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The Good Wife Season 3 - Page 4

post #91 of 177
1/9/12 at 8:31am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by MattH. View Post

I wondered halfway through the episode why we hadn't seen nor heard from Cary at all, but they slyly saved his appearance as the episode's crowning moment, and it was magnificent. The little talk between Cary and Alicia at the elevators was also very special: Cary happily secure in his job and Alicia looking a little cowed and unsteady; maybe he wasn't the loser in their battle for the job two years ago after all.

 

The confrontation with Wendy Scott-Carr was also memorable. Elspeth's "ditziness" negating Wendy's intimidating tactics like a deflating balloon.

 

What a great episode.



I think that's what we've slowly been seeing.   That Cary is really growing up as a person; he wanted to succeed in his first job, but as time goes on, he's discovering that being let go may have ended up a blessing in disguise.  He's comfortable where he's at, and he's on the fast track where he is.   He's OK with being on his side of the isle, and knowing what is headed the firm's way, he doesn't want to throw them under the bus now.. too soon.

 

But while Cary tells Alicia "I like your Husband", he's also saying:   I can understand what a ball-busting ass this guy is also.   I think Cary has built up a combination of respect and understanding.  

 

You do get the feeling David Lee is a douche.. but you know what, he's also a big slice of income, even in a down economy, so they can't cut him loose.  And they put Eli in his place: this is short time for you.

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post #92 of 177
1/15/12 at 8:44pm
Jason Biggs had to relish this role. He's been sort of typecast as the lovable doofus, and here he played someone incredibly smart and not the slightest bit goofy. And unlike many very smart people, he was smart enough to keep his ego in check and not assume that the people after him were idiots. The scene between him and Kalinda near the end was genius. She earned his respect.

I'm not sure I bought Kalinda turning over the case file on Will. Not because I don't think she'd do it under the right circumstances -- she undoubtedly would -- but she should have known that forged document wouldn't have hanged Alicia, it would have hanged David Lee. Alicia raised concerns with Diane about David Lee's duplicity, and Diane would have to testify toward that end in court. Having David Lee shipped off to prison would hurt Lockhart/Gardner, but not like having David Lee jump ship with his entire department. Certainly it wouldn't hurt the firm like having one of the partners come up for indictment. The fact that Elsbeth Tascioni took one look at that file and ran like hell for the sake of preserving deniability says all it needs to.

Wendy Scott-Carr's been carefully planning her sneak attack for a while now. Next episode, she has to lay her cards on the table. Alicia and Will are more vulnerable than they've ever been. But when Wendy Scott-Carr wounds, she'd better kill. If she doesn't get any convictions from this hunting expedition, she's going to be persona non grata in the entire Chicago legal system.
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post #93 of 177
1/16/12 at 5:11am
Thread Starter 

I'm not sure I bought Kalinda turning over the file.   But I'm not sure the file she turned over is what we think it is.    But Alicia -would- be in trouble over that document because she gave testimony as to it's veracity.   So, there is that - she'd still face perjury.    Again, this show makes better use of the extra parts than anything else on TV.

 

I loved the entire storyline revolving around the advice between MIL and Alicia that caused her to rethink her relationship advice.   Made me smile the moment the dialog came from her mouth; ah, parenting - it isn't that easy.   But I also knew the instant she said "maybe you should slow down and not have her over so much"   BIG mistake - because that doesn't stop things, it just turns the pressure up for him to find somewhere else to go to keep the relationship cooking :)

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post #94 of 177
1/16/12 at 5:35am

I am not sweating Kalinda's actions. She's loyal to Lockhart-Gardner (and thus Will and Alicia) so I'm sure she's got something up her sleeve. I think when she knew for sure she was being used, she's done something to that file which will save the day. No one gets the best of Kalinda for long.

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post #95 of 177
1/16/12 at 10:56am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mattCR View Post

I'm not sure I bought Kalinda turning over the file.   But I'm not sure the file she turned over is what we think it is.

That's an interesting idea, that Lockhart/Gardner essentially gave the prosecution a poison pill. Anything that takes down that dreadful woman is OK in my book.
Quote:
But Alicia -would- be in trouble over that document because she gave testimony as to it's veracity.   So, there is that - she'd still face perjury.
Ah. My recollection was that she testified that it was her signature, and that the case fell apart before she was forced to testify further. If she was really into the frying pan on that one, it makes me buy Kalinda's action a little better. She likes Will, but Alicia's her friend -- not only her friend, but a friend she wronged and lost.
Quote:

I loved the entire storyline revolving around the advice between MIL and Alicia that caused her to rethink her relationship advice.   Made me smile the moment the dialog came from her mouth; ah, parenting - it isn't that easy.   But I also knew the instant she said "maybe you should slow down and not have her over so much"   BIG mistake - because that doesn't stop things, it just turns the pressure up for him to find somewhere else to go to keep the relationship cooking :)

I forgot to mention this in my post last night, and it was my favorite beat in the episode. I loved that Jackie's agreement was enough to get Alicia to change her mind. It didn't hurt that Alicia and Jackie were both coming from an essentially wrong-headed place. It's not racism, exactly, but it is elitism. Nisa's a lower-middle class public school student, and the Florricks are back to being better than such people again. Alicia may not have thought it through like that, but that's what it comes down to. Nisa's a smart, polite, well-spoken girl with good grades. Most parents would be relieved to know their son is dating a girl like that over the alternatives. After Becca, Nisa should seem like a gift from God. The worst anybody can say about her is that she's boring. When you're a parent, boring is good.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MattH. View Post

I am not sweating Kalinda's actions. She's loyal to Lockhart-Gardner (and thus Will and Alicia) so I'm sure she's got something up her sleeve. I think when she knew for sure she was being used, she's done something to that file which will save the day. No one gets the best of Kalinda for long.

I hope you're right! Kalinda's easily my favorite sociopath on television.
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post #96 of 177
1/16/12 at 11:16am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Adam Lenhardt View Post

I loved that Jackie's agreement was enough to get Alicia to change her mind. It didn't hurt that Alicia and Jackie were both coming from an essentially wrong-headed place. It's not racism, exactly, but it is elitism. Nisa's a lower-middle class public school student, and the Florricks are back to being better than such people again. Alicia may not have thought it through like that, but that's what it comes down to. Nisa's a smart, polite, well-spoken girl with good grades. Most parents would be relieved to know their son is dating a girl like that over the alternatives. After Becca, Nisa should seem like a gift from God. The worst anybody can say about her is that she's boring. When you're a parent, boring is good.
I took Alicia's motivation as trying to slow things down from the "I love you" so they wouldn't be rushing to a more physical relationship. Of course, letting them be more supervised in her apartment should really be enough for that.
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post #97 of 177
1/29/12 at 7:05pm
A great episode tonight with some interesting twists and turns. The next new episode is not until February 19.
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post #98 of 177
1/29/12 at 7:17pm
Thread Starter 

I loved everything about the moment:  "My assistant will validate your parking"    BURN!   It was so good to see WSC spin on her heels and make her way out of that office.   The thing about WSC, is that from everything we know, she's not some horrible monster - she's not a criminal, she's just a very bitter, overly pious, holier-then-thou type who grates almost everyone who watches wrong.   Watching her get her dander up and go after Alicia in court was some great TV.   The other thing about that was that she got Alicia to admit over oath that the affair was over - and you know Peter will read that transcript.  

 

This is a show that at it's best is edge of the seat riveting, and the gambit here of setting her up to fail reminded me of some of the best slight-of-hand films.   I kept thinking of things like The Italian Job, etc. as they gave her the head fake and she bought it entirely.   Documents that looked like one thing?  Oh, let's produce the real ones in court.   Let's keep trotting out Peter Florrick's name in connection with everything.   We know the judge will pull the fifth because he has to, let's answer questions and everyone gets on the hook. 


Still, Will isn't totally off the hook, the state bar will also review the records and their standards are not as strict as an indictment; but can Will work something out?  The back and forth between Eli and the staff was so good as well; small moments from past shows live on as Eli makes his point through a surrogate.   Thoroughly enjoyed everything about this weeks episode.

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post #99 of 177
1/29/12 at 7:47pm

Everytthing about the episode was amazing. Riveting from start to finish. And from the previews, it only seems to get even twistier and juicier.

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post #100 of 177
1/29/12 at 7:49pm
the whip cream on the fingertips...ewww....
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post #101 of 177
1/29/12 at 7:50pm
My hats off to both Matts. You guys totally called it with Kalinda handing over the file, and I never even suspected until coming here. What a wonderful reveal when WSC's case washed out from under her.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mattCR View Post

I loved everything about the moment:  "My assistant will validate your parking"    BURN!   It was so good to see WSC spin on her heels and make her way out of that office.   The thing about WSC, is that from everything we know, she's not some horrible monster - she's not a criminal, she's just a very bitter, overly pious, holier-then-thou type who grates almost everyone who watches wrong.
What this episode did a great job of showing was that she doesn't just grate the audience, she grates almost everyone she comes into contact with. She has two major flaws: 1) she tries to be devious, but she's never the most devious player. She invitably goes for the throat, even when a subtler move would be the wiser play; 2) she consistently underestimates the human element. She's cold, calculating and unfeeling and assumes that everyone else must be too. She went into that grand jury chamber with the logic that grand juries almost always acquit and that she had the facts on her side. Will and Elsbeth Tascioni approached the jurors as individual human beings and tailored the testimony to what they'd be wondering if they were sitting up there.

Her problem now is that even if she should somehow usurp Peter and steal the State Attorney's office away at some point in the future, she's turned a major chuck of the Chicago legal community against her. Most of the judges now hate her. Even Cary and Dana don't respect her. She can't even say her shameless tactics got results. Reporting Will to the bar association is sheer vindictiveness.

I thought for a moment Alicia was going to go ahead and tell her kids about the affair any way.
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post #102 of 177
1/30/12 at 5:37am

I was expecting Alicia to tell her kids, too, and that they would shrug it off and say they already knew thus shocking Alicia that her kids are a lot more attuned to what's going on than she might have thought. Still might happen. Looking forward to that confrontation.

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post #103 of 177
1/30/12 at 10:12am
I really don't think of Alicia's dating of Will as an affair since it happened after they were separated. Sure it was wrong because of other reasons but really not a moral issue.

Peter has been vilified by many in this thread because of the investigation of Will but it really was a no win situation for him. He didn't want to investigate the money issue but he couldn't let it drop in fear of looking like he was doing a favor to his wife's firm. Unfortunately he fell into an uncontrollable situation that often happen with special prosecutors, they are charged to look into one thing and suddenly go off on a tangent because they have free reign. Whitewater anyone?


Once again the David Lee character shined, I'm so glad they did not drop that character since the actor delivers such great moments time and time again.
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post #104 of 177
1/30/12 at 10:17am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Patrick_S View Post
Once again the David Lee character shined, I'm so glad they did not drop that character since the actor delivers such great moments time and time again.


The moment at the desk "I don't love many things..."   was a great bit of back and forth between him & Eli

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post #105 of 177
1/30/12 at 12:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Patrick_S View Post

Peter has been vilified by many in this thread because of the investigation of Will but it really was a no win situation for him. He didn't want to investigate the money issue but he couldn't let it drop in fear of looking like he was doing a favor to his wife's firm. Unfortunately he fell into an uncontrollable situation that often happen with special prosecutors, they are charged to look into one thing and suddenly go off on a tangent because they have free reign. Whitewater anyone?
I don't think Peter did anything unethical, either, but I don't think he was exactly heartbroken by WSC's pursuit of Will. He hates the guy, with a passion. The independence of the special prosecutor was a convenient shield he could hide behind. I don't think he was furious until WSC started digging into Alicia's sex life.
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post #106 of 177
2/2/12 at 4:01pm
Haven't seen the last few episodes, still on DVR. Just find it amazing that this was the darling of CBS two years ago and now it's a 'maybe' for renewal this May.

By far probably the best dramas on standard network television at this time and they may or may not renew it. Hopefully it will be given a chance and run a nice 6-7 years.

Really makes you despise business and "suits" in general, they seem so out of touch.
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post #107 of 177
2/2/12 at 7:19pm

I truly don't think it's in any danger. Ratings are important, but for a network like CBS which can afford to carry a show that brings them so much prestige and good will, it will look at more than just ratings before making a decision.

 

And the ratings aren't bad at all. CSI: NY and Miami and A Gifted Man are in far more precarious positions than The Good Wife.

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post #108 of 177
2/2/12 at 7:35pm

Finally caught up on the last three episodes. I marvel each time at the small characters. Each one is a savory morsel to enjoy. That Process Server? Outstanding! Elsbeth? Love every moment she's on screen!

 

My only complaint was the conclusion to the grand jury process. It felt very random for the grand jury to suddenly go off the reservation and have that the undoing of WSC. I've never served on a Grand Jury, but the little I've heard makes it seem like that was an unlikely. It felt a bit like the writers didn't now how to resolve the storyline so they went bonkers with the jury.

 

And as for Alicia and Jackie's issues with Zack's girlfriend...I liked Zack's smirk, letting us know he knowingly manipulated Alicia with that bit of comparison.

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post #109 of 177
2/2/12 at 9:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveF View Post

My only complaint was the conclusion to the grand jury process. It felt very random for the grand jury to suddenly go off the reservation and have that the undoing of WSC. I've never served on a Grand Jury, but the little I've heard makes it seem like that was an unlikely. It felt a bit like the writers didn't now how to resolve the storyline so they went bonkers with the jury.
True, most grand jury proceedings don't end like that. But most prosecutors seeking an indictment don't go about things like WSC did, either. It's about painting a picture to the grand jury that's plausible enough to go to trial. WSC didn't care about the trial, since she knew an indictment alone would damn near ruin Lockhart/Gardner. And when the proceedings stopped going her way, she completely lost track of the purpose and turned to score-settling by trying to humiliate Alicia. The "affair" had nothing to do with the allegations. If I were on that grand jury, I'd have been at least thinking a lot of their questions if not stating them outright.
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post #110 of 177
2/3/12 at 5:34am

In one of last season's bonus features in the DVD set, the writers' room was delved into quite exhaustively. In there are people who have legal and judicial experience who keep the other writers honest, so I'm guessing that one of those people had memories of a grand jury that went bonkers and contributed that idea to this storyline.

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post #111 of 177
2/3/12 at 8:08am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by MattH. View Post

In one of last season's bonus features in the DVD set, the writers' room was delved into quite exhaustively. In there are people who have legal and judicial experience who keep the other writers honest, so I'm guessing that one of those people had memories of a grand jury that went bonkers and contributed that idea to this storyline.



I've been involved in one that went totally awol.   As a person associated with a prosecution, when indictments came down, two of the people on the grand jury raised questions about the prosecution that were.. let's just say people had watched WAY too much CSI, and their perception of what was possible was.. not right.   And those people can (and do) ask questions; the good is that the prosecutor can try and explain the realities.   They got the prosecution off the ground in that case, but people like to think Grand Juries just sit there and say "OK, that's it" my one experience tells me that may have been true a long time ago, now everyone thinks they are Matlock ;)

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post #112 of 177
2/19/12 at 7:54pm

I was completely shocked by Will's decision! He's always been such a fighter! I appreciated his reasoning, but still! I'm not sure we've heard the end of this. Otherwise, he'll be gone for the rest of the season.

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post #113 of 177
2/19/12 at 8:44pm
Great ending. It was nice to see Will take responsibility; he decided to take the suspension not because he didn't think he could beat the disbarment hearings but because he had done wrong and deserved to be punished for it. It was the kind of move Dan Rydell would have admired.

When the show takes on current events, it's sometimes some of the weaker episodes. They way they handled the uprising and crackdown in Syria was just right, approaching it from the margins through a very limited legal question. One of the most powerful things was finding out the fate of Kalinda's contact in Syria, just another statistic of the dead.
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post #114 of 177
2/20/12 at 6:06am
Thread Starter 

I really liked it.. it's rare that you see a character on TV say "well, you know what, I deserve this one.."   the question of course will be what does he do in his time away; and I have a feeling we'll cover some of that.. but I like the fact they opened themselves up to this opportunity.

 

I'm also enjoying the shakeup in the states attorney's office.   Carey isn't the bad guy, but you can see how others will view him that way.   Ah, the hazards of being the boss or the boss' messenger ;)

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post #115 of 177
2/20/12 at 12:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Adam Lenhardt View Post

Great ending. It was nice to see Will take responsibility; he decided to take the suspension not because he didn't think he could beat the disbarment hearings but because he had done wrong and deserved to be punished for it.
He took the suspension because he would have lost the fight and the suspension is a slap on the wrist compared to disbarment.
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post #116 of 177
2/20/12 at 5:43pm

Interesting episode.

 

What was happening with Kaitlin? And was Alicia giving her good advice on the poaching issue? 

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post #117 of 177
2/20/12 at 7:19pm

I think so. The lawyer played by Rita WIlson couldn't even remember Alicia's name when she saw her again in the hall. The offer obviously meant nothing. Now, I do think Michael J. Fox's character has been sincere offering Alicia employment on the couple of occasions he's asked her to join him.

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post #118 of 177
2/27/12 at 2:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MattH. View Post

I was completely shocked by Will's decision! He's always been such a fighter! I appreciated his reasoning, but still! I'm not sure we've heard the end of this. Otherwise, he'll be gone for the rest of the season.
It could always be 6 months later after a few episodes. Does anyone know if the actor has something pressing in his life which dictated his being written out for a while?
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post #119 of 177
2/27/12 at 3:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by NeilO View Post

It could always be 6 months later after a few episodes. Does anyone know if the actor has something pressing in his life which dictated his being written out for a while?
There's a good interview with husband and wife showrunning team Robert and Michelle King on the TV Guide website. Josh Charles will still appear in every episode, continuing his role as business partner with Diane even as he's completely barred from taking part in the legal side of things. The suspension will last through the end of the season. And when it's done, Will won't just hop in where he left off; he'll have to prove himself all over again.
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post #120 of 177
2/27/12 at 7:16pm

Yes, I didn't mean to imply he'd be gone from the show; just that he'd be gone from court cases. I had read that his former girl friend is coming back as a guest star for some episodes and his sister is also going to turn up at some point this season.

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