'The Good Wife': Alicia takes the stand

Between the bribery, bail and hidden cameras, there was a whole lot going on in this week’s episode of “The Good Wife,” so let’s start with the big guns.  With Peter up for bail, Alicia finally had to take the stand to defend her husband — sort of.  Since it was a bail hearing, all Alicia had to do was verify that he had a stable home to return to.  But of course, given the estranged marital relationship, a “stable home” has some interesting connotations.

The prosecution, in a line of questioning that seemed highly ludicrous, asked Alicia if they would be sleeping in the same bed.  Alicia won’t take it lying down — so to speak — and turns the questions back on the prosecutor.  “Any further questions?” she asks.  Again, not the most realistic depiction ever, but it was definitely an Emmy clip moment for Juliana Margulies.

The writers are clearly trying to keep the possibility alive that Peter will move back in with Alicia, but they’re also making him slimier with every passing episode. First, there was the matter of Peter quite possibly bribing a judge. I actually had to rewind the scene a few times to get it (I am a little slow sometimes) but it looks like Peter might have made a deal with the assistant state’s attorney, David Phelan (Jonathan Walker).  Phelan suggests that the judge on the hearing might be “open to influence” — code for “totally crooked” — then Peter asked him if he was wired.  It’s unclear if they made an arrangement, but all signs point to yes: There’s the mystery tape that ends up on Alicia’s doorstep, and shows grainy footage of some kind of surreptitious meeting, and there’s the fact that the prosecution proffers evidence that Peter was, ahem, trying to “seek influence” with the court.  It certainly doesn’t look good for Peter, but do you think he was actually trying to bribe anyone? Oh, and speaking of slimy, how gross was Peter’s “you smell great” line to Alicia? Call me cynical, but it was pretty creepy.  Under different circumstances, it might have been sweet, but all I could think was “Ew, someone’s been in prison too long.”

Peter has also hired a “reputation manager ” named Kya ( Francie Swift) a blond woman with a Blackberry apparently fused to her right hand.  She is a smarmy, disingenuous operator, and Alicia’s instant dislike for her is both understandable and hilarious. Peter’s lawyer even reveals the fantastic detail that she worked for the Madoff sons, as if that makes her more likable.  In this episode’s most nauseating moment, Kya shows Alicia a picture of Peter supposedly at his best. Kya says, “You know what he was talking about here?  You.” I mean, does it get any more patronizing than that?  I actually groaned out loud during this scene, and something tells me I wasn’t the only one. 

Curiously, Kya also tells Alicia, “Say hi to Will for me.” She says it in an almost flirtatious way, which I did not interpret as a good thing. There are all these hints that Will might not be the sweet, stand-up guy Alicia believes him to be, but I don’t know what it all adds up to.  Are the writers trying to kill off the idea of a romance before it even happens? There was also a strange little moment between Alicia and Will.  Assuming that Peter is going to be granted bail and come home, Will says, “If you ever need anything, call me.” Alicia buries her head in her hands and looks distraught.   What the heck is going on? Was Will trying to say their flirtation was over (has it even started, though)? 

And let’s not forget that case that Alicia was actually trying.  She was defending a young female scientist accused of setting fire to her lab.  The scientist is British and does that British stammering thing a lot, so everyone at Stern, Lockhart & Gardner is worried about whether the jury will believe her.  Alicia and Cary train the witnesses, and in the process, discover that their star witness — a self-aggrandizing male scientist named Walt — is the actual arsonist.  It’s kind of a goofy plot, and culminates with a "Matlock"-style switcheroo (sample dialogue: “But there was no intermission that night. You weren’t at the concert, you were at the lab.”)
 
The writers were really shaking things up this week, and I am curious to see how everything pans out.  I honestly can’t decide if I want Peter to come home.  At this point, it seems pretty unlikely, but it would be pretty fascinating to see how new, independent Alicia would tolerate living with such an unapologetic creep.  It also makes me wonder how she was married to this guy for 15 years.  Alicia seems like such a savvy judge of character, and her relationship with Peter seems so unlikely.  But stranger things have happened, I guess.  (see: Elizabeth Edwards)

What did you think?  Is Peter a total crook, or is he being framed?  Is Kya the worst person ever, as I suspect?  And what on Earth is going on with Will? And, most importantly, did anyone else notice Kalinda's amazing outfits this week?

-- Meredith Blake

Related:

Complete Show Tracker coverage of 'The Good Wife'

'The Good Wife': How Alicia almost got her groove back

Network TV winners and losers

Photo:  Alicia (Juliana Margulies) takes the stand on behalf of her creep of a hubby. 

Credit:  David M. Russell/CBS

Comments

[cecy escarcega]

I really don't care for Kalinda's wardrobe. I think her outfits are too tight and sexy for a law firm environment. She would not be taken seriously by partners if she worked in a law firm in Los Angeles. She's smart, so why does she have to show so much cleavage? Just because she's young?

[Melanie]

Can we talk about how fabulous Alicia's suit was when she was testifying? Gorgeous.

I don't think we were supposed to think that Peter bribed the judge. He felt that guy for a wire, told him he didn't trust him, then sent him out of the room. I think we were supposed to think Peter got screwed over and see it as more evidence that he's being set up by someone high up in the SA's office. Peter's definitely not a good guy but I don't think he did everything he's accused of.

I'd forgotten about the 'you smell good' line! That was slimy. I think it was the way Peter seemed to be working it hard in general this ep that made it seem slimy when normally it could have just been a passing moment.

I saw the Will comment as him being a little too familiar for their current boss/employee relationship (maybe slipping into old patterns?) and Alicia finally recognizing that. He has been favoring her A LOT. Not that I care, I'm shipping them hard. I loved the moment at the end when he sat down by her though I did wonder why he was even there. As for Kya, they seem to be showing a pattern for Will of past hookups with unscrupulous blonds.

Alicia had some great reactions this ep. Her disgust for Kya was great as was her complete frustration with Walt. "Eight words."

[Leigh]

I agree that I don't think Peter bribed the judge. He got screwed over. Is it wrong that I kind of think he deserved it? I know, prison is bad.
I'm seriously loving this show. The only one I don't like is Kalinda. I'm loving everyone else, Cary too much to talk about and shipping Will/Alicia. I'm gone.
About this ep I liked seeing Alicia a little more lost. She's been so inscrutable that seeing her confused and even a little unsure was nice. The two Will moments were my favorites- the one where she put her hands on her face because she never does things like that and the one at the end because she needed a friend right then. Yay Will!
I don't care about the case. It was boring. That's actually this show's biggest flaw. The legal cases are for the most part consistently boring. The characters are interesting, Alicia's life is interesting, so why can't they give them interesting legal dialogue? And interesting does NOT equal ripped from the headlines, shockers. Please no. I'll take boring first.

[Noel Meilleur]

I have been watching "The Good Wife" faithfully. The last episode where Alicia testifies was well done, but I got upset with the outcome.

It wasn't believable that the judge didn't grant bail because of heresay. The prosecution should have had to prove the heresay which never happend.

The straw that broke the camel's back is when you couldn't see who was taking the pictures on the son's Ipod. That really pissed me off. Instead of making me look forward to next week's episode, I'd rather stop watching the show. It's too bad because I think Julianna Marguelise is a very good actress and I watch it because of her. They should have given us view of who was at the door so we would want to come back next week and watch what happens.

A better ending would have been to show someone delivering another package and when they turn around we could see the person delivering the package. The son gives the package to his mom and when she sees who is in the camera she has to make a decision if she will give the information to Peter's lawyer and we see if he gets bail or not.