The Good Wife Review: Fishing for Dirt

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Who knew fishing expeditions could have such unwanted consequences?

On the latest installment of The Good Wife, "Another Ham Sandwich," Wendy Scott-Carr chose not to cut bait in the face of overwhelming evidence that her case against Will would not lead to an indictment, while Eli should never have cast his line in the direction of Stacie Hall in the first place.

It was a quality episode, filled with a couple significant developments that should play key roles going forward, but a couple ways in which storylines were wrapped up left me asking: WTF? What the Fish, of course...

Spying Eli

First, there was the quick and tidy way the grand jury arrived at its decision. Who is this Peter person? Really, random grand jury women?!? He was referred to as the State's Attorney every time he was mentioned in testimony; and based on last season's extended election coverage, the show made the race for that office seems like a very public event in Chicago.

Similarly, another participant believed the real crime was some kind of cover-up between Peter and the judge, seemingly because the former's name simply was brought up often. For such a major storyline - would Will get indicted? Would he go to jail? Would his dalliance with Alicia be exposed? - the resolution felt awfully anti-climactic and rushed, left in the hands of total strangers.

Secondly, the Kalinda/Dana interactions have felt forced from the beginning. Both women have been clearly using one another, so why Dana would be shocked that Kalinda doctored that file? To the point she'd slap her in public when prompted? It was an odd scene and an even odder reaction.

Wow, the known-to-be-flirty-when-it-furthers-her-own-cause private investigator pulled one over on you to protect her boss? The unexpected horror!

This tampering of the file by Kalinda was a predictable maneuver, but it was still enjoyable to watch Will confidently, calmly destroy Wendy's "evidence" on the stand.

Will Wendy really follow up with the bar association now?* I hope not. The judicial bribery charges have been played out from a storyline perspective. Has Will used his basketball games to curry favor? Is he completely innocent of all these allegations? I'd prefer for the case to now be dropped and for these answers to remain ambiguous.

Elsewhere, great, great scene between Peter and Alicia in the latter's kitchen. The Good Wife is judicious in how often it puts these two together, and for great reason. This way, when they do interact, there's always a sense of tension boiling just beneath the surface. They've been on good terms for awhile now... but not really. They're separated... but not in the eyes of the public. Peter knows about Will... but it's never been outwardly discussed, until his blowup of a line here.

Of course that's what this is about! The entire exchange was both subtle and direct at the same time. I loved it.

As for Eli and Stacie? They're fun together. Eli still feels separate from the rest of the show, however, like the writers just give him stories here and there because, come on, everyone loves Eli Gold. And it's true, we do. But I look forward to Peter one day running for governor, to Eli representing him and for his time each week to feel more related to other characters and events.

That said, point David Lee. Well played, sir. I do enjoy the adversarial relationship this pair has developed.

So as Alicia takes her kids on vacation, The Good Wife will once again also be on hiatus for a bit. That gives us time to debate: Were you happy with the way Will's case played out? Do you want to see more of Stacie Hall? Should Alicia just tell her kids about Will? And did you find this episode fishin awesome, or just okay?

* My question is answered in this promo for the next new episode, scheduled to air on February 19.

** The "Here I Go Again" cover that concluded the episode was sang by Audra Mae and you can purchase it via TV Fanatic HERE.

Another Ham Sandwich Review

Editor Rating: 4.3 / 5.0
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User Rating:

Rating: 4.5 / 5.0 (227 Votes)

Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.

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