The Good Wife “Cleaning House” 

Last night’s episode had some excellent misdirection. The big reveal at the end is a very nice touch but there are also little moments of misdirection. I’m talking about the scene between Alicia and Cary in her office (wow, if we didn’t know his claws were out before we certainly know it now). Or the scene between Will and Alicia when she’s just about to say something and he cuts her off. Or when Alicia asks if she shouldn’t go to the gala and Will tells her she should. Or when Alicia and Ms. Crozier display their wildly different styles in court and get very different results. Or the one-up-manship between Kalinda and Blake. There is no misdirection there though. They are both incredibly direct. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: It is so on between these two. And I’m loving every minute of it.

There was just so much good stuff in the episode. But instead of a recap I want to talk about how all these events affect Alicia and what the consequences for her – and her family and colleagues – will be.

The Bombshell. Anika Noni Rose’s Wendy Scott-Carr has just thrown her hat into the ring to become the next State’s Attorney. Eli doesn’t even know who she is but we’ve seen her in action during a deposition and she’s a powerful opponent. She’s going to do real damage to both Peter and Glenn’s campaigns. I can’t imagine this won’t unite these two foes in some way, even as they continue to look for ways to get the advantage over each other. I hope Ms. Scott-Carr gives them a run for their money because I would like to see how these two men react under pressure. I want to see what they’re really made of. And I’m sure this will affect Alicia’s homelife. I can envision Peter becoming so involved in his campaign that he’s never home. And that leaves the door open for some very interesting extracurriculars with a certain partner at her firm.

The rampaging ex-employee. Cary is out for blood in a major way and he’s been making it clear that he’ll do whatever he needs to do to bring Alicia and his old firm down. And I will admit to loving this new Cary. He’s much more interesting to me and I like seeing him come at Alicia repeatedly. I also like seeing someone get the best of him almost every week but I do imagine one day he’ll get something on someone that will be very damaging. I admit I’m really looking forward to that day. What I’d love to see is Cary discover something so scandalous, so salacious – but about Glenn Childs – that he goes running back to his old firm. With Derrick Bond there now I feel the firm is much closer to being on solid financial ground. With that, they’ll need to hire more associates. Or hire back old associates. And I’m glad Cary brought up the “thing” between Will and Alicia. At least someone’s acknowledging it.

The duplicitous co-counsel. Mamie Gummer’s Nancy Crozier is kinda awesome. She plays the role of a fresh-faced naïve associate with such aplomb. Even Alicia is unsure whether or not it’s an act until she challenges Ms. Crozier and we see her true colors. I’d like to see how Ms. Crozier deals with Alicia in court during their next encounter (and I hope to God there is one). Maybe now she’s learned not to underestimate Alicia. I do have a question for you though. Do you like the way Alicia went about getting the janitor on the stand? I know Kalinda made the suggestion but I was a little surprised Alicia went along with it. I know she didn’t technically do anything wrong but it’s a slippery slope and I don’t want Alicia to do anything to jeopardize her career. Or integrity.

The scorned ex-flame. Is scorned too strong a word? Maybe. Maybe not. Will thinks Alicia has rejected him. Alicia thinks Will rejected her. So there are a lot of things unsaid. The difference is we know exactly how Will feels about Alicia. But what are Alicia’s feelings for Will? There is clearly something there and it’s obvious Alicia wants to talk to Will about it. But I can’t blame Will for not wanting to hear it. What could she possibly want to say to him? He just knows it can’t be good. I still like where this is going but I think it’s cruel to have Will and his date and Alicia and Peter interact at the gala. Did I say cruel? I meant brilliant.

The fighting dicks. I mean private detectives, of course. The fight for supremacy between these two is fascinating but the stakes are starting to get a little high. Blake’s made it clear that he’ll escalate and Kalinda makes it clear she’s game. I like that Kalinda refuses to back down but I think she’s playing a very dangerous game by introducing sex into this equation. I want to see Kalinda come out victorious in this battle royale but I don’t want her to compromise who she is – even though we don’t even know who that is. Considering Kalinda’s close relationship with Alicia, I think Alicia will get pulled back into this feud at some point. And we all know whose side she’ll be on.

Another fantastic episode. I can barely wait until next week.