The Good Wife: “The Line”

If you still needed to be convinced that The Good Wife is a positively genius show, look no further than the sixth season premiere.

The glorious fifth season ended with two juicy cliffhangers—Eli asked Alicia to run for State’s Attorney, and Diane wanted to join Florrick/Agos. The sixth season opener could have easily been consumed by these two story lines.

But that, my friends, is simply not how The Good Wife rolls. This is not a show that rests on its laurels as the accolades pour in. The world The Good Wife has created is so rich, vibrant and full of interesting characters that the premiere could go in an entirely different direction, and still be completely believable—which is exactly what happened.

Cary is arrested on drug charges. The State’s Attorney is really after Lemond Bishop (returning guest star Mike Colter), and arresting Cary is one way to get to him. Bishop, one of the show’s best and best dressed villains, is a fantastic character especially when displaying his suavely menacing side. He has someone slice Cary’s hand in prison as a way of both warning Cary, and providing him with the opportunity to show his loyalty. Cary tells Alicia and Diane that he tripped and hurt his hand. They don’t believe him, but they have to believe him. I spent the majority of the fourth season lamenting how underused Cary was, it’ll be great if this season can keep up the fifth season trend of placing him at the center of the action. Matt Czuchry was fantastic in this episode. I also wonder how much Cary will be changed as a lawyer, now that he’s experienced first-hand the treatment of prisoners.

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The problem is the bail money (a whopping $1.3 million). The firm doesn’t have the funds, and Cary’s dad only offers up $8,000. (A nice callback to his jerk of a father, played by John Shea). Bishop, through his “legitimate” dry cleaning business, eventually gives the bail money to Alicia, but the State’s Attorney demands a hearing to find out where the money came from. So you know that’s not good.

Cary, who is accused of advising Bishop’s men on how to elude arrest and move a shipment of 900 grams of heroin, insists on his innocence. Kalinda investigates trying to figure out which of Bishop’s people is talking to the police. Kalinda’s friend/lover Sophia (returning guest star Kelli Giddish) tells Kalinda there’s a recording which proves Cary’s guilt.

Meanwhile Finn, who we all thought was so adorable last season, is out for blood. He takes Alicia off the case. “Wow. I did not see that coming,” she deadpans. But Finn and Alicia agree they can still be friends, despite their current conflict. And since I’m still not over Will’s death (and I know Alicia isn’t either), I’m happy that any potential romance between these two is put on hold.

Elsewhere, Alicia says no to Eli’s proposal that she should run for State’s Attorney. We all knew she would. But what’s fun is watching Eli still move full steam ahead with his plan. He’s taking polls, and gleefully manipulating both the current State’s Attorney James Castro and Peter. He’s a mastermind, and easily gets Peter on board with his plan. Getting Alicia to agree won’t be so easy, but it will be fun to watch him try.

Diane is ready to join Florrick/Agos and bring her 45 clients and $38 million in business. Her conditions—she wants Kalinda to come with her (but will Kalinda want to?) and she wants an equal vote with Cary and Alicia. Before his arrest, Cary remained hesitant about the idea, but Alicia doesn’t see a downside. Diane tells Louis Canning and David Lee that she’s decided to retire. But they’re not buying what she’s selling, and they immediately start trying to convince her clients (with David Lee in full candy persuasion mode) to stay with them. They use Cary’s arrest as a way to malign the firm.

Lauren the intern is back. She’s still flirting with Peter, and has upped her game by not wearing any underwear to work, which just seems ridiculous. Even more ridiculous is that Peter would fall for this nonsense. But I have to remember, although many months have passed in our lives since Will died and he and Alicia came to their arrangement, not as much time has passed in The Good Wife. The episode picked up the moment where it left off last season, so my guess is that Peter is still acting out like a petulant child. He remains totally and inappropriately flirtatious (the better to send Eli into a frenzy), and I think this particular story line will stay on a slow boil.

The episode ends with Cary walking back to his cell with other inmates, as Kalinda and Sophia walk by ignoring him. What’s that about? Who knows? But if anyone can get Cary out of prison, it’s Kalinda.

The sixth season of The Good Wife is off to a stellar start. I. LOVE. THIS. SHOW.
Other thoughts on “The Line:”

•Alicia’s helmet hairstyle is gone. Discuss.
•Unlike last season, Mary Beth Peil (Jackie Florrick) and Graham Phillips (Zach Florrick) are no longer listed as series regulars. But the way The Good Wife works, I’m sure we’ll be seeing them at some point this season.
•In case you forgot, Matthew Goode (Finn) is now a series regular.
•But poor Jess Weixler (Robyn Burdine) is still listed as “guest cast” not even “recurring guest cast.” That just seems wrong.
•Giddish and Sarah Steele, who plays Eli’s daughter Marissa, haven’t been on the show since 2011.
•Story I just have to share—I was watching the Tony Awards this summer with my mom, and when Alan Cumming performed “Willkommen,” my mom said, “Oh he looks like that guy from The Good Wife. When I told my mom, it was the same actor, she was stunned. Check out Cumming’s fantastic Cabaret performance here.

What did you think of the sixth season premiere of The Good Wife? Talk about it below.

Amy Amatangelo is a Boston-based freelance writer, a member of the Television Critics Association and a regular contributor to Paste. You can follow her on Twitter or her blog.

The Good Wife: “The Line”

(Episode 6.01)