Monsters of Television

“You seem different.”

Well hello there, The Good Wife. I’ve missed you. I’ve missed you all the more because this fall season, so far, in case you haven’t heard, has been kind of the pits. Sure, I kind of like Revenge (it has potential) and while I’m not really keen on what many of the new comedies have been doing with their second episodes, I’m still willing to roll with them a bit longer. But nothing has really grabbed me this season so far.

But you, you my dear, you grab me.

I’m so glad you’re back. Please don’t even leave me again. Or become awful. Mainly the latter. I don’t think I could bear it.

So, yeah, I was very happy with the third season premiere of The Good Wife, in case that pre-jump stuff didn’t make it clear. It does everything the show was already doing very well and then adds a small dose of seasoning to bring a nice fresh level of flavor that will, hopefully, set the tone for the this season.

The big question, of course, as the show starts, was what the hell happened in that hotel room between Alicia and Will? The show delights in not telling us until around the second act break. I mean, clearly, we should know. Alicia departs the elevator that song from Eyes Wide Shut playing, and then 15 minutes later Will exits the elevator with the same song. Clearly they had sex.

But you can’t be too sure. We’re not sure how long ago the premiere was (Alicia has a new hairdo and a new office and Eli’s all moved in to Lockhart-Gardner) and when they do meet up, Will’s kind of a jerk to Alicia, so much so that even Diane is all, “You’re being a bit hard on her, don’t you think?” (in that Diane sort of way, man, I’ve missed Christine Baranski’s delivery of lines). And then, of course, we cut to a tight shot of Alicia standing against a wall, with Will in front of her.

“Diane thinks I’m going too hard on you. Am I? Going too hard?”

And then Alicia has an orgasm as she bite down gently on Will’s finger.

DAYUM.

That was hotter than the oral sex scene with NPR in the background last season, guys. That was hotter than probably anything HBO’s been able to dream up in their boob-addled brains for the past decade where they think showing sex is “sexy.”

But on the other hand, it answers the question people had been probably thinking about for a little while without having to show us them in the hotel room, which I like. I also like that the show withheld that gratification for a bit, teased us into thinking that maybe the hotel rendezvous didn’t go so well, that they had still missed their moment as it were, and that things had exploded in their faces, and that’s why Will was being a jerk and Alicia was looking at Will’s office all the time.

We’re even given a scene in which they finally do get to meet up in Alicia’s new office and then cut to Eli’s scheming and his observation of what appears to be a fight between the two, and Will slamming the door. Does the delay and assumption of their falling out make that scene all the hotter? Probably. But it’s a delicate and delicious balance the episode strikes to lead up to, not overselling their supposed distance or Will’s being a jerk. It’s one of the reasons why the show is so good: its confidence is just astounding.

And then the show just knocks it down, and reminds us that while, yes, the steaminess, the “Oh. So. Good.” that the promos advertised is all here, but the emotional heft that the show has truly excels us lands a strong blow in the final scene as Alicia, primping in front of the mirror right before Will arrives at her apartment, she falters. There’s doubt, there’s uncertainty. And suddenly we realize that maybe, just maybe, Alicia has put on a new mask for Will (it’s not at all telling that she’s applying lipstick during this moment, not at all), or that maybe (and more likely) that Alicia isn’t sure who she is any more.

For the past two seasons, her world was rocked and she was unable to get a solid footing on things. But she was still expected to be things for those around her: an attorney, a mentoree, a mother, a daughter-in-law, and, of course, a wife. But now she can be whatever she wants, and she may not have a damn clue what that is.

I cannot wait to watch her figure it out this season.

FINAL THOUGHTS

• Will & Kalinda: Along those same lines of Alicia assuming a new mask, how much of what Will is doing, based on his conversation with Alicia, is an act? They’re both without emotions, they’re both “not like normal people.” I suspect that all of them (Alicia, Will, and Kalinda) will spend the season figuring out what “normal people” are. In the meantime, I hope the Kings are hard at work on Kalinda & Pooch.
• Kalina & Sophia: Terrific pair. Maybe Sophia can be in the spin off? (Shame that Sophia is a regular on another show. Sad.)
• Eli: That was hella weird at first, right? I mean, he just sits down in the conference room, and it felt odd. It passed fairly quickly because, well, he spent the rest of his time playing off two wealthy clients against each other just to land them both because he’s the cleverest man in Chicago.
• Cary: Not sure what’s going on with that hair, but whatever. I like that he’s still with the SA’s office, and I like that he’s developing a mentor/mentoree relationship with Peter. He still represents an antagonist for folks while being completely likable and moral.
• Grace: I swear to Grace’s black Jesus, this girl is the most impressionable and wishy-washy kid ever. I mean, she’s kind of turned off her by her weird tutor, but then is all about her when she does an impromptu dance party on a subway train. (Which, by the way, the woman who played the tutor apparently actually does. So there’s that.)
• Court Case: Typical twisty-turny case-of-the-week, though it worked better than some of the other ones had. It was timely given the increased profile of Palestinian statehood calls but then became immediately untimely once the show had a smug jackass explain MMOs to everyone. Oy vey.
• Peter: I appreciate that his idea of ethical behavior in the SA’s office is no plea bargains, thus drawing out trials for taxpayers. I’m sure juries will love it, too. But I also love that Peter appears to be the only judicial match for Alicia as he totally onto her fucking brilliant Rosh Hashanah gambit (my jaw hit the floor at that).
• Judge Karpman: A terrific addition to the rotation, in my opinion. A well-to-do judge who thinks he understands the streets (appreciated the shot of the African American bailiff looking bemused) and finds the range of one of the MMO’s guns “cool.” I love it. Chicago has to be the most dysfunctional judicial system ever.
• Diane: Totally attuned to the tension between Alicia and Kalinda, totally misreads Alicia and Will. Love it.
• “So are you hiring me because I’m good, or because I’m Jewish?”
• “Follow the law. Can’t go wrong if you follow the law.”
• “Who is the Islamic Paul Revere?”
• “Arab Spring. Sort of like Irish Spring. Except with Arabs.”