S07.E10: KSR

[shapeshifter]

Her wrath is being directed at Eli. That's why she snatched the drink out of his hand and kicked him out of her house and life... 

...That's how Alicia rolls.

Didn't she do that once before with someone else?

[Cupcake]

Also, kill, sedate, rape was bothering me because it's out of sequence. No need to sedate a dead person.

I believe it was Kidnap. Sedate. Rape.

 

[Ms Blue Jay]

Well I'm happy that Alan was nominated for a Golden Globe anyway.

 

You never want to much attention paid to the co-stars' acting ability because then maybe they'll kill off his character or something.

 

If he leaves the show it would make perfect sense.  Then all my favourite parts of the show (Will, Kalinda, now Eli) have marched off in succession.  No more reason left for me to watch and then I am a very happy free person.

 

Something else funny about the casting.  I've been rewatching one of my favourite shows That 70's Show on Netflix.  I was literally IMDB-ing Don Stark's career. Then he goes and shows up on this show as the convicted sex offender / "Character witness!"

 

Not on topic at all but our friend Mike Colter who played Lemond Bishop is now on Jessica Jones which is a show I'm really enjoying on Netflix.

Edited December 14, 2015 by Ms Blue Jay

[whatsatool]

Yes it's kidnap lol

[AriAu]

Yeah, if you killed first, the sedate part would sorta be unnecessary!

 On another note, who played Dr. Portnow's therapist/wife. Was that  an incredibly tighly wound Janeanne Garafolo.

[jjj]

I forget the wife's name, but the guest cast lists actresses whose names I did not know, so not Garafolo. 

 

And in looking for the guest cast, I see the show is back on January 10, so that is not as long a wait as some other series.

 

And I forgot to mention last night -- are there no locks on Alicia's apartment?  The PI walks out, Eli shows up outside the door, and next thing we see is Eli going through her desk. (Boundaries, Eli!)  She is the First Lady of Illinois and the wife of a presidential candidate -- where is even some minimal security, if only to check names at a door? 

[ParadoxLost]

Its really strange that they brought up Will's voicemail.

 

If they wanted a rift with Eli then Alicia being put in a situation where the judge is acting as if Alicia is bribing him because of Eli's warning is enough.  Why bother bringing the voicemail into it especially since Alicia had a lot of chances with Will that she didn't take or commit to.

 

If its to push Alicia to pursue a relationship then why bother when the love interest is on the way out and no one else is on the horizon?

[Tetraneutron]

Well, now Alicia is fighting with both Eli and the judge. The writers love to put her in situations where everyone abandons her so she has to fight her way back. And right now everyone hates her except Luca and Grace. So she's the underdog and that makes her sympathetic. 

 

Also, I suspect (no spoilers) that what's going to bring down Peter has to do with the judge and they need Eli away fro, Alicia (and not inclined to help her) when it all plays out. 

[candall]

I missed the last couple of minutes, what did Eli say?

Alicia's been slamming Eli all episode for arranging Jason's departure, won't even listen to him explain he had nothing to do with it.  So at the end, they're having a conciliatory cocktail, and Eli's spilling his broken heart about whatsherface leaving and missed opportunities and how important it is to have love and a happy life. 

 

Then there's a giant pause and he gets a funny look on his face.  He tells her that, six years earlier, he had deleted a voicemail to her from Will.  "What?"  That she was just about to go up on stage with Peter and "I didn't want anything to mess THAT up!"  He tells her that Will said in the voicemail that he loved her and he'd give up everything to be with her.

 

So Alicia's totally expressionless this whole time.  She leans forward a little bit and plucks Eli's cocktail off the table with two fingers and sets it down in front of herself.  Then she looks up, still expressionless, and gives him a vehement "Get out."

*************

 

I remember the deleted voicemail and the reason it was so poignant was because Will tells her (I think) if she doesn't want to go all in, then just act as though he never made this call and they'll continue on as before.  I was shocked and angry at Eli at the time and I thought Alicia being (expressionless, but) devastated was justified.  I guess I do see your collective point that Bus No. Will made several stops, but it felt like a Very Big Deal at the time.

Edited December 15, 2015 by candall

[ParadoxLost]

I remember the deleted voicemail and the reason it was so devastating was because Will tells her (I think) if she doesn't want to go all in, then just act as though he never made this call and they'd continue on as before.  I was shocked and angry at Eli at the time and I thought Alicia being (expressionless, but) devastated was justified.  I guess I do see your collective point that Bus No. Will made several stops, but that seemed like a Very Big Deal at the time.

 

It was a huge deal at the time. Alicia just spent too many years in between negating the idea that Will's voicemail would have made any difference.  They didn't even pay lip service to the idea that Will's supposed initial unwillingness to go all in was driving Alicia's actions in the intervening years.  Once they got involved and it fizzled and once Alicia left the firm, their last chance to make this a Big Deal was right after Will died.  They missed it.

[Tara Ariano]

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

 

Eli Messes With The Good Wife's Love Life One Time Too Many
A lot of people seem to want to kill each other this week, but only one of them might actually do it.

[AriAu]

That she was just about to go up on stage with Peter and "I didn't want anything to mess THAT up!"

 

That was an Emmy winning "THAT up". It was truly excellent acting by Alan Cumming. The ironic tone was just perfect for that moment, both from the character and as to the situation. The emotion was raw, as was the resulting "GET OUT"...but I don't know what else to have expected.

[Showthyme]

I hope that Eli gets a spin off.

[Noirprncess]

Someone in a previous thread had called it when they said something to the effect that Eli might actually tell Alicia about the voicemail this season.

 

I don't know whether about it's impact now.  I agree with many of the assessments that Alicia would basically have to become a history revisionist at this point.  She swung for the fences and hit a pop up instead when her relationship with Will fizzled out.  They put some effort into it and it did not work out.  For her to get into some complete funk thinking the voicemail would have made a huge difference in how their relationship would have went down just seems like a trip to fantasy land.  After all, she wasn't willing to walk away from Peter without a safety net EVER.   She willingly trades on the name when it works in her favor and distances herself in the same manner - all when it's convenient for her.  

[CleoCaesar]

Oh god of course that race-baiting awful bitch Monica is hired with APOLOGIES from the firm she blackmailed AND she turns out to be a legal wiz. Ughhh. Hate that shit. Any scene with her in is an automatic fast-forward. And of COURSE the rich white guys turned out to be terrible hires. Subtle, show. Really subtle.

 

This show gets more fractured with every episode. What is even happening at The Law Firm With the Everchanging Name? All they seem to be doing is hiring/firing people and arguing. Save Diane. Save Cary.

 

Some very good acting in the last minute of the episode, but it's like...five seasons too late for that revelation. I barely even remember Will -  or at least I certainly don't miss him - so it felt kind of flat, to say the least.

[KaveDweller]

Alicia didn't get together with Will at the time of the voicemail, but they were together after that and it didn't last. So, while Alicia certainly has a right to be pissed, and I get why she'd feel regretful about anything about Will, it's not like deleting the message really had a long term impact on anything. If Alicia found out back in season 2 it would have been a bigger deal.

 

I actually disagree with what Alicia said about Jason not being Eli's business. She told Peter to run for president. If you tell your husband to run for president you're agreeing that your personal business is no longer totally private.  If Alicia really wants to sleep with her investigator and not have anyone care she should divorce Peter.

 

I think that thing with the judge is going to come back to burn Alicia. That judge clearly saw it as doing her a favor and all but admitted it in his chambers. Which is why it was stupid for Alicia to go in there. I mean, what would she have done if he said he didn't do it on merit? I don't even get why she went in there the first time, it seemed like asking for trouble.

[candall]

The COTW has a parallel IRL. It's the Cannibal Cop in NY--his name is Gilbert Valle. Only he knew his co-conspirator. Valle was a cop who accessed police records to get information on potential victims and built up profiles on them, to determine their patterns of daily living. He and his co-conspirator developed a list, focused on one person in particular and planned to kidnap, rape, murder and then eat her.

Same as in tonight's case, the jury voted to convict, the judge overturned the verdict. Fantasy isn't really doig the deed, apparently. These two lovelies weren't really in a conspiracy to kill and eat an unsuspecting woman.

He's now suing to get his job back with the NYPD.

Gee, I feel safe.

I saw a news magazine interview with that guy.  It was totally freaky watching his mother handwave away her son's oven settings for human pot roast.  And then both of them being rather offended that anyone could think he'd really do something like that. 

 

But ... a conspiracy charge is for conspiring -- the deed itself doesn't actually need to have taken place, right? ("Conspiracy charges are charges that a person has entered into an agreement with another person to commit a crime or an illegal act. A successful conviction for a conspiracy charge requires that an act was taken to begin carrying out the agreement.") I would think writing the other guy to make plans constitutes an "act," at least according to all the true crime, murder for hire shows I've watched.

The trucker assumed it was real, but the doctor's position was that he wasn't writing the trucker to make actual plans, only detailing his fantasy plan to a like-minded internet stranger.  The trucker testified he was ready to ditch his load of veg and haul ass 2300 miles across the country the instant he was beckoned:  just give me the word, buddy and I'm there.  So as someone stated, Lucca should have been hammering home the point:  "But the word never came, DID IT??"

 

No "word" = no act taken to begin carrying out the conspiracy. 

 

I think the flaw was skimping over the examination of the stuff he was carrying around in the trunk of his car.  There has to be some discrepancy between KSR tools and cardiac surgical equipment.  "Sometimes I roofie the kids to help them relax before the operation."

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Even though I am not an Alicia fan, I think that her anger at Eli was less about how that could have changed her relationship with Will/her decision to stay with Peter and more about the fact that Eli lied about something that was very important to her at the time and then kept it from her for six years. Despite her anger at Eli earlier in the episode about assuming his involvement with Jason being sent away, over the years she has come a tacit agreement with Eli about their relationship. Even when she dislikes what he does in the name of Peter's campaigns, she likes him enough that she was horrified when Peter replaced Eli with Ruth, and she likes him enough that she then hired Eli as her chief of staff. I know that they aren't BFFs or anything, but they have an understanding between them and they do have a long term relationship. Finding out that Eli knew what Will said and that he kept that information from her is not necessarily about some grand fantasy that this would have made a difference in her relationship with Will or her life in general but feeling betrayed that he kept this from her, similar to the way she felt betrayed when she found out that Kalinda had slept with Peter and not told her. I know it's definitely not the exact same situation, but I think the feeling was similar to Alicia - someone who she liked and trusted kept a secret from her and then continued to have a friendly relationship with her.

[Kromm]

The wall over the judge's bench said "In God We Trust."  Would a courtroom in Illinois really have that?  What about other states?

Our money has that slogan.  So why wouldn't courtrooms?

 

Texas:

 

 

Michigan:

 

 

 

Virginia:

 

[riverheightsnancy]

Alicia's been slamming Eli all episode for arranging Jason's departure, won't even listen to him explain he had nothing to do with it.  So at the end, they're having a conciliatory cocktail, and Eli's spilling his broken heart about whatsherface leaving and missed opportunities and how important it is to have love and a happy life. 

 

Then there's a giant pause and he gets a funny look on his face.  He tells her that, six years earlier, he had deleted a voicemail to her from Will.  "What?"  That she was just about to go up on stage with Peter and "I didn't want anything to mess THAT up!"  He tells her that Will said in the voicemail that he loved her and he'd give up everything to be with her.

 

So Alicia's totally expressionless this whole time.  She leans forward a little bit and plucks Eli's cocktail off the table with two fingers and sets it down in front of herself.  Then she looks up, still expressionless, and gives him a vehement "Get out."

*************

 

I remember the deleted voicemail and the reason it was so poignant was because Will tells her (I think) if she doesn't want to go all in, then just act as though he never made this call and they'll continue on as before.  I was shocked and angry at Eli at the time and I thought Alicia being (expressionless, but) devastated was justified.  I guess I do see your collective point that Bus No. Will made several stops, but it felt like a Very Big Deal at the time.

Thanks Candall. I will have to catch it on demand to see this bit of the episode. 

[Beth64]

I honestly have no idea where this show is going. The possibilities that come to mind are not appealing.

[lidarose9]

Well, Cary and Diane have apparently fired all the well-qualified young white male lawyers in town, so maybe they will beg Alicia to come back and bring the non-Kalinda with her. 

[zxy556575]

I think the flaw was skimping over the examination of the stuff he was carrying around in the trunk of his car.  There has to be some discrepancy between KSR tools and cardiac surgical equipment.  "Sometimes I roofie the kids to help them relax before the operation."

 

That argument was really shaky. Even if the items were samples from medical supply reps, there's no reason the doctor would be meeting said reps in parking lots and then tossing stuff into his trunk. It's possible, but very unlikely, that supplies such as tubing and syringes would be taken to the hospital to be tried out during surgery, but there's no way propofol or other anesthetic drugs would be. And no real reason a pharma rep would give a doctor a sample of them in the first place. Maybe Portnow was abusing propofol for recreational use, but it's still pretty damning evidence to me.

[Dowel Jones]

The creepy part of the show, for me, actually came after the final Eli/Alicia scene.  There were still a few minutes left on the DVR, so, assuming there was an epilogue, I FF past the commercials and into what I think was the following CSI episode.  It started out with some guy in silhouette pouring gasoline over a dead woman, bound and bloodied on the street.  For a moment I thought the world had gone to hell.

[candle96]

The thing that bothered me about the LAL plot line - what happened to all those other 4th year associates that left with Cary and Alicia? Are they not still around? Could none of them help with this brief? I know the first years do the grunt work, and they need more if they're all leaving, but it's like those other people from FA don't even exist anymore. The other Cary? Just another inconsistency in the name of this week's plot for The Good Wife. 

Ever since Will died, I have not enjoyed Alicia's revisionist history on their relationship, so I yelled, "oh come on!" at the tv screen with Eli bringing up the ancient voicemail. The only thing that ever kept Alicia and Will apart was Alicia and her choices - staying with Peter, ending the relationship with Will, starting the new law firm, etc. 

[racked]

It's mind boggling that Alicia thinks she can have a husband running for president and do whatever she wants in her personal life. Why agree to that if you want complete privacy and to answer to no one?  She wasn't even strong-armed into this, she fully supported Peter running. I hate when she's mean to Eli for just doing his job. 

 

The way this show deals with law firms has always been bizarre to me - is the current form of Lockhart Agos (or whatever they're called now) supposed to be a tiny 15 person firm? There are no second year associates? No third year associates? Just partners and first years? 

[Inquisitionist]

LAL partners are acting like they've never managed and mentored associates before.  It's nonsense.

[kwnyc]

It's mind boggling that Alicia thinks she can have a husband running for president and do whatever she wants in her personal life.

 

Or, if you want it to be that way, you have to make it clear that you do not want to be part of the family business. Remember Cindy McCain was almost invisible when John McCain was running for president; his daughters filled in the "family woman" role. (I sort of wonder whether Zack would drop out of Georgetown to help his father's campaign, seeing as he's a polling/statistics genius). Columba Bush (Jeb Bush's wife) is pretty much out of the spotlight as well.

 

So yes, if Alicia REALLY vants to be alone, she should either make it clear to Ruth that she's NOT participating in the campaign, or just divorce Peter. As we've been TELLING her!

[KaveDweller]

The thing that bothered me about the LAL plot line - what happened to all those other 4th year associates that left with Cary and Alicia? Are they not still around? Could none of them help with this brief? I know the first years do the grunt work, and they need more if they're all leaving, but it's like those other people from FA don't even exist anymore. The other Cary? Just another inconsistency in the name of this week's plot for The Good Wife. 

 

It's really weird the way they set this up.  Were those associates that left the only lawyers LAL had in their employment? Wasn't it always a much bigger firm (in all the previous configurations)? They hired associates every year so they had employees at all levels. Is that not the case anymore? It makes no sense.  

 

I like Cary and Diane, but if they are going to give them such lame, poorly thought out storylines I'd rather they just write them out.

[HawaiiTVGuy]

Did anyone else feel that Alicia completely missed the point of how to use the wife? Not to be too crude, but having the wife on the stand act so clinical and cold in regards to their relationship, that would tend to go a long way toward explaining why the client would feel the need to go get some "release" on the internet and have a fantasy about another woman.

And as extreme it was for the judge to go the judgement notwithstanding the verdict route, it seems appropriate considering the scant evidence of the "substantial step" element that the State would have needed to prove. What the cops should have done if they were SO certain he was going to do the kidnapping under the guise of the visit to the home was to stake out the lady's residence when the doctor shows up and prevent him in the act.

And cross-examination of the alleged co-conspirator is pretty easy, he claims he "knew" that the client was serious...umm...exactly how? Has he ever participated in something like this before to know that they were "serious"? In fact, all of the other people he communicated with on the forums NEVER did anything they fantasized right?

[Inquisitionist]

I like Cary and Diane, but if they are going to give them such lame, poorly thought out storylines I'd rather they just write them out.

 

The writing for their law firm, and them as lawyers, is beyond ridiculous.  The show started with a silly enough conceit -- that Alicia and Cary were pitted against each other to survive beyond one year with Lockhart Gardner -- but the most recent crap is insulting to viewers.

Edited December 16, 2015 by Inquisitionist

[Kel Varnsen]

I loved that vicious high-five Diane gave Cary. I know the story was a bit trite, but I do love to see him get a win.

I thought it was stupid becase it was hardly a win. I mean great guess you showed those guys right? But based on how they explained it they are still completely fucked because they no longer have any associates, and won't be able to file whatever it was on time.

[Tetraneutron]

They got a continuance based on Howard's connections. And at that point they were screwed anyway, but at least they got their revenge by destroying the Biffs and making sure every lawyer in Chicago knew it. 

[whatsatool]

The thing that bothered me about the LAL plot line - what happened to all those other 4th year associates that left with Cary and Alicia? Are they not still around? Could none of them help with this brief? I know the first years do the grunt work, and they need more if they're all leaving, but it's like those other people from FA don't even exist anymore. The other Cary? Just another inconsistency in the name of this week's plot for The Good Wife.

Ever since Will died, I have not enjoyed Alicia's revisionist history on their relationship, so I yelled, "oh come on!" at the tv screen with Eli bringing up the ancient voicemail. The only thing that ever kept Alicia and Will apart was Alicia and her choices - staying with Peter, ending the relationship with Will, starting the new law firm, etc.

Great point about the fourth years.

[Shellie]

I was thinking that Alicia's reaction to Eli's confession wasn't about "what might have been" with Will, since Eli's action didn't affect that in the long run.  Instead it was about another betrayal.  The running theme of this show seems to be betrayal and that nobody can be trusted.   And ironically, Alicia betrayed Will, which he totally didn't deserve.  

[needschocolate]

Well, at least this week the COTW wasn't won by some bit of evidence being discovered at the last minute - a piece of evidence that should have been found much earlier, a piece of evidence that proofs there was no case in the first place.
 

I thought the judge was perhaps influenced when he realized the guy was going to be convicted even though there was no evidence that he wanted to carry out the crime.  In a way, I thought he identified with him at that moment.  Remember, the Feds set up a sting to catch the judge taking bribes.  He claims he wouldn't have taken any regardless of whether Eli had warned him (I don't think we really know whether he would have or not). Now he's looking at this case and the prosecutors arrested this guy before he took any overt acts in furtherance of his crime and flashes back to them trying to set him up.  I know this is likely an apples to oranges comparison, but that's the thought that struck me watching him arrive at his decision to allow language for the jury instructions as to what 'intent' means and led him to make his decision to override the jury verdict.

 
 good, well thought out theory.  Unfortunately, I think you put a lot more thought into this than the writers of the show did.  

 

$50K isn't much for two months of dedicated consulting work. Diane was paying Jason $250/hour, as I recall.

 
If he works 40 hours a week, then $50k for two months is less than $150 an hour.  Although, I thought he mentioned sometime later that is it $200 an hour.  I didn't get Alicia's comment that when he comes back she will have to pay him more.  LAL is paying him significantly more now, and Alicia isn't matching it.  

[Kel Varnsen]

They got a continuance based on Howard's connections. And at that point they were screwed anyway, but at least they got their revenge by destroying the Biffs and making sure every lawyer in Chicago knew it.

But even after Howard said that they were whining about not being able to make the deadline. So great that they destroyed the Biffs but they may have also lost their best client. I just hope this doesn't lead to another firm in financial trouble storyline.

[tennisgurl]

Can I just say, I found the Generation Gap plot line to be aggressively lame. Mainly because they never seemed to actually want to talk about the generation gap (exploring the change in social norms, increased globalization of the younger generation, stuff like that) and just make it into "old people (and Carey for some reason) are racist and do old people things! Young people are self centered! They own cell phones! Wacky!  

[needschocolate]

But even after Howard said that they were whining about not being able to make the deadline. So great that they destroyed the Biffs but they may have also lost their best client. I just hope this doesn't lead to another firm in financial trouble storyline.

 

Plus, didn't it cost them about a half million in the signing bonuses they gave out? (not sure how many associates there were, I think 6-7, and they each got $80k)

[Kromm]

Plus, didn't it cost them about a half million in the signing bonuses they gave out? (not sure how many associates there were, I think 6-7, and they each got $80k)

It wasn't clear to me if the $80 was PER or a total amongst all of them. If it was the later that's not unreasonable.  I mean even in this insane fictional world there has to be SOME sense.  Even a top Chicago law firm I can't imagine having a first year associate salary of more than $140K (I've heard the very tip top NY firm is like $160K).  Could you imagine a pledge to bump that by almost 60%?  It's insane, even just for one year.

[KLovestoShop]

I liked how Carey handled those obnoxious, self-centered young Turks. When Carey started his proposal I thought it was bogus, bit I didn't see the connection between discussing the case and then not being able to go with the new firm---kind of like the fruit of the poison tree.

As an aside, Vanessa Williams looked bad/old in bed with Eli and Alicia's wig is totally awful.

[KaveDweller]

Cary was saying how if they cash the bonuses they'd look bad for losing out on a million dollar deal for $80K. But I didn't get that, since it's not like the associates were going to see much of those millions.  But honestly, who is going to just let an $80,000 check sit un-cashed? Especially someone who just lost their job.  

[lucindabelle]

I can only get behind Alicia's anger if it's over the betrayal. Because honestly if will left one voicemail and never got a reply. ANY r aso able person would wonder if the voicemail got deleted or went astray.

Love should be a little stronger than one voicemail. I mean if someone only has the determination to say it once and back off that's not a very strong passion.

And then as others have said, they did try to get together,

I also agree that Alicia's "it's my life" attitude is weird when she's posing as a campaign wife. It's not as if any of this is news. She and peter should either divorcee or get back together. What they have now is weird.

[LittleGreyCells]

I hope the season (and the show) ends with Alicia's trip to rehab. She's drinking pretty much straight tequila, seemingly every day and usually by herself, and stirring it with her finger.  Those are not good signs.

[beeble]

What Eli did with the voice mail was wrong wrong wrong. BUT - since then, Alicia and Will hooked up a whole lot. It's not like he didn't hear back from her and decided to go fight some mercenary battle in Syria with Special Ops (that's a different tragic love interest with a different heroine), never to see her again until her bullet pierces his side and causes sepsis, leading to greater and more bizarre injuries and ultimately causing her to pull the plug on his life support. Alicia knew how Will felt each and every time they got it on, and she went back to Peter because...she's a moron.  

 

And besides, who tells the love of their life that they love them over voicemail? I want a folded up note, 8th grade style.

[TV Anonymous]

1. Why there seems to be only three law firms in this show's universe? What happen to the law firms of the characters of Martha Plimpton, Carrie Preston, Mamie Gummer and Amanda Peet?

 

2. I am getting confused with the associates affair. What happen to the whole bunch of associates that rebelled from Lockhart Gardner to join Florrick Agos? Supposedly, they were absorbed back to Lockhart Agos, were they not?

 

3. Why is it hard for Alicia to find an investigator? Fine, Kalinda is gone, but what happen to Robyn? I think she is much more interesting in her investigative methods than Jason.

[Tetraneutron]

1. The show likes working with Michael J. Fox, and he's always available, unlike Martha Plimpton, Mamie Gummer, etc who are probably harder to book. The show gets a great caliber of actors but that does mean characters drop out of sight with no warning frequently. If the Michael J. Fox sitcom had been a success who knows what lawyer they'd always be up against. 

 

2. The ones who left with Florrick/Agos three years ago would have been fourth-year associate then, seventh year now (assuming they're still associates at all). This plot was about first-year associates. They would have different jobs. The fact is, it's a TV show and is going to necessarily focus on a few characters. In partners' meetings we always see about 20 lawyers in the room but most are just nameless extras. 

 

3. Jess Weixler wanted to move on and is in LA, the big reason Alicia hired a new investigator was that the character needs a love interest. 

[kwnyc]

3. Jess Weixler wanted to move on and is in LA, the big reason Alicia hired a new investigator was that the character needs a love interest.

 

 

NO SHE DOESN'T (The Peanut Gallery).

[AudienceofOne]

In my opinion, the voicemail was huge. When Will and Alicia did finally have an affair, it was an affair. Just an affair. She never knew how much he loved her because she never got the voicemail. He believed he'd told her how he felt and she'd rejected that so he never really told her again. She knew there was a voicemail but not what was in it and thought that Will wasn't the kind of guy who wanted a serious, committed relationship.

 

So, yeah, if she'd gotten that voicemail at the time she would have left Peter and she and Will would have been a real couple. Her life would have been completely different. How many times they "hooked up" afterwards is hardly the same thing.

 

EDITED: because I was playing the pronoun game and even I was confused.

Edited December 30, 2015 by AudienceofOne