As I said in my review last week, there’s a fine line between love and hate.
We know it, and Alicia’s brother Owen knows it, too. At first, I was skeptical that Alicia wouldn’t have told Owen that she left the firm. Until I realized she didn’t tell Owen because he would see right through her. After teasing his sister that she was in “warrior princess mode” (which, by the way, she totally is), he goes to see Will and tells him the real reason Alicia left. “Alicia was afraid of falling in love with you. That’s why she left,” he says. Owen, never a Peter fan to begin with, takes it one step further and adds, “She and Peter. They’re not set in stone.” But Will replies, “No. It’s over.”
Even if she can’t truly admit it to herself, Alicia started her own firm to get away from Will. But now she’s more passionate about him than ever. Sure, the passion right now is hatred fueled. But that could easily switch. Remember the opposite for love isn’t hate, it’s apathy. And Alicia is definitely not apathetic about Will. I kind of suspect the next time Will is throwing things off a desk, it won’t be in anger.
If you read my reviews of the show last year, you know I was not the biggest fan of Nathan Lane’s Clarke Hayden. It always felt like the show was trying to force a square character into a round plot point. It didn’t work—at all. So I was dreading Lane’s return to the series. I was afraid that the reappearance of Clarke would put a damper on the amazing momentum the show has had so far this season.
I worried for naught. Clarke taking sides and getting involved in the firm wars totally works. “You know you’re running a firm here, not a children’s game,” he admonishes Alicia and Carey before giddily jumping right in on their shenanigans.
The case this week involved Jeffrey Grant, a college kid (Hunter Parrish of Weeds) being charged with the murder of a coed. He swears he’s innocent and rejects the DA’s deal. But the DNA found under the victim’s fingernails is a 100% match to him. The Good Wife has left cases open-ended before but never this open-ended. I expect Parrish will be back.
The Grace and Zach story line was odd and a bit of a letdown. Another student was spying on Grace? That’s much less interesting than it being Lockhart/Gardner or (my pick) the disgruntled Anthony. But the story line did show how utterly distracted Alicia is. She barely takes note of how bizarrely her children are behaving, and she accepts Zach’s lame explanation that his black eye came from a baseball game. Previously, Alicia’s relationship with Will took her away from focusing on her children. Now it’s her career.
The war between the firms continues to propel the series to new creative heights. “Sometimes I look at you and wonder if you’ve changed or if you’ve always been this way,” Diane says to her. I wonder, too, as Alicia’s fantastic moral slippery slope continues.
Other thoughts on “The Next Week”:
—I love that the character is named Anthony Wright Edelman. Any relation to Marion?
—I never trusted Anthony. He was way too hung up about the fact that they didn’t get their bonuses.
—“My apologies. I had a real case to deal with.” I love Diane.
—America Ferrera returns next week as Natalie Flores. She hasn’t been on the show since 2011. It should be very interesting.