Monsters of Television

“Show me the plan.”

It feels like season finales this year are aiming more for epilogues to their seasons than final chapters, if such a distinction makes sense. Some of it is industrial, networks ordering extra episodes, either a little too late to be incorporated into the first bit of the season (like Chuck) or ordered a few more than was originally expected (like Community). As a result, episodes that seem to function like finales become the penultimates, resulting in episodes that don’t pack the finale punch.

The Good Wife isn’t too different. “Running” isn’t as fiery an episode as I found last week’s “Hybristophilia”, an episode that hits all those season finale requirements of character maneuvering and arc resolutions. Indeed, it seems like the show decided to devote an episode to each of its arcs: the law firm and Peter’s trial were resolved last week, and this week follows through on the romantic entanglements among characters as well as set up Peter’s political aims next season.

Perhaps my lack of engagement stems that I don’t find either arc as interesting as the ones last week (though Peter’s arcs are connected), or that there was little in the ways of suspense in either arc. And it also could be that this episode, for the first time since I started watching, had me wishing I had been watching since the first episode.

It was a foregone conclusion that Peter would decide to run for State’s Attorney again, given Alan Cumming’s promotion to series regular next season. The navigation to get there, however, was interesting. Due to Eli’s own ideas to get Pastor Isaiah to assist Peter in a time of crisis has Peter deciding not to run for at least four years to spend time with his family. Eli is not keen on the idea (he does have to earn that six-figure income that allows him to demolish high-schoolers), visits Alicia first to convince Peter about the errors of his ways but Alicia’s not interested.

Who is interested is the hereforto unseen sharp political mind that is Jackie Florrick. Maybe this was showcased in the first half of the season, before I started watching, but up until now, I figured Jackie was just a mother who thought too highly of her son. Now, and deliciously, I find that she’s a brutal behind the scenes power player. Her conversation with Isaiah is emphatically blunt (“This is a phase. You are a phase.”) and her knowledge of Peter (“He is easily led.”) makes me hope that Jackie plays a larger role next season, perhaps as a balance to Alicia.

But the episode ultimately centered around relationships, and while not as attached to these stories as I am to others, they do demonstrate how the show is willing to elevate this kind of material beyond the standard primetime soap level to something significantly more mature. Case #1 is the Diane and McVeigh. Sure, Diane demolishing McVeigh in a deposition isn’t surprising, she did say she would do it after all, but that their reunion isn’t played with minimal words or apologies: they’re both adults, doing a job, and seem able to separate that. It’s refreshing since normally such a situation would normally play with Diane trying to win McVeigh’s confidence back, and instead it’s simple glances at a door.

Perhaps of the most interest to many people, but of limited interest to me, was Kalinda’s romantic dalliances. I’ve discussed my annoyance at Kalinda’s ability to do, well, everything using only her name, her confidence, and her boots. But much like Alicia’s facade, Kalinda’s confidence seems to be crumbling, or at the very least being tested. It’s a nice move for the character, though one that comes a little late for my liking. And while the show plays coy with the scene between Kalinda and Lana at the storage area, the follow-up scene with Will’s line “You sound like you’ve been running” leaves a lot to the imagination, but confirms the intent.

I’m not sure how to respond to the coyness of the scene. On the one hand, it prevents the depiction of two women kissing, but it also allows for the show not to be accused of sensationalizing for ratings in a finale. To my knowledge, it’s the first time the show’s done this, so it’s a pass for me, but hopefully they come down on the PDA next season, one way or the other; in this case is just felt a little unmotivated, or motivated by the desire to have Will say that admittedly funny line.

But then there’s Alicia. The triangle has been one that I get why it’s here, but never one that I felt was developed fully, and believably, until the end of this episode. Alicia’s response to Will’s desire to finally begin a relationship was something I would of Alicia, and indeed anyone who has half a brain. Will is a fine guy, but he’s also leading on a 3L while trying to get together with his college flame: he’s simply not mature enough to be with Alicia. “Poetry is easy; it’s the parent-teacher conferences that are hard,” she tells him and she’s dead-on correct.

It’s this kind of trenchant realism that the show simply excels at. Any other show would have had Alicia seriously consider Will’s offer before hanging up, but instead Will calls back 30 seconds later, presumably with The Plan, while Peter holds out his hand to bring Alicia on stage with him. There’s no doubt she’ll accept Peter’s hand, she is the good wife, but it’s a believable enough cliffhanger, that I’m can’t wait to see what happens next season.

FINAL THOUGHTS

• I know I didn’t discuss the case, but I don’t have much to say beyond “Squee! Amy Acker!”
• Honestly thought that the show would wait to unroll Cary as the working for the DA’s office until next season, but his warning to Alicia to “prepare for a season of losing” was so cutting and deftly delivered that I can’t want to see what the writers and Czuchry have up their sleeves for the character.
• I’ll be watching the first half of the season as soon as DVDs are available so I’ll do either a compact catch-up or review stand-out episodes.