In the battle of Diane Lockhart versus Diane Lockhart there are no winners and it is becoming increasingly clear that one very rich client may end up being detrimental to the rest of their business. Actually there was one person who did rather well out of this fight as Grace scooped up all of the clients who are unhappy with Diane’s role as Reese Dipple’s mouthpiece. It doesn’t matter how many times she mentions this is First Amendment case when the subject matter is one dealing with choice. Why does Diane go so hard line on it?
Part of this is down to being presented with a quote that came from her own speech to EMILY’s List and there is a certain amount of trying to keep bias out of the courtroom. But I also have to wonder if this is all there is to Diane’s motives and even though this video is against everything she believes in why does she take it as far as she does? Dipple is their most valuable client financially and he has already impacted the firm by laying down stipulations to stop Alicia from returning last season.
So there is this element of Diane bending to accommodate because of how much Dipple is worth. And because it is a First Amendment debate Diane can at least pretend she is arguing for something she does believe in. My main concern with this case and the Dipple relationship (which is being conducted through the always amazing Peter Gallagher) is how much it compromises Diane and what it looks like it might be setting up in the long run; a Diane versus Alicia showdown.
Don’t get me wrong I am thrilled to see Diane getting a story of her own – now can we find one for Cary please? – but I worry that it will result in more animosity between Alicia and Diane. Take last season when Alicia’s campaign got in the way of her job and she had what still feels like a very manufactured fight with her then partners followed by the blow up over the supposed Howard related sabotage. The latter was a misunderstanding and while Alicia and Diane have never been the besties I long for them to be (Alicia’s lack of friends is something I worry about more than I probably should) there has always been a strong level of respect. So it is a concern that the pieces are aligning to put them in conflict especially now Alicia potentially has four of Diane’s clients and the little matter of Jason moonlighting for Lockhart, Agos.
Ah yes this is something Jason hasn’t disclosed and the surprised look on Alicia’s face when she heard Diane in the background during a Jason phone call is also steeped in displeasure; I don’t think Alicia wants to share.
When Diane utters “well that was easy” we know it is probably going to be the opposite and the resolution is pretty much Diane pulling a catch 22 and excusing herself from the case. Cary gives her kudos for this conclusion, but I’m not entirely sure what the overall point was other than to show that Diane is good at arguing against something she believes in and to create a rift with some of her clients.
Diane dresses for battle in the way we know and love from one her phoenix like pins to the double chain necklace of glory. Also delivering on the “Who the fuck are you face?”
There is a certain element of feeling slightly unmoored this season and despite this being a creative leap from last season’s messy endeavor it still lacks direction. Every week has been fun and it definitely more enjoyable watching Alicia and her startup than Alicia and her SA campaign, but we are reaching the point of the year where the wheels needs to be doing more than spinning. Especially as this could be the last season (there has been no official announcement but all signs point to this could be the final outing).
In the Florrick, Quinn (not Florrick, Agos) the firm continues to explore their options in making this venture a success with varying results. Quinn meets with Canning in a move to find some clients to poach and this fails spectacularly; they are a formidable team in the courtroom, less so in a boardroom. Maybe talk to each other before these pitches. Meanwhile Grace solidifies her position beyond her mother’s lackey (what about school?) as she uses the many computers in their apartment to create what sounds like a busy office and ends up doing rather well out of Diane’s case. Part of this is luck and good timing, but Grace can’t just be dismissed as she does a much better job than her mom and Lucca.
Grace gets points for pattern clashing delights and then some get subtracted for that awful ‘famous’ cushion on her bed. She earns those points back for telling her mother how much she now owes her after scoring these new clients.
It also looks like Lucca has been taking jewelry tips off Diane and this necklace is like a less intimidating version of the chain link statement pieces Diane favors.
One place where motives take center stage is between Eli and Courtney Page. Eli has a crush and his eavesdropping is no longer about revenge. His desire to get Courtney to change her mind about how/what she pays her employees does relate to the campaign, but really it is an excuse to spend more time with her and seeing a vulnerable Eli always makes for a fun and rare change.
I’m not entirely sure what the purpose is of this courtship or where this storyline is headed and yet I’m thoroughly enjoying the change of pace; aka the perfect way to describe this season.
