“Is she still in bed?”
The NSA dudes have been playing the role of chorus on The Good Wife as they have knowledge of pretty much everything that has been going on and while they have been off the mark on certain relationships – one of them was a big Diane/Will shipper – this episode masterfully uses the NSA surveillance of Alicia and everyone she comes into contact with to propel both Alicia and the story forward.
It’s not clear exactly how much time has passed since the last episode and while it doesn’t appear to be more than a week tops, Alicia is still in the bed cocoon stage of her grief. It’s time to get back to work and a call from Finn about his computer being taken is enough of a push to get her out of her sweats. It still feels too soon and the bloody crime scene photos in James Castro’s office is enough to have Alicia blinking back the tears and looking shaky on her feet. There’s conflict at work as Cary is taking charge in Alicia’s absence and they immediately disagree with taking on a government related case. Cary also says a big no to a Lockhart Gardner merger – not that this matters anyway as David Lee has got Louis Canning on board before Diane could secure Alicia.
Last week I talked about the three women in Will’s life and how his death impacts work and personal matters. Diane and Kalinda are immediately affected when it comes to work; he was Diane’s partner and in a world where Kalinda doesn’t really work for anyone he was her boss. Will was confidante to both of them. To have someone new infiltrating this world is hard to swallow, when it’s someone who has financially hurt the firm in the past it’s even harder and Louis Canning has always played the role of antagonist. It’s not surprising to see such a hostile reaction to the idea of this merger and neither woman hides their displeasure at his presence. Canning is in Will’s office and going through all of Will’s case files, which at first feels like a violation and yet it can’t be an untouched shrine as there is work to do. The sight of his chair and the baseball underneath are enough to give a sudden rush of Will Gardner related feelings, but once Kalinda and Diane see past Will and what Canning has done in the past they come to realize that Canning is actually helping.
Canning isn’t there to force Diane out, instead he has fixed some of the issues from Will’s enthusiastic expansion binge and he has the awareness to admit that he is still a scumbag, but he’s now their scumbag and sometimes it is good to have someone like this on their side.
A quick note on Diane’s costumes this week and the dress above has a seaweed like texture, so much so that if you cut it up and put it on a plate I would probably eat it. It looks exquisite on Diane and the gold pin appears to be growing from this frock.
Other notable Diane costume highlights include:
In the first shot the statement necklace is less bold than we’ve previously seen and yet the chain aspect still gives the impression of Diane’s unbreakable spirit. The second shot comes from her lunch with Canning and her royal blue dress is all the power dressing she requires; there’s no need for any kind of dramatic embellishments.
Finn’s getting hung out to dry for Jeffery Grant and for anyone who was worried that Alicia is too close to this case, her first crack at representing him goes terribly. Alicia’s is understandably distracted and the mere mention of Jeffery shooting Will coupled with Finn’s responsibility for putting Jeffery in general detention is almost enough to have Alicia crawling under those covers as she blinks back the tears again. That is until she gets the renewed vigor and a reason to fight; the NSA gives her just that.
Upon hearing of the wiretaps that have been placed on her and how Alicia is at the heart of the three hop warrant it is enough for Alicia to take Finn’s case back off Clarke (that she has only handed off to him 5 minutes before). This is the wake up Alicia needs and even though Finn isn’t connected to the NSA surveillance in any way, they are part of the system and right now she wants to kick some bureaucratic ass.
One noticeable change between each hearing with Finn is what they are wearing and the mood that is represented in their color palettes. On both occasions they are in tune with each other; the first day their dark suits reflect the negative mood of the proceedings. Not so on the following day and they shift to lighter grey tones and when Alicia arrives it is clear that a weight has been lifted. Finn mentions Alicia’s brighter mood and Alicia responds that she “had a good night’s sleep.” Alicia beating down the smug assertions of a panel of guys who have used the same methods they are trying to punish Finn for is incredibly satisfying, as is getting this line past the standards and practices people “By going down on him?” Finn’s amused expression speaks volumes for us all. By highlighting the hypocrisy in this forceful, giving none of the fucks manner is just what Alicia needed to get out of her funk and it’s amazing to watch.
A fun bit of costuming to end with Jeff Dellinger’s Chumhum logo t-shirt (later on he sports an It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia one) and I’m going to miss the NSA dudes and their array of tees now that Peter used his dickishness for good to get those wiretaps dismissed.
We needed to see Alicia react to Will’s death in a way that feels honest to her character and the time for her to wallow is over; life must go on and the schedule meeting with Peter at the end of the episode indicates this is happening. The Good Wife has allowed Alicia, Diane and Kalinda the space to grieve, while also dealing with their professional obligations and I’ve been impressed with all of the post-Will episodes and how the characters have responded to this huge loss. It’s remarkable what the writers are doing as I have no idea what the landscape of this show will look like when season 5 comes to an end and this is incredibly exciting.
TV Ate My Wardrobe 
