S06.E06: Old Spice

[photo fox]

Elsbeth and Alicia put their fight on hold when they both have clients facing economic espionage charges; Diane battles her former partners over office space.

[shapeshifter]

Having repurposed arguably more than my fair share of computer code, I was intrigued with the COTW--even though there is no way they could present the two screens of code as identical without an impartial third party expert verifying.

But I hate Cary getting drunk and crossing state lines because he's not supposed to be stupid, is he?

Thank you writers for having Linda Lavin's Grubick character and Kalinda have a meeting of the minds (loved her white lady pronunciation of "Lemond")--but I was so sure the woman from the bar was a plant by Finn. I guess not?

Regarding Elspeth and Kyle MacLachlan's character's fling: That is how you write, act, and direct a romantic fling between mature individuals without making the viewer cringe--too much.

Lovely unspoken remembrance of Will at the end.

[mjt626]

In Cary's defense, it is incredibly easy to cross the Illinois/Indiana border without realizing it.

[Irlandesa]

But I hate Cary getting drunk and crossing state lines because he's not supposed to be stupid, is he?

I was confused by that.  Where was this mixer? The most inconvenient Chicago-area location possible?   He isn't stupid.  He just thought the odds were on his side.  Either that or he was taking a rather roundabout route that took him through Indiana briefly.

 

I hate that they're moving back to L/G offices.  I agree with Cary that it does feel like a step back. 

 

I wasn't in a great mood tonight so maybe that's affecting my opinion but tonight just felt like going backwards.  We spent the whole episode on a detour with the code story in order to go back to the sexism lawsuit.  They went back to F/A offices.  And Cary's story is just treading water in fights over bail.  The only thing that interests me is that the probation officer has decided he can't be around Kalinda. 

Edited October 27, 2014 by Irlandesa

[CleoCaesar]

This episode was a clusterfuck of annoyances: Elspeth Tascioni’s entire existence, Kyle MacLachlan’s cartoonish character, all the religiosity, Grace, David Lee and Louis Canning, Cary’s opinions about his own firm being disregarded, Cary getting a stricter bail, Eli’s irritating daughter, Finn being a douche, and Howard Lyman. Ugh.

 

Aaaand they’re back in the same old office they left a few months ago. Joy. It was a nice bit of acting from JM and CB for a few seconds at the end there, but that’s it.

 

Deleted it as soon as I watched it.

[stonehaven]

This episode seemed all over the place...and with Alicia using her kid's for her own political gain really angered me for some reason. ..and did no one talk to Cary about Howard coming back?

 

I feel bad for Cary in so many ways..Going back to LG and not seeming  like he has a voice in this firm's direction...

 

I love CP and KM..their scenes were gold together BUT it felt like a different show with them as the focus...I would love a spin off with these characters but I want to watch Alicia and her firm not those two...

 

Still, Alicia annoyed me on a few levels tonight..and when I found myself yelling at the TV(Cary drinking all day..why?) I realized I'm verging on hate-watching..something I never do..

 

Still, three words in next week's previews will keep me glued...David Hyde Pierce...Cannot wait..

Between the suckage of the Royals, Packers and this show, I should have just stuck a DVD in the player...sheeessshh...

[Sandman]

Did we not already see Kyle MacLachlan's character shred evidence? That whole sequence gave me déjà vu in the worst way -- and I do mean the worst!

"Lemoned" Bishop, hee.

[Morbs]

Cary's so obviously being targeted by the D.A's office though, he had to have known they would be up his ass and they specifically warned against him drinking.  He really put himself at risk by going to a bar, if a fight broke out he could have been caught up in it.

 

I guess the sets are just too expensive for the Kings to justify getting rid off, but I'd like a show in it's sixth season to have a change of scenery.

 

Soon Kalinda will be reduced to only having scenes with Zach.

Edited October 27, 2014 by Morbs

[sheetmoss]

I'm wonder if Grace will start questioning her devotion now after  being congratulated for flipping her mom by the group leader?

 

Also, where is the other investigator the past few shows?

[izabella]

Political expediency, thy name is Alicia.  I guess she really does want to win this election since she was willing to be "open" even to religion.  Way to use Will's death to your advantage.

[buckboard]

The move back to the old offices makes zero sense.  They just put a ton of money into the new offices and now they'll have to spend even more to clean up the new/old offices, replace damaged equipment, change the stationery?  Don't they have a rental agreement that they'll have to honor at the space they will be vacating?  And, I thought the space in the Lockhart/Gardner/Cannon/Lee office building that Diane had signed for were a couple of empty floors, not the floors that housed L/G/C/L.

 

And Diane can single handedly make Howard Lyman a partner? 

 

Poor Cary.  He's better off losing his bail and going to jail and getting away from all this craziness.  I never thought I'd be more supportive of Cary and Grace than Diane and Alicia. 

[mrsdalgliesh]

As most of us have agreed, we're in a weak period with our show here.  Elsbeth had a victory at the end but only after another courtroom snafu which -- STOP IT, show.  STOP IT.

 

So I'll just mention some things I did like: things that demonstrate the talent.

1.  The shot of that baby.  They managed to get a shot in which the baby slooowly reacted to weird Josh.  Hilarious.

2.  Casting, as in Linda Lavin.  So interesting as the court officer and -- because she's great -- different than anything else I've seen her do. Plus: "Lemon Bishop." :::snort:::

3.  Diane and Alicia going to their "new" offices, and Alicia entering Will's.  :::sob:::

4.  The more subtle, yet significant compromise Alicia made on the topic of faith.  That's how I expect this show to depict Alicia's slide into grey land, *not* by taking Bishop's money and never pausing for even a second.

5.  I'm okay with the long game on Cary.  Alicia's "we're in this together" speech was a bit silly considering Cary's losing every.single.vote.

 

C'mon show.  You have the right stuff.  Don't screw around.

[Big Bad Wolf]

Wow, what a terrible episode. Endless stupid, irritating nonsense. Going to the Cary-back-to-prison well again? Seriously? And Diane getting the LG offices back (which feels like a retread) by courting the useless old partner, again. And does that bail officer woman think she's Cary's mother? Plus all the other stupid, irritating stuff. This was the worst episode of this show I've ever seen, and whoever wrote it should be fired.

Edited October 27, 2014 by Big Bad Wolf

[AudienceofOne]

And does that bail officer woman think she's Cary's mother?

 

 

I kind of like it. She's doing her job and she's doing it well but she's kind of on the side of the accused too. She went out of her way to find a reason for Cary not to go back to jail and I think she did her "spot check" just to get him to take this shit seriously. She's really kind of awesome. I particularly liked the judge in that bail hearing too.

 

Unfortunately, while I usually love me some Tascioni and I did laugh my head off at several scenes tonight, this season just feels off to me. And it's not about Alicia's compromises on going into politics. That's the reality of the job.

[Inquisitionist]

Regarding Elspeth and Kyle MacLachlan's character's fling: That is how you write, act, and direct a romantic fling between nutjobs while making the viewer cringe--

 

Fixed that for you, in my opinion.

In Cary's defense, it is incredibly easy to cross the Illinois/Indiana border without realizing it.

 

Where would this happen?  It sounded like the Harvard Law event was in Illinois but Cary had to inadvertently cross the Indiana border to get there, which doesn't make sense to me.  Or did he just go an exit too far, then have to backtrack?  Even more puzzling, in my opinion, is that a HL event would be held that close to the Indiana border anyway.  I'd think it would be occur at some trendy bar in River North...

Edited October 27, 2014 by Inquisitionist

[Kromm]

Where would this happen?  It sounded like the Harvard Law event was in Illinois but Cary had to inadvertently cross the Indiana border to get there, which doesn't make sense to me.  Or did he just go an exit too far, then have to backtrack?

Have you lived along a state border?  With most there's no real division.  Most major roads might have Entering (State Name) and/or Leaving (State Name) signs, but only the big ones.  Minor roads don't usually respect individual state lines and it's not unusual for them to meander back and forth.  And Illinois and Indiana share a HUGE border.  

 

I don't know the area at all, but in most of the area a look at Google Maps shows Carey's situation as unlikely. The state border is dead straight for most of the division, and the roads are mostly boxes.

 

One area seems like it actually fits though--State Line Road.  The one road drives right along the border.  All you'd have to do to cross the border by accident is drive on the wrong side of the road, or pull into a gas station on the other side (to be clear there are many extensions of the road and/or similarly named roads along the border--most of them completely if barely in Illinois, but the one area I illustrate below splits the border evenly).

 

Edited October 27, 2014 by Kromm

[CleoCaesar]

1.  The shot of that baby.  They managed to get a shot in which the baby slooowly reacted to weird Josh.  Hilarious.

 

That confused little baby with his WTF? expression was one of the few redeeming things about this episode.

[jjj]

Agree that in this case, it's odd that the Harvard party was over in the direction of Gary, Indiana, though not quite all the way there. When you are in Chicago, that's not a direction anyone really wants to go. And an invitation would have said "Indiana," so it's not like Cary was driving aimlessly. He was quite lucky not to be back in

jail.

Loved having a judge without quirks, all business. "*I'm* talking now!".

[oceanblue]

I've never used the driver system whose name I'm blanking on. How would LL know from the receipt that Cary was briefly in Indiana?  Why would they hold an event outside the city?  My school holds events in major cities.  Like Chicago, not some bar between Chicago and Gary.

[shrewd.buddha]

This episode was a clusterfuck of annoyances

 

So, If Cary had just said he had taken a cab -- and paid cash -- there would have been no evidence to condemn him. And the Bail officer is in her 60's or so, and yet is savvy enough to know about and navigate a phone app for a car service within seconds? I highly doubted that. 

(Also, weirdly, Cary had a bowl of fruit on his counter top, which made me think, "How can a single workaholic lawyer get through a bowl of fruit when the two in our household can barely get through a bag of apples without some going bad?")

 

So Diane, Kalinda, and Alicia think it's a good thing to hire on a completely useless lawyer just so they have have more expensive offices? Where is all this money coming from? It's sad how they are basically creating the exact same law firm they were so eager to break away from... 

I'm actually losing respect for Diane -- she's coming off as a pampered aristocrat who claimed to be youthful enough for a start-up, but then revealed herself as too old to change her ways. 

Edited October 28, 2014 by shrewd.buddha

[kwnyc]

 

I feel bad for Cary in so many ways..Going back to LG and not seeming  like he has a voice in this firm's direction...

 

But Cary is (and he knows it) more of an expensive liability to the firm right now than a rainmaker. He's lost clients, now he's got to wear an ankle monitor and be home by 9pm and not interact with Kalinda (which probably means we'll be seeing Robyn again).

 

I expect howard Lyman will come back to bite them in the pantsless ass (especially because his casual bigotry has pissed off so many people already...and is probably a reason why some of them left with Diane).

 

Alicia played the "listening" bit beautifully, and whether she admits it or not, she WANTS the job and she's good at spinning. So that part of it worked for me. Though Grace has a sense that her mom is NOT listening, was merely looking for an angle, so it could have some kind of effect on her own faith. (Not to mention that the praise for the "win" from her prayer group oddly echoed the praise Alicia's going to get for her own "spiritual struggle.")

 

Love Tascioni and her giant weird blouses...but Kyle MacLachlan plays Perotti as more of a caricature than Preston plays Elspeth. Still, those were some very enjoyable scenes.

 

And the last scene was touching; almost a callback or homage to a scene on ANOTHER strong CBS shot-in-NYC drama from a few weeks ago (NO! Not Blue Bloods!) on Person of Interest, where John returns to the precinct where he'd met & worked with Det. Carter and is given...her desk. The pause, the realization, the looking across the room and meeting the parter's eye...kind of makes me wonder whether it wasn't a tip of the hat from one show to another.

 

(And of course, now Diane & Alicia are in the prime offices, looking across at each other in the power spots...and Cary, with his ankle monitor and curfew, is banished to David Lee's old turf. I wonder if they'll have an exorcism performed to get Louis Canning's creepy energy out of space).

[Day2Day]

Sadly, that episode last evening was actually real. I was hoping perhaps, it was all a dream sequence..... a really BAD dream sequence.

[tomsmom]

Am I forgetting but has Alicia had a conversation with Cary or Diane about running for States Attorney yet??? I mean she announced 2 weeks ago and noooo one mentions it!!

And as much as I uesd to love Elsbeth...I'm done now.

Edited October 27, 2014 by tomsmom

[Inquisitionist]

Have you lived along a state border?  With most there's no real division.  Most major roads might have Entering (State Name) and/or Leaving (State Name) signs, but only the big ones.  Minor roads don't usually respect individual state lines and it's not unusual for them to meander back and forth.  And Illinois and Indiana share a HUGE border.  

 

I don't know the area at all, but in most of the area a look at Google Maps shows Carey's situation as unlikely. The state border is dead straight for most of the division, and the roads are mostly boxes.

 

 

 

I live in Chicago and have driven to Indiana using highways, which make it very clear when you're crossing the state line.  As others have pointed out, the specifics of Cary's Indiana foray were extremely contrived.

 

That said, I did enjoy seeing Linda Lavin again.  I think her character actually has some sympathy for Cary, and used this incident to warn him he needs to taking towing the line seriously.  She did not report him for drinking, but for a technical infraction, and was able to provide counterbalancing evidence in her report so that his bail wasn't revoked outright.  And she's keeping him away from Kalinda, whom she rightly (in my opinion) views as dangerous.  She's crafty.

[Jellybeans]

I have lost my love/hate for this show. Now I am indifferent.

[Noreaster]

I loved this episode.  Pace was great.  I thought it was mostly funny and light-hearted.  Similar to the Opposition Research episode which I also enjoyed.  The acting on this show is killer.  Elsbeth/Perotti, Diane vs. David Lee/Canning, the pretrial services officer, Alica and Diane at the end of the show. So much good in this episode.  Even Alicia's religion storyline, which I generally don't care about, was well done. I like how they're writing the relationship between Alicia and Grace.  Only weak spot for me is the Cary stuff.  I wish the show would drop Cary's legal issues and put him back in the courtroom working.  

 

Yeah, there's a lot of stuff on this show that's unrealistic.  And the quirky characters are not that believable.  But it's been this way from the beginning. I think this season has been really strong so far.  

[cam3150]

I liked this episode ok.  I will say that Elsbeth is actually getting on my nerves this season and I normally love her.  I realize what I liked about her is that, despite all her weirdness, she almost always has the upper hand and it sneaks up on you how smart she is. Up until she reveled she was recording that conversation, that hasn't really happened this season.  As an aside, how have I not noticed her addiction to Vera Bradley before now? Too funny.   I have never cared for Kyle McLaughlin and that hasn't changed. I will say his character and Elsbeth are MFEO though.  That shot of the baby....perfection!

 

LOVE Linda Lavin's character and I loved the scene between her and Kalinda.  Not sure how I'm feeling about the whole Cary storyline. I guess I will reserve judgement until it's all over.

 

I don't want Alicia running for or winning the SA job so I'm kind of out on that whole story line. 

 

I am not sure about Diane this season either. Beyond Will, she is my favorite character and it just feels like they don't know what to do with her this year. She hasn't really been a good fit for F/A thus far, her talents seem wasted there.  I am also not sure how I feel about them going back to the LG offices. While I love that they got the upper hand on Canning & Co, it does feel a bit like going backwards. 

 

That entire storyline was totally worth it for that last scene between Diane and Alicia though. They are now my favorite relationship on the show (since Will was at the center of all of my other favorites) and that scene was darn near perfect. I love the silent acknowledgement of all that Will meant to both of them. It was awfully dusty in my living room during that scene. Beautifully done...in my opinion.
--

[mjt626]

My last thought on Cary's brief interlude in Indiana.  I live in Gary.  (Yes, people still live here)  On a trip to Whiting, I ended up in Illinois.  I did not take a highway or the toll road, but made a wrong turn.  I did not recognize my mistake, until I saw the Pace bus signs.

 

Cary took Uber, which means he was not in control of driving.  Perhaps he instructed the driver to drive around for a bit, which might explain how he briefly ended up in Indiana.  Unless you are on the highway, there usually aren't immediate signs to tell you you've crossed the border.

 

By the way, the Mayor of Gary is a Harvard College and Law grad.  Just saying.

[Aethera]

It's bothering me that there's been no reaction to the SA race from FAL.  "Here, have the best office Alicia, even though you'll probably be leaving the firm soon!".  What?

 

Yes, the moment at the end was good, and I've always loved the relationship between Diane and Alicia.  But otherwise, bleh.  Especially the retread of Perotti destroying evidence. So boring. 

 

I think having Alicia and Cary start their own firm was a mistake, and they're just not sure what to do now.

[Cattitude]

Thank you writers for having Linda Lavin's Grubick character and Kalinda have a meeting of the minds (loved her white lady pronunciation of "Lemond")--but I was so sure the woman from the bar was a plant by Finn. I guess not?

Regarding Elspeth and Kyle MacLachlan's character's fling: That is how you write, act, and direct a romantic fling between mature individuals without making the viewer cringe--too much.

Lovely unspoken remembrance of Will at the end.

 

I loved Elsbeth and Perotti I thought they played well off eachother and are equally odd duck quirky people. Loved the sidewalk grate scene where he pretended to fall through. LOL

 

I didn't at all care for the religious stuff and don't really understand why the Kings want to push that to the front and risk alienating viewers. At least Grace seems uncomfortable with the lying that Alicia didn't seem to mind doing at all.

 

Carey worried me. He looks very unwell. I think he is depressed and not handling it well at all. I just assumed since they took a car service it was dropping off multiple people and may have gone into Indiana dropping someone else off and Carey was too drunk to pay attention.

 

There were some good points and over all eveything except Alicia running for office I liked.

Edited October 27, 2014 by Cattitude

[india wilkes]

 

I didn't at all care for the religious stuff and don't really understand why the Kings want to push that to the front and risk alienating viewers.

sure is alienating me. I kept turning the channel or wanting Alicia to cut the interview short. it was so aggravating. 

[sheetmoss]

Yeah, I think the Cary/Indiana storyline was a bit contrived,

I live fairly close to the Chicago/IN border, and yes, driving from Chicago into Whiting/East Chicago IN one would barely notice the difference once you crossed the state line--it's basically like just going into another burb.

It would have been more plausible story if Cary was driven by a friend , talking, and not noticing he crossed the state line.

    Also , when he got the invite, it would clearly say in  IN.

 

The storyline should have been the judge restricted him to only Cook County and Cary went up to tony Deerfiled(Lake County) which is  burb - and the bar was just across  Lake-Cook Rd.

 

Then again, the writers had Alicia and Peter(then Cook County State's Attorney) living in Highland Park which is in Lake County/ Oy!

Edited October 27, 2014 by sheetmoss

[mjt626]

They also gave Northern Illinois a magnificent waterfall.....

[readster]

 The problem is, they are playing Cary as very unaware of what he should and should not be doing. Another problem is, I get that Alicia and Diane are busy running the firm and add in the SA race but at times I feel like they should be working Cary's case better. If feels like Cary keeps playing himself into Castro's hands, the SA office is doing what it can to keep it that way. Then Alicia and Diane go: "Umm... duh!" and keep getting caught with their pants down every time. I also thought Cary's hook up with a plant but even Grubick should have handled that better. They are leaving her as this character that just does her job, doesn't doubt but then you add in the whole talk with Bishop and Kalinda and it keeps being more of how Castro wants to bring Bishop down and doesn't care who gets in his way. I'm about to say, if Castro and the SA office are so busy trying to shut down Cary and Alicia. They should just pull some strings, have Bishop killed in a car accident and let his men just fight among themselves for control and let them blow themselves up. Seems much easier. Of course, Castro wants to do it: "By the Book" even though he isn't doing anything by the book. It's getting tiresome. 

[Sandman]

And Diane can single handedly make Howard Lyman a partner?

 

And can she make him a partner retroactively? I agree with the poster upthread who thinks that bringing on Howard is going to bite Florrick Agos on the ass. Does Cary know that Half-Dressed Howard is in the house? Poor Cary!

 

I like Tascioni, but her characterization has degraded from "quirky but inspired" to "unprofessional and barely functional batshit person." It's lazy and heavy-handed to make the comic relief aspect this extreme. I find it cringe-worthy, especially from MacLachlan, who is making Perotti seem like a completely manipulative fake -- or, worse, like an incipient serial killer, with the sniffing, the distraction, and the weirdo, staring insistence. 

 

If Alicia hadn't already sacrificed her relationship with her mother, her brother, and her son for this political career she doesn't even really want, I'd have found her struggles with religion both more interesting and more believable. As it is, I'm trying to remember a time when Alicia's principles were understandable, or even evident. Are the Kings in the process of transforming the titular Good Wife into exactly the thing that she hated in the first season?

 

ETA: I'm also getting really tired of the repeated device where these professionals are completely surprised by things of which they should have at the very least a working knowledge. It used to annoy me when Eli, supposedly one of the best in the business, kept getting blindsided by things he should have seen coming; now Cary and Alicia keep acting like everything that occurs to them is a surprise. It's not entertaining, show; please quit it.

Edited October 27, 2014 by Sandman

[TV Diva Queen]

I was such a fan of the show and now I'm ready to quit it.  What they hell did they do to Tassione?  Isn't this the second time in as many weeks that we've seen Cary "day drinking".  When I bring out the iPad and start facebooking during a show, its a bad sign.  Dang it.....bring my show back to its glory!!  This is no longer Must See TV.

[Isazouzi]

I'm pretty sure Cary and his "companion" were quite busy on the backseat and didn't bother looking out the window to check which roads the driver was taking.

[Primetimer]

While Alicia's campaign addresses the God issue, in that she doesn't believe in any, Josh and Elsbeth make some progress in their weird flirtation.

Read the story

[Ms Blue Jay]

I haven't used Uber before.  If an Uber driver briefly detoured into Indiana and came back to Illinois, would this somehow show up on an Uber receipt?

Edited October 27, 2014 by Ms Blue Jay

[Boundary]

Where did a huge firm like LGC locate to with 24 hours' notice? That was swept under the carpet.

[marceline]

I feel like we've hit the season of diminishing returns for TGW or maybe that's just my grandiose way of saying that I'm liking the show less and less.

 

The current incarnation of Elsbeth is a perfect example of "be careful what you wish for." I've always enjoyed her but now I'm happy not to see her again.

 

They really aren't going to leave Cary with anything are they? Every hope, dream and decent thing the guy has ever wanted or worked for just keeps getting pulled away from him. Returning to the Lockhart Gardner offices was such a letdown. I feel like TGW is running from all the bold story decisions that they made last year. Also I have to mention that horrible line from the woman hitting on Cary about how it would be "hot" if he'd been gang-raped. That was just foul on so many levels I'm at a loss to express it. Having him respond so positively to it just highlights how far gone he is and I hope that was the point.

 

The religion stuff makes my teeth itch but that's the same reaction I have to political religiosity in real life so I guess that's a sign of good writing. That said, I really want that minister to end up on the receiving end of a nice big, disgusting sex scandal a la Eddie Long or Ernest Angley. Imagine if Alicia the atheist ends up getting the seal of approval from a minister only to learn that minister is a predator. Is that the same guy whose son Peter had to kowtow to after he got out of jail? Didn't he (the father) basically force his own son out of the church? I need to go back and look at season 2.

 

On a separate topic, I was in NYC earlier this month and got to see Sarah Steele (Marissa) in a play with Blythe Danner. She was excellent. I kept thinking about how her TV dad was running the Kit Kat Club just a couple of blocks away.

Edited October 27, 2014 by marceline

[swimmyfish]

Where did a huge firm like LGC locate to with 24 hours' notice? That was swept under the carpet.

 

They didn't say this, but I imagine they moved into some of the Louis Canning's offices?

[milkyaqua]

Where did a huge firm like LGC locate to with 24 hours' notice? That was swept under the carpet.

 

Rule of tv watching 101, don't look for common sense.  Really, it'll save you a lot of grief.

 

Can't add much more to what's already been said.

 

I know people are annoyed about the F/A going back to L/G but that seemed farily obvious to me when that storyline happened.  I gave it no more than one season.  As for Lyman, again, if I think about it, my head will hurt so I'll just go with it even if it is stupid.

 

Poor Cary, his "partner" is continually disregarding his opinions though she hides behind the "majority rule" crutch.

 

I actually felt bad for Grace which surprised me.  But agree, that somehow this will create a strain between she and the World's worst mother.

 

I liked Elsbeth in earlier episodes but have found the past two eps she's been in absoluty cringeworthy doubled with Kyle McLaughlin's character.

 

I was more surprised by the fact that they actually showed Kalinda and Alicia speaking on the phone.  Although, where is Robin?

 

Still like Linda Lavin's character.  Otherwise, this show seems to be treading water.

[shapeshifter]

My last thought on Cary's brief interlude in Indiana.  I live in Gary.  (Yes, people still live here)  On a trip to Whiting, I ended up in Illinois.  I did not take a highway or the toll road, but made a wrong turn.  I did not recognize my mistake, until I saw the Pace bus signs.

I haven't used Uber before.  If an Uber driver briefly detoured into Indiana and came back to Illinois, would this somehow show up on an Uber receipt?

There's a place in central Illinois where I've accidentally wound up in Iowa--twice! And I'm not the only one. But if I had $90,000 of bail money riding on my staying in Illinois, and if I took an Uber car (which I know nothing about either, Ms Blue Jay) I would obsessively repeat to the driver that we must not leave Illinois. And I would not get too drunk to notice. Granted, $90K is a lot less to Cary than it is to me, but does he really want to risk going back to jail and have to lose a finger or two????

I thought the religious stuff was handled realitically. More or less.

[izabella]

Also I have to mention that horrible line from the woman hitting on Cary about how it would be "hot" if he'd been gang-raped. That was just foul on so many levels I'm at a loss to express it. Having him respond so positively to it just highlights how far gone he is and I hope that was the point.

 

Thank you for mentioning that because I hated that, too.  WTF was that supposed to be?  I guess these are the same writers who wrote that abusive and non-sexy story line for Kalinda and her ex-husband.

 

The religion stuff makes my teeth itch but that's the same reaction I have to political religiosity in real life so I guess that's a sign of good writing. That said, I really want that minister to end up on the receiving end of a nice big, disgusting sex scandal a la Eddie Long or Ernest Angley. Imagine if Alicia the atheist ends up getting the seal of approval from a minister only to learn that minister is a predator.

 

I am truly irritated that it seems no one can get elected unless they pay at least lip service to religion.  There are lots of atheists out there - why do candidates need to lie about that in order to be elected?  I would have had a ton more respect for Alicia if she had been honest instead.

[rubyred]

I use Uber -- I was surprised that Grubick was able to see the route on Cary's phone, because I don't see it on mine - but that said, when Uber sends the receipt to my email it includes a map image that traces the route the driver took. So either there's a way to also see your previous routes on the app that I'm not aware of or they just took poetic license, but it is possible to get the map route from the Uber app or receipt.

 

I feel like they've ruined Elsbeth. I loved in days of yore when she needed something and all Diane, Will or Alicia would have to say is "It's Elsbeth" and they'd drop everything.

[Artsda]

Basically they ruined the entire new feel of a new firm, office and moving on with their own. To basically be Lockhart Gardner again, they have Lockhart, they have the exact offices. The only thing different is Cary is a partner and we've taken huge jumps back.

 

I'm with Cary, I hate this and it's gone just a full circle backwards. 

[cam3150]

 

I am truly irritated that it seems no one can get elected unless they pay at least lip service to religion.  There are lots of atheists out there - why do candidates need to lie about that in order to be elected?

I know nothing about politics, in fact I detest it most of the time, but my assumption would be that they feel they are catering to the larger majority. The mumber of people that consider themselves religious far outweighs the number of people that don't. 

.

 

I didn't at all care for the religious stuff and don't really understand why the Kings want to push that to the front and risk alienating viewers.

sure is alienating me. I kept turning the channel or wanting Alicia to cut the interview short. it was so aggravating.

 

Glad to know it's not just me that this whole storyline is annoying to.  I actually fast forwarded through the scene at Alicia's apt where Grace's group was meeting. 

 

For me, the issue is that the show is playing to Christian stereotypes in a way normally reserved for a comedy. As someone who is a Christian, I always find this portrayal to be very bothersome. I normally can, and do, just overlook it because it's the norm for Christians to be portrayed as complete, intolerant idiots.  All I will say is not all Christians are like this.  I would think that a show like TGW would take on the issue with intelligence and respect but that has generally not been the case thus far.

 

Of course, all of this is just "in my opinion"  so YMMV :)

[Florinaldo]

Is Finn kryptonite to other lawyers? Every time they face off with him in front of a judge Diane, Alicia et al. seem to lose all of their professional skills, rarely challenging any of his points or doing it very weakly at best; in previous episodes they could have argued he was also in a conflict of interest because of a past association with Alicia (it might not have worked, but it could have dented his credibility); Alicia fell into girlish flirty mode and forgot they were on opposing sides, allowing him to blindside her; and last night Diane did not strongly dispute the social worker's report, for example by arguing that the driver of the Uber car was the one in control of the itinerary, that Kalinda was not convicted on the charges brought against her or that she (and every one in the firm) dealt with Bishop simply because he was a client at one point, a relationship now severed. The judge might not have bought any of these but it would have shown them to be at least trying.

 

That being said, Cary was written as negligent regarding his bail, getting drunk and picking up a girl who stated that having him gang-raped would be a turn-on for her. I wonder if they are planning to go even further on that downturn arc of self-degradation.

 

As irritating as it was to see Alicia fudge her true position on religion, it is a realistic portrayal of the state of politics in the U.S.; it's always puzzling for an irreligious Canadian like me to see how central faith (the Christian variety only, of course) is to our Southern neighbours' political process, as if atheists can't be at least as moral and worthy of the voter's confidence as religious candidates. Will she be able to prevaricate for long or will she ultimately get disgusted with the compromises asked of her?

[mspaul]

 

I live in Chicago and have driven to Indiana using highways, which make it very clear when you're crossing the state line.  As others have pointed out, the specifics of Cary's Indiana foray were extremely contrived.

 

Yes, THANK YOU.  It's extremely unlikely that a Harvard alumni event would be held anywhere south of Jackson, much less in Indiana.  It would really hard to end up in Indiana, even if Cary lived in the South Loop (which is about as far south/east as his character would believably live).

 

Also completely unbelievable?  That anyone running for Cook County State's Attorney would have to talk about their religion or lack thereof.  Are you the Democrat?  Yes?  You win.  That's pretty much how it goes for Cook County elections.  There's an extremely close race for governor going on right now, and I haven't heard anyone talk about religion at all.