S01.E07: Not So Grand Jury

[formerlyfreedom]

Mike Kresteva takes his case against Reddick, Boseman & Kolstad to a grand jury, but the firm devises a grand jury strategy of their own to hamper Kresteva's efforts. Colin finds himself in an awkward position in court.

[Noreaster]

I liked this episode.  Good pacing and it tied together a lot of the seemingly unrelated plot points since the series started.  Happy to see Aaron Tviet...he was on Braindead, the Kings' failed series from last summer which I highly recommend (fantastic acting, not a serious show, sort of a spoof on politics that doesn't lean left or right).  

[talktalk]

Yeah, I actually liked Braindead, it was fun to watch. Aaron was quite handsome in it.

About this episode, I am not sure about the ending. Why is Henry's "unauthorized" plea bargain so crucial? Can't the DA just grant the deal (even though he wasn't aware of it in advance) instead of firing Mike and let the whole grand jury fell apart? 

[ApathyMonger]

1 hour ago, talktalk said:

Why is Henry's "unauthorized" plea bargain so crucial? Can't the DA just grant the deal (even though he wasn't aware of it in advance) instead of firing Mike and let the whole grand jury fell apart? 

It's not logistics, it's embarrassment. Everyone (especially the DA's rich friends who had invested in the scheme) hates Henry, so the news of him getting a sweetheart deal is terrible publicity for the DA's office.

[TheOtherOne]

I love this show, and that was a terrifically entertaining episode...but the fact that they didn't consider that was a list of tax-ID numbers was ridiculous. Two digits, then a dash, then seven more. Once you dismiss SSNs, there's an obvious next guess, especially given the placement of the hyphen. Too far-fetched, just to draw out the suspense.

[kieyra]

1 hour ago, TheOtherOne said:

I love this show, and that was a terrifically entertaining episode...but the fact that they didn't consider that was a list of tax-ID numbers was ridiculous. Two digits, then a dash, then seven more. Once you dismiss SSNs, there's an obvious next guess, especially given the placement of the hyphen. Too far-fetched, just to draw out the suspense.

Didn't they go so far as to have someone hold up a W2 form and point at the Tax ID box and say "What is this?" like the box wasn't labelled?

[TheOtherOne]

Yep, right after the guy from "Mike and Molly" (I don't know the character's name) threw his fit about how he couldn't figure out what those ever mysterious numbers were! (Of course, he also said they didn't appear on any tax returns...which seems like it really wouldn't be the case, since businesses have to file taxes, right...?)

Edited March 27, 2017 by TheOtherOne

[Ms Blue Jay]

Justin Bartha mouthed something at Lucca in the final scene - anyone know what it was?

The styling for Lucca is always really exciting for me.  Also, the music.

I liked this episode. I thought Justin Bartha was really good and Lucca definitely wasn't as smarmy as usual.

Edited March 27, 2017 by Ms Blue Jay

[CrashTextDummie]

This was an amazing episode. Right from the beginning it had the kind of energy that made TGW so entertaining at its highest points and the momentum carried through to the end. I loved both courtrooms (excellent judge by the way) and the way they both started out with humorous, Elsbeth-style gamesmanship and then escalated as the personal and emotional stakes became evident.

People where trying to play each other on so many different levels and the show really managed to cash in on all the relationships its been building over really not that many episodes. I wasn't hot on Lucca's fling with the State's Attorney, but here he finally became a character worth emotionally investing in and the fact that CJ dropped the sassyness outside the court and showed a more contemplative side to Lucca managed to sell me on the relationship as more than the typical "hot guy to keep main character busy" style storyline TGW kept giving Alicia after Will's death.

I also thought the episode took tremendous advantage of its ensemble cast and trio of main characters by keeping Diane in the background and only pivoting midway to put her centre stage. It really adds to the excitement and unpredictability when the show doesn't follow the standard A, B and C-plot structure. And finally I greatly appreciated how the episode cut through the usual courtroom banter and maneuvering and explored the emotional core and heart of the characters and storylines both in Diane's scenes at the end with Adrian and Maya, and particularly in the tremendously well played scenes between Maya and Henry.

Really, really well done. And it wasn't even the season finale!

[Mabel]

"We have an audience of one" and the whole 'close the grand jury' strategy was a direct quote from The Good Wife's episode about Will Gardner's judicial bribery case ('Another Ham Sandwich' episode, I believe). I wonder if that was intentional or just laziness on the part of the writers who resorted to recycling their old scripts. I am surprised they didn't use 'grand juries indict, that's what they do, hamburgers and all'.

that said, the episode was a great fun to watch. just not very original

Edited March 27, 2017 by Mabel

[Aulty]

That was a really good episode. I liked the judge ( I like that they always give them very distinct personalities), and the thing with the tax numbers was a bit lame. Marissa and her snide comments in front of the grand jury and Krestiva was great.

On another note: I hate the opening for this show, I think its really weird, the music doesn't fit and its too long.

[SeanC]

For non-lawyers, the "mere puffery" line that Diane and Adrian were chuckling over is a reference to Carlill v. Carbolic Smoke Ball Co., a case every lawyer in the English-speaking world studies in first-year contract law class.

[milner]

I was disappointed that Kresteva was "fired" off screen.  I would like to have seen him taken down a peg or two and not be so puffed up...pun intended.

[UsernameFatigue]

Eh. Didn't like this epi any more than I have liked the last six. Which is to say not a lot. Sometimes (as was with TGW also) I find the storyline so convoluted that I get bored and lose focus. So there may be an obvious answer to this and I just can't be bothered to think it through. What I don't understand is why there was no fall out whatsoever for Maia at her workplace? It was her lie regarding her bosses that caused Kresteva to try to get an indictment against them. And apparently they lost business over it as well. Even if Kresteva knew it was not true but wanted to drag them through the mud, Maia was the one who provided the mud to sling. But there was no mention of her part in it and what it may have caused her company and bosses, at all. Or maybe I was daydreaming and missed it........

At this point I am hanging in for Elsbeth and Marissa scenes only. Sadly, no longer even for Diane. 

[Sandman]

I loved Marissa's grand jury testimony, even though it strikes me as unrealistic that a witness could be allowed to be so snarky on the stand. I still enjoy Diane, although the character was never portrayed as so hapless and unprepared in the original show. I enjoy her relationships with Adrian and Maia, but I don't find all of the new characters equally compelling. Barbara, for one, is still a bit of a cipher, for me. For all The Good Wife's limitations, I'm not sure this show is a better show, overall. The Rindells and their story continue to be mostly a liability, though, as I say, I want to like Maia -- Rose Leslie is an appealing presence.

The legal wrangling is becoming more detached from reality with every episode. And it makes zero sense for Mike Kresteva to remain in a high-profile position while his "tendency to lie" seems to be such an acknowledged fact by everyone in the cast (except the man himself, of course). That said, I found his rejoinder to Elsbeth that "It's funny that you think this is over" to be both chilling and depressing (because I'm not enjoying this storyline enough to want much more of it).

Judging by the title of the upcoming episode, The Good Fight is introducing yet another character from the first series -- Colin Sweeney. I don't know that I want to see Sweeney anymore. I begin the think the show has crossed some invisible line between "storytelling in a rounded, consistent universe" and "we don't know how to move on without depending on characters we created the first time around." As you might guess, the Kings wore out my goodwill some time ago.

[UsernameFatigue]

^^^ You have hit the nail on the head as to why I am no longer enjoying Diane. It is like they have taken Alicia's personality and transplanted it into Diane. Diane was always more self assured and prepared.  I really expected the spin off to be one where Christine B. would be allowed to shine and take control. As it turns out, not so much. 

[John Potts]

OK, I liked this episode because it was just fun. OK, I'm sure the legal stuff was... far fetched, but I did like the way the firm (and Elspeth Tascioni) managed to outmanoeuvre Mike Kresteva. But the idea of "playing the man and not the ball" (or rather, playing the politics rather than the law) was probably a fair (or at least plausible) reflection of how politics can trump legality.

[txhorns79]

Quote

So there may be an obvious answer to this and I just can't be bothered to think it through. What I don't understand is why there was no fall out whatsoever for Maia at her workplace? It was her lie regarding her bosses that caused Kresteva to try to get an indictment against them. And apparently they lost business over it as well.

Her firm's attorney asked her to plant the lie with her father, and it appeared the partners were aware of the plan.  It would be very strange if they punished Maia for following a plan that they had apparently endorsed.

[Ceindreadh]

On 28/3/2017 at 6:31 AM, Aulty said:

That was a really good episode. I liked the judge ( I like that they always give them very distinct personalities), and the thing with the tax numbers was a bit lame. Marissa and her snide comments in front of the grand jury and Krestiva was great.

On another note: I hate the opening for this show, I think its really weird, the music doesn't fit and its too long.

I don’t know if fits or not but I think it’s an awesome piece of music  

 

On 23/10/2017 at 2:46 AM, txhorns79 said:

Her firm's attorney asked her to plant the lie with her father, and it appeared the partners were aware of the plan.  It would be very strange if they punished Maia for following a plan that they had apparently endorsed.

Did they know beforehand about Maia planting the lie? I think Mike was going to go after them one way or another, Maia’s lie just meant they knew what one of his avenues of attack would be. 

Land if I was Elspeth I’d check her ‘Ava’ for bugs before ever using it again. 

Better yet, don’t have an automatic recording device in your office. 

Edited September 1, 2018 by Ceindreadh
Damned autocorrect

[Milburn Stone]

On 4/2/2017 at 11:04 PM, SeanC said:

For non-lawyers, the "mere puffery" line that Diane and Adrian were chuckling over is a reference to Carlill v. Carbolic Smoke Ball Co., a case every lawyer in the English-speaking world studies in first-year contract law class.

FWIW, puffery is also a term of art in advertising. It means kind of the same thing. If a car dealer says, "You'll find the best deals ANYWHERE at Gorman Toyota!!!," he's not required to provide substantiation that he's compared his deals to every other car dealer in the galaxy, it's understood to be mere puffery precisely because it would be impossible for him to substantiate. 

Agree this episode was a big improvement over the previous one.

Elsbeth must be incredibly wealthy with a low overhead like hers.