Alicia held favor in bond court for a very brief amount of time on The Good Wife before the judge was back to calling her Marie Antoinette and taxing her heavily. The issue being that she was causing waves in how the system flows as the court is more concerned with processing speed, rather than dealing with cases on an individual basis.
Everyone is a number and one in a stack of many files; those numbers include probation offers, bail money and their place in the pile. It can even be their weight which factors into nothing more than a way to sort out which bond lawyer gets first pick.
If this was a reality show then I’m sure Alicia might be pulling out the “not here to make friends” moniker as she is ruffling pretty much everyone’s feathers by disrupting procedure as she actually listens to her clients and actively tries to get them the best offer. But she has actually made friends and despite many exasperated looks from Lucca Quinn throughout “Taxed” it hasn’t damaged the rapport they have built up over the last few weeks; much to my delight.
A+ disdain and patterned outfit combo.
The whole system needs a makeover, but money rules everything and there is “no glory in this slog.” Alicia is shaking the wrong tree, or really she is shaking the one which won’t pay the bills especially when Judge Schakowsky is at the helm. Alicia has a pretty decent civil action case because the store in question could easily be accused of racial profiling – as several real stores have – and instead she trades that for surveillance footage which clears her client. The problem is that it shows her client’s mother originally stole the sweater in question. Not exactly the win Alicia was hoping for. What it does do is open her eyes to her current working situation; Alicia has no desire to go back to Lockhart, Agos and this freedom in cases is exhilarating. And yet she is still bound by bureaucracy and people who don’t want to fix what is broken.
Cary wistfully remembers starting the firm in Alicia’s apartment and this is the wrong way to go about getting Alicia to return to Lockhart, Agos by doing Reese Dipple’s bidding. The atmosphere between the pair is warm and there is hope for a working relationship between Alicia’s startup and her old firm despite the prickliness from Diane last week. Alicia doesn’t want to be stuck in the favor cycle and starting over was meant to wipe the slate clean; now she is stuck in another kind of legal purgatory with Judge Schakowsky.
Over martinis with Lucca – wearing another fantastic outfit – she ponders her next move and when Lucca spells out the disadvantages of Alicia’s current strategy an offer is made. This is the offer I have been expecting/hoping for with Alicia asking “Want to do it together?” That is shaking the tree for better paying cases. We don’t get Lucca’s answer and this isn’t the first time Alicia has offered this kind of deal to someone (Finn *sob*), but they have proved their success as a team and I can’t see why Lucca would turn her down. Job security is one reason to stick with bond court and there have been a couple of moments of conflict; however this would be a good move for both Alicia and Lucca. Seeing Alicia working in a different legal environment has been fun and yet I am now at the point where a break from Judge Schakowsky would be bliss.
Another person who is causing a stir is Jason Crouse and woah is the screen oozing with all the sexual tension whenever he is on screen with Alicia. When Jeffrey Dean Morgan first appeared a couple of weeks ago I was maybe reluctant at accepting this new potential love interest; now I am all in. I am also fully prepared to be disappointed. Jason is a bit of a mystery and this is apparently part of the whole investigator persona – here is another investigator mystery WHERE IS ROBYN? – and Alicia learns a few more things this week. He used to be a lawyer and he got disbarred for punching a judge. He also claims he is one of the calmest, sweetest dudes but he agrees with Alicia’s assessment that she should worry about him. He claims he is not joking and this only makes him seem more enigmatic (and attractive). 
Just look at the way he looks at her (*swoony sighs*).
Tree shaking is going on all over the place this week and Eli is playing mischief maker by taking Cary’s turned down request to Alicia and putting the other female Florrick’s onto Peter, but really onto Ruth in a bid to mess with her. And at first it works as Jackie feels put out by Peter’s new campaign manager and Grace is passionate in her disagreement over physician assisted suicide and this bill. Ruth is no fool and she quickly figures out Eli’s scheme and sweet talks her way with both Jackie and Grace; Eli is going to have to work a lot harder if he wants to sabotage Ruth’s efforts.
Euthanasia and this forthcoming bill provide the thrust of Diane’s storyline and it is so good to see Diane in a strong plot of her own. Last season Diane had to go against her principals to secure Reese Dipple as a client and they even got rid of Alicia at his request because he comes with a lot of prestige and so much money. He is their new ChumHum and once again Diane is put in a difficult position to keep him happy. Dipple doesn’t make an appearance and I’m guessing Oliver Platt wasn’t available. Not to worry as Sandy Cohen himself, Peter Gallagher is here as a very welcome proxy and he puts Diane in charge of an anti-euthanasia case, much to her chagrin.
Diane might not agree with what she is fighting against, but they want her because she knows the case and she knows the opposing counsel. Louis Canning is a formidable foe and yet Diane is more than aware of his sympathy inducing diversion tactics. She can also argue against something she believes in even if she can’t always hide her distaste at the methods and overall objective. It even looks like they have won it until Canning finds the message board smoking gun. It is a mighty fine week when none of the usual victors – Alicia, Eli, Diane – actually succeed in what they set out to achieve as it can get really boring when our guys win every case.
And to close here is another addition to the Diane Lockhart stunning jacquard jacket collection.
Grace also continues her fabulous assistant blouse look.
One final patterned delight from Lucca. Sorry about the smears on the plexiglas.
Fingers crossed Lucca will accept Alicia’s offer and my love affair with her costuming can continue.
Tags: "Taxed", 7.04, Alicia Florrick, Christine Barankski, Cush Jumbo, Jeffery Dean Morgan, Julianna Margulies, Matt Czuchry, Peter Gallagher, Sandy Cohen, The Good Wife
TV Ate My Wardrobe 
