ElectricBoogaloo November 23, 2015 Share November 23, 2015 Alicia and Lucca join forces with Louis Canning to defend a website accused of racial profiling. Meanwhile, Eli and Ruth worry about the nature of Alicia's relationship with Jason and how it could impact Peter's presidential campaign. Promo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faiH8Y--sV0 Link to comment
Tetraneutron November 30, 2015 Share November 30, 2015 We all predicted Cary would end up dating Lucca, right? I'm sure I'm alone on this, but I actually like the way the plot with Monica is going. She's not some injured saint who does everything perfectly, and she's not some hustler yelling racism with no basis, out of paranoia or to scam people - usually the way TV procedural plots about racism go. (I'm looking at you, every Law and Order). And same with the white lawyers - they aren't Branch Rickey, and no one expects or even wants that. They aren't Ben Chapman either. Monica isn't more brilliant then everyone else (usually the only way TV shows will allow us to sympathize with a black victim of racism) but she's not stupid, either. I know I'm damning with faint praise but this is better that CBS shows usually do this. Also, is this the first time Canning didn't use his disability to manipulate someone? I can tolerate Canning if the writers stop having him do that because it's nowhere near as cute as they think, seven seasons in. 13 Link to comment
teebax November 30, 2015 Share November 30, 2015 Alicia was much more patient with Eli than I would have been. He sent his assistant to make sure Alicia didn't hook up with Jason? 3 Link to comment
Tetraneutron November 30, 2015 Share November 30, 2015 (edited) That was annoying. Every once in awhile, the other characters have to act like complete assholes to Alicia, underestimating her intelligence and treating her like a child, or else fighting her for no reason, just so she can be the underdog the audience will root for. This was one of the latter examples. Eli just couldn't tell her, "Peter's running for President, don't screw this up for him," noooo. He has to hire a babysitter and dance around the question so Alicia could get all indignant and righteous. I suppose it's better than have Eli and Ruth force her to pretend to be a 1950s housewife like they were doing at the beginning of the season. Which is the most ill-thought-out part of the whole season and probably the show. If Alicia doesn't want to be involved in the campaign, she should tell Peter, divorce him, and move on with her life. If she does want to support him for whatever reason, she should play the game and not sabotage him. She can't tell him she's in and then not hold up her end of the deal. Edited November 30, 2015 by Tetraneutron 16 Link to comment
Kathyk1024 November 30, 2015 Share November 30, 2015 I agree with you. It never made sense to me that she agreed to this campaign in the first place. However, since she did you'd think she'd understand you have to play the game. 7 Link to comment
OptimisticCynic November 30, 2015 Share November 30, 2015 (edited) I liked the episode aside from the Jason subplot. I can't decide if it's my complete lack of interest in Jeffrey Dean Morgan and his permasmirk acting or the forced writing to convey a "sexual tension" I just don't buy. Otherwise an enjoyable show but the Jason and campaign plots are just snoozeworthy. Edited November 30, 2015 by OptimisticCynic 3 Link to comment
jjj November 30, 2015 Share November 30, 2015 (edited) I could watch an entire hour of Alan Cumming's expressions, without dialogue. And he does it all with his eyes and eyebrows. Completely agree that it is a pleasure to watch Louis Canning be an attorney actually working on a case. I love Michael J. Fox, and would like to see him playing a character that is adversarial, without the games his character has been given to play in most episodes. And, is the investigator Jason working for yet another party that is investigating Alicia? What was that face on her at the end? (It was not flattering, especially in contrast to the still face of Eli that was full of liveliness without moving a muscle.) Edited November 30, 2015 by jjj 8 Link to comment
Kromm November 30, 2015 Share November 30, 2015 Was that stupid arty zoom through the peephole at the end just an excuse to reuse that music and pump up the FX budget a little more, or was it supposed to imply more (some kind of "they're always watching you" BS)? We all predicted Cary would end up dating Lucca, right? Maybe. But we also predicted the black associate they passed over would go to Alicia to sue Lockhart Agos. 3 Link to comment
Readalot November 30, 2015 Share November 30, 2015 We all predicted Cary would end up dating Lucca, right? This GW viewer of a few seasons ago would have, now not so much. I had it on as background noise when I was folding laundry and I just happened to look up as they were making plans to celebrate. I say yea for Cary, dude needs to have some fun. I hope they have a thing for awhile and Alicia never finds out. 1 Link to comment
Ms Lark November 30, 2015 Share November 30, 2015 Gosh, if they're worried about what Jason has done in the distant past, wait til they see what he was up to a few minutes earlier! (As the new Big Bad on Walking Dead, of course.) I predict he walks out (alive) on the whole Florrick baggage cart next week. Link to comment
Winston Wolfe November 30, 2015 Share November 30, 2015 (edited) We all predicted Cary would end up dating Lucca, right? Maybe. But we also predicted the black associate they passed over would go to Alicia to sue Lockhart Agos. Nothing against Kush Jumbo, who appears to be a competent actress, but Lucca Quinn has no presence whatsoever, sexual or otherwise. Can't imagine Cary would be interested in someone so bland. Monica does have a certain amount of hotness going on, however. Edited November 30, 2015 by Winston Wolfe 1 Link to comment
swimmyfish November 30, 2015 Share November 30, 2015 I have to agree with the earlier posters - if you don't want Eli all up in your "private" life, Alicia, then divorce the guy who's running for president. Apparently, she doesn't think her speech to Peter last season about not screwing the help applies to her. Which is not to say that I don't want Alicia and Jason to Do It, because I absolutely do. Just stop being a martyr and be discreet, or get divorced. Either way will put Alicia on the fast track to bone town, and that's all any of us want. 8 Link to comment
lovinbob November 30, 2015 Share November 30, 2015 Nothing against Kush Jumbo, who appears to be a competent actress, but Lucca Quinn has no presence whatsoever, sexual or otherwise. Can't imagine Cary would be interested in someone so bland. Monica does have a certain amount of hotness going on, however. My only resistance to Lucca is that she feels like a plug-in to replace Kalinda. I first felt it when she partnered up with Alicia, and now Cary's interested in her too? I guess there has to be some way to introduce a new character, but it just feels a little lazy. As far as Monica goes, I love her character, but from the shallow end of the pool I have to say that her hair drives me nuts. It feels so dated and unflattering. Regardless, I liked that she was back, and that Diane was on the more lovable side of the argument this time. Cary (whom I love, and always root for) seems to be adopting Jason's smarmy speech pattern. I have a hard time understanding either one of them, with their sexy-talk voices. 3 Link to comment
TigerLynx November 30, 2015 Share November 30, 2015 (edited) Why doesn't Alicia divorce Peter ASAP, and jump Jason? If Eli wants to ruin Peter and Ruth's campaign, why would he not want Alicia to jump Jason? Once again Florrick/Quinn, Lockhart/Aggos, and Canning are the only law firms in town, AND they are all on the same case. Edited November 30, 2015 by TigerLynx 5 Link to comment
ChuckWagon November 30, 2015 Share November 30, 2015 Why doesn't Alicia divorce Peter ASAP, and jump Jason? If Eli wants to ruin Peter and Ruth's campaign, why would he not want Alicia to jump Jason? So Alicia remains the "good, faithful wife" who can run a successful campaign for the Senate? Think Eli's has come to Jesus and knows he isn't winning Peter back; he has set his sights on Alicia as his rising star and wants to make sure for his own agenda she remains St Alicia. 6 Link to comment
wendyg November 30, 2015 Share November 30, 2015 One of the best things about THE GOOD WIFE has usually been the way it highlights the conflicts raised by new technology. Apart from anything else (like entertainment), it raises these issues in front of a prime-time audience who might not otherwise realize some of the consequences. I was *delighted* to see them raise the issue of "digital redlining", and doing it via maps was a very clever way of making it visible for TV. 11 Link to comment
marny November 30, 2015 Share November 30, 2015 This episode kinda showed that Lockhart whoever was right not to hire Monica. What lawyer doesn't do an assessment of actual damages before taking a case and going all in on it? While the ChumHum racism issue was interesting and fertile soil for lawsuits, she had the wrong plaintiff. She was so excited for the liability issue that she totally dropped the ball on damages. It isn't enough for your client to just say that business has suffered-- you gotta see the numbers. Then again, I guess Lockhart skipped that assessment too, so maybe she would fit in well there. I did like that they didn't try to make Biff (or was it Skippy?) not seem totally incompetent in that he discovered the Animal patch thingie. I can't believe they want to waste our time again on Alicia possibly running for office again. That storyline sucked the first time around. And it seems they forgot she had to immediately resign in shame. 6 Link to comment
Winston Wolfe November 30, 2015 Share November 30, 2015 (edited) One of the best things about THE GOOD WIFE has usually been the way it highlights the conflicts raised by new technology. Gotta admit, as a life-long techie, I got chills when Cary trotted out the 50 TB external hard drive. That move was straight up gansta on the part of Florrick, Quinn and Canning. Too bad all it accomplished was to piss off Judge "Uncle Junior," lol. I can't believe they want to waste our time again on Alicia possibly running for office again. That storyline sucked the first time around. And it seems they forgot she had to immediately resign in shame. TGW has probably one more season left. Seems there are an equal number of good storylines mixed in with the "lather-rinse-repeat" stuff. The writers seem to be starved for fresh ideas other than the latest tech-driven COW. Edited November 30, 2015 by Winston Wolfe 4 Link to comment
Tetraneutron November 30, 2015 Share November 30, 2015 Why doesn't Alicia divorce Peter ASAP, and jump Jason? If Eli wants to ruin Peter and Ruth's campaign, why would he not want Alicia to jump Jason? Because then Alicia might not be Saint Alicia. She might not be the wronged victim the audience can root for. The show makes fun of "Saint Alicia" but they rely on that character pretty hard. Didn't Eli and Ruth reconcile awhile ago? Isn'r Eli cleaning up his act for Courtney? She gave him that money for the SuperPAC and he's going top earn it by keeping Alicia off Jason. Link to comment
Kathyk1024 November 30, 2015 Share November 30, 2015 Isn't Jason a bad guy? I don't see the appeal of the permasmirk. Sociopath and now the question of investigating Alicia? Isn't he probably a plant hired by someone else? Why's everyone rooting for him? Actually that superficial charm is a prime tool of the sociopath. 3 Link to comment
CMH1981 November 30, 2015 Share November 30, 2015 Was that stupid arty zoom through the peephole at the end just an excuse to reuse that music and pump up the FX budget a little more, or was it supposed to imply more (some kind of "they're always watching you" BS)? I thought when they did that, we would zoom in through the peephole and find Alicia walking up to Jason and start kissing him. So what would Jason's research on Alicia be for? I don't believe it was for vetting her to see if he wanted to work for her, I just can't figure what his ulterior motive is here. 1 Link to comment
juliet73 November 30, 2015 Share November 30, 2015 I've been watching this show since S1 and tonight was the first time I turned it off... after the first commercial break. I'm done with this show. JM's wig was so awful tonight, it was distracting. Running for Senate? Really? Luca is not Kalinda so stop trying to make her K2.0. TGW is such garbage now that I look forward to watching crappy CSI:Cyber. 7 Link to comment
TigerLynx November 30, 2015 Share November 30, 2015 I would enjoy this SL so much more if Alicia knew Peter knew the voting machines in his election were fixed, and had hung her out to dry. If Alicia had an affair with Jason because she wanted to, she didn't give a damn if it ruined Peter's campaign, and she wanted Eli to use it to torpedo Peter and Ruth. I don't see anything good about staying in a sham marriage with a sleazy jerk like Peter. It's just stupid, not saintly. 2 Link to comment
Ms Blue Jay November 30, 2015 Share November 30, 2015 (edited) I guess we're supposed to hate Cary because Cary saying it was reverse racism to call 2 white guys Biff and Skippy really made me hate him. Whatever, I hardly cared about the guy beforehand what with the way this show is going. We're supposed to buy Cary, this guy who is so ignorant of racism and also loves to date women of colour. Gee, I love it, isn't it so radical and kewl? I know that as a woman of colour I would just *DIE* to date this totally ignorant blonde guy, OMG can you even imagEN? Edited November 30, 2015 by Ms Blue Jay 4 Link to comment
Primetimer November 30, 2015 Share November 30, 2015 Allegations of racist business practices against ChumHum pit Alicia against her old firm. Who will win -- or, given the subject matter, 'win'? Read the story Link to comment
ChocButterfly November 30, 2015 Share November 30, 2015 (edited) I guess we're supposed to hate Cary because Cary saying it was reverse racism to call 2 white guys Biff and Skippy really made me hate him. Whatever, I hardly cared about the guy beforehand what with the way this show is going. We're supposed to buy Cary, this guy who is so ignorant of racism and also loves to date women of colour. Sorry, but I kind of agree with Cary. You cannot complain about about racist microagressions, and commit them yourself. Stereotypes against whites are also racism. What she did was as racist as Cary calling a random black guy "Jamal" just because. Oh, and BTW, while I do believe ChumHum did have a kind of racist culture, I don't think the add thing had anything to do with it. Pop-ads just depend on your search history and such. They targeted Monica with black ads, because apparently it's what Monica has been visiting or using. Edited November 30, 2015 by ChocButterfly 4 Link to comment
Ms Blue Jay November 30, 2015 Share November 30, 2015 A lot of people don't really believe in reverse racism. It's not just me who feels this way. The harm of calling a white guy Skip is not equal to the harm of assuming a black guy's name is Jamal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverse_racism 5 Link to comment
kwnyc November 30, 2015 Share November 30, 2015 So Alicia remains the "good, faithful wife" who can run a successful campaign for the Senate?Think Eli's has come to Jesus and knows he isn't winning Peter back; he has set his sights on Alicia as his rising star and wants to make sure for his own agenda she remains St Alicia. I think that's a good parsing of the situation. Though when Courtney said: are you in love with her? THAT was interesting. Eli essentially has to be in love with his candidate; he adored Peter, and while the State's Attorney race blew up in his face, he definitely has a candidate crush on Alicia. 2 Link to comment
CleoCaesar November 30, 2015 Share November 30, 2015 (edited) One of the best things about THE GOOD WIFE has usually been the way it highlights the conflicts raised by new technology. I always groan inwardly when the show tackles any kind of tech issues. They always seem so ham-fisted, like the show is trying so hard to seem edgy and current. There's no such thing as reverse racism - it's all just racism. Blacks can be racist against whites, no matter what sociology departments try to tell people. Monica is racist against white people and the chip on her shoulder is huge enough to make Geneva Pine seem sane. Her comments about Biff and Skippy was the same kind of racist crap she'd be the first one to sue against if it were aimed at her. I fucking hated this episode. Edited December 1, 2015 by CleoCaesar 7 Link to comment
fivestone November 30, 2015 Share November 30, 2015 This episode kinda showed that Lockhart whoever was right not to hire Monica. What lawyer doesn't do an assessment of actual damages before taking a case and going all in on it? While the ChumHum racism issue was interesting and fertile soil for lawsuits, she had the wrong plaintiff. She was so excited for the liability issue that she totally dropped the ball on damages. It isn't enough for your client to just say that business has suffered-- you gotta see the numbers. Then again, I guess Lockhart skipped that assessment too, so maybe she would fit in well there. I did like that they didn't try to make Biff (or was it Skippy?) not seem totally incompetent in that he discovered the Animal patch thingie. I can't believe they want to waste our time again on Alicia possibly running for office again. That storyline sucked the first time around. And it seems they forgot she had to immediately resign in shame. She's not a lawyer, and neither are Biff and Skippy. They are law students, and she wanted to be hired at Lockhart, Agos, and Lee for a summer internship. If she were a full-fledged attorney, I'd see your point, but law students get a pass, IMO. Link to comment
TigerLynx November 30, 2015 Share November 30, 2015 The full fledged attorneys (Lockhart, Aggos, Canning, Florrick, Quinn, etc.) should have done a damages assessment first thing. I can't believe any of these people are competent attorneys, let alone head up their own law firms. Now I know why there are only three law firms in town. If there was anyone else, no one would ever hire these idiots. 4 Link to comment
Winston Wolfe November 30, 2015 Share November 30, 2015 (edited) A lot of people don't really believe in reverse racism. It's not just me who feels this way. The harm of calling a white guy Skip is not equal to the harm of assuming a black guy's name is Jamal. Seriously, I really kind of wish shows would stop beating this damn drum. As a Black man trying to survive in this country, I take the capitalist perspective: racism only matters if you control the means and modes of production. Rooms full of White Lawyers and Programmers making $200K each are in a position to be racist because they are people of means. Monica? On the outside looking in? Controls very little and her racist attitude becomes irrelevant, IMO. Heard a great joke the other day, not sure if it represents a true stat: 98% of the Billionaires in America are White - the other 2% are Oprah. Edited November 30, 2015 by Winston Wolfe 14 Link to comment
Tetraneutron November 30, 2015 Share November 30, 2015 A lot of people don't really believe in reverse racism. It's not just me who feels this way. The harm of calling a white guy Skip is not equal to the harm of assuming a black guy's name is Jamal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverse_racism Reverse racism doesn't exist, but racism, against all groups and perpetrated by all groups, does. While I don't believe a guy in his early 30s who went to Harvard would be so tone-deaf as to actually use the term "reverse racism" (I expect that's for CBS's geriatric audience), the point was being made. Monica is right to be pissed off by how she was treated by the firm, but that's no reason for her to be snotty and unprofessional. She's right in that she's a nobody with no power so it doesn't cause anyone harm, but it's still not right on principle. The big problem with everything involving Monica is everyone's a representative for a particular viewpoint and no one's an actual character. It was also cool of the show to remember that Cary wanted to hire Biff or Skippy because he wanted a lawyer with a tech background - and then Biff comes through with some information about coding that gets Agos/Lockhart their big victory. Oh, and BTW, while I do believe ChumHum did have a kind of racist culture, I don't think the add thing had anything to do with it. Pop-ads just depend on your search history and such. They targeted Monica with black ads, because apparently it's what Monica has been visiting or using. The show covered that. The ads, like the map data and the photo data, all came from user input, beginning in beta testing. So if the user base was overwhelmingly white, it would essentially build their biases into the programs. But it wasn't a smoking gun like the photo. 4 Link to comment
marny November 30, 2015 Share November 30, 2015 She's not a lawyer, and neither are Biff and Skippy. They are law students, and she wanted to be hired at Lockhart, Agos, and Lee for a summer internship. If she were a full-fledged attorney, I'd see your point, but law students get a pass, IMO. I had thought they were summer associates too when they showed the interviews a few episodes ago, but Monica told Diane and Carey that she had already "filed suit" on behalf of the restaurant owner. If she isn't an attorney with a bar license, she can't file suit on behalf of someone else like that. (Disclaimer: I'm an attorney). So, either she's a lawyer and screwed up, or she's a student and she's practicing law without a license. The writers need to decide. 2 Link to comment
caracas1914 November 30, 2015 Share November 30, 2015 It amazes me that a supposed genius campaign manager can't see the frost in media appearances of Alicia Florick and how she can't sell the " good wife" image at all. Wish the show would focus on the double standards of political men versus wives as opposed to these contrived poor underdog plots for Alicia. Link to comment
photo fox November 30, 2015 Share November 30, 2015 I was going to write something about how ridiculously out-of-character they've written Cary all season, but the A.V. Club did it for me: The only logical conclusion for the trajectory of Cary Agos this season is that he was abducted by aliens and then replaced with a programmed robot that looks like Cary Agos but doesn’t act like him. <snip> What happened to the Cary who tried to do something about systemic racism back in season three? I’m not saying that Cary is necessarily a hero when it comes to issues concerning race. He certainly is a very flawed character who is sometimes blinded by his own privilege, but nothing about how Cary has been written in the past suggests that he would ever even use the phrase “reverse racism” in a real way. <snip> This week, he gets to represent the perspective of the privileged white male who believes in reverse racism. Next week, he could very well be saying the opposite if that’s what the episode needs. The acting on this show is still fabulous, and the writing (while nowhere near the early seasons' quality) is still pretty good for a network drama in it's seventh season. But the "production" stuff is just bad. Like Jason going to Michigan twice in four hours a few weeks ago. Grace seemingly being a (high school?) dropout. The fact that we can't really tell whether Monica is actually an attorney already, or still in law school. This episode, Diane is wearing the same outfit when she and Cary initially meet with Monica as she is when they do the deposition (or whatever) with Canning. So in the course of one day, LAL meets with Monica, travels to another neighborhood to meet with the restaurant owner, and then has a meeting with Canning back at LAL, who has in the same day brought in FQ. And all of these people have supposedly gotten up to speed on the case, the guy from ChumHum has flown in, and all of their schedules just happened to be clear to meet. All in the same day. I yearn for the days when people stayed in character, and the only obvious inconsistencies were when Kalinda just magically happened to find exactly the right evidence at exactly the right time. That may have strained my credulity, but at least it didn't enter the world of time travel! 8 Link to comment
whatsatool November 30, 2015 Share November 30, 2015 Kalinda is reincarnated in Jason. Link to comment
kwnyc November 30, 2015 Share November 30, 2015 Thinking about it...if Jason is investigating Alicia, who is it for? Wasn't it Cary who originally gave Alicia his name as a potential investigator? Could someone at Lockhart, Agos Lee be poking at her? (Not Diane or Cary, but maybe David Lee). Or the never-seen Oliver Platt? He doesn't seem like he'd be NSA (unless he's deep undercover). I don't think it would be Peter (he doesn't want a divorce, he just wants her to play ball). And that weird "I work for other people" conversation now makes a little more sense. 1 Link to comment
Kathyk1024 December 1, 2015 Share December 1, 2015 I figured whoever he works for wants to sabotage Peter's campaign and hates Alicia. It's not a great guess, but Matthew Perry's Mike Kresteva. Link to comment
Tetraneutron December 1, 2015 Share December 1, 2015 I seriously doubt that. If Jason is a tool of Peter's enemies, that would make Jason either incredibly evil or incredibly stupid. Since Jason is the designated love interest, he is neither of those things. Besides, this is a show that thinks it's a serious, drama, not a soap. No politician is going to destroy his rival by finding out his wife needs to hire an employee, finding a sexy man to be that employee, making sure he gets hired, and then flirting, but not having sex or a relationship with, said rival's wife. And then what, hoping the news leaks out, the rival's political operatives don't put a stop to it, and Peter's career is ruined. That's insane. And too soapy for this show. Hell, it's too soapy for a Shonda Rhimes show. 1 Link to comment
Noirprncess December 1, 2015 Share December 1, 2015 Alicia's wig was really annoying this week. Very distracting. I think Quinn and Jason are supposed to split the difference on Kalinda 2.0. I think Quinn is just the right amount of "bland " for Carey. He's not exactly a party animal. 2 Link to comment
Kathyk1024 December 1, 2015 Share December 1, 2015 JDM had ghost sex on a Shonda Rhimes show. I don't think the plan was exactly the way you wrote it. Lol! I agree on too soapy for this show, but Season 7 is an island. It's written in a different tone with a lack of subtlety. Link to comment
tennisgurl December 1, 2015 Share December 1, 2015 (edited) I have these strange, vague memories of a Carey who actually had a point on this show, acted like an actual, smart person, and had, in fact, met a black person before. Weird. Also, I swear I keep excepting a laugh track to start playing half the time. Edited December 1, 2015 by tennisgurl 7 Link to comment
Dowel Jones December 1, 2015 Share December 1, 2015 Once again Florrick/Quinn, Lockhart/Aggos, and Canning are the only law firms in town, AND they are all on the same case. They should save on expenses by leasing and moving into the same building. Wait a minute.... Monica is right to be pissed off by how she was treated by the firm, but that's no reason for her to be snotty and unprofessional. She's right in that she's a nobody with no power so it doesn't cause anyone harm, but it's still not right on principle. And in five years when she is practicing law on her own, that very incident will be brought up in pre-trial motions. Because that's how TGW rolls. Link to comment
Kromm December 1, 2015 Share December 1, 2015 I don't see anything good about staying in a sham marriage with a sleazy jerk like Peter. It's just stupid, not saintly.This has become a bad show in many ways, but to give them credit they've never even once claimed Alicia is being saintly, or even doing a right or selfless thing by staying married. In fact they regularly take the "Saint Alicia" moniker the press in this fictional universe gave her and take the piss out of it. I think they're clear that it was perhaps initially for her children, but it's since turned into a matter of self-interest with her to stay married. She may have initially given lip service to objecting to using his name to leverage situations, but that train long ago left the station and she's traded on her last name constantly since then. It would be nice if someone in-show called her out on the hypocritical element of that, but they can't since her portrayal to most of them is the loyal wife who'd deserve to be able to trade on his name (whereas the reality is, she barely tolerates him as a person, and it's not clear at this point if she intentional trades on his name and objects only to safe targets like Eli, or if she's lying to herself about the situation but still allowing it to happen). Anyway, I think the overall situation is that while the show does a lot to prop up the character, this isn't one of the things it does. It's not presenting her continued marriage to Peter as anything other than a marriage of convenience, or her as having much (if any) moral highground at this point (at least on the issue of the marriage--admittedly she's got it on a lot of other issues where we know Peter has been a bit slimy). 2 Link to comment
Kromm December 1, 2015 Share December 1, 2015 I always groan inwardly when the show tackles any kind of tech issues. They always seem so ham-fisted, like the show is trying so hard to seem edgy and current. There's no such thing as reverse racism - it's all just racism. Blacks can be racist against whites, no matter what sociology departments try to tell people. Monica is racist against white people and the chip on her shoulder is huge enough to make Geneva Pine seem sane. Her comments about Biff and Skippy was the same kind of racist crap she'd be the first one to sue against if it were aimed at her. I fucking hated this episode. The term "reverse racism" is indeed bullshit. That said, while she herself DOES show signs of being racist, the part about if it's really damaging IS relevant. She sounds like a total idiot spouting the idea that it's "not racism" if there's no damage, because... it still is. But the question still remains if it's actionable racism. And the answer is... probably not. What this lady says, how she labels those two lawyers, doesn't affect them in any way, from what we've seen. It's doubtful anyone hears it other than Cary, because she hasn't been shown doing it to their faces, and in fact while with SOME third parties it might subtly sour their point of view of someone hearing that kind of name calling/labeling over time, with Cary it's likely done the exact opposite--it's crystallized his opinion and tendency to look for the good in those guys to justify his hiring of them. So they're certainly NOT being harmed here. And even if they overheard it and resented what they heard, their hurt feelings aren't likely to have any serious long term effect on them. She's got no real presence in their lives after this. 1 Link to comment
Tetraneutron December 1, 2015 Share December 1, 2015 I think they're clear that it was perhaps initially for her children, but it's since turned into a matter of self-interest with her to stay married. She may have initially given lip service to objecting to using his name to leverage situations, but that train long ago left the station and she's traded on her last name constantly since then. It would be nice if someone in-show called her out on the hypocritical element of that, but they can't since her portrayal to most of them is the loyal wife who'd deserve to be able to trade on his name (whereas the reality is, she barely tolerates him as a person, and it's not clear at this point if she intentional trades on his name and objects only to safe targets like Eli, or if she's lying to herself about the situation but still allowing it to happen). In order for Alicia to be a sympathetic character, they frequently show her suffering in her career because of her famous last name, not the other way around. Like when all those firms refused to hire her because she was the wronged wife at the press conference. Or when she gets a partnership offer and everyone tells her it's just because of who she's married to. Or when people try to use her because they think she has influence with Peter, like when Ethan Carver thought she could get a euthanasia bill passed. Meanwhile, we've never seen anyone (judges, say)treat Alicia better, we've never seen her use it to land a client, we've never seen anyone bring it up to her. Probably to make the character likeable. For me, the REALLY unrealistic part is that Peter never cared when Alicia was defending a drug lord. Or a wife killer. Or taking on the NRA. Or Google. Or the NSA. That would be the big concern for Peter's political career. But then we wouldn't have a show, so they only remember Alicia is the wife of a prominent politician when they need her to suffer for it. Link to comment
pennben December 1, 2015 Share December 1, 2015 (edited) I knew when Eli went gooey-eyed looking at Alicia standing next to Peter in that ridiculous set-up when he announced his candidacy, that Eli was thinking....she's not the wife, she's the candidate! I pretty much believed Eli when he was talking to the Vanessa William's character that he was just thinking of her as a candidate, not that he was in love with Alicia. I had also expressed earlier that I just wished someone that Alicia wanted to hook up with said 'nope, you're married, I'm out'. I thought for a moment that Jason was going to go there, but alas, no. I do think the combo of him saying I work for other people (and using Lockhart as his example, though I'm not sure that was who he was really referring to), Eli finding the file that Jason's been researching her, and Jason saying, 'I'm out, I don't like complicated', is leading to him having been hired to get close to her for nefarious purposes, but then started to have feelings for her and then decided to back away from her for now. Where we end up, nobody knows! I do appreciate that when Alicia had to own up to the judge all of the errors in judgments made by her side on the case, she had the good sense to swallow the rest of the phrase that she started with 'but your honor, I....'; because I was sure it was going to end with her saying 'didn't want to do it, it's not my fault', as if she had no obligation herself to do the proper thing even though others convinced her to do the 'sneaky' thing. Baby steps, I guess. As for the issues involving Lockhart, Agos, Whoever & Associates, the problem is that now Cary/Diane are the proxies for everyone (and all varying viewpoints) at that firm since we spend no time there, so they have to take on whatever the persona of a big law firm the show wants to put on them from week to week. And, little by little it is just destroying the characters that had been so wonderfully developed over the years. Edited December 1, 2015 by pennben Link to comment
Rhondinella December 1, 2015 Share December 1, 2015 (edited) Yeah, there are a lot of problems with the show, but I still enjoy the bits of humor that sneak in. Like Nora being sent to babysit Alicia and Jason. It's really funny if you don't try to overthink it and just go with it: "I brought a book!" Hee! Nora is my favorite part of the whole thing these days. I have not, however, figured out the purpose of Vanessa Williams. Edited December 1, 2015 by Rhondinella 5 Link to comment
Kromm December 1, 2015 Share December 1, 2015 I do appreciate that when Alicia had to own up to the judge all of the errors in judgments made by her side on the case, she had the good sense to swallow the rest of the phrase that she started with 'but your honor, I....'; because I was sure it was going to end with her saying 'didn't want to do it, it's not my fault', as if she had no obligation herself to do the proper thing even though others convinced her to do the 'sneaky' thing. Baby steps, I guess.And we're left wondering if off-screen Canning (or at least the client) paid for the contempt of court fine. 1 Link to comment
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