This week’s The Good Wife opens with Alicia giving a press conference withdrawing from the State’s Attorney race. It’s a solid call back to the pilot, with Peter now standing by her to help her weather a political scandal (she isn’t at fault, and he’s better dressed, but the same idea holds). As he quickly drops her hand once they get backstage, it looks like he might not be a shoulder for her to cry on, but he doubles back in time for her to ask, “What do I do now?” (go back to the firm, where the story lines are infinitely more interesting).
This week’s courtroom drama involves a tiny elderly woman about to be sentenced to six to 30 years in prison for possession of ecstasy because of mandatory minimums. RD is looking for a test case to challenge mandatory minimums and decides to go with a middle aged guy addicted to pain killers, but Diane wants him to at least meet with the old woman.
Back at what’s now Lockhart, Agos and Lee, Alicia is looking very much like a kid who scorned her friends to sit at the popular table now looking to get her old seat back. After some tense awkwardness at the conference table, Cary invites her back to be a named partner. Hooray! She looks so happy and relieved, but when Diane welcomes her home, it felt like it should raise an alert. If one thing has been proved again and again, it’s that the firm is not a family; in fact is often barely a collection of friends, and while most of them try to stick up for each other when they’re in a pinch, in the end it’s every person for themselves.
Cary calls Geneva Pine to agree to turn on Bishop in exchange for leaving Kalinda and Diane alone (I thought he already did that, but maybe you have to agree to testify against a dangerous drug dealer twice for it to be official). She agrees to get back to him in a day, meaning Kalinda, who was already chilling in her office, has a day to get evidence against Bishop so Cary doesn’t have to testify.
At Alicia’s house it’s time for a girl’s movie night, but I guess when your mom’s a high powered attorney To Kill a Mockingbird takes precedent of Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. After Alicia admits it was not Atticus Finch who inspired her to be a lawyer, she wonders if her next chapter at the law firm might be more idealistic. Probably not, because a call from an old client reveals Diane called to tell him Alicia won’t be returning to the firm. Looks like they’re still so far away from starting that true crime bookclub fan fiction writers have been dreaming of.
After the call Peter comes over for some wine and a pep talk, urging her to leave the firm with her clients, using the money from the exit package they’re about to void. If Mad Men and The Good Wife have taught me anything about business, it’s to always start a new company when the old one gets mean.
Kalinda pays a visit to one of Bishop’s top men, Dexter, saying he’s going to leave the business (true) and is going to turn evidence over to Pine (false). He’s adamant he’d never turn on Bishop, but everyone on this show always proclaims loyalty.
At the firm, Alicia’s fake smile is genuinely terrifying, like some kind of business Barbie with a frozen face. Cary and Diane have similarly fake smiles. Alicia’s lawyer sees the creepy fake smiles and their decision to delay a request rather than flat out deny as proof they really don’t want her back, and gives her the same advice as Peter did-gather her clients and run.
Back in Diane’s office, she and Cary argue with David Lee over the details, but everyone seems to agree that Alicia is, indeed, coming back. Well, Diane seems a little deceit-ish, but Cary and David Lee at least are convinced they’ll be buying a welcome back cake really soon.
Diane and RD meet with the Ecstasy woman’s attorney, who, despite a general messiness, isn’t incompetent. He does point out, though, that if the woman was a drug addict instead of mixed up with the activities of her grandson, she could get rehab instead of jail.
David Lee makes a call to a client to tell him Alicia’s definitely on board, only to learn Alicia’s trying to get him for her own firm. A Cary-Diane-David Lee meeting comes to the conclusion Alicia’s trying to play them, but everyone decides to not talk to her about it because they obviously didn’t learn the danger of miscommunication from their high school English days reading Shakespeare.
At Bishop’s, Kalinda drops off Dylan and decides it’s a good plan to sneak into Bishop’s office and download some files onto her flash drive. She is calm and cool as ever, but the audience can see on the security cams behind her that Bishop is returning home! Quick Kalinda, make up some story about how you really, really needed to see this funny cat video and your phone died. Luckily Kalinda ends up in the kitchen by the time Bishop walks in. Unluckily, yanking out the flash drive in a hurry means an “improperly ejected disk” message pops up when Bishop goes to check his computer. Kalinda, you should know by now being sneaky is all in the details!
Back at the firm David Lee wants to play Alicia in the way she thinks they were already playing her, and while Kalinda and Cary are still firmly on team Alicia, Diane looks unsure.
Another day, another Dylan drop off, and Kalinda is called to talk by Bishop, who’s hanging out with the guy who helped him track the flash drive. After denying she’d ever been in his study, she watches as Bishop calls Dexter, to reveal the flash drive was called “DR’s Jams.” How could I have ever underestimated Kalinda, who knew the error message would pop up, leading him to the flash drive, which she lifted from Dexter’s car. Her plans have layers.
At the office David Lee makes some calls easily burying Alicia behind her scandal, but things really explode when Diane sees Alicia talking up RD (you can practically see her thinking, “I hunted and hung out with Republicans for that client, I earned it!”) Diane accuses Alicia of betrayal, Alicia accuses Diane, neither are wrong, neither are particularly right, and everything could be solved if they just sat down and had a conversation, but instead Diane tells her to leave.
Diane’s poor misunderstood elderly unintentional drug pusher gives an adorable, if not all convincing, impression of a drug addict for her pre-sentencing officer in the hopes of winning a bed at rehab instead of prison. Unfortunately, but predictably, the officer doesn’t buy it.
Dexter shows up at Cary’s door, and because Cary, while well meaning, will never be as smart or crafty as Kalinda, he unintentionally fills in all the blanks for Dexter about who gave Bishop up when he immediately insists Kalinda isn’t involved.
And because Kalinda must clean up all lawyer messages, a quick call to Alicia lets her explain how all the backstabbing and poaching is just a result of miscommunication that can all be solved with a calm, reasonable conversation.
Cary is sitting in the dark when Kalinda gets home, because the boy can not turn on a lamp when he gets moody. He tells her what Dexter knows and keeps asking to let him help her, which she politely declines instead of yelling, “Dude, I had this, you are the reason I am in trouble.” And then she gives him what is obviously a good bye kiss.
Next up on her farewell tour is Alicia’s place. Since Alicia isn’t home she gets misty over some photos, remembering the good old days. Diane calls and she gives her some important info for her drug case, then says the phrase “life’s too short” which is the biggest red flag ever unless your friend normally speaks in cliches. Diane questions her well being, but Kalinda insists she’s fine. She leaves a note with Grace (who, while very polite, isn’t nearly curious enough. “Hey, why are you leaving my mom a note when you work with her and text messaging is a thing?”).
Diane gets her client off with the info Kalinda gave her, and patches things up with Alicia, but RD reveals if Alicia comes back, he goes.
Carey goes to Kalinda’s apartment to find it very, very empty. And back at Alicia’s house she’s officially out of the firm. Peter tells her she could write a book, but Alicia’s more interested in taking a long, long nap. It’s finding and reading Kalinda’s note that finally does her in though, and learning she’s gone reduces her to sobs. Us, too, Alicia. Us, too.
