Tuesday, June 1, 2010

The Good Wife - Running, S01E23 - Season Finale

The Good Wife is perhaps the best new show of the year...I'll give my final word on that in my evaluations of this past year's television series (at least the ones I've been watching). It's finale continued to promise it made at the beginning of the season, to deliver a good procedural with just the right amount of personal drama.

The case wasn't just another case. It never is. This cases are complex, and always involve a certain amount of moral questioning. But this case also brought out more complications on the personal side; exactly what I wanted before being made to wait 4 months for the next episode.

Kalinda (Archie Panjabi) found herself more involved in the case than she wanted to be when one of the cops accused of corruption was her lover. Things got even more difficult for her when the FBI agent (the female FBI agent, I should stress) who had shown interest her earlier in the season confronted her with the affair. Kalinda's questions was whether she was concerned about a possible information leak or whether she was jealous. The moments that followed confirmed that Kalinda is, at least, not only into men. Whether she is in fact bisexual, or whether she has a definite preference, or whether her love affairs are merely tools remain uncertain, and her sexual interest a mystery. But, as she so casually put it, what does it matter?

Cary (Matt Czuchry), meanwhile, put the screws to Alicia (Julianna Margulies) and his former employers by siding with Glenn Childs (Titus Welliver). He is so clearly angry about not being chosen; it's actually sad how little prepared he was for that possibility and how much he blames Alicia for his loss. And his inside knowledge allowed him to make Diane (Christine Baranski) choose between solid cross examination (outside the courtroom) or violation of the trust her lover, Kurt McVeigh (Gary Cole). Naturally, Diane's cross examination was to the point and perfect, and McVeigh had the sense to not take it personally.

Finally, Alicia. With Peter (Chris Noth) poised to run again, Alicia is a critical part of his campaign strategy. She practically promised Eli Gold (Alan Cumming) her cooperation when he switched to her law firm (the move that secured the job for her rather than Cary). And yet, Will (Josh Charles) has slowly been waking to the realization that he regrets nothing ever happened between them.

The last few moments of the episode were perfect. Moments before Alicia is to join Peter on stage, Will finally confesses his feelings. I loved, LOVED her response. She wants a plan. And although Will told her that not everything needs a plan, she insisted that everything important does. I could not agree with her more.
She has kids, she has a husband, she has the press breathing down her neck. Plans get us what we want, not wishful thinking.
And so, she hangs up, prepared to join Peter, only her phone starts ringing again. It's Will.
Does he have a plan?
Will she join Peter on the stage?

The perfect end to a fantastic first season of a series I love. Were you equally pleased?

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