Article first published as THE GOOD WIFE Review Season 6 Episode 5 Shiny Objects on Seat42F.
CBS’s
THE GOOD WIFE has a very intriguing recurring character in Elsbeth
Tascioni (Carrie Preston), one they cannot resist bringing out on a
fairly regular basis, thankfully. This week’s episode gives us a peek at
the genius who is easily distracted by “Shiny Objects,” letting her
take the opening of the hour, and showing glimpses of the way her brain
works throughout. It is a fascinating.
Unfortunately,
Elsbeth is not the focus of most of the hour. Don’t get me wrong; I
really like “Shiny Objects” as an episode. It has some wonderful
moments, exciting legal battles, and the type of compelling drama that
THE GOOD WIFE is known for. The story is interesting and the characters
are well-developed. It’s just, with the Elsbeth-centric opening, I was
looking forward to more of the quirky lawyer, and am disappointed she is
only in a few scenes, in a relatively minor capacity. Even her love
interest, Josh (Kyle MacLachlan), showing up is barely a quick blip. She
should get more.
It’s hard to point
to one main plot for this week’s episode because there are several.
Obviously, there’s the case where Alicia (Julianna Margulies) and Dean
(Taye Diggs) face Elsbeth in court is important. Then, there’s Kalinda’s
(Archie Panjabi) reunion with Lana (Jill Flint), an FBI agent, which is
connected to the tale of the law firm’s computer data being held for
ransom and the search for the blackmailer. This also leads to Diane
(Christine Baranski) having to face David Lee (Zach Grenier). And Alicia
has to plan the important announcement of her candidacy. It’s a pretty
full hour.
If pressed to pick a
favorite subplot of “Shiny Objects,” other than the Elsbeth stuff, I’d
have to go with the Diane vs. David Lee showdown. David Lee has an email
that Diane needs. Diane still controls the lease for the office space
David Lee uses. In recent struggles, Diane has been losing, but now she
has a much bigger hand to play. She finally gets one over on him,
getting him to give up the email in exchange for her consideration of
transferring the lease, not a promise to do so, proving how much more
important the lease is than the email. That should wipe the smirk of his
smarmy face for an afternoon.
I have
to say, though, I’ll be disappointed if Florrick, Agos, & Lockhart
moves right back into the old Lockhart/Gardner building. Admittedly, the
new space has plenty of flaws, but it’s been nice to get some fresh
sets. I assume the former place would undergo some kind of makeover, if
for no other reason than to provide three main spaces for the three
named partners. But part of THE GOOD WIFE’s strength is that it keeps
moving forward, and returning to Lockhart/Gardner would an
uncharacteristic step back.
One thing
that is not a step back, though it some ways it may appear to be, is
the recreation of that famous Alicia / Peter (Chris Noth) press photo on
stage. Now, it’s Alicia running for office and Peter supporting her,
rather than The Good Wife standing by her cheating man. It’s not
repetitive because the power dynamic has shifted so much, even though
Peter still needs her more than she needs him, and Alicia has come quite
far. It highlights Alicia’s arc and growth more than anything.
Unfortunately,
this may also be the end of Alicia and Peter as a couple. They’ve never
been all that solid, throughout the course of THE GOOD WIFE, but after
Will’s death last year, things have been even more tense between them.
When Alicia refuses to give in to Peter’s demand that Finn (Matthew
Goode) not introduce her, it almost ends their arrangement, Peter being
furious and not used to having to give in to Alicia. It shows us just
how far apart the two have become, and makes any type of reconciliation,
which is a long-shot before this anyway, totally unrealistic. I hope
there are no shippers for the two of them left.
Speaking
of shippers, Kalinda / Cary fans will be let down when Kalinda falls
back into bed with Lana in “Shiny Objects.” Kalinda definitely cares
much more for Cary and sees Lana as a tool she needs to use, and yes,
sex is part of that. But I doubt Cary will understand if he confirms
what he already suspects about the girls. And any hope that Kalinda
could just pick up with Lana after losing Cary disappears when Kalinda
finally feels something for Lana, but for the wrong reasons, driving
Lana away.
Kalinda has, arguably, the
messiest love life of any character on THE GOOD WIFE. Cary is her
chance at stability, but (SPOILER ALERT!) since the actress is leaving
the series at the end of the year, there’s virtually no chance of them
ending up together. I feel like Kalinda only seems put together, and
knows what she wants least of anyone. I’m rooting for her to find
meaning by the time of her departure, as she deserves it.
“Shiny
Objects” is not a “big event” episode (we’ll probably get one of those
soon for November sweeps), but it is a fine hour of television,
something THE GOOD WIFE manages to pull off most weeks, one of the few
broadcast shows to do so. As long as they keep up this level of quality,
I’ll watch them forever.
THE GOOD WIFE airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET. (or so, depending on football run-overs) on CBS.
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