So it turns out it’s not Eli’s ongoing duplicitous shenanigans that are going to get Alicia to run for State’s Attorney. All she needed was some encouraging words from feminist icon Gloria Steinem—and some hateful words from James Castro.
Let’s start with Castro. It was a punch to the gut when he mentioned Will Gardner. How dare he be the first one to utter his name this season? “Your lover was gunned down in one of my courts,” he sneers. Castro is a great nemesis for Alicia and for the series. Indeed he is, as Alicia so succinctly puts it, “a bad man.”
Cary is out of jail and having some serious sexy window time with Kalinda (are these two really in love? I’m so confused). He has to check in with his pre-trial service officer Joy Grubick (played by the always delightful Linda Lavin). She’s no nonsense, and also needs to fill out her paperwork. She doesn’t care that Cary is a partner in a law firm. She still needs to put down his boss’s name. “Well that’s too bad because he doesn’t have an employer,” Alicia tells her. Lavin’s scenes were terrific. You felt her exhaustion as a public servant. I hope we get the chance to see her again.
Castro and Finn (sporting a dapper new haircut) are advocating for the revocation of Cary’s bail. The prosecution’s key witness Trey Wagner, Lemond Bishop’s man-turned-criminal informant, has gone missing, and they’re accusing Cary of asking Kalinda to threaten him. My guess (hope?) is that Kalinda didn’t threaten him, but warned Trey that Bishop was close to finding out about him—which actually put Kalinda in harm’s way.
In the end, a nervous Joy tells the court she doesn’t think Cary would have threatened Trey, so Cary’s bail is not revoked. He’s safe for now, but as Cary tells Diane, “They’re going to get me one way or another.” Castro won’t stop. He even tells Alicia that Cary’s case will go away if he testifies against Bishop. Cary’s case might go away if he does that, but so would Cary.
Elsewhere it was a guest star-palooza on the show. Richard Thomas (the once and forever John Boy and Agent Gaad on The Americans) is the Florrick/Agos client producing genetically modified seeds that another farmer is illegally replanting. The case doesn’t really matter, but the fun is that it takes place in Binding Christian Arbitration with Robert Sean Leonard’s Del Paul presiding over the proceedings, and Christian Borle returning as opposing attorney Carter Schmidt. Alicia’s facial expressions alone made the entire episode worth it—she took throwing shade to whole new level. I also loved all the lawyers’ utter confusion about the idea of entering logic into the proceedings. “Just answer the question. Just tell the truth,” Del says as all the lawyers look horrified.
Strife, as told mostly in rapid fire flashbacks, continues at Florrick/Agos. Alicia is ready to move fully ahead with the expansion of the firm and the clients, while Cary is reluctant. Dean and Diane want to build out to a second floor and get three seats on the executive committee, if they loan the firm the money for growth. Cary lost four clients because of the drug charges against him. As much as I loved this episode, I missed seeing how Lockhart/Gardner/Canning (seriously, what is this firm called now?) was dealing with the mass exodus. I mean did David Lee just self-combust?
I also need clarification on Kalinda—is she with Florrick/Agos now? How does Cary feel about that? Where’s Robin? Does she still have a job?
The episode ends with Alicia asking Eli, “If I ran, what’s the plan?” I can’t wait to find out.
Other thoughts on “Dear God:”
•“The longer I live, the more I realize everything is Kafka in action.”
•Steinem was quite natural playing herself. I loved her continually reappearing as some sort of political guardian angel.
•Did a memo go out that this season needed to included more of Matt Czuchry sans clothes? I’m not complaining, but it does appear to be a trend.
•Great use of Grace this episode, and I love the juxtaposition of a daughter who believes in God and a mom who doesn’t.
•All Alicia’s family comes home next week—look for the return of Graham Phillips, Dallas Roberts, and Stockard Channing.
Amy Amatangelo is a Boston-based freelance writer, a member of the Television Critics Association and a regular contributor to Paste. You can follow her on Twitter or her blog.