Ding, dong. The Nick is dead. But is he really, really dead?
The Good Wife aired its final episode of 2012 with a holiday gift. It certainly appears that “Battle of the Proxies” was the last time viewers will have to see the show’s worst character. Nick made the mistake of threatening Alicia, and that is something Kalinda can’t abide.
Dressed in her trademark leather jacket and spiked-heel boots (seriously her feet must hurt so much by the end of the day), Kalinda goes to Nick’s tow-trucking business, confirms that he’s trafficking drugs and tells Nick’s minion that she’ll be waiting for Nick at the office. When Nick shows up, Kalinda informs him she’s called the police and hands him a map telling him where he can cross the border and where he can find money.
But the ever-arrogant Nick doesn’t think she’s called the police. It’s not Kalinda’s style. “What’s your plan B?” he asks her. The next time we see Kalinda, she’s meeting Alicia in a bar for a drink. She informs Alicia that Nick won’t be coming back. This leaves us wondering if maybe plan B was killing Nick and neatly disposing of his body. Given what we know about Kalinda, it’s totally within the realm of possibility that she murdered him. What struck me is that I don’t really care if Kalinda did kill Nick. I’m just so happy to be rid of him. Maybe at some point Nick will turn up dead and Kalinda will be accused of the crime, but for now let’s revel in the fact that he’s gone.
I do wish that Cary had been more involved in the episode since Nick had him beaten up and the Nick/Cary interaction was salvaging the story arc. It’s further proof that the writers simply didn’t know what to do with this storyline that has never really worked, was universally reviled and consistently brought down one of TV’s best series.
While Kalinda was dealing with Nick, Will defends a man accused of murder. Alicia helps the prosecution in a nearby county who was trying another man for the same crime. Besides showing guest star Becky Ann Baker in some truly awful suits (was the show trying to say people who don’t live in a big city have no sense of style?), the main purpose of this case was to showcase the burgeoning flirtatious banter between Will and ASA Laura Hellinger (returning guest star Amanda Peet). A romance between the pair would be a great twist. It will put Will in a relationship with someone viewers actually like (as opposed to Elizabeth Reaser’s awful Tammy Linnata), and Laura is also someone Alicia respects, adding another interesting wrinkle to the dynamic.
In the hour’s lighter development, Alicia discovers someone had searched about condoms on her desktop computer. (As a side note, I do love how The Good Wife always shows the characters using the search engine ChumHum, which refers back to recurring character internet billionaire Neil Gross). Alicia awkwardly confronts both Grace and Zach who deny using her computer for that kind of research. But Zach is intrigued by this mystery and discovers it was Jackie who used the search term. “Zach, we must never speak of this again,” Alicia tells him. The whole storyline simultaneously offered comic relief while once again showing Alicia as a parent of teenagers. But I really hope this doesn’t mean Jackie is going to have a relationship with her healthcare provider Cristian.
In the night’s most interesting development, Eli is approached by Justice Department Official David LaGuardia (guest star Hamish Linklater) who is investigating whether Eli traded discounted crisis management services for contributions to his ex-wife’s campaign. But, like everyone else, LaGuardia is really after Peter. He’ll drop the investigation against Eli if Eli will offer up Peter. “Go to hell,” Eli tells him. By the end of the hour, LaGuardia is raiding Eli’s office and confiscating all the computers. This development is a great platform for Alan Cumming. No one does enraged panic quite like Cumming. But don’t we already have enough going on with Peter’s campaign? It’s been weeks since we’ve heard about Maddie Hayward or the whole Indira Starr rumor.
But in the spirit of the holiday season, let’s celebrate the fact that Nick appears to be gone. The show can start the New Year off without any sneering baggage.