A cardinal, two gubernatorial candidates and a lady in red all walk into the Shamrock Dinner . . . there’s definitely a joke somewhere in last night’s episode of The Good Wife.
While “Death of a Client” offered up some supremely satisfying dramatic moments (a well-deserved punch, a drunken confession, a teary relationship resolution and a brief holding of hands), overall the episode sacrificed logic in order to propel the storyline forward.
In his first TV appearance since the series finale of Fringe, John Noble guest starred as Matthew, Alicia’s extremely litigious client who was shot and killed while walking in the street. Noble is a fantastic actor capable of great dramatic range. It was frustrating to have him restricted to merely flashback scenes, and the structure of the episode made for a slightly awkward narrative.
A detective (Will Chase, nice to see him bouncing back from Smash) needs Alicia’s help and calls her away from the Shamrock Dinner (which, by the way, had one of the longest cocktail hours ever). When the detective tells Alicia the killer has her address in his car’s GPS, she calls her apartment and tells her children to leave with her mother (returning guest star Stockard Channing). This was where it all broke down for me. If Alicia believed her children were in danger, the Alicia we know would have immediately left the police station to be with them. Her failure to do so made her heartfelt conversation with Grace at the end of the hour ring a little less true.
Kalinda figures out the police are lying because the model of the killer’s car didn’t come with GPS. Again, a big of a leap in logic. He couldn’t have bought a Tom Tom? But stranding Alicia at the police station allowed for Laura Hellinger (Amanda Peet) to pop up, ostensibly to convince Alicia to waive attorney/client privilege with her dead client, but really so she could ask Alicia about dating Will. “I hate this stuff. It’s so high school,” Laura says. And it was kind of a scene right out of a teen drama, but it worked. It also made Alicia realize that she was holding Will back from moving on. “I’m being selfish,” she informs him. True that, Alicia. True that.
Eli, in his best, most flummoxed form, informs Peter that his goal is to get a hug, not a handshake, from the cardinal. A hug means he endorses you and translates into jump in support from Catholic voters. Republican candidate Mike Kresteva (returning guest star Matthew Perry) begins spreading rumors that Zach is a drug-addicted teen who has once again been arrested (nice little throwback to the show’s season premiere). The only way to battle a lie, Eli informs Peter, is with a bigger lie. And that my friends, is how Mr. Big ended up punching Chandler Bing in the men’s room. It was a great scene, and it will be interesting if Peter laying the groundwork for Mike being a sloppy drunk will come back to haunt his campaign.
While Alicia and Peter are busy, Grandma Veronica informs Zach and Grace that Alicia was two months pregnant when she got married and that Grace was “an accident.” That revelation puts a new spin on the Alicia/Peter marriage. Like Grace, I wonder if Alicia married Peter because she felt she had too. “I loved you before you were born, and I loved Zach before he was born, and I love you even more now,” Alicia tells her daughter. But I still don’t quite understand why Alicia chose to be with Peter over Will. Despite what she told Grace, is it really just for her children?
Other thoughts on “Death of a Client”:
• Cary briefly grabbing Kalinda’s hand convinces me even more that the pair slept together a few weeks ago.
• Not sure I really understand Peter asking Diane if she wants to be the new Illinois Supreme Court Justice. He can only make the nomination if he wins, right?
• “Die choking on your own blood please.” Alicia’s putdowns get better and better.