S07.E04: Taxed

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Loved watching Diane continue talking while she "helped" Canning aka refused to let him distract her.

 

And Eyebrows is back on my tv! Although I loved him as Sandy Cohen on The OC and Jonathan in Center Stage, he will always be Peter from While You Were Sleeping (which I know is weird since he was in a coma for most of the movie).

[mansonlamps]

For me he will always be from Sex Lies and Videotape....creepy.

[milkyaqua]

I loved him on Homicide:  Life on the Street and whatever they were trying to do with he and Kyle Secor's character.  But glad to have him on here and did like his rapport with Diane.

 

Now as for Alicia and Lucca becoming partners in business, I don't know.  How many iterations of a law practice is Alicia going to have?  If this just all winds up with her back at Lockhart, Whatever and Whatever at the end, what's the point?  I do, however like the idea of she and Lucca being friends because really, the fact that Alicia seems to only be able to talk to blood relatives or her current/future boyfriends, is sort of pathetic.

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

 

The Good Wife's Euthanasia Case Gives Louis And Diane A New Reason To Hate Each Other
And Peter Gallagher's eyebrows book a new gig!

[racked]

I skipped basically all of last season, and I wasn't planning on watching this season but I had all these episodes on my DVR and nothing else to watch, and I'm really glad. This season has been good! I'm a little over the bond court stuff, and always want more Cary and Diane, but overall enjoying it. Especially the "case of the week" comeback, I never want that to end. This one was a bit lameand predictable, but still a good episode. Love love Peter Gallagher and him interacting with Christine B. is fantastic.

[needschocolate]

Last episode, Bond Court Judge was giving Alicia all the cases because she saved him when Eli warned him about the FBI bribery sting.  This week he's taking all her cases away from her because she won't lie to a defendant to force her to take the plea, thus "wasting" the judges time, in a case that doesn't belong in bond anyway.  Huh?

 

And why did all those people who were arrested want to have Alicia as their lawyers? Were they all arrested for shoplifting at the same store?  The store didn't seem that busy in the surveillance video.

[Whimsy]

Last episode, Bond Court Judge was giving Alicia all the cases because she saved him when Eli warned him about the FBI bribery sting.  This week he's taking all her cases away from her because she won't lie to a defendant to force her to take the plea, thus "wasting" the judges time, in a case that doesn't belong in bond anyway.  Huh?

 

And why did all those people who were arrested want to have Alicia as their lawyers? Were they all arrested for shoplifting at the same store?  The store didn't seem that busy in the surveillance video.

I think they just saw Alicia actually DOING something for her client rather than shuffling them through, although really shuffling them through is all she was SUPPOSED to be doing.

[kwnyc]

And, for that matter, DOES Alicia lose the rights to a class action suit? If it's provable (especially through the video) that the store targeted African-American customers, then that should be a nice, fat civil case for her fledgling firm.

[Noirprncess]

Another thumbs up for Diane's fabulous suit (although I must take points off for it being a 3/4 length jacket, I can't stand those things!).

 

I dislike that Eli's been (or in the process of being) reduced to a twirling mustache looking for another dastardly deed in the form of how to make Ruth's life miserable.  PLEEEASE make this character assassination stop before it really becomes painful.    He doesn't have to win everything but good lord, please stop having him slink into this level just to get back at Peter thru Ruth.  The sophomoric hijinks with the Assisted Suicide stuff was just silly.  (Although, I LOL'd over his remark to Mama Florrick, "I've never seen you show so much cleavage" - pans back to her wearing a blouse with barely a sliver of skin shown far far above a "cleavage".)

 

Dunno how I feel about Alicia and Lucca (who's pretty obviously Kalinda 2.0) joining forces for what will probably be the 900th iteration of a Florrick law firm.  

 

JDM is pretty much playing the same character he's ever played on tv...some form of the sexy man with equal parts of sweetness and badass.  Or, basically as the love interest of a major character.  I liked him on Extant.  Not sure, why they choose to have Alicia act surprised at his backstory when it was relayed in court.  Or does that point to the fact that she's a bit of a crappy lawyer who forgot to do a thorough background check into the person you want to hire?

 

I like Eyebrows of Justice, I really do - but I don't like watching them on both L&O:SVU and TGW episodes airing in the same week.  

 

Cannings antics are played for comic relief which I enjoy.  He really should take his act to a local dinner theater during his down time.  I LOVED how Diane never missed a beat with her cross while simultaneously opening his medication AND asking how many he wanted.  Kinda like a multi-tasking mom.  LOL

[pennben]

Dunno how I feel about Alicia and Lucca (who's pretty obviously Kalinda 2.0) j

 

Back in the day, way back, when an actor playing a soap opera character was replaced by an another actor, there would be a voiceover in their first scene stating that a new actor was taking over that character's role. 

 

I feel like that should have been done (albeit in a more complicated variation) in episode one of this season, to the effect of:

 

"The role of Kalinda will now be played by Cush Jumbo.  Also, she will, going forward, be known as Lucca Quinn. Finally, she will be an attorney as opposed to a private investigator." 

[caracas1914]

At this point it's ridiculous why Alicia stays tethered to Peter. The kids are grown and none of their friends or family are fooled by this sham of a marriage, it seems she wants the facade and convenience as much as Peter which actually makes her the antithesis of the show's title.

Rename it the "passive agressive not committed but indifferent wife".

[Maherjunkie]

I think they still love each other underneath the surface.

[Kromm]

I think she just secretly wants to be Second Lady now (is that what they call it)?  But one wonders how she thinks she'll get away with not moving cities and living separately if that happens.

[photo fox]

I refuse to believe that it's possible in today's world that anyone would believe that Alicia and Peter are some happy couple. It would be incredibly easy for the press or Peter's adversaries to uncover the lie. They live completely separately! Is Peter's mail going to Alicia's address? Don't her neighbors wonder why they never see him? Is Peter active socially, and doesn't anyone wonder why Alicia never comes along? What excuse could they possibly give for having two residences?

 

I could maybe go with it if Peter were supposed to be living in the governor's mansion in Springfield, but Alicia stayed in Chicago for her career and so Grace wouldn't have to switch schools. But they both live in Chicago! Presumably in the city proper. Nobody ever sees them together unless it's for an interview or other major political function. And everybody goes along with that? Please. Peter's whole career is (ridiculously) supposedly built around his solid marriage to St. Alicia. Everybody would want to break that story.

[Tetraneutron]

I refuse to believe that it's possible in today's world that anyone would believe that Alicia and Peter are some happy couple. It would be incredibly easy for the press or Peter's adversaries to uncover the lie. They live completely separately! Is Peter's mail going to Alicia's address? Don't her neighbors wonder why they never see him? Is Peter active socially, and doesn't anyone wonder why Alicia never comes along? What excuse could they possibly give for having two residences?

 

I could maybe go with it if Peter were supposed to be living in the governor's mansion in Springfield, but Alicia stayed in Chicago for her career and so Grace wouldn't have to switch schools. But they both live in Chicago! Presumably in the city proper. Nobody ever sees them together unless it's for an interview or other major political function. And everybody goes along with that? Please. Peter's whole career is (ridiculously) supposedly built around his solid marriage to St. Alicia. Everybody would want to break that story.

It's been established Peter lives in Springfield, but comes to Chicago regularly. It's common these days for couples where one is in politics to live separately, or maintain a residence at the state capital/DC and commute on weekends. Joe Biden was considered a novelty for taking the train across two states to go home every night. 

 

Besides, we've seen them do joint media appearances and attend functions. And it's not like they'd be doing the shopping together - they're both busy professionals and what couple does that anyway? They maintain appearances. We see the insides of their homes, their private lives, but the people of Chicago/Illinois wouldn't. How much do any of us know about any political marriage? Nothing until the call girl speaks up or they're caught in the airport bathroom. Fir the people of Chicago to know what we do, that'd have to have spies in Alicia's apartment. 

 

How often do we see, in real life, the private lives of any politician and his or her spouse? Or hear anything at all negative about their domestic arrangements? Sure, everyone would want to break an adultery story but there isn't any adultery going on at the moment. Peter had a brief with his lawyer, who he dumped a year ago, the show is determined to ignore the emails where it was revealed Alicia slept with Will and Johnny, and that was over a year ago as well. Johnny moved away and will never talk, Will is dead so what do they have to go on. At the present time, neither Peter nor Alicia are cheating on each other. Is it really a juicy story that, what, they don't have candlelit dinners every night? 

[Tara]

I agree with Noirprncess about Eli. Please, there is only one Eli Gold......don't make us watch this unlikeable woman outsmart him at every turn.

Why do writers love to torture their viewers?

[Tara]

Wow, I am watching a repeat where Eli was first introduced to the show. Bring back that Eli. He would NEVER be outsmarted by big Mama.

[needschocolate]

Back in the day, way back, when an actor playing a soap opera character was replaced by an another actor, there would be a voiceover in their first scene stating that a new actor was taking over that character's role. 

 

I feel like that should have been done (albeit in a more complicated variation) in episode one of this season, to the effect of:

 

"The role of Kalinda will now be played by Cush Jumbo.  Also, she will, going forward, be known as Lucca Quinn. Finally, she will be an attorney as opposed to a private investigator." 

 

I see the similarities between Kalinda and Lucca and think that, sometime in the planning of this season, someone in charge said, "We need to find someone that will take Kalinda's place on the show.  Alicia needs a female friend and, with our reliance on having cases be won by someone suddenly knowing or discovering something they should have realized long before, we need a character that will magically come to the rescue."  Okay, they probably didn't say that last part out loud, but I am pretty sure they thought it.  

 

However, there is one major way that Lucca and Kalinda are different that I am very happy about - there have no signs that Lucca has a magic vagina. 

[Kromm]

I see the similarities between Kalinda and Lucca and think that, sometime in the planning of this season, someone in charge said, "We need to find someone that will take Kalinda's place on the show.  Alicia needs a female friend and, with our reliance on having cases be won by someone suddenly knowing or discovering something they should have realized long before, we need a character that will magically come to the rescue."  Okay, they probably didn't say that last part out loud, but I am pretty sure they thought it.  

 

However, there is one major way that Lucca and Kalinda are different that I am very happy about - there have no signs that Lucca has a magic vagina. 

I think the logic went like this.  "Because the fans are sniping so much at us about this, maybe we can magically get them back on our side with a substitute! But lets not be TOO obvious!" (at least they don't think they're being so, but... they are.

 

1.) "Sassy" friend vibes. Someone who's supposed to be able to tease Alicia in a way that (to the show writer's perceptions) "humanizes" that cold fish.  Also undertones of flirting, but not overtly, since they don't want Alicia going to ladytown.

2.) Vaguely ethnic. or at least contrasting in appearance to Alicia. Cush Jumbo, half British/half Nigerian isn't what we might normally think is the same as "ethnic" I suppose, as much as "multiracial", but the point is they wanted Alicia to be pals with another brown person of some type. 

3.) Smart... but not TOO smart. We've seen Lucca come up with the solution for something a few times, but I think they've also been real careful to make sure she doesn't come off as smarter than St. Alicia (or should we say "St. Julianna"?)

 

I wonder what the heck the Kings will do if Jumbo somehow wins an Emmy (she's won a few UK theater awards)?  Will they safeguard against this by writing stories with no emotional resonance in them?  Or will Jumbo be no threat to Marguiles gignormous ego, simply because Marguiles would have won her Emmy BEFORE her?

[CleoCaesar]

Also undertones of flirting, but not overtly, since they don't want Alicia going to ladytown.

My tinfoil hat will always be welded to my head on this topic. I once fervently believed JM was uncomfortable with so many people shipping Alicia and Kalinda, and put the kibosh on that in all the ways she did. I forget now why I thought that, but it seemed there was genuine discomfort from her when it came to "Kalicia" theories.

[nara]

Pardon my ignorance, but why was this epi called Taxed?

 

 

I can start to answer....when Judge Jerk of Bond Court grounded Alicia and took away all her cases until she convinced her client to plead guilty.  Alicia told the other woman attorney in bond court something like "I was taxed".  I know what it means, but I don't know what it mean. 

 

The judge made her pay the price for not cooperating.  He charged or taxed her for her behavior.

[candall]

Well, I never thought I'd be fast-forwarding through anything with Eli, Mr. Big and/or Margo Martindale.  But I didn't predict episodes of The Good Wife piling up on my DVR due to lack of interest, either.

 

The independent nation-state of Christopher Macdonald's "Bond Court" is ridiculous. 

 

The only good thing is that someone woke up and realized Diane is more than capable of carrying her own storyline and doesn't have to be auxiliary to Saint Alicia. 

 

As far as I'm concerned, they could just change the name of the show to "Diane Lockhart."  I'd be perfectly happy watching her wrangle Cary, David and Howard in the office and Gary Cole in the bedroom. 

 

Sorry, Louis, you're out.

[Driad]

Yes. Diane is a wife, and surely she is good at that, as she is at everything. Removing the focus from Alicia would be a good start.

[Maherjunkie]

If it were an Odd Couple type of sitcom with Diane Lockhart and Diane Chambers of Cheers, that would be a helluva show.