We open up (per usual) right where we left off, Alicia is pissed at Jackie when she found out that Jackie bought her and Peter's old home. Now I thought that Alicia was going to go in on Jackie with this but instead Alicia chose to go on the defense rather than the offense.
Alicia: "I'm stopping you."
Jackie: "I'm not really sure how you'll do that."
Alicia: "I'm a Lawyer. Watch me."
Case of the Week - Three girls were convicted of murder, but due to a recent string of errors at the States Crime Lab, they are getting a chance to retry the case. The DNA that was tying the girls to the murder was falsified and cannot be used in the case. The girls have to stay in prison until the retrial though because Cary won't allow for bail.
-Side note: Is it just me, or is Cary looking even better than usual? Purple accent is definitely his color.
Peter is getting screwed over because of the States Crime Lab because all of the errors were made when Childs was the ASA, but now that Childs is no longer in office, Peter is the one that has to take responsibility for it and it makes him look bad. Alicia calls him to add a bit more to his plate by telling him that Jackie is trying to but their old house and wants him to intervene. He calls Alicia out on her doing the same thing to him that Jackie is trying to do to her, but she fesses up and apologizes and he agrees to help. This is a kind of small but sweet moment from Peter, he knows that she was going to try and get the house and it would have kept the kids away from him a bit more, but he cares about her and knows that he has done wrong in the past so he agrees to help. It's nothing big, but its these small moments that give hope for a Peter and Alicia reconciliation, whether or not that can ever REALLY happen, this shows that there is still something there between them.
Mike Kresteva comes into Alicia's office and she is less than happy about this, she is not a fan of his and him just showing up out of the blue irks her. He tells her that it is because of her that they got to the bottom of what really happened with the Cops shooting an innocent man and that it was through this that they were able to find out that Peter covered it up. Because of the conflict of interest with Peter being attached to the case, Alicia has recuzed herself and he wants her to write a Minority Report about it. Mike drops a hint about what’s to come when he tells Diane that Alicia invited him to her office, and Alicia wants to say something to Diane but figures that it is nothing and just shakes it off. Mike leaves, and Diane tells Alicia that Cary has offered the three girls an Alford Plea*, but without outright saying it, tells Alicia that it will be in the best interest for the firm if the girls don't take it.
*"An Alford plea - "I'm guilty but I didn't do it" plea [5] and the Alford doctrine in United States law is a guilty plea in criminal court, where the defendant does not admit the act and asserts innocence. Under the Alford plea, the defendant admits that sufficient evidence exists with which the prosecution could likely convince a judge or jury to find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt." –Wikipedia
Eli is telling Vanessa that she can win State Senator if she doesn't sleep with other people and gets together with him for the public image. It will look better to people if her Ex Husband has forgiven her and is standing by her side rather than have her with a random guy. This is something that they both are pretty okay with, which naturally means that it is going to blow up in their faces.
The defense is talking to the girls and all of them are trying to manipulate the girls into not taking the Alford Plea. They are doing a pretty good job at it to, making it seem like taking the plea would be a good idea but at the same time making not taking it seem like a better deal. They are lawyers for a reason and are damn good at it. One of the girls finds out that if they don't take the plea all of the girls can sue the State and make a lot of money off of it, which is steering her in the direction of not taking it.
Alicia gets a text and goes rushing to her laptop. Kresteva is doing a press conference where he brings to light the cover up that Peter did with the shooting and lets it be known that he is running for state Governor. This is setting up what is going to be a very juicy and dramatic race for Governor.
Vanessa: "You're in bed with me, but you're thinking of him."
Eli: "You're joking, right? That was a joke?"
Alan Cumming can pull out so much comedy with just a single facial expression, and I love it. Eli and Vanessa slept together, which is going to complicate a lot of things but they are both enjoying themselves at the moment.
Kresteva is doing another interview where he lets the people know that he is running for Governor because his son is sick and he wants to do the most with his life. He compares himself to the Paul the Apostle. He then goes on to say that Alicia invited him to her office to ask that he change the report so that Peter wouldn't get in trouble over the cover up. Eli see's this and is pissed.
The three different firms are meeting up to see where each of their girls stand on the Alford Plea: one of the girls wants to take the plea because she is getting beat up in prison, one of the others doesn't want to take the plea and the last is still not sure what she wants to do. After the meeting Alicia asks Kalinda if she can hire her to look into a shady financial problem, and when Kalinda asks who it is she is supposed to look into Alicia is unsure if she wants to say who but knows that it is the only way for Kalinda to look into it, so she tells her that it is her mother-in-law Jackie.
Callie (one of the lawyers representing one of the girls) goes into Will's office and he is surprised and happy to see her. We find out that she was suspended before for a year due to cocaine use and jokes that some of her best work was done while she was high. She lets him know that she dropped by to try and help him through his suspension by inviting him to a support group for people like him.
Kalinda is on the case to find out a bit more about the slumber camp killings. She looks through some of the evidence and finds that Cary has already been there because he left her a note letting her know that he is one step ahead of her. He may have gotten there first, but that doesn't mean that he found what she did which is something being off with the victims ankle. It may not be the key to solving the crime, but it does give her something to go with.
Eli shows Alicia the video of Kresteva saying that Alicia wanted him to stop the report that shows that Peter covered up a crime. Eli wants Alicia to do nothing about this because if she does it will just cause more damage than good. You can see in Alicia's eyes (and by knowing her) that she can't just let him tarnish her name like this, no matter what Eli says she should do.
While in her office, Kalinda is studying the autopsy photos of the girl who was killed and figures that the markings on her ankle were from a bike cuff. She takes this information to Alicia where she says that there was nothing in the police report that says that the victim was riding a bike but none of it is adding up, there is more to all of this than meets the eye, like why was the girl riding a bike at a slumber camp and where was she riding it to? Though when is it ever black and white on The Good Wife? If it was it just wouldn't be nearly as fun to watch and try and figure out who really committed the crime.
Alicia and Diane are back at the prison asking their girl about where the victim could have been riding the bicycle, when the girl tells them that no one was allowed to have a bike, that only the Counselors could and one of them did have one. The girl asks a bit more about the plea and Diane lets her know that they are trying to collect enough evidence before any of the girls have to say yes or no to the plea so that they can just go free, that the girl just has to hang in there a bit longer.
Against Eli's wishes, Alicia goes to meet with Kresteva to confront him about the lie he has been spreading. As soon as she starts in about it, he lets her know that she is mistaken and that she did actually ask him to change the report. Alicia is stunned by the fact that he is holding onto the lie so steadfast.
Kalinda is at the camp where the victim was killed and is talking with the Counselor who had the bike. Her bike was stolen that night and then a couple days later it was found. The Counselor takes Kalinda to where she found the bike and Kalinda sets off to work. She meets a camp instructor who seems a little too friendly towards the kids; he gets a little too lust in the eyes over the girl who was killed.
Back at Lockhart and Gardner, Alicia tells Eli that she went to see Kresteva and he flips out and lets her know that he is good at his job and that she needs to start listening to him. She agrees with him and tells him that she wants Peter to run for Governor and that Eli has her full support to help make this happen. Eli is very elated by this fact and she lets him know that the kids are to remain out of the campaign. Alicia then goes to see Peter and lets him know that she wants him to run, that he needs to run, that he would make an excellent Governor.
Will takes up Callie’s offer and joins her at the support group, and we see that it isn't really a group so much as them and one other guy who is just sitting there crying about how crappy his life is. Callie invites Will back to her place but he plays coy by saying that if he leaves then that guy will be alone and they can't have that, so she leaves and gives him her address.
At the ASA office Peter has invited Jackie so that he can talk to her. He tells her not to buy the house, that she needs to keep out of Alicia's business and leave her alone . Jackie tells him that she is manipulating him and that he cannot see it. He makes it very clear to her that she is not to buy the house. He tells her that if she buys the house that he will be out of her life. He lets her know that it is this way or no way, she will not get the house. This was probably one of my favorite performances by Chris Noth, the fire in his eyes, the determination in his voice... it is clear that Peter wants to at the very least have a civil relationship with Alicia and with Jackie trying to take Alicia out of the picture that isn't going to happen. The fact that Peter would stand up to his own mother in this fashion speaks volumes to how much he still loves Alicia and values what they had, what they have now, and what could possibly be in the future. I wouldn't be surprised if Chris Noth got an Emmy nod for this episode.
As Eli and Vanessa are preparing strategy for her campaign, comes up and tell Eli that the Democratic committee doesn't want Vanessa in the race. In order to help Peter get the democratic nod, Eli has to drop Vanessa so that she won't win State Senate. The reconciliation from before now looks like Eli was just using her for sex, to get one more go at it and then dump her.
Kalinda is look up pictures of the creepy Pedo Camp Instructors and comes across a picture of him wearing a bracelet, but even more importantly a picture that is time stamped with the exact date and time the girl was murdered so it couldn't be him. The bracelet that he is wearing however is the same one that one of the three girls was wearing in a group shot of all the other girls at the camp. Kalinda immediately takes this information to Alicia who is sitting in court as Diane talks to the Judge. She tells her that the bracelet is a friendship bracelet, the kind that teenage girls give an identical one to their boyfriend, he was sleeping with the girls but he didn't kill the victim. Kalinda and Alicia suspect that Megan killed the victim because she was jealous that he was sleeping with her too. The unfortunate side to all of this is that Megan’s fate is tied to the other two girls, so if she gets convicted, they all get convicted. As Kalinda goes to tell Diane the news, Alicia receives a phone call from Jackie, as she answers she tells Jackie that she knows she got the money for the down payment for the house from Zac and Grace's trust fund and Jackie replies that she is in the hospital with a stroke and can't get a hold of Peter.
Peter goes to get onto an elevator and Kresteva is on it as well. Peter lets him know that if he is to enter into the Governor race then he wants it to be hands off with families, they can go after each other but not after each other’s families. Kresteva doesn't agree to this, he wants to keep Peter out of the race, and if that means going after his family then he will do it. Peter lets him know that if that is the case then he too will go after him with everything that he's got and everything that he can find. Kresteva isn't having it though and tells Peter that he may not regret him going into the race for Governor but Alicia sure will. The only thing I can think of that he could do to Alicia is leak the information about Will, unless he thinks that outing Peter and Alicia as a fake couple would hurt her that badly I really don't know what he could use against Alicia. She has dipped into the pools of gray, but I don't see what could be so chaotic that would make her regret Peter entering the race.
Alicia is at the hospital now; she is there to see Jackie. Jackie motions her to come closer to her as she is lying in a hospital bed; Alicia does so.
Jackie: "I forgive you."
I screamed at this. Jackie had been playing both Alicia and Peter from the beginning. We are all pawns in Jackie's game of Chess, and I could not be more okay with it. The level at which she is able to manipulate people is simply delicious, if she wasn't in this to hurt Alicia I think that I would be on her side. Alicia pulls up from Jackie and looks beyond stunned, everything is clicking and she can't believe what Jackie has done. Now, there was a spoiler that in the last two episodes Alicia and Jackie are going to have to team up for something and after this scene the one thing I can think of is the house. Alicia will need it in order to maintain a certain image with Peter and she will need Jackie's help in getting it. They can even use Jackie's stroke to say that they are moving back into the house with her so that they can take better care of her.
Eli now has to tell Vanessa that he can no longer help her with her campaign, he tells her that he cannot work for both Peter and her, that he doesn't have the energy. She accuses him of doing this just because they slept together. He says that he wants them to still be friends but she doesn't want that, she wants nothing to do with him. It's so bittersweet for Eli in this episode, at first he thinks that he has it all, he is helping his ex-wife with her campaign while he starts to reconnect with her and Alicia says that she will help him get Peter elected to Governor, but then in order to get Peter elected he was to drop Vanessa and lose that reconnection he was building up. The guy just can't catch a break.
Speaking of guys who can't catch a break... Cary is visited by Alicia who asks that if hypothetically they can prove that just one of the girls committed the murder, if he will let the other two go. Cary lets her know that it is no longer his decision to make, that he has to protect what little of a job he has left. He looks defeated here, like he is hanging on by a very loose thread. Alicia can see this as well and tells him that he looks unhappy; he covers up his anguish with sarcasm. Cary is definitely the character that I connect with the most, I went out for a promotion at my job, I didn't get it even though I was more qualified than the person who got it and who pulled some strings in order to get the job. So then I found another job where I got a manager position immediately where the pay was better, but as time went on I was really unhappy where I was at and eventually ended up back at my other job full time. It's not exactly what happened with Cary, but enough to where I can relate to how he is feeling.
Eli calls Peter and lets him know that he needs his decision on whether or not he is going to run for Governor. Peter, in the hospital next to his sick mother, lets him know that he is going to run for State Governor. This is a relief to Eli since he dropped Vanessa so that he could ensure that Peter won, if Peter had decided not to, it would have been kind of awkward to face Vanessa after letting her go and not having someone to represent.
On the other side of Lockhart and Gardner, Diane and Jackie are speaking with Callie about the case, that they need her girl Megan to take the Alford Plea because of the evidence against her being able to harm their client. Callie doesn't want to do this though, she wants the cut of the lawsuit that Megan would win from suing the State, and that Diane and Alicia wanted the same thing. Alicia counters by telling Callie that their client could testify against hers in the new trial. This makes Callie cave in and convinces Megan to take the plea.
Callie: "So I'm wrong to want money, but you're not wrong to Blackmail?"
Diane: "That's right."
We end the episode with Peter announcing to the press that he is announcing his candidacy for Governor of the State of Illinois. While he is doing this, Alicia is right by his side. I hope her feet are pointed in the right direction...
A 9/10 episode – This episode had everything that a classically great Good Wife episode does: manipulation, twists, deception, a good case of the week, and top notch acting all around. The only thing that could have made this episode even better would be more than 1 minute of Cary. It has opened up a couple different doors and gives a couple different scenarios that can play out, all of which can and will take the show in a direction that will keep it fresh and appealing. Will Alicia move in with Peter in their old house to help him win Governor? Will Alicia be able to keep that new raise she just got while Lockhart and Gardner are fighting bankruptcy? Will whatever Kresteva has on Alicia keep her from practicing law? There is so much that can happen and I cannot wait to see what is going to happen in the next two episodes.
Next week’s episode looks like its going to be just as amazing – Cary is back at Lockhart and Gardner with some hints at Cary/Kalinda, Peter for some reason is visiting Lockhart and Gardner as well (Will is showing him around), Will is sleeping with Callie who Diane is interviewing for a position at the firm. I don’t even need to know what the episode is about to know that this is going to be extremely juicy. Although, with Peter at the Lockhart and Gardner offices it makes me wonder if they will ever go the route of having Peter join up with them. This is very unlikely given his position as States Attorney, but if any show could pull off that kind of a twist it would definitely be The Good Wife.
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