For all his speechifying, Peter hasn’t changed.
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Previously, the dilemma that drove the narrative was simple: The affair with Will (Josh Charles) and “arrangement” with husband Peter (Chris Noth) each offered a different cocktail of ardor and ambition, but between office romance or power-couple marriage, which choice was “good” – or, at least, less corrupt?
The Good Wife had always been interested in how its heroine negotiated her competing needs and desires, and this intensified the pressure of living in the public eye – to say nothing of the judgment of NSA wiretappers and plainclothes Federal Bureau of Investigation agents.
Rather than serving as “Saint Alicia”, the foil to her husband, or the object of fascination and utter admiration from hilariously sleazy serial killer Colin Sweeney, Alicia does the work of dividing the indivisible, her darkness from her light, so that she can figure out the flawless combination and burn off what’s left. The show had its share of clashes, betrayal and intrigue but no blood sport.Said Robert, On our show, no ones really shooting at each other.
This also isn’t Dawson’s Creek.
I don’t mind that Alicia has become more, well, unsympathetic over the course of the run. Thank you for sending me on my way. Choose, yourself, Alicia. Choose yourself! In quick succession, Alicia left the safety of Lockhart & Gardner to strike out on her own, then became a political player herself by running for state’s attorney. The most talked-about twist in the series, the shocking death of a regular midway through season 5, is revisited and explained on both the emotional and, in a real sense, literary frequency. And when it imploded, reverberations continued long after the galvanizing incident (it’s no shocker to Alicia that Peter’s current trial included testimony by a woman who may or may not be a jilted lover; that Alicia would be driven to rage by allegations of adultery now is nearly comical). “For instance, in our fourth-ever episode we needed an antagonist, but instead of a mean and angry male lawyer, we thought, ‘What if it’s a pregnant woman, and what if she uses her pregnancy to break up depositions whenever she wants to: “I feel a pain!'” Judge Cuesta (David Paymer), the show’s very first judge, is now presiding over Peter’s case.
The show’s slate of guest stars with comic roots is vast, including Michael J. Fox, Nathan Lane, Matthew Morrison and Carrie Preston, who was unforgettably hilarious in her handful of appearances over six seasons as madcap hotshot lawyer Elsbeth Tascioni. I was like, “Dear God no!” While all this is going on, the law firm is quite literally collapsing into itself, which at this point, is definitely a metaphor for the show itself.
“If you want to have adult relationships”, Michelle said, “you have to figure out how to show what’s going on, without getting yanked off the air”.
The episode ends with Peter agreeing to take the two year deal, and Alicia promising to visit him.
Alicia’s (Julianna Marguiles) suits, Diane’s (Christine Baranski) jewelry; Eli’s (Alan Cummings) stuttering exasperation, Peter’s (Chris Noth) reliable baritone. Sometimes they start acting out as a way to ease the transition. But to say they are merely opportunistic overlooks the love and respect they had – and often still have – for each other.
The Good Wife changed everything, for Margulies, for the Kings, and for CBS. Many viewers would be happy to see the two actors show their chemistry one last time onscreen before the show ends for good.
“I’m not on trial buddy”.
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“I do think people will think of the show in terms of its multidimensional female characters”. I so wish they had broken out into song. Peter Florrick (Chris Noth), now the governor of IL, was again on trial, this time charged with a crime he allegedly committed during his second stint as Cook County State’s Attorney – sabotaging a murder trial of a young man whose father was one of Peter’s campaign donors. I first stumbled across her when I, too, was floundering. She is able to lead her life much more truthfully by not caring.
