(Spoilers: Season 2 ahead)
I should probably wait, I only have 4 episodes left to go in the second season. I could wait to express my thoughts then, but I can't wait.
The Good Wife is one of the most incredible TV shows in history. The first season was brilliant, and I never thought the second season could best it. After all, the more episodes I see, the more attuned to its nuances I become, the more famliar with its tricks I am and the harder it gets for the show to surprise me, or catch me. And yet the second season is twice, maybe three times as good as the first. The episodic punch takes a back seat to the amazing storyline. The depth of the protagonists takes center stage here and each individual is illuminated with considerable depth and nuance. And a truly impeccable ensamble cast of frequently recurring guest-stars puts together one of the richest worlds I've seen portrayed in drama. It's just wonderful.
The question of Alicia's morality or lackthereof continues to startle and progress. The last couple of episodes actually had them defending the good guys for a change.... almost. In the latest episode, our Lockhart/Gardner crew discover that the company they're in legal battle against has been embezzling its assets, but they can't bring it to the police because then those assets would be frozen and Lockhart/Gardner won't make any money.... so Will Gardner extorts money from the company by threatening to bring criminal charges. Weirdest thing is, nobody even said anything about it. Nobody was like "So hey um, we're extorting this company. This is way illegal."
Lockhart/Gardner has done countless things in the grey area of the law, small bending of proper conduct here and there. They've also wantonly represented murderers, and drug kingpins, and benefited from the criminal activities of other people. Not to mention they've horribly misled and screwed over people in ways that are completely legal, as lawyers sometimes do. But they've NEVER done anything so transparently criminal before, nothing so unobtusely against the law. And so I'm sitting here wondering..... is this eventually going to 'come to a head' and meet some sort of conclusion? Or, are our heroes simply going to be 'the badguys' for the whole show? Am I watching The Sopranos now? Is Alicia Florrick the new Walter White?
On the romantic side Alicia still doesn't seem much inclined to either of her potential suitors. That would be great if she was secretly a lesbian, though it's unlikely. As it turns out, Kalinda slept with Peter long ago, which is pretty messed up. She must have just done it for political reasons, which begs the question of how many other people has she slept with? This will probably be the final nail in the coffin for Peter, unfortunately, but even worse I hope it won't ruin Alicia and Kalinda's relationship. Again Kerry plays the good samaritan, going to bat for Kalinda when she'll probably never reciprocate his feelings. I adore that FBI agent that keeps trying to seduce Kalinda, hopefully they'll get together someday. I wonder if Kalinda is holding off on getting together with her because she's with the FBI, or because Kalinda is timid about her feelings.
Will's casual sex partner, who initially only served to make Alicia jealous, has turned into a full-fledged serious girlfriend with a decent amount of depth and romance -- one who I (and I think the rest of the audience too) am rooting for! Which is great. They could be setting us up to let Alicia finally try to make real amends with her husband Peter. Or.... they could be lining duck in a row so that when Alicia and Will finally get together, we won't even be able to enjoy it because they'll leave a Pompeii of emotional destruction in their wake.
I never thought I'd see Eli Gould have a love interest. It's a shame it didn't work out, although understandable. Under normal conditions all hope would be lost, but with the brilliant consistency of recurring characters in this show, I actually think they might get a third chance (she's had two episodes about her already!). He deserves a nice girlfriend, aside from Kalinda he's probably the coolest character.
I also liked how they cut out the big issues early. I was expecting the Lockhart & Gardner VS Bond, and the Kalinda VS Blake battles to make up the season's climax. But instead they concluded those storylines with about 8 episodes left, and brought in new controveries. Clever, keeping us on our toes. Wouldn't be surprised if the end of the State's Attorney election came around with a couple episodes left.
I guess that's enough for now. See you next time!
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