Before I get to my full review of the episode, I need to talk about the open sequence. It was completely emotionally manipulative, and boy did it work well. Seeing a proud father (an excellent Blair Underwood) lose his daughter in a matter of seconds in the most violent horrific way was devastating. As a parent, it played into my worst fears and left me with a pit in my stomach throughout the episode. It was a brilliant cold open.
And I can’t say enough good things about Underwood in this episode. His face completely transformed to be the utter personification of grief. And the case was a good one that got to bring back Denis O’Hare as the quirky Judge Abernathy, make a statement on gun control and put Diane and Cary finally back in court.
But now I need to talk about the nonsense that was the rest of the episode. I’ll start with Grace. I absolutely refuse to believe that a college would accuse the Governor’s daughter of plagiarism without irrefutable proof. Nor do I think a college admission’s officer would want a showdown with the Governor’s wife. And was the Director of Admissions coming to the high school to talk to Alicia? I don’t think that actually happens. Unless we find that there is some bigger issue going on here (the college purposely targeting the Governor’s daughter), this whole story line didn’t really make sense. Except, yes, Grace has decided to be a lawyer but, you know, who cares?
And let’s move on to Jason and Alicia, who remain in the throes of heady early days of romance. They’re having afternoon delights and making googly eyes at each other at work. Basically these two can’t keep their hands off each other, which Alicia is completely enjoying until she sees Jason making out with another woman at a bar (of all the gin joints in all of Chicago, he just happened to walk into that one). She’s upset until she realizes that she’s married and doesn’t actually have a leg to stand on in this one. “I’m married. If anyone should be explaining, it should be me,” she tells Jason. Jason, for his part, does actually feel bad that Alicia saw this and for the first time, we see that Jason may be feeling as “invested” as Alicia.
These days Alicia is fully empowered, taking charge of her own sexuality. She’s no longer wasting time or letting romantic opportunities pass her by. Good on her. However… that still doesn’t mean she has to give Jason a hand job in the middle of a crowded bar. Alicia is a celebrity in Chicago with a recognizable face. Does she want to be caught? Does she want something else to force her hand so she can divorce Peter? I’ll admit the scene was crazy sexy, and the chemistry between Julianna Margulies and Jeffrey Dean Morgan is crackling. But I still don’t think Alicia would abandon all sense of decorum.