Monsters of Television

“That, my friend, was a Chicago defense. Get used to it.”

It's like he can see through my soul with his awesomeness

I will freely admit that my unbridled love of this episode stems largely from the fact that it was an episode that allows Josh Charles to dig into a script and just tear up his scenes. It’s not that the other actors on the show aren’t good; it’s just that Charles is vastly superior to them. (I kid. The cast is a very solid ensemble.)

So if I remove my mancrush from the equation, is this still a good episode? Absolutely.  The episode has a bit of everything in it, from the troubles at Stern, Lockhart & Gardner (soon to be Lockhart, Gardner, & Neutral Third Party) to solid courtroom scenes to debates about ethical client representation to Alicia and Peter’s home life and navigating family management (and planning!).

The court case of defending a lawyer mixed up with a successful business man (read: drug kingpin), Bishop, provides the opportunity to see Will showcase why his name is on the door. While I’m sure other episodes have done this, it is the first one for me, so we’ll treat it like it’s the most important one. I like seeing that Will is more complicated than being money-hungry, though I never thought that was his only motivation. He had pride, clearly, since it’s pride that motivates his decision to take on Dorfman’s case (the lawyer), but he also puts a high degree on loyalty and integrity.

Case in point: his showdown with the federal judge over providing a ruling on objections shows not only his desire to win cases, but win them within the boundaries of the law (at least when it suits his purposes: he did have Alicia remove evidence from an almost crime scene). But the scene also shows his legal savvy, and ability to properly mix it up in court, throwing both the judge and the US Attorney off their games. He’s a shark (though, thankfully, not that Shark).

But he also values the firm that he leads and the people that work there. His desire to somehow keep the firm afloat, and maintain a civil, respectful, and friendly relationship with Diane (and she with him) indicates this. He’ll go so far as enter into business with Bishop, even if knows it’s not exactly a good idea (that’s how bad the current state of SG&L is). Instead, he and Diane agree to select a third party to come in and try and assist the firm.

Charles carries through all of this, the courtroom stuff and the lawfirm inner workings, with aplomb. That he’s able to believably shift between having the wind knocked out of him by the federal judge to shutting down that same judge in court shows not only Charles’ range, but allows Will to appear both vulnerable and smart, always a refreshing change of pace (infallible lawyers, while entertaining, can a little get tiresome).

On the home front, Alicia deals with accusations of infidelity from Peter, who discovers condoms in Alicia’s bedside table. Even for someone who hasn’t watched the show regularly, this struck me as incredibly odd. The scene, unlike the kitchen scene last week, felt like a forced point of conflict instead of a natural one. Alicia simply isn’t the type to cheat when faced with a cheating partner (two wrongs don’t make a sound state of mind). Yes, it allows tempers and emotions to flare (and for Margulies, showing emotions is a decidedly new acting beat), but it’s not very compelling since any audience member who has seen 5 episodes would know they’re not hers.

Instead, the condoms tie back to Eli Gold attempting to figure out who Upriser7 is, a Twitter account that has been posted both true and untrue things about Alicia. Eli is, of course, concerned that the tweets will get back into the mainstream press and do damage to the Florricks. Zach never provides a convincing defense of why it’s not him doing the tweets, but it turns out to the be Becca, Zach’s slightly older girlfriend.

Now there’s two surrounding bits about this plotline and the condom one. Bit number 1 is that Eli’s confrontation with Becca is priceless (thanks to Kiki for supplying a link!). Cumming is clearly relishing the role, and spits out the word tweet with all the disdain a man of his position would say it with. Becca clearly thinks she can handle Eli and watching her collapse is terrific fun.

Bit number 2, however, is more troublesome. The condoms turn out to be Zach’s. While I understand his idea of hiding the condoms in Alicia’s drawer (where Jackie won’t look for them and then throw them out), it also makes no sense that Alicia hasn’t looked in her drawer and found them herself. When he discovers the condoms gone, he makes the jackass decision to go ahead, the show implies, to go and have sex with Becca without a condom. The show is setting up Becca as a fame-seeking, money grubbing harlot, looking to write her ticket by being the 16-year old who brings down the Florricks (or at least get a monthly check for keeping silent about carrying Zach’s baby).

Should they go this way, it helps solves the Peter/Alicia divide in their two storylines, but sadly it draws Alicia into Peter’s narrative, and not he into her’s. It’s a troublesome shift, as the narrative should be Alicia’s, but is progressively slipping away from her. I hope she starts taking the reins back soon.

FINAL THOUGHTS

• Seeing Sharif Atkins on the show, with a bunch of FBI guys, led me to think that I was suddenly watching some unpromoted cross-over event between this show and White Collar. Luckily Atkins was a lawyer and not an agent, so I didn’t stay confused for long.
• That phone conversation between Will and Peter was super-awkward. Like awkward turtle awkward.
• I don’t know what the show’s budget is, but I really hope the third, neutral party partner Will and Diane find is an equally compelling actor like Cumming.