There was a lot not to like in this episode.
I’m all for Grace helping her mom out, but suddenly she’s Veronica Mars. It’s one thing to answer phones, it’s quite another to run facial recognition software to discover an undercover FBI agent. I mean, please. The explanation that Zach helped was just not enough for me. We spent all last episode hiring Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s Jason Crouse, and then he’s completely missing from this episode. Morgan’s a series regular this season, so I was kind of expecting to see him.
And Alicia’s case of stumbling onto an undercover FBI agent trying to get Judge Schakowsky to accept a bribe didn’t have the oomph of the show’s typical cases, even if the end result was Eli tipping off the judge so the judge would owe him a favor. The favor will involve somehow getting back at Frank Landau, who took the election victory from Alicia. But I don’t think Alicia would so cavalierly tell Eli what was going on. Wouldn’t the undercover FBI agent still be under attorney/client privilege? The whole case was less about the case and more about a chess move in Eli’s master plan.
The Good Wife is also way too in love with conversations that happen at Alicia’s front door. Sure, Eli would want to come over in person to discuss the concerns that Alicia was the target of an FBI sting, but I have to think that Diane and Lucca are busy enough that they would call Alicia and not just drop by. I can’t remember the last time I popped over to someone’s house unannounced. It’s a TV convention the drama is overplaying.
But the entire episode was worth it, just for the scene where Eli tells Veronica that he needs them to go on a mother/daughter cooking show entitled “Mama’s Homespun Cooking.” Stockard Channing’s reaction of explosive laughter was priceless. And, of course, the cooking show is a disaster because, as Eli puts it, Alicia and Veronica don’t have your typical mother/daughter relationship.
Howard also comes to Alicia for advice, and Alicia bluntly tells Howard that he doesn’t do anything and he needs to start working harder. Howard actually does this—settling cases and bringing in clients. He lands a big client with the help of Peter’s mother Jackie, who is quite smitten with Howard. I can’t tell if Howard actually likes Jackie or if this is some part of his master plan to stay employed at Lockhart/Agos. But I don’t think Howard is a master plan kind of guy.
As funny as it was to see Eli in a small office, I want a little more sophistication between the Eli and Ruth conflict. And I still contend that soon the press has to figure out that Alicia and Peter haven’t lived together in years and are only together at political events.