Should old acquaintances be forgot? Not on The Good Wife. The CBS drama returned from its winter hiatus with two of the show’s most worthy adversaries in tow. Michael J. Fox was back as duplicitous lawyer Louis Canning, and Anika Noni Rose returned as the ambitious and devious Wendy Scott Carr.
Alicia is sent off to a remote resort in Minnesota to depose a bank president who has been evading the firm for over 14 months. The president continues to dodge Alicia until Kalinda realizes he is actually being treated for Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma at a nearby cancer treatment facility. The case, which involved the West Nile virus being present in mosquitos in the pools of foreclosed homes, featured the typically complex legal maneuverings we’ve come to expect from the series. But the lawsuit mostly allowed for some hilarious exchanges between Alicia and Louis. This is a man not above making up a story of a dying friend just to throw Alicia off her game. Susan Misner (who first appeared in a 2011 episode) also returned as Canning’s wife, Simone. Simone is lovely and friendly and seemingly completely naïve to her husband’s legal antics. Not sure what the show is planning to do with her, but I’m intrigued.
The plotline also allowed for the scene that found Kalinda and Alicia drinking wine and having a frank conversation. “I miss this,” Kalinda confesses to Alicia. “I’m sorry.” “I know,” Alicia responds. The show has done an excellent job of portraying how Alicia and Kalinda’s friendship is forever altered by the revelation that Kalinda slept with Peter.
When Kalinda arrives at Alicia’s hotel room she comments that the remoteness and quietness of the resort would make her kill someone. I’m taking that as confirmation that she did indeed kill her husband Nick and my fearless prediction is that Alicia will have to defend Kalinda which may finally re-cement the friendship between the pair. Even if Kalinda didn’t kill Nick, I’m hoping The Good Wife has made a New Year’s resolution to never have Nick darken the show’s doorway again.
T.R. Knight began his guest arc as political wunderkind Jordan Karahalios. (As a side note, The Good Wife really does come up with the best names for its characters.) Except for a guest star appearance on an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in 2011, this is Knight’s first return to television since departing Grey’s Anatomy in 2009. The Democratic Party has brought in Jordan to be Eli’s second-in-command in case Eli needs to leave the campaign because of the ongoing investigation into his political practices. Jordan gets a few digs in at Eli, referring to him as the “old man” and saying “I also like to learn from my elders.” Knight is only eight years younger than Alan Cumming, so I’m not completely buying the ageism happening here, but a flummoxed Eli is a fantastic Eli. The more the situation can have Eli simmering underneath the surface, the better. And Rose is great as the cool and conniving Carr. The show uses Carr as a utility player—she has whatever job will allow her to combat the firm. I’m OK with that because, in general, this is a terrific storyline for the show.
Clarke has called in a mediator to ask for the ousting of both Will and Diane, claiming that the firm cannot recover from bankruptcy with them at the helm since they sabotaged his attempts for a merger with another firm. I’ve simply never liked this storyline. Clarke comes off as pathetic and not necessarily a real threat to the firm or to Will and Diane. He’s more like a nuisance they have to keep batting away. And as happy as I am any time the show can feature Cary, I don’t really care that Clarke is hurt by Cary’s betrayal.
Will and Diane’s creditors have sold their debt which they both take as a good sign since no one buys bad debt. But, in the final moments of the episode, we learn that Louis has bought the debt. I am for any plotline that will have Canning, who last season tried to take over the firm, causing trouble for Lockhart Gardner. Will and Diane only have five weeks to come up with the funds to get them out of bankruptcy. Let the good times ensue.
Next week Carrie Preston is back as Elsbeth Tascioni and Maura Tierney, who hasn’t been seen since the Nov. 11 episode, finally returns as Maddie Hayward. Can’t wait.