S07.E05: Payback

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Jason employs aggressive investigative tactics when he assists Alicia and Lucca with a student loan case. Also, Howard Lyman alleges ageism at Lockhart, Agos & Lee, pointing to Cary as the primary offender, and Eli stirs up Florrick family drama on Peter's presidential campaign.

[TigerLynx]

I'm not sure what they are trying to do with Eli, but if Alicia decides to join him to undermine Peter and Ruth while she has an affair with Jason, that might be interesting.  Although, I keep coming back to the same thought I have had for years know.  Alicia should just end everything with Peter, no more marriage, sham or otherwise, and move on with her life.

 

I liked that Jason was shown actually doing investigative work.  Not sure what to think of the Jason/tire iron/conman scene.

 

The law firm of Lockhart and Aggos has sunk to a new low.

[sadiegirl]

So is Jason doing pro bono investigations?  Because going to Michigan and hanging out by the mail boxes certainly took more than the 4 hours he was tasked with.  Maybe he's just trying to get on Alicia's good side.

 

Diane's law firm should just give up.  Let everyone move on to other things because I don't know what the hell they are doing anymore. 

[Brian Cronin]

I have to say, I adore Alicia's "Eh, whatever" attitude regarding Eli's scheming. It's hilarious. 

[Tetraneutron]

It is. The political scenes are frequently the most fun part of the show, especially if they involve Eli. 

 

But you can't think about it too much, because, what's Alicia's goal here? Does she want to run, or not? She explicitly told Peter to start his  campaign so she doesn't really have a right to sandbag him or waste everyone's time and money if she doesn't want to run. She should tell him straight-up. And the whole reason she hasn't is because Alan Cumming's so great in this role and that's not really a reason. And how does it make Alicia look good to drag her family through  a Presidential campaign  if she's just going to screw around and not take it seriously? And why would she, who's been so protective of her family and privacy, even WANT to do that? Instead of chafing at sexist expectations or whatever, she can pull the plug whenever she wants. So I don't get this plot at all. 

 

And ugh, with Howard Lyman. What exactly's going on here. Howard, world's most incompetent lawyer, who I'm pretty sure the firm can dump for a dozen different non-age-related reasons, is now running legal circles around Diane, Cary, and David Lee? How is that possible? I get there's a lot of comic and soapboxing possibilities in a "sensitivity training is dumb" plot line, but make that the case of the week or something. Don't have the best lawyers ever be outsmarted by Howard. Is the audience SUPPOSED to believe what Diane said, that everyone making fun of Howard resulted in agist harassment? That Carey and Diane caused the associates to prank Howard? Why the hell would an associate at an elite white shoe law firm do something so (a) actionable and (b) pointless? Is it going to be an arc this year that every lawyer under thirty is a complete idiot? And if Howard is claiming agism, why is no one talking about all the times he's been casually sexist or racist? 

 

I really hope it's leading somewhere. 

Edited November 2, 2015 by Tetraneutron

[whatsatool]

It does seem odd that Peter is not the least bit interested in what his wife is doing.

[Tetraneutron]

No kidding. He's running for President. Like he's not going to order Alicia to stop representing criminals in bond court, or fighting big companies in the donor class, or arguing a case that implies law enforcement targets black people, or hiring an employee with a criminal past, or several other things I'm forgetting. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

I guess I like Jeffrey Dean Morgan in this role but I don't see how it's going to come close to being even 20% as interesting as Kalinda ever was in the same one.

[OptimisticCynic]

I was half watching so perhaps this is a misread on my part but am I really supposed to feel bad for Howard because he's old?

How about him doing a full Tootsie so he understands how not to sexually harass women?

[racked]

I like Alicia and Lucca. I may be in the minority but I don't see any similarities between her and Kalinda and I'm enjoying the case of the week theme. Also love Alicia and Eli, she didn't even really half ass her attempt to get him to leave.

What they're doing to Cary and Diane on the other hand, oye. Why? Can they not think of any actual cases for Lockhart & Agos to try?

[jjj]

So, did the main case get resolved?  That was a lot of countersuits!  Just because Client #1 got her $8000 does not make the other lawsuit (shareholders) and the debt strike go away.  I mean, they can’t say, sorry, we have no time for you anymore.  And that’s where the contingency fee will be, not in the $8000 refund.

 

Does this mean no more bond court?

And when junior executive Grace become a finance consultant?

Edited November 2, 2015 by jjj

[pennben]

I guess I like Jeffrey Dean Morgan in this role but I don't see how it's going to come close to being even 20% as interesting as Kalinda ever was in the same one.

 

They have cleaved the role of Kalinda into two new roles:  the sexy, tough, PI with chemistry with Alicia, in JDM's character, and the drinking buddy colleague, in Cush Jumbo's character.  I absolutely agree with you, neither half will ever be as interesting as Kalinda and her relationship with Alicia in the first couple of years.

Edited November 2, 2015 by pennben

[Broderbits]

I don't believe for a minute that the associates put those "props" in Howard's office; I think he did it himself. He's finally found something that interests him: pulling a fast one on everyone else in the office. He's on quite a roll, what with a new relationship with Jackie and actually bringing in clients; sticking it to people who wrote him off as incompetent is icing on the cake.

[whatsatool]

Yes it reminds me of Boston legal

[NutMeg]

This new investigator acts like a male Kalinda - what with the confident swagger and fun pursuing cases - but he's male, so it reads differently.

 

He also sounds very much like Peter, to the point that when he first appeared in talk {disclosure, I've just recently started watching the show again, after going awol for a while, after it stopped being muist-see-TV and have seen what? maybe 3 episodes so far? 4?} I thought Peter had grown a beard since I last watched.

[Whimsy]

They have cleaved the role of Kalinda into two new roles:  the sexy, tough, PI with chemistry with Alicia, in JDM's character, and the drinking buddy colleague, in Cush Jumbo's character.  I absolutely agree with you, neither half will ever be as interesting as Kalinda and her relationship with Alicia in the first couple of years.

I am thinking that they have spread Kalinda's role into three and gave Alicia the magic hooha.  I am not saying she's actively using it, but the possibility of it is obviously what is spurring JDM's character on since he took a big pay cut to work for Alicia and is working way more hours than he's being paid for too.

[Primetimer]

Lucca brings Alicia a client who's being harassed by her student loan collector, but there turns out to be more to her story, including a new way for Eli to screw over Ruth.

Read the story

[candle96]

Diane's law firm should just give up.  Let everyone move on to other things because I don't know what the hell they are doing anymore. 

 

And this is one of many things that bothers me about Lockhart & Agos. It was supposed to be Cary's vision of a law firm, until Alicia brought on Diane without his approval, and then took off about a week later. I like Diane, she's not the problem. The problem is that Cary's dream of that startup firm has been completely forgotten, and now he's essentially working in the old firm he wanted to leave. 

It's also ridiculous how much it has become essentially a clown show and source of humor on this show. L&A has become the funny, wacky side plot. Except I don't find Howard's story amusing, I just find it annoying. How can you not get rid of someone who takes off his pants, says inappropriate things to women, and spends most of the day sleeping??

[Eliz]

The timeline of this episode is INSANE.

I mean, I know every lawyer show takes great liberties with starting a trial the day after they get a case and also how a deposition goes for like 10 minutes on one day and then they all leave and come back for 10 minutes on another day. But this arbitration hearing with Colosseum was next-level weird, happening in some time-out-of-time parallel universe, finding new witnesses, traveling back and forth to Michigan -- and all the while the Cary-Diane-Howard meeting was also still going on over at their firm.

It's hard to pay attention when all I can think about is trying to track how many days or weeks have gone by.

[lidarose9]

I feel like this season has lost any connection with past seasons. Nothing makes sense. And I don't care about any of it. It feels pointless, repetitive, and disconnected. 

 

Also, I hate Alicia's hair. 

[backformore]

I could NOT figure out where I had seen that college girl before.   I had to wait for IMDB to update for this episode .  She's Justine Lupe, most recently from the show Cristela, where she played the boss's flaky blonde daughter. 

 

 

This show's constantly changing alliances confuses me.  Alicia and Kerry were rivals, then partners, teamed up against Diane.  Now Kerry and Diane are partners, teaming up against Alicia.   The new firm was in a warehouse, now it's back in the old firm's space, but is it the new firm or the old one?  Or is it  the new firm, but all the old (sorry, Howard, FORMER) lawyers work there?  It's almost like they decided to abandon the whole "new start-up firm"   and this is the convoluted way back to the original concept. 

 

And now that Alicia is on her own, why is it that Kerry and Diane aren't as smart as they once were?   Kerry especially, seems to have lost his spark.   

Edited November 2, 2015 by backformore

[Rosebud1970]

Re: Peter's anti-union speech.  There is NO way, I mean no possible way that a candidate for national Democratic office is going to come out with a position so blatantly anti-union.  That's a Republican tactic, not a D one. My ears were burning when Ruth burst into Peter's office, claiming that she had fresh polling data showing that he was up to Number 2 and rising.  Among which voters, pray tell?

 

If his real goal is the VP slot, neither Hillary nor Bernie would touch someone who comes out as anti-union with a 10-foot pole.  This is just not realistic.

 

But then, this is The Good Wife, so, you know...

[candle96]

The timeline of this episode is INSANE.

I mean, I know every lawyer show takes great liberties with starting a trial the day after they get a case and also how a deposition goes for like 10 minutes on one day and then they all leave and come back for 10 minutes on another day. But this arbitration hearing with Colosseum was next-level weird, happening in some time-out-of-time parallel universe, finding new witnesses, traveling back and forth to Michigan -- and all the while the Cary-Diane-Howard meeting was also still going on over at their firm.

It's hard to pay attention when all I can think about is trying to track how many days or weeks have gone by.

Yeah, I laughed when JDM's character was in Alicia's apartment, and then went to Michigan to intimidate that guy, and then the last scene is him coming back to Alicia's. Same day because Alicia is wearing the same dress. Muskegon is a good 3-hour drive from Chicago.

[wendyg]

I don't really have a problem with someone driving six hours and tracking down a suspect in the same day, but I had trouble getting past the improbability of the recorded phone call at the opening. You record a call because you are collecting evidence; if you're collecting evidence and recording the call you don't scream like that. If you scream like that, you're too freaked out to hit the record button.

[morgankobi]

When the college's lawyer was grilling the client about how she hardly went to class and didn't buy the textbooks, I though the obvious rebuttal was yes, this is all true and it was more than enough effort to earn a degree from this business/college, so good day sir. I said, good day!

[sadiegirl]

When the college's lawyer was grilling the client about how she hardly went to class and didn't buy the textbooks, I though the obvious rebuttal was yes, this is all true and it was more than enough effort to earn a degree from this business/college, so good day sir. I said, good day!

Wow, what a great point.  I hardly go to class, don't buy books and yet you still give me a diploma.  Meaning, you just wanted my money.  They definitely should have brought that up.

[j5cochran]

The timeline of this episode is INSANE.

I mean, I know every lawyer show takes great liberties with starting a trial the day after they get a case and also how a deposition goes for like 10 minutes on one day and then they all leave and come back for 10 minutes on another day. But this arbitration hearing with Colosseum was next-level weird, happening in some time-out-of-time parallel universe, finding new witnesses, traveling back and forth to Michigan -- and all the while the Cary-Diane-Howard meeting was also still going on over at their firm.

It's hard to pay attention when all I can think about is trying to track how many days or weeks have gone by.

 

Jason the investigator didn't go to Michigan.  The check was cashed in a Michigan bank, but when he visited the closed office of the scammer, he stole a letter from another person who was being scammed.  She had gotten a phone call with a new address to send her payment, an address that was something Deerborn Ave.  That's a Chicago address.  That's when he parked outside the mailboxes-are-us place, and found the scammer picking up his mail.

[jb1183]

Someone please free Christine Baranski and Matt Czuchry from this mess! The storylines for Diane and Cary this season are an appalling waste of their talents.

 

Where did the Kings get the ridiculous idea that viewers wanted Howard Lyman in every episode?

Edited November 3, 2015 by jb1183

[marny]

So basically they've had to add new people just so Alicia has someone to interact with. At this point, despite my love for them, I'm not sure why Diane and Carey are even on this show anymore. And I love Alan Cumming, but he's basically had the same story in every episode this season, and it's getting tiresome.

[photo fox]

I wonder if Christine Baranski and Matt Czuchry are regretting signing for two more years of this show.  They re-upped during the past season, when MC was garnering Emmy buzz from the big arrest/trial plot, and CB was getting some fairly meaty scenes with Oliver Platt and Gary Cole.

 

Now they're reduced to sniping at each other and shoving cotton balls in their nostrils.

 

Marisa was like a breath of freshness amid the stale air that was the rest of this episode.  I wish she and Eli would have gone to Israel to run that campaign together.  I would watch the hell out of that.

 

This show, however? At this point, I'm really only watching because I've invested so much time in it, and I'm assuming this is the final season.

[Fredward]

"You're not a member of a protected class Carry, Howard is."

 

OR IS HE?! #shippingCarryandthatotherguysinceS07E01

[dr pepper]

I liked that Jason was shown actually doing investigative work.  Not sure what to think of the Jason/tire iron/conman scene.

 

 

He asked himself WWKD?

[ElectricBoogaloo]

ITA that the timeline was weird.

 

The order of events we were shown all in one day (Alicia is wearing the same dark suit with a blue pattern):

 

- Alicia and Lucca go to arbitration with Maggie, Carter Schmidt, and the president of Colusseum then Jeffrey Solomon (the arbitrator) tells Alicia and Lucca to find ways to show that the school lied

 

- Jason goes to the address on Deerborn Park in Muskegon, Michigan, where Maggie sent her last payment and steals the leftover mail (when Jason goes to his car and looks through the mail, you can clearly see that all the envelopes were sent to Michigan)

 

- Marissa comes to Alicia's home and asks her to fire Eli

 

- Jason goes to Colosseum to pretend he wants to enroll

 

- Jason goes to Alicia's house to tell her what he learned and tells her to call Randy the recruitment officer at Colosseum as a witness

 

- Alicia and Lucca go back to arbitration and question Randy about the 90/10 rule then Maggie is called as a witness

 

- Alicia talks to Maggie in her office at home about her poor attendance while she was at Colosseum

 

- meeting at Alicia's house with all of Maggie's classmates where Alicia fires Eli

 

- Alicia and Lucca go to the Colosseum office to tell the president and his lawyer that they have a list of 350 students who are going to purposely default on their student loans (sunlight still streaming through the windows becauses this is the longest day ever)

 

Then we get a new outfit from Alicia (white and black suit) which I assume is a new day:

 

- Alicia goes to a campaign event with Peter

 

- Jason returns one of the checks he found to Molly Tuff on Calais Street in Chicago

 

- Jason sits in front of Michigan Mailstore (I don't know if this place was actually in Michigan but that's what the sign over the mailbox place said) to find the guy who has been receiving checks, follows him to his house, and then knocks on the door while armed with a tire iron or some other metal weapon (Kalinda would have used a baseball bat)

 

- Alicia goes home and Eli tells her he's staying on as her chief of staff, then Carter knocks on her door to inform her that Colosseum is suing her and Lucca

 

- Alicia and Lucca are at Alicia's house discussing being sued by Colosseum while Jason sits in the room with them and looks up Colosseum's stock on a laptop

 

- Alicia and Lucca go to Colosseum to discuss the shareholder suit

 

- Alicia goes home and Jason rings the doorbell to return Maggie's $8000 in cash

 

In other words, Alicia went to arbitration, back home, back to arbitration,  back home, and then to the Colosseum office all in one day. The next day, Jason goes to Michigan and "persuades" the fake loan collector to give him $8000 in cash, goes to Alicia's house and doesn't tell her that he has Maggie's money, leaves to parts unknown, then comes back later that night to give her Maggie's money - you know, because he couldn't have possibly given it to her earlier that day.

 

Loved that when Eli said he was staying as Alicia's chief of staff, her entire reaction was, "Okay. Sounds good."

 

When the college's lawyer was grilling the client about how she hardly went to class and didn't buy the textbooks, I though the obvious rebuttal was yes, this is all true and it was more than enough effort to earn a degree from this business/college, so good day sir. I said, good day!

That would have been awesome! Even before she told Alicia that she used PDFs of her books, I was waiting for her to have some sort of explanation that was related to how expensive the books were on top of tuition. At my college, the textbooks for many classes were on reserve in the library so you could just go check out the book for a few hours do the required reading without actually buying the books. Plus there are some professors who teach straight from the book so as long as you do the reading, you aren't missing anything if you skip class. But ITA that Maggie should have pointed out if she could pass all of her classes while barely attending and not buying the books, then Colosseum really is just a degree mill.

Edited November 3, 2015 by ElectricBoogaloo

[riverheightsnancy]

I really liked the episode (I think the behind-the-scenes stiff with Archie was killing the show due to JM's attitude about it and it really started to impact the show despite all their protestations) and I dig Jason (rawr), but I have to say that having JM as a producer continues to hurt the show now. I happened to see a couple of old episodes from season 3 I think, and it was so much more of an ensemble then. Alicia's story was NOT always front and center.  Diane was actually a powerful and smart attorney then. I think that JM took the fact that the "title" refers to her character and so MUST be about her at all times. All of the side stories are just fluff now and her story is always the main plot. Why is Grace even there? No college?  I do not get why Grace is giving her mother pep talks about the money situation. Is Alicia that stupid? Uh, her husband is the Governor. If she is short on cash flow, can't she just ask her "husband" for a small loan? There are also such things as small business loans. She has an apartment (I would imagine that it is an owned apartment/condo and not a rental-there is equity there).  I would have to re-look at the layout of Alicia's apartment in an old episode, but I think that there is some weirdness with what they did with her office. Maybe that is just my imagination though. 

[MakeMeLaugh]

I am enjoying this season so much more than the last one, but (and it's a big butt--yes I'm 12)

I really don't like Jason's resting smirk face. I don't get a spark between him and Alicia and hope Show doesn't go down Stereotype Road with them.

Eli, Diane, and Cary are all getting the clown treatment. Seriously, Eli, where are you going with this? Seriously, a new age spiritual healer will show Cary the error of his ways in how he perceives old people? Watching everyone put on their old people's Halloween costumes made me wonder why a client would go with a cranky half-blind hobbling wheezing attorney--but then, they wouldn't, because most professionals Howard's age (which is what--do we even know?) I see in downtown Chicago don't seem to be thusly afflicted.

The character of Ruth--busy, rushing around, consulting with Peter--is wasting MMartindale's talent. I wanted Ma Bennett from Justified reincarnated in Chicago and I feel like I got Alice from the Brady Bunch running the household.

Get a new wig for Alicia. Why, just why, does she have to have that hair?

Make Grace a teenager again.

Edited November 3, 2015 by MakeMeLaugh

[Inquisitionist]

I wanted Ma Bennett from Justified reincarnated in Chicago and I feel like I got Alice from the Brady Bunch running the household.

 

 Bwaaaaaah!  But seriously, you're making me really miss Justified. Now there was some good storytelling.

[Hanahope]

I think the topic of for-profit colleges is interesting, but it wasn't depicted very well in this episode.  its like they touched the tip of the topics, but didn't delve any further than that as to anything, and its quite a big issue.  And its not just 'for-profit' schools, but even some law schools (though granted, a lot of that is a few years old now).  And what person is idiotic enough to follow the instructions of a voice mail as to where to mail a huge check and not call back to confirm? 

 

And I know that the show has to condense things, but its getting ridiculous.  The lawyers aren't prepared for their client's testimony, lawsuits are being filed in the matter of an hour or two, somehow Alica and Lucca got the entirety of Colleseum's shareholders together to agree to sue the school and got the lawsuit filed in 20 minutes.

 

And AL firm/Cary's issues with Howard are being ridiculously portrayed.  The problem with Howard isn't that he's old, its that he's an idiot, a bigot, a racist, etc.   You don't tell your client that a partner of yours went to prison, that's a sure way to have that client wonder if he shouldn't be getting other counsel.   And if Howard is 80 years old, I'll eat my hat.

[orza]

And if Howard is 80 years old, I'll eat my hat.

 

It's not unbelievable. Actor Jerry Adler is 86.

[Whimsy]

And what person is idiotic enough to follow the instructions of a voice mail as to where to mail a huge check and not call back to confirm? 

 

And if Howard is 80 years old, I'll eat my hat.

 

Who even mails checks anymore?  I pay all my bills online.

 

The- whatever she was- lady said after they put on the glasses, cotton balls in their noses and corns (too on the nose?) in their shoes said “This is what it feels like to be 80” so my guess is Howard is somewhere in his ‘80s.  Otherwise, wouldn’t she say another age?  I don’t get why Howard just doesn’t retire.

[candle96]

I do not get why Grace is giving her mother pep talks about the money situation. Is Alicia that stupid? Uh, her husband is the Governor. If she is short on cash flow, can't she just ask her "husband" for a small loan? There are also such things as small business loans. She has an apartment (I would imagine that it is an owned apartment/condo and not a rental-there is equity there).  I would have to re-look at the layout of Alicia's apartment in an old episode, but I think that there is some weirdness with what they did with her office. Maybe that is just my imagination though. 

Yes, the idea that Alicia has money problems is just dumb. She lives in that beautiful condo. A few weeks ago she was complaining about needing money for college tuition. I assume Peter helps pay for the kids' expenses, including Zach's tuition. Even with him not being governor, he comes from money. And is Grace supposed to have graduated from high school by now? No mention of college? Why is she always there?

While I overall like the show, these are just a few of many small details they either get wrong or fail to address. It shouldn't bother me, but it does. 

[Kel Varnsen]

 And is Grace supposed to have graduated from high school by now? No mention of college? Why is she always there?

 

 I think I figured this one out. It said Peter made a speech at the Iowa state fair. Some googling tells me the Iowa state fair takes place in August, so I guess she is supposed to be off for the summer??

 

 

That would have been awesome! Even before she told Alicia that she used PDFs of her books, I was waiting for her to have some sort of explanation that was related to how expensive the books were on top of tuition. At my college, the textbooks for many classes were on reserve in the library so you could just go check out the book for a few hours do the required reading without actually buying the books. Plus there are some professors who teach straight from the book so as long as you do the reading, you aren't missing anything if you skip class. But ITA that Maggie should have pointed out if she could pass all of her classes while barely attending and not buying the books, then Colosseum really is just a degree mill.

Hell back in the 90's when I was in university I can remember people getting together (not me) borrowing a copy of a text book from the library, taking it to staples (or the library photocopier or whatever) and photocopying the whole damn thing then making a couple of copies of that copy. I considering that was almost 20 years ago I can't imagine how easy it must be to get text books without paying if you really wanted to now.

[Inquisitionist]

While I overall like the show, these are just a few of many small details they either get wrong or fail to address. It shouldn't bother me, but it does. 

 

I suspect it bothers you for the same reason it bothers me:  the mistakes and sloppiness are so unnecessary.  Also, I'm spoiled by Mad Men, where timelines and locations almost always made perfect sense.

[needschocolate]

I would be fine with Lockhart, Agos, etc., fading into the background and Alicia joining Peter on the campaign trail, and having most of the show be filled with Lucca and the investigator trying cases.  

 

Does this mean no more bond court?

And when junior executive Grace become a finance consultant?

 

I like how Grace when back to be clueless this episode.  "If the big cases make more money, why don't you only handle big cases." Last week, Alicia was scrapping by with bond court and Grace thinks she could just go out and get a big class action case now.  

 

This new investigator acts like a male Kalinda - what with the confident swagger and fun pursuing cases - but he's male, so it reads differently.

 

I think it also reads differently because hasn't flirted (or slept) his way into getting any information.

 

My ears were burning when Ruth burst into Peter's office, claiming that she had fresh polling data showing that he was up to Number 2 and rising.  Among which voters, pray tell?

 

When this happened, I turned to me viewing partner and said, "So Peter is the Donald Trump of the Democrats?"

[paramitch]

I agree that the timelines here were pretty crazy and didn't stand up to close scrutiny, but... I still thought it was a surprisingly fun episode that had some interesting things to say about for-profit education and student loan debt as well.

 

I'm also really enjoying Jason as a character. He's just so odd in a way I'm enjoying so far, and to me he's absolutely nothing like Kalinda -- while I loved K, Jason isn't manipulative or using people's weaknesses against them. Instead, Jason is so flat and so calm; he simply asks for the information he needs and watches to see how people react. Even when he showed up at the thief's place with the tire iron, I wasn't really bothered by it -- I thought it was pretty clear all he needed was a threat and he's fork over the cash. Besides, the guy's a THIEF, who is (even worse) stealing from young people who couldn't afford their debts to begin with and who were trying to pay them back in good faith. 

 

Also -- I have never quite found JDM my cup of tea on previous stuff, but I admit it, I think Jason is smoking hot. The quiet confidence is really charming. I was glad Alicia didn't spend a whole season before inviting him in for a glass of wine, dammit.

 

One logistical thing bugged me however that I haven't seen brought up: Alicia's client shouldn't have lost $8,000. She should have lost a few PAYMENTS. Not the total $8k, as the address had been changed fairly recently. I just thought it was weird that evidently she had sent in a lump sum of $8,000, paying off the loan, and sending that as a "payment" to the bogus address. I mean, she's a temp. I just didn't buy that she or any of those students would be paying in such large increments.

 

Meanwhile, I'm torn on Cary and Diane. The plot with Howard is dumb, and I'm really scratching my head over it, as I never thought I'd see the day when Howard Freaking Lyman was a lead character over DIANE, but I have to wonder if it isn't all going somewhere. I just hope this wraps up soon so that we can see Cary and Diane have stories they deserve (and we got teased with Alicia almost working with them again last week, so I hope that happens as well -- I just think Alicia is actually very interesting around Diane (and Cary).

I know it's goofy, but I'm still enjoying Ruth vs. Eli -- I'm a sucker for any scene in which Alan Cumming's eyes twinkle (usually with mischief or occasional pure evil), and it was surprising to me here when he paused after Alicia fired him, yet still leaned over to her to give her actual good advice (that also awesomely benefited him in his campaign against Ruth). Eli's having fun, so I'm having fun watching. It was nice seeing Marissa again, too.

[ChocButterfly]

I agree about Alicia's money problems being silly. In an episode she even mentioned how she was going to have 2 kids in college and her finances were separated from her husband's. So? Even if she's not benefiting personally from Peter's money he'd be definetely contributing to his kids tuition, no? Plus, correct me if I'm wrong posters with better memory than mine, but I remember from way back when Alicia was trying to buy her former house, Jackie made the down payment before her. When Alicia told Peter about it she asked where would she have gotten that money. And they figured it was probably from the "kids' trust fund". So the kids do have a trust fund for their college (probably from their grandparent). So she doesn't need to pay for tuition.

 

Also, she bought the condo where she's living in now. That was also from way back when she wanted to buy the house.

[Inquisitionist]

Well, she's got that huge wig-and-wine budget, ya know...

[torqy]

I think it also reads differently because hasn't flirted (or slept) his way into getting any information.

That we know about, anyway!

 

Eli keeps a copy of "The Prince" by Machiavelli in the Kindle app on his tablet to consult when needed.

 

The phone calls directing mailing addresses for payments sounds like the scam playing out in AZ right now with callers purporting to be from the IRS, telling people they owe money, are in imminent danger of arrest, and demanding payment via odd means like prepaid cards. I just tell 'em to perform an anatomical impossibility on themselves....

[paramitch]

I forgot to add one thing I liked in the episode -- the absolutely brutal, abusive, horrible debt collector's phone call in the beginning, which was all too believable.

 

Not to overshare, but when my stepfather died, my mother was unable to maintain mortgage payments, and went into foreclosure. The calls to her from the bank and from the company they used for debt collection were unreal -- manipulative, nasty, awful calls. They also left notes on her front DOOR, in her mailbox, always trying to scare and intimidate (despite the fact that I'd gotten the matter halted through legal channels). It was just absolutely vile what these people would say and do to collect on a debt -- in this case against a widowed older retiree who was battling a terminal illness herself. 

 

So I was kind of delighted at how Jason rode in and made them back down here ASAP, and then even retrieved the mistaken $8k payment for the client. (Again, an 8k payment still seems bizarre to me, but oh well). If he was trying to win me over? It worked.

[candall]

Uh-oh!  Low key, twinkly, charming/threatening Jason is now my favorite part of The Good Wife.

 

I would watch a show with Jason and Kalinda and their new PI firm about three times a week.  Enlist Marissa as the office manager and Diane Lockhart to roll her eyes and get them out of their legal scrapes and I'll bump that up to five.

 

Does this count as my first fanfic?

 

*******

I think Eli's the one with the magic vagina these days.  How is it he just happens to be the only one in Alicia World with the handy information that there's another for-profit college already on the ropes via a debt strike, as opposed to an impermissible class action suit?   Alicia, Lucca, Grace, meet Google.

[babyPhat279]

Are we not supposed to be creeped out by Jason? I mean so far he's been on the side of good, but he's shady AF. I know he's good looking, but I would NOT let that guy into my home without other people present, at least not at this point.