The Good Wife Round Table: YOU'RE FIRED!
Christine Orlando
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Grace got fired... Ruth hit the road ...and Alicia’s anger at Eli threatened to spill over onto Marisa on The Good Wife Season 7 Episode 12.
Below, TV Fanatics Carissa Pavlica, Elizabeth Harlow and Christine Orlando come together to debate the logic of firing Grace, if Lucca should have given Robi more of a chance and whether or not Alicia should forgive Eli after "Tracks."
Was firing Grace the right thing to do?
Carissa: While I kind of get where Alicia was coming from (especially since Marissa is back), I think the real shame of this development is that the story never allowed for a single discussion between Alicia and Grace about the things she was accomplishing on behalf of the firm. What she was doing was incredibly brave and skills she will use for years to come -- valuable skills that she learned because she was determined and innovative. We should have seen Alicia being grateful and impressed at least once.
Elizabeth: Yeah, Alicia's in the right with this one. I mean, Carissa's right, Alicia and Grace need to have another talk about Grace's performance. But part of that also needs to be about *how* she was doing things. Her...obfuscations...with the new clients are directly connected to why they are now looking at leaving. And then they should talk about how to channel her skills into age appropriate activities--things that will look awesome on her upcoming college applications.
Christine: I think firing Grace was wrong. I can see having her cut back but I think Grace was doing amazing things, basically unsupervised. I think working together should have been more of a mother/daughter bonding experience. Maybe Alicia wasn’t wrong in wanting Grace to not be over involved in the business but I didn’t like the way she cut her loose, with very little build up to that decision.
Do you think Lucca and Robi have long term potential?
Carissa: If she doesn't think so, then I don't think so. She knows what kind of types she messes around with and his is one of those.
Elizabeth: I don't see it. He was a fantasy, an escape. A fling. And she was upfront about that. But I look forward to Robi making some serious bank and shooting to stardom with an entire album about how she broke his heart.
Christine: I think Lucca should have given him more of a chance. No one on this show wants to risk their heart on anything. Perhaps that’s why they all seem so unhappy.
Should Alicia forgive Eli?
Carissa: Eventually. But she's not ready yet. Although I could see something formulating in her head. Might she give him a way back into her life by somehow supporting her firm so they can afford an infrastructure?
Elizabeth: I agree with Carissa, eventually she should (and I believe will). She can't really afford to lose people from her limited circle. It'll take some time to rebuild trust though.
Christine: She should but she’s obviously not ready yet. I think Eli needs to give her a little more space to let her work through things before they have another conversation about it.
Should Alicia and Lucca join Lockart, Agos, & Lee?
Carissa: As much as I would love to have them all back in one place again because the stories were just more fun in that mode, they have done that too many times already. It's old. I really want to see Alicia succeed. She needs to ask for help to get the firm to the right place.
Elizabeth: From a business perspective, yes. Maybe there's some way for LA&L to adopt Alicia's practice as a subsidiary "boutique" firm. That could solve a lot of problems.
Christine: That’s not a bad idea, Elizabeth. I don’t want to see Alicia go back because it feels too much like going backwards but she needs a real office space to look professional enough to gain the bigger paying clients. Perhaps there’s a way to form a partnership that still allows for some independence.
Are you sorry to see Ruth Eastman go?
Carissa: No. I'm so done with politics. Please, no more.
Elizabeth: Well, I'm going to miss her. For one the, Margo Martindale is always amazing. But then I'm a political junkie, so those stories only bothered me when they pushed the bounds of believability.
Christine: Yes and no. I’m a huge fan of Margo Martindale but that storyline never developed as much as I had hoped it would.
What was your favorite quote or scene from this episode?
Carissa: When they played Robi's song in court. The one that was turned away? It was good! I wanted to hear the entire thing, and then I wanted to walk over to the fat bastard without any musical taste and slap him across the face while he was still in the witness box for liking a "ditty" more than an actual song. What an ass.
Elizabeth: The case was actually really interesting, though I was surprised that Lucca and Alicia didn't bring up that it was a transformative work and that the parts that were similar could fall under the fair use clause. Also that their examples of similar songs didn't talk about "Ice Ice Baby" and "Under Pressure." But mostly I loved Marissa being back. I'm hoping she's around to stay this time. Alicia needs her friendship and her perspective on things.
Christine: Marissa! I loved that Eli confided in her about his troubles with Alicia and how quickly she picked up on the truth. I also love her relationship with Alicia so I’m really hoping that we see more of Marissa in the future.
Tune in on Sunday and then check back here for our review of The Good Wife Season 7 Episode 13 and if you can’t wait until then, you can watch The Good Wife online here at TV Fanatic.
C. Orlando was a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow her on Twitter.
