew it was her walking into his office at the end. He was expecting her!

And there it is…

So Alicia spends the entire episode telling everyone who will listen that she is not running and after weeks of the ‘Will she or Won’t she?’ game, James Castro helps her make her decision. Now, see, I knew that when (and IF) she decided to run, he would be the reason behind it. I also knew that, while viewers seemed to be under the impression that the writers “forgot” about Will Gardner, they were going to hit us hard with a reminder that they did not. However, never in a million years would I have expected the two events to collide in this manner. Castro not only assumes that Alicia is running against him, he has the audacity to insinuate that she is doing it as retribution for Will’s death. Causing what I’m sure was a collective gasp, followed by rage and many “Oh no he didn’t!” comments across the globe. Oh yes. He went there. “Will Gardner was your lover. You blame me for his death and that’s why you’re running.” Clearly, he has no idea with whom he is dealing and once again Julianna Margulies manages to say so much by not saying anything at all. Comes as no surprise when she enters Eli’s office and asks “IF I ran, what’s the plan?”

I have been on the fence with how I feel in regards to Alicia running, but I have now hopped off and want her to run against Castro and crush him! Though there is that pesky little issue of skeletons in her closet. This ought to be an interesting episode next week. With the added presence of Veronica and Owen, it’s destined to be an hour of fun! What did you think of the episode? Hit the comment box and share your thoughts!