It’s interesting to think about what constitutes a bombshell ending on a season finale. It varies from show to show—a shocker on Mad Men isn’t the same as a shocker on Scandal or Game of Thrones. Last night’s Season Six finale for The Good Wife ended with a legitimate shocker. Minds were blown, lifestyles were reevaluated and, if we’re to believe that Alicia answered Louis in the affirmative, the possibilities for next season are endless. It was a great way to close things out and I think it’s safe to say nobody saw that question coming. “Wanna Partner?” I, for one, would love to see this happen.
But we’ve gotten ahead of ourselves. If there was one problem with the finale, it might be that it didn’t quite feel like a finale, for much of the hour. I found myself double-checking to make sure that it was indeed the last episode of the season, especially because of the case with Alicia’s client (and the first case of the very short-lived partnership, Florrick Polmar). Now, I have to say that I appreciated this storyline and would have loved to see it in a different episode. Jacob Richter was taken by the police, but not arrested. The police continuously lied about his whereabouts, and Alicia and Finn had to jump through hoops (and did so brilliantly) to get him out, and get him off. It was a great example of something I’d recently asked of The Good Wife (and other TV dramas)—that, instead of using a black character VS. police = riots storyline to address race, they go for something smaller. Although racism was never directly brought up, it was certainly implied—especially given the rough manner in which Richter was handled, which we could hear in the voicemail.
Kalinda’s final scenes did, however, remind us that this was the end of something. Sure, seeing Kalinda pop up in that frozen pizza aisle was a little kooky. But somehow it felt appropriate. She and Lester made for a strange pair, playing cat and mouse, and Kalinda’s always seemed like she possessed the ability to appear both when you’re hunting her down, and when you least expect her. And we got to see her really say goodbye, and share a couple of tequila shots with her former friend (and maybe, forever friend?) Alicia. This B-plot also worked its way into Alicia’s other going-ons. You could tell—given the annoyance of the police she was dealing with, Peter’s new political surprise, her memoir, and all that light-to-heavy sexual tension with Finn—that she’d run out of effs to give. So when she took Kalinda’s confession to Lester and lit it on fire, I cackled with delight. It felt right, and it felt good—just like watching Kalinda put on her sunglasses and walk away from Lester, who went from hunting her down for Bishop, to basically declaring his inferiority and asking her to partner up with him. That’s how you go out when you’re Kalinda Sharma. That’s how you do it. And, once again, I could hear Damn it Feels Good to be A Gangsta playing in my head as she left the building.
In the moment when Finn dumped Alicia, it felt like all was lost, and we certainly weren’t thinking about the C-plot involcing Canning’s wife. So when Canning showed up at Alicia’s door and blurted out “Wanna partner?” I, once again, cackled with delight. One thing we should feel at the end of a good season finale is a sense of excitement and authentic curiosity about the coming season. I don’t know about you but, in spite of the loss of Kalinda and a finale that lacked a certain umph, my imagination is running wild. It’s not quite like what we had going on last year with Cary, and the State’s Attorney question, but it’s enough for me to continue to declare this show one of the absolute best on television.
Stray Observations:
RE: Peter running for President/but really Vice President—HELL NO. Can’t these poor kids (mainly Grace) catch a break?!
Alicia read Eli over those horrible (and, really, misogynistic) memoir notes. “Too tough, Soften.” Ask Alicia for a recipe?! Again I say HELL NO. I loved that scene, and I love how Alicia remains one of very few people who remains unafraid of Eli.
“I don’t like sitting on steps. I always think dogs urinate there.”
“I’ve never gone after your family members!”—Canning
“We have no family members.”—David Lee
I realize that I actually really like Simone Canning, and wouldn’t mind seeing more of her. Susan Misner put in a good performance during those few scenes.
Best Quote of the Episode:
“What is it with all these tough-talking women?! You know a word you don’t hear very much anymore? Demure. How ‘bout bringing that one back?” (Lester, whilst falling love with Kalinda.)
Shannon M. Houston is Assistant TV Editor & a film critic at Paste, and a writer for Pink is the New Blog and Heart&Soul. This New York-based freelancer probably has more babies than you, but that’s okay; you can still be friends. She welcomes all follows (and un-follows) on Twitter.