S06.E05: Shiny Objects

[Tara Ariano]

Alicia and Dean face familiar foes in Elsbeth Tascioni and Rayna Hecht when they represent a fired female CEO in a sex discrimination suit. Meanwhile, the Florrick/Agos/Lockhart firm are in panic mode when a hacker seizes control of their files and threatens to delete them if a ransom demand isn't met.

[funkymunky]

Just one thing from me: Was anyone else distracted by Jill Hennessy's tan/burn?

[Ms Blue Jay]

Bleached blonde hair and brown leather tan face.  Gee.  No, not distracting at all!  Way worse than penguins and Kyle MacLachlan.

[stonehaven]

What the hell was that? Why do I care what is going on in the brain of Carrie Preston? I want to know what Cary (Agos) thinks his firm being blackmailed..He seemed to let Diane and Kalinda handle it...

..and Alicia???  Am I supposed to root for her because I swear that woman is 40 kinds of dumb....Why not have your husband and no one else introduce you?..Sure, Palmer did but all anyone recalls is that Peter had the last word...

Alicia may still be angry at Peter but running for public office is an idiotic way to get back at him...and weirdly I am rooting for Peter in this...and that is something i never thouht I would do...

 

As of right now I only care about Diane and Cary(Agos)..Alicia can shuffle off to the Antartic with her distracting penguin friends..

 

Seriously, did the Kings take LSD and think this was a good script???

 

Give Christine Baranski something to do aside from scream at a cockroach...

An hour of my life I won't get back....gah....

 

..and YES...Jill Hennesy looked freakish to me..She used to be hot..what the hell happened?

[terracool]

This was a good episode overall - tons to like. But I was disappointed and dismayed by how they made Tascioni look loopy to the point of being over the edge.

In prior seasons, she was presented as someone brilliant to the core but with some idiosyncratic aha's or ways of presentation. Here she seemed more like a spaced out and borderline hallucinating freak who might manage to be lucid long enough to stumble upon a valid point.

I've suspended belief this year on Cary's prosecution and Alicia's unlikely run for SA, but being asked to believe that Elspeth Tascioni could be utterly derailed in court by a picture of penguins was too much.

Nice episode. Loved Diane in her brief but cutting negotiation with David Lee and even Peter's appearance at the end, along with Eli's endearing sputtering over Finn's endorsement. But watching Tascioni jump the shark was almost painful.

[Rhondinella]

Marissa is back starting next week!    Awwww . . . Santa got my letter!

 

Odds that the hallway scene with her screaming at Peter will be Margulies' Emmy reel this year?  (Yeah, I know it's early yet).

[funkymunky]

Here she seemed more like a spaced out and borderline hallucinating freak who might manage to be lucid long enough to stumble upon a valid point

 

I was wondering if she was having a brain aneurysm or something.

[Driad]

What was Tascioni's problem? Have they shown her hallucinating before? I was wondering if she had been poisoned.

Advantage of a couple in bed being the same sex -- we don't have to look at the stupid TV "L-shaped sheet" that covers a woman up to the armpits but a man only up to the waist.

Always enjoying Diane, but when she had to contact someone at her old firm, why not someone who didn't hate her? Some authors like to think of the worst thing they could do to a character, and that is what Diane's subplot felt like.

[mrsdalgliesh]

Ok. I love this show and I am not bailing.  That said, I think they're in the weeds a bit this season.  

 

Thanks for Elsbeth*, Josh, David Lee, and the 2 second reaction shot between Eli and Elfman after the first Alicia/Peter confrontation.  I rewound that at least 3 times.  But speaking of Shiny Objects, those treats did not distract me from (a) the lack of any mention of Bishop's $$ which, considering that he's unambiguously evil, should merit at least a pause; and (b) the fact that not a single person in Alicia's office commented on her decision to run.  "Good luck at the announcement" would be the least they could do; I mean, some of them have got to have questions about this and yet it's never been discussed!

 

*terracool makes a good point about Elsbeth.  I didn't mind a peek into her brain and some of it seemed right to me, but we've never seen her nearly throw a trial.  She couldn't pull it together and I didn't like that.

 

I liked the callback to the concrete hallway outside the announcement room and the show did a great job with the montage at the end.

 

Marissa as Alicia's ass't.  YES!!

 

ETA:  Although I'm sure the ransomware story was full o' technical flaws, I thought it made complete sense that Diane would be the one to infect the office and have her email sent to her old address.  She's used to being high enough up in the food chain that someone else is responsible for *how* it works -- she just uses it.  On the other hand, Diane "infecting" the office, and "holding it for ransom"  was a TWO-ANVIL-worthy metaphor.  Ouch.

Edited October 20, 2014 by mrsdalgliesh

[izabella]

I hope Cary wasn't expecting fidelity from Kalinda. 

 

Alicia is still harboring some deep anger against Peter.  Where was all that when they were planning to renew their vows?  I guess it came out after Will died? 

 

Both Diane and Elizabeth deserved better parts in this episode. 

[KLovestoShop]

Does anyone else think the lesbian scenes are gratuitous? Kalinda goes for women when she needs a favor, but is with men the rest of the time?

[dahling]

Kalinda's glittery hoo-hoo.  Again.  Some more.

 

Seriously, how many times have they gone to that well? I think someone on this show needs to get overit and just ask her out. I'm over it and I was over it the second time it happened.

[tom87]

Ok I get that Elsbeth is a bit eccentric but really ice cream cones and clowns on her bedroom wall paper???

 

Even if she is ADHD or some other condition doesn't mean she is 7.

[Auntie Anxiety]

I'm still watching but it is becoming difficult to stay focused.  I keep seeing clowns and ice cream cones and pumpkins while I'm watching because it is so stupid and over the top.  Elsbeth goes from legal savant to idiot because she sees a magazine cover and the AUSA.  Kalinda's magical vagina which gets everything it wishes for but can't seem to come to terms with its sexual orientation.  Eli has morphed from a reasonably believable character into a caricature of a Nervous Nellie.  Cary Agos has become a footnote at his own firm.  And what happened to Robyn?  Remember her?  Did I miss the episode where she left? Possibly I slept through it.

[CleoCaesar]

I loathe Elspeth Tascioni and her grating, totally unfunny Tourette’s or whatever it is, so as always every scene with her in it was like pulling teeth.

 

I’m semi-impressed that they got an actual Russian actor to play the big bad Russian villain. That is rare for Hollywood.

 

Lana is my favorite of Kalinda’s harem, so it was nice to see her back (for purely superficial reasons). Poor Cary, though. As always.

 

They really, really should have made Finn British. Matthew Goode’s rich, deep voice and posh English accent would have made him even more attractive. The flat, unsteady American accent doesn’t work for him. Neither does that haircut.

 

Enjoyed Alicia standing up to Peter “Let It Go” Florrick. I watched a season 1 rerun on CBS last night and that Alicia and this one are light years apart. It’s really a testament to JM’s layered, powerful performance throughout the seasons.

 

It was actually a pretty good episode, except for everything Tascioni-related.

Edited October 20, 2014 by CleoCaesar

[Irlandesa]

While I do think Alicia had a point with Peter and how it would look strange if he backed out, I think it was very poor politicking to have both endorsements on the same night.  Have the governor do the first endorsement since he's a bigger fish.  That's the one that will get the most attention.  Have Finn endorse/introduce her at another event and then that will be covered.  Spread the media impact out. 

 

Since when are the F/A offices crap?  Is this a new development? I also thought they went a bit too far with Elsbeth's eccentricity in this ep. 

 

Does anyone else think the lesbian scenes are gratuitous? Kalinda goes for women when she needs a favor, but is with men the rest of the time?

I just don't understand Kalinda's love life.  I think she will occasionally go to women for sex too.  Tonight she went to that one woman for a favor but ended up sleeping with her even though she didn't "need" to.  And it looked like she was willing to go again before turning the other woman off with her accusations.  It was also implied she hooked up with Kelli Giddish's character earlier in the season when she felt Cary had stood her up.  She allegedly didn't have ulterior motives then while Kelli's character did. 

 

As for her and men, how many men has she been with that we know of?  Her marriage was either abusive or war.  She slept with Peter because she needed something from him.  And then there's Cary who she has slept with to get information and other times because she sees to want to.  It would really help if I knew what her expectations were of her relationship with Cary and what his expectations are of her.  

[Jlina]

Show is retreading badly.  Now they're even getting LG's offices back?  Ridiculous.

 

Poor, poor Cary.  And Matt's 15 minutes didn't even last 5. Sadly.

 

Other than the photo finish replica from season 1 of the "Good Wife," this was a waste of an hour. And even that was sad and redundant.  Alicia's life is better, happier and more fulfilling because SHE gets to be the bitch now and can make Peter stand by her? Ugh.

 

 

***************Possible Spoilerish News!**************************************

Kalinda's going on to happier, more prosperous times soon.  Very interesting article:    http://guardianlv.com/2014/10/archie-panjabi-prepares-her-goodbye-to-the-good-wife/  No spoilers, but has speculation at the end. 

Edited October 20, 2014 by Jlina

[buckboard]

Worst episode of the season.

WTF did they do to Elsbeth?  Always an interesting, but effective eccentric, they've turned her into a loony.

 

Alicia chooses a middle management assistant in the SA's office to make her announcement over the Governor?  And Eli, seeing that there was a problem between Peter and Alicia, didn't discuss this with Peter?  Eli's first responsibility is to the governor, not her.

 

Alicia hasn't told her partners that she is running for office?   They have left partnerships at L/G to go with her to a startup, based in large part on her name carrying a big draw for clients.  And now she is hoping to leave them in the lurch without any warning?
 

The F/A office has leaks and cockroaches?  Never saw either mentioned before.  Didn't they just spend a ton of money on rehabbing the office?  Dianne has two floors in the L/G building?  Who has been paying the rent all the time she's been gone (and while she was there).
 

Where's Robin?  Did they fire her when Kalinda came to work for F/A?

 

A medium size firm doesn't have an IT department or an office manager who can deal with leaks or insect infestations?
 

Edited October 20, 2014 by buckboard

[jjj]

To see Diane watch the drip, drip, drip on her CHAIR without dealing with it was astonishing.  First of all, it is a CHAIR, and can be moved.  Secondly, has she never heard that any receptacle can catch those drips?  How many hours went by before she suggested a bucket?  Even a coffee cup would have dealt with it. 

 

I gathered that Elspeth has some severe affliction that is ADHD on speed, and is constantly distracted to the point of seeing only the distraction.  How could Jill Hennessey allow her to continue after the first episode of hallucination, given how much money was at stake?  And Jill, I loved you on L&O mothership, but you do not look blond and bronzed with that tan, but like someone who stood in front of the kiln too long. 

[CleoCaesar]

To see Diane watch the drip, drip, drip on her CHAIR without dealing with it was astonishing.  First of all, it is a CHAIR, and can be moved.  Secondly, has she never heard that any receptacle can catch those drips?  How many hours went by before she suggested a bucket?  Even a coffee cup would have dealt with it.

 

I was screaming, "MOVE THE FREAKING CHAIR!!!!" at that scene. Diane was not FA&A's MVP this episode - first of all who clicks links on sketchy emails? Secondly, the email address screw-up. Thirdly, moving them all back to LG's offices (so much for the start-up idea, huh?).

 

Jill Hennessey's face looks like it was baked in the oven on low-heat for 24 hours. Lay off the bronzer, girl.

[jjj]

"Dear Miss Diane, I am a Prince in Nigeria who only is needs small numbers of dollars to ransom family fortune.  I am so happy sharing these riches with you if you will send me your bank account number and password.  Many blessings to you and CLICK on this LINK with to enter your information."

 

(There is always someone out there who will click...)

[CleoCaesar]

Haha, true. I wondered if it was a dig at Diane's age. She brings clients, a name, and gravitas to Florrick, Agos & Associates...but she also brings age. She's never been portrayed as particularly computer illiterate, so it was pretty clunky in this episode. She's the oldest member of the firm. She infects the network with a virus. She gives the blackmailers the wrong email address. She can't stand being in a grungy space with all the young'uns running around with no doors.

 

In the eyes of FA &A, she could very well be the next Howard Lyman.

Edited October 20, 2014 by CleoCaesar

[shapeshifter]

My daughter and I were yelling at Diane. Who clicks on executable files in emails anymore? And even if she did buy the spoofed email from Not!Alicia, by the time she got to the page with the read button, she should have unplugged her networked computer and call for IT. It made her look stupid and old (and I'm older than she is).

And then when she tried to get the email from LG--shouldn't her first move have been to contact their IT guy?

...Give Christine Baranski something to do aside from scream at a cockroach...

It was a big ass bug, but prop people: That is not a cockroach! Cockroaches have wings (although they don't always have flight).

To see Diane watch the drip, drip, drip on her CHAIR without dealing with it was astonishing. First of all, it is a CHAIR, and can be moved. Secondly, has she never heard that any receptacle can catch those drips? How many hours went by before she suggested a bucket? Even a coffee cup would have dealt with it...

We were also yelling at her to move the chair, but to be fair, it might have already been dripping for an hour before she entered the room. Edited October 20, 2014 by shapeshifter

[AudienceofOne]

That scene at the end is the first time I've liked Peter in years. The fact he actually listened to what she was saying, thought about it and changed his behaviour? Unbelievable.

 

The rest of this episode was meh. Count me in on those who felt Elspeth's character was assassinated.

[vibeology]

And Eli, seeing that there was a problem between Peter and Alicia, didn't discuss this with Peter?  Eli's first responsibility is to the governor, not her.

 

I think Eli has had this problem for a while. He may work for Peter and sees Peter as his ticket to national politics, but Alicia is the Florrick he likes and respects. He's always very hesitant to step into their marriage, in part because it is private, but also because he favours Alicia's point of view and knows he can't tell his boss.

 

 

It was a big ass bug, but prop people: That is not a cockroach! Cockroaches have wings (although they don't always have flight).

 

That was a cockroach, just not one you can find anywhere in the USA outside of museums and zoos. Somehow the Madagascar Hissing Cockroach is the go to for TV and movies even though it makes no sense. And you're right, it doesn't have wings.

[shapeshifter]

...Count me in on those who felt Elspeth's character was assassinated.

Very sad. Is she now supposed to be suffering from a brain tumor or schizophrenia? And what was going on with the headphones while exercising? Was she listening to a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) podcast? Or was she just listening to a normal playlist and hallucinating at the same time?

[Big Bad Wolf]

I didn't understand what they were trying to say Elsbeth's problem was. Some kind of extreme form of ADHD presumably. But if that was the case, and it actually had the potential to harm her ability to do her job (which it did in this episode, but never has been shown to do before), someone like her would surely be on meds to keep the condition under control. And the way in which Alicia apparently knew how to play on the disorder implied that how badly it could affect her was known to Alicia, but again, we'd never seen that shown on the show before. It was like the writers pulled this 'development' out of their asses for shits and giggles, but as with other posters here, I didn't like it at all, and it felt like a big disservice to a great character.

[kwnyc]

 

That scene at the end is the first time I've liked Peter in years. The fact he actually listened to what she was saying, thought about it and changed his behaviour? Unbelievable.

 

 

Peter is, of course, the seasoned, winning politician. I wonder if one of the themes of this season is that Alicia is going to have to turn to him as she ventures into unfamiliar territory. He may have led with his pointer (so to speak) when he was screwing around, but for the most part he's a VERY good politician. Will she reconsider her relationship with him (again)? Will he change the way he sees her if she shows a killer instinct like his? After all this, will they end up with a sort of mutated relationship that they both actually want?

 

...or will Alicia end up being even better at it than he is?

 

Also, TPTB: Do not fuck with magical unicorn Elspeth Tascioni. I love seeing her being brilliant and freaky, but NOT seeing the inside of her head. She has saved Peter's ass, Will's ass and Alicia's ass in this show...that's no way to repay her.

[Day2Day]

Well, after reading the spoiler above about Archie P., at least her departure would put an end to those insufferable (un)sexy bedroom/make-out scenes. Finally she may even get to wear some clothes that fit.

I was wondering if the writers were going to incorporate some sort of story line to explain why Jill Hennessey's character looked like she fell asleep on a tanning bed ... WTF???? Lookin' might rough... "driven hard, and put away wet".

Poor Elsbeth. Flashbacks to Ally McBeal and her hallucinations of dancing disco baby and Barry White singing.  It worked for David Kelly way back then... not so much for the King's now.

[Ms Blue Jay]

I don't understand why the showrunners would do that to Elsbeth.  The showrunners know how popular the character is, they were running ads like "Everyone's favourite lawyer is coming back this Sunday!"  And then to watch the actual episode, WTF?  The strategy of character assassination (mentioned upthread) of an incredibly popular side character makes zero sense.   Shows do not do that.  It's almost like a backhand to the audience.

 

Diane seemed completely lost.  Finn seemed so weak too.  These are not attractive qualities.  Taye Diggs' character was miserable, he was just there.   And don't even get me started on Lana.  I guess when Kalinda goes I won't have to see her either, small gifts.  

 

We went from a very good episode to a bad one -- this inconsistency is what keeps a show like TGW off of my favourites list after the second season or so, unfortunately.

Edited October 20, 2014 by Ms Blue Jay

[iamoranjello]

Hah. Everyone hated Elsperh's inner life. I actually liked it. I thought it was silly but showed her genius with the busted cell phones. Also her bedroom is insane , could it be her childhood bedroom? Does she live with her parents?

The Alicia and Mr. Big fight was good. I want them to reach their Bill and Hillary plateau by the time the series ends. Love them both so much, devious and nuts as they both are.

[possibilities]

Elsbeth was always a deadly effective attorney before. Now that she's going up against Alicia she's suddenly a ditzy fuck up? It's particularly galling that they made her distracted by the attraction of a man. Clearly, women are just a bundle of hormones and cognitive dumbth. And anyone not on Alicia's side is automatically retconned to be a loser, even if they'd been a genius Alicia herself had loved until this point.

 

Diane, too! She infects the network with a virus, costs the firm $50,000, and is too stupid to proofread her ransom document to be sure she submitted a valid email address? I wonder how many other autocorrect debacles she will bring to her lawyering before the season is over?

 

And through all of this we are supposed to believe these people trusted the ransomers to actually honor their agreements, and didn't even want Kalinda to investigate until they'd already had the money stolen from them?

 

Diane letting her chair be dripped on for hours, while no one gets a bucket or calls a plumber (that pipe looked like it was about to burst and flood the entire suite), was just adding insult to injury here, and her shrieking at the bug was whatever comes after insult-to-injury-- we have to come up with a whole new term for whatever kind of character assassination that was. Baranski can make anything look dignified-- brilliant work on the shriek, there, she's a pro! But for godsake, do we have to dumb down and assassinate the character of every female on the show, just to appease Julianna Marguiles? It's like once the audience starts to like any female more than they like Alicia, that character must be humiliated and made weak.

 

Let us not forget that Kalinda is a one woman pussy riot herself! She can not only save the day, she has the time to fuck it backwards and forwards while doing so, and never never never never let you forget you've been scammed, 'cause she's a....

 

I actually liked Alicia's blow up at Peter, Mr. Let It Go. I think she may in fact be a more killer instinct politician than he is. She can actually tell herself that she refused to move Finn's endorsement to another event out of respect for Finn-- and it probably would have been better for Finn as well if she had moved it, since he would not have been overshadowed by The Governor if she'd done so. But really she just doesn't like being told what to do, and she is starting to get over her need to "be nice" about everything and hide her killer instinct from view.

Edited October 20, 2014 by possibilities

[readster]

 Oh Diane, how can you be that stupid? Not to mention what is with the Kings on how computer systems work? They keep showing old DOS when we have clearly seen the show use updated OSX, Pages, Keynote, Numbers and yes, even Google Drive. Yes, why didn't she contact IT for her old mail. I'm also tired of the FBI agent: "Sure, I'll do what you want, but sleep with me and come on, just tell people you like women more and come run off with me." GET OVER IT!

[swimmyfish]

What was Tascioni's problem? Have they shown her hallucinating before? I was wondering if she had been poisoned.

 

There was one episode last season (or perhaps the previous season?) where there was a shot of Alicia glancing over at Elsbeth's notepad, and it was total gibberish. Not just messy handwriting, but complete nonsense. So, while we hadn't seen the hallucinations before, there was at least that indication that there's something chaotic going on in her mind.

 

In other guest star news : I was very glad to see Special Agent Dale Cooper again; Claire Kincaid, on the other hand, looked distractingly bad. I don't know why. Overall, I'd say this episode was a bit of a placeholder - there was not a lot of forward momentum on anything. What's going on with Cary's trial? How did Alicia respond to the drunk-driving allegations? What is she doing about the Bishop-funded PAC? I liked both of the case-of-the-week set-ups (I had no idea that ransom-ware was a thing! Now I have something else to worry about besides ebola), but I think this episode had too many plot threads and didn't serve any of them as well as they deserved.

 

Also, I really hope that F/A doesn't move back into the old L/G offices. Although, perhaps that's just a little bit of advanced plotting for if Alicia wins her election, and how F/A will respond.

[teebax]

Someone else spoiled me about Archie Panjabi, so I'm interested to see how it goes, although I wish I hadn't known that. I like to surprised by shows, but it seems harder and harder for shows to keep things under wrap. Between promo departments showing us the best part of episodes before they air and showrunners making no attempt to surprise viewers anymore, it's hard to be surprised. I wasn't spoiled on Will's death last season, and it made the scene so much better because I didn't see it coming. I really miss Breaking Bad. They were great at keeping us in the dark.

 

Anyway, I share all of your complaints about this episode. They ruined Elsbeth's character to the point where it made me cringe to watch. If I didn't know Jill's sexy voice I wouldn't have recognized her. She looked awful.

 

I always thought their office space was kinda cool. I had no idea it was such a dump. How convenient that Diane still has that in at her old firm. Ugh.

 

And I can't muster up an ounce of enthusiasm for Alicia running for SA. I'm still not sure what her motivation for doing it is. She just started a new firm that seems to be doing well and finding its way. And she's going to leave it to run for SA because the opponent isn't a nice guy? I'm not feeling it.

[riverheightsnancy]

Having worked with psychiatric patients, I saw Elsbeth as schizophrenic- all day and night. However, I don't understand how if she has a mental illness that her character is now "ruined". It made total sense to me seeing this episode. She is quirky, and now they have given us a more extensive reason for her behaviors. I feel like it actually adds to her back story. She obviously has come up with some sort of method of coping with her hallucinations. I actually kind of love the character and how she is working in a very stressful position AND still has a mental illness. It is not a death knell, lost of people manage despite having a mental illness.  

 

The stats tell us that on average, people are more likely to have a mental illness at some point in their lives, than not to. Would we actually be saying that her character is "ruined" if she had straight out depression, alcoholism, or anxiety disorder? Doubt it. It highlights though, the pervasive view of the stigma of mental illness. A person is no longer "as good" if they have a mental illness. I think Alicia is a functioning alcoholic and no one says that her drinking is ruining her character in the show. Personally, I wish that thay would delve into her anger, drinking AND depression (since Will's death). 

[lucindabelle]

Did they wrap up the lawsuit? If so I missed it. Or is it continuing?

I kind of liked the cartoons and elspeth.... Just saw it as extreme and distracting daydreaming but schizophrenia works too. I don't know it actually made me like her more, and then I didn't know who I wanted to win, which was interesting and new.

I bought the office having issues they didn't see at first. It's impossibly hard to get rid of bugs, and I had a leak over my desk in my office... Believed it,

Less believable was Diane hitting click, and then, her being the one to tyoe the email in, also, a company of ransom ware that bothers to have tech support would probably actually honor the agreement, I thought, and I did not get why Kalina tipped her hand to to he Russians with the snarky text.

[dcalley]

Just one thing from me: Was anyone else distracted by Jill Hennessy's tan/burn?

There was a line across her chest that was probably supposed to be hidden by the huge scarf she was wearing, but it wasn't. They couldn't put her in another shirt that covered this line? Or was that meant to be a distraction? Alicia wore huge earrings and a sparkly top to court one day--was that also meant to be a distraction (actual shiny objects, as opposed to a fake "Cat Fancy")?

 

So FA (FAL?) doesn't have an IT person or even consultant, but why was everyone OK with Diane--the person who clicked on an obvious bad link--handling the payment details? She should have stepped away from the computer.

[Primetimer]

Zoning out and letting a hallucination of a marimba player lead her to insight, of course! But will she let Alicia's distracting kitten derail her in the courtroom?

Read the story

[CleoCaesar]

Would we actually be saying that her character is "ruined" if she had straight out depression, alcoholism, or anxiety disorder? Doubt it. It highlights though, the pervasive view of the stigma of mental illness. A person is no longer "as good" if they have a mental illness.

 

I don't think what people are saying is anything that drastic. I say this as someone who can't stand Elspeth, but as I understand it, people liked Elspeth because she was portrayed as a brilliant mind who can make connections others can't due to some innate, rare gift. To see her as "just another" schizophrenic or ADHD case or whatever might be in a way cheapening that. It makes her ordinary and her gift not as rare and special. Not to mention the hallucinations themselves were just childish and bizarre.

 

I think Alicia is a functioning alcoholic and no one says that her drinking is ruining her character in the show.

 

Alicia, an alcoholic? I'm curious now - where does this manifest itself?

[riverheightsnancy]

Alicia, an alcoholic? I'm curious now - where does this manifest itself?

 

I think Alicia drinks all the time. It is like the minute she gets home she has to drink. In AA circles, that is problematic behavior. Maybe I see it through different eyes, having worked in this area but, there is practically no scene where she is at home and the wine isn't flowing. But again, maybe that is just me. Maybe that is what normal people do. I know I don't, but my view is quite rigid on alcohol consumption in general. Also a person can be brilliant, and interesting, and still be schizophrenic. They aren't mutually exclusive.  For myself, it is not ADHD-it doesn't fit that.  If memory serves, no hallucinations in ADHD (the actual specifiers that is). 

[CleoCaesar]

I don't drink either, but from what I hear about alcoholism, Alicia still has a long way to go. She does have a glass of wine when she gets home, but we've never seen her abuse alcohol. She doesn't drink on the job. She doesn't hide her drinking. She's never gotten severely drunk or passed out. She's not in constant need of alcohol.

[candall]

Lots of stupid here.  Like Finn being so sensitive or politically naive he wouldn't ever be able to understand being asked to postpone his introduction to a later event.  He was begging Alicia to be straight with him, but no chance of that happening.  And Diane being forced to confront her archenemy to collect an errant email--what? she wasn't ever nice enough to one single secretary who could forward that thing?

 

But the ransomware operation, with the "hold" muzak and so forth, made me laugh.

 

And I never get tired of Kalinda's magic bedazzler vagina.

 

RHNancy (hi!) I get where you're coming from with the schizophrenia, but Elspeth--my favorite character--has been portrayed many times as a brilliant legal mind with a side dish of somewhat charming eccentricity.  It seems very wrong to say now that she can be completely derailed by a kitten pic.  I thought there was going to be a (minor) story line about Elspeth's transition, but apparently we're supposed to believe she's the same as always.  No.

[Brookside]

How does a show with so many storylines (and Kalinda) become so boring?

[rubyred]

Loved Tara's recap, but I thought that Peter's action at the end was, even though not what Eli wanted, his way of tacitly supporting Alicia publicly? Not that he was stealing her thunder by forcing her to share the stage, but since he didn't go into the wings after introducing her and instead stayed on the stage, he was offering that key shot of the "subordinate" position that Eli was so leery of.

I guess he could also have been stealing her thunder, but her announcement immediately got more juice when he showed up and kissed her cheek -- the flashbulbs went nuts. I liked that they had that blowout, it felt authentic and of course hearkened back to the pilot. I think I'm one of the few who want those crazy kids to work it out but it seems less and less likely these days.

Maybe they went a little overboard with the Elsbeth hallucinations but NGL, "Here I am, a clown in your head" made me bark with laughter. Bad person am I?

Still not feeling this storyline though. And definitely not feeling an impending move back to the LGC offices.

[CozyKat]

Alicia still has a long way to go. She does have a glass of wine when she gets home, but we've never seen her abuse alcohol. She doesn't drink on the job. She doesn't hide her drinking. She's never gotten severely drunk or passed out. She's not in constant need of alcohol.

 

Last week I noticed she consciously held herself back from drinking twice when she was alone in the apartment -- once before Eli came over, and another time when she got home, took down a wineglass, paused and put it back. I don't think she's anywhere near actual alcoholism, but like a lot of people, she not only enjoys her wine socially but leans on it a little too much in stressful situations, and she appears to realize it.

 

I didn't mind Elsbeth's escalated kookiness until it started to hurt her in the courtroom. The Elsbeth of previous seasons would've been able to look away from Alicia's distracting magazine covers or whatever the heck they were.

[milkyaqua]

Archie's leaving isn't a spoiler.  It was announced to media outlets over a week ago and we've been discussing it in the Media forum since then.

 

Are TPTB trying to imply that Elsbeth has Asperger's?  Or are they just pulling stuff out of their butts?  I vote for pulling stuff out of their butts.  I don't view what they've done to her character any differently then what they've done to Kalinda's and are trying to do to Diane's.

 

As for Alicia's drinking, other folks have wondered if her drinking will become an issue during the election.  Is she an alcoholic?  Who knows with this show.

Edited October 20, 2014 by milkyaqua

[SaabStory]

I have a feeling Kalinda's departure will happen sooner than later.  I doubt she will make it to the end of the season. I think the timing of the article was just the ice breaker.  I remember reading somewhere that Jill Flint has a three episode arc and I wonder if Kalinda might go with her; maybe FBI related.

 

Regarding Kalinda and Lana...did Kalinda not want to use the word gay and that is why she got upset, or did she just not want to share anything at all?

I wasn't sure how to read her reaction. 

[Julie23]

Talk about Shiny Objects! I was distracted during the entire show. In the COTW scenes, I was distracted by Elsbeth weirdness, and her partner's tan. In the office scenes (where at least I got a glimpse of Cary and Diane), I was distracted by bugs, drips, and computer viruses. Not to mention the shiny vagina of Kalinda distracting everyone, every where. The whole SA plot bores me to tears, so I was distracted by just about everything - Look,. a light, a chair, there's Eli!  

[izabella]

Regarding Kalinda and Lana...did Kalinda not want to use the word gay and that is why she got upset, or did she just not want to share anything at all?

I wasn't sure how to read her reaction.

 

I wasn't sure, either.  Did she not want to say gay because she's bi?  Did she not want to talk about anything couple-like because she's just playing?  Did she want to avoid any conversation because she's also having sex with Cary?

 

Honestly, I don't even care anymore.  Kalinda as a character is boring now and often irritating.