The Good Wife is on fire.
Now in its fifth season, the series is in the midst of a creative renaissance that is the complete antithesis to how the drama began last season. Every single storyline is working. You know a show is doing something right when its complex look at an abortion case is fascinating and thought-provoking. But it was also simultaneously the least interesting storyline the show had going in “A Precious Commodity.”
Last week Diane spoke unfavorably about Will in an interview. This week, without any build-up, Will quickly coordinates her unceremonious ouster from the firm. Like Will said, we all knew this day would come if Diane became a judge but I didn’t anticipate her hostile ejection from the firm. What’s great is this leaves the show with so many directions to go in. If Diane gets the Illinois Supreme Court judicial position, she will face the firm as both a judge and potential adversary. If she doesn’t get the appointment, she could join another firm (maybe Alicia and Cary’s?) or start her own and still be a potential adversary. Love this.
With every passing day, Alicia is getting deeper and deeper into her duplicity. She’s privy to secret partner meetings while plotting her departure. It’s going to get ugly, and I can’t wait for the Will-throws-everything-off-his-desk moment that’s coming on Oct. 27. Also, now Kalinda knows that Alicia is joining Cary and obviously feels betrayed (even the cool Kalinda couldn’t mask her hurt feelings). Things are going to get messy very quickly.
As promised, Melissa George was back as ethics committee member Marilyn Garbanza. She’s already Eli’s nemesis and bantering flirtatiously with Peter about The DaVinci Code. I can’t stand her, which totally works for the show. Peter knows he can’t trust himself and is already in a panic. He’s trying to rush the renewal of his wedding vows with Alicia (because that will solve everything, obviously). Of note, Alicia clearly isn’t interested in this romantic trip to Hawaii. She doesn’t even want to kiss him for photos.
Amidst all of this, Alicia is still a mom and discovers her daughter is listed as one of the 10 hottest politician daughters. She goes into protective, mama-bear mode. “I want to be pretty. Just let me be pretty,” Grace tells her.
Emmy winner Carrie Preston is back next week as Elsbeth Tascioni (the episode will start at 9:30 p.m. EST/8:30 p.m. CST due to football). Cannot wait.
Other thoughts on “A Precious Commodity”:
• I didn’t realize that David Lee and Peter haven’t met before. Their encounter allowed Lee to be even more obsequious than usual. Can Zach Grenier win the Emmy next year please?
• Great to see Christian Borle from Smash as the lawyer for the parents. Must be fun for him to be a part of a show that makes sense.
• I wonder if the show will return to the surrogate mother storyline once the baby is born. I hope it does. It would be great to see Janel Moloney again. If the baby is born healthy (a 15 percent chance, the show made a point of telling us), can’t you see the surrogate not wanting to give the baby to the parents?