Monsters of Television

“God. I hate Chicago. Such a mean place.“

And I thought that the show was cynical before this episode. Sheesh.

“Great Firewall” (it took me until today to get that) is an example of The Good Wife firing on cylinders. Well, almost. The case of the week was a bit vague, even though it ultimately served a more interesting purpose (along with the case from “Net Worth”, as it turns out!), but I’ll get to that. All in all though, “Great Firewall” showcases just how well the show is able to pull together its narrative threads into a coherent whole (the Blake and Kalinda debacle being the glaring exception, and I can only assume that story is on ice at this point) and crafting a complicated and rich world.

So, yes, the legal aspect of the episode was kind of weak. First and foremost it didn’t Ken Leung from being as awesome as we all know he can be. Part of this is just the role itself: Shen’s a withdrawn and quiet man (and who wouldn’t be after what he went through?), and Leung does a nice job with this. I just wish he had gotten something a little meatier.

Ultimately, however, the narrative of the case is secondary to the emotional impact of the case. For much of the episode, it does look like the case of Diane’s pet liberal causes: defending the defenseless, but the defenseless man that is targeting a big Web company with deep pockets, which brings Will on board. It all turns out to be a long con to get the Web company to pull out of China so that Edelstein (the Zuckerberg copy) from “Net Worth” can make in-roads to China himself, with less competition (and remember that the Edelstein social site exists along side Facebook in The Good Wife).

I know that Karen has been wanting the show to push its moral boundaries more, not to let them win so much or so cleanly. I’m not sure this will satiate her desire in any way, but Will and Diane’s use of Shen as a pawn in a larger game is unclean. I appreciate it, but the ramifications of the legal game isn’t rooted in the legal system. It’s rooted in Alicia’s moral compass, and how she deals with Will.

Now, I’m not sure what blinders Alicia has had on in regards to the lengths that Will is willing to go (he tried to break up a young couple for Pete’s sake!), but I can only assume that she believed Will to be a nobler man than he was because of how far Peter had fallen in her eyes. But now Alicia finds herself attracted to a man, a man for whom she put on an “It’s Alicia time!” dress for, who tells her, point blank, “Who do you know doing something for the right reasons?” with him not believing that anyone does.

I’ll be curious about the fallout from this, as I am sure we all are. Yes, it leads to Viola offering Alicia a job, but that’s not really an option (the show is not moving to LA). Instead, Alicia spends much of the episode existing on the fringes of all the law narratives, even the partners meeting. As they are about to enter it, Will and Diane look at her as if they’ve forgotten she’s even in the room, toss her a “Good job out there, kiddo [finger guns].” and then go and stop a coup by staging another one.

What is Alicia supposed to do with this? One of the pleasures of the show is we’re given very limited insight into Alicia’s psyche and her thoughts on things. She observes but doesn’t show reaction. And while she may sometimes be too saintly, the woman has to crack eventually, the facade has to come tumbling down. How does a saint survive in a world of cynicism? Owen and Kalinda can only do so much to alleviate that pressure.

Speaking of the coup, that was a really nice payoff to the narrative that’s been steadily building for pretty much all season. I do appreciate any excuse to have David and Julius in an episode, and while I initially surprised by Julius’ apparently traitorous ways, the more I thought about it, the more it seemed like a clever insurance gambit and nothing that would actually happen (Both of the cast’s black characters are going to leave? Yeah, no.). Like David, I appreciated how farcical the last minute corralling of Stern’s aging Gang of Three (ultimately a Gang of One) played out, and I liked even more how quickly the actual vote played out. Instead of pointless suspense, the vote happens quickly and with the rapid resolution that we all knew was coming.

What was a little rapid, though still fun to watch, was Childs being forced out of the race, leaving Peter to duke it out with a bruised Wendy (I’m assuming that this is still a primary run…or is this a general election bout between, I’d assume, two Democrats?). While happy to see that Zach isn’t dead in the bathroom somewhere, the whole scheme with the other nanny was a little rushed for me. On the upside, more Eli and Becca bickering. Always a plus.

But both of these subplots, the election and the law firm power struggle, still highlight the show’s inherent cynicism, where tiny mistakes, or thinking someone’s an ally, are used against you so that someone else can get ahead, have more power, to supposedly “do good”, as Peter and Childs discuss. But can you do good in Chicago, or just less bad? This is something I’d like to see explore more (as I’m sure Karen would, too), how Chicago, as a city works people and grinds them up into shells of their former selves. The Chicago of The Good Wife is already a complicated one, but I want the show to push those boundaries more, and I think it’s at the point that it can realistically do that (especially provided that Peter wins his election(s?)).

Oh. Right. There’s one more thing.

Guys: Kalinda and Cary kissed. I KNOW. In my notes, right before Cary laid a polite smooch on Kalinda, I typed “That’s how you do sexy-ish chemistry show.” And then my note reads “!!!!!”. And I do mean “sexy-ish” in a positive way. The show has given Kalinda and Cary those lingering stares, and Cary does help her out quite a bit on cases even if he it’s not necessarily in his best career interest, like telling Kalinda about the grand jury. But why the scene works is that it doesn’t force the idea of attraction as it attempted to do with Kalinda and Blake. The surprise kiss does, in fact, after all the craziness, welcome Kalinda back to normal. Now let them make out some more, okay?

FINAL THOUGHTS

• “I think it’s hypocritical for these two men to stand up here and say they know the struggle of…”
• “Just look angry and intense. “I can do that.”
• “This is not a smoking section! This is a secret section!” Well it’s not so secret if you keep shouting, David.
• “This is going in my copy of ‘Eat Pray Love’!”
• “I am the smartest person I know.” I say that all the time, Eli.
• “You belong in the trophy case of sons of bitches.”
• “Things are dead. Things are…uncool.”
• “I move we get rid of Bond, and I give his office to my second secretary.”