S05.E21: The One Percent

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Alicia manages the fallout when her client's insensitive statements to the press threaten the fate of a multi-billion dollar merger. Meanwhile, Diane faces a potential conflict of interest when she and Louis Canning are on opposite sides of a class action suit involving a pharmaceutical company. Also, Eli learns the truth about Alicia and Peter's relationship

 

[merylinkid]

Don't do it Peter.   Don't do it.   You love Alisha.   You need to work it out with her, if you want to keep her.   An affair would be bad.  Very bad.

 

Canning is violating his fiduciary duty to the firm if he is driving away cases.  He signed a partnership agreement that contains language about not hurting the firm.   But oooh, pissed off Diane is a sight to see.   As is snarky Cary.   Good for you Cary pointing out how it feels to push around your own firm.  

 

But Cary please stop sleeping with Kalinda.   You know she is just using you.

[stonehaven]

I loved all the scenes between Alicia and Eli....it needed more Diane..and I just realized I want more Jill Hennesey on my TV...

[dr pepper]

Does anyone know the song that was played at the start and end of the episode? Googling the lyrics hasn't helped?

Every show could use some Jill Hennesey. She's been wasted since Jordan ended.

[photo fox]

I love watching Chris Noth in badass mode. *fans self*

 

Watching Cary/Alicia and Canning watching the different press conferences was comedy gold.

[SassySenior]

Sweet cider!!!!!! Why are the writers introducing the red-lipped, sexy vixen intern character? Is she a plant by Castro??? Is Peter really stupid enough to go that road again? How co-incidental that she emerges just as Ms. Lewinski resurfaces! Loved it when Eli read her the riot act! Cliff hanger final scene... but nothing noted in next week's final episode of the season.  Pleeeeeeeze make her go away!

[Tatler]

I am the only one who was hoping that it would turn out that Alicia and Finn were lovers?

 

Alicia needs to own her decisions and it would be nice to move away from the cliche of Peter, 'the power-hungry man with a cute intern' being the one to screw around while 'Saint Alicia' only has sex for love.

 

It would have been unexpected - and fun .....

 

Come on Alicia - Matthew Goode looks damn hot with the less floppy hair - go for it!

[Abstract]

Somehow I got the idea Finn was married. Now that I know he's not, he's just got to be Alicia's next man, otherwise what's the point? So incredibly pretty, and such a nice guy.

[merylinkid]

Alisha is still now owning anything about her life.   Hence the anvil from her client that she IS part of the 1 percent.   She just thinks of herself as this housewife from Chicago.   She's only the governor's wife when she wants something.   SHe is only a tough attorney when she wants something.   The rest of the time she really believes she is just Mom.   She does not accept she is a wealthy woman with power in her own right and power from her husband that most women just do not have.   Since she has no power, she just floats along letting other people make decisions for her. 

[SassySenior]

Didn't someone mention that Finn divorced his wife... following a miscarriage, no less??!! One of the "warts" the opposition would cite him for, along with the druggie sister... AND made up story him about sleeping with gov's wife.

[AzraelKay]

I know we have to suspend some belief when watching, but I find it hard to believe that that many people/potential jurors had watched "Financial News Daily" or whatever it was called and had seen Tom Skerritt make the offensive comments.

[Tatler]

It also ran in my mind he'd talked about wife/children after the shooting but .... it just may not have been clear he was divorced.

 

merylinkid - I agree, it's very hit and miss: a big deal has been made about how much Alicia's changed, but the evidence is lacking in many areas of her life.  I think you're right in that she likes to see herself as a regular working mother - but that's not true and she needs to take a more active approach to her life.

[Tara Ariano]

I wrote about the Eli/Florricks relationship with regard to last night's episode!

[Boundary]

It's getting tired now, the idea of a cliffhanger about a potential Peter infidelity incident. I fell for that advisor's kid being named Peter but I think doing it again - ugh. They've shown over the years that Peter's a smart pelican and that now, even after Eli has specifically warned him that affairs always get out, he's going to attempt one? He also now knows that Alicia didn't fool around, so there's no upside whatsoever.

[whatsatool]

Alicia was tolerable this episode.  Eli you've got to go work for the Clintons.   I'd follow Eli anywhere - now that they have taken all the good lines away from Kalinda (what did she do to piss off the writers?) Eli is the only one keeping this ship afloat.

 

Edited May 12, 2014 by whatsatool

[Cattitude]

Gotta love a good Eli episode. I always feel bad when he has to run all around like a chicken putting out fires. He is the absolute best at his job and both Peter and Alicia know it.

 

I really liked Mr Paisley(Tom Skerritt). I know he is politically incorrect, but I have never understood people wanting everyone to have a voice yet silence a voice that isn't always polite. Freedom of speech should be for everyone even people who don't always say the right things. Silencing certain viewpoints doesn't mean they aren't there.

I especially liked him shining a light on Alicia's denial of who she is. That is one thing that grates on me about her. Just like her going into the jury duty acting like a regular joe so she'd actually get MORE attention when her name is called than if she OWNED it from the word go.

 

And I have to say I cheered the Kings for being bold enough to show the news media for the bias shit stirrers they really are. Those interviewers purposely making something look like something it wasn't is COMMON in the real world news. Sad thing is so many people get sucked in.

 

I loved Canning against FA in the jury seating. That is just why I think he has a place on the show, but he doesn't need to be on this much every week or it would be too much.

 

I like Peter. I feel bad for him b/c I do believe he loves Alicia. I think she hurt him and he is tempted to hurt her back. I also think she made him feel she stole some of his power as a man. The temptation of the affair is a power play too. I hope he is smart enough to listen to Eli's bang on advice. I think he will as he usually does. I just can't believe he'd actually fall for that so obvious intern unless he means to play her.

 

I love to hate Jackie so I'm excited to see the mother's drunk throwdown next week.

Edited May 13, 2014 by Cattitude

[Abstract]

I know we have to suspend some belief when watching, but I find it hard to believe that that many people/potential jurors had watched "Financial News Daily" or whatever it was called and had seen Tom Skerritt make the offensive comments.

I guess we're supposed to assume it got posted online and went viral.

[buckboard]

Cattitude wrote:

I really liked Mr Paisley(Tom Skerritt). I know he is politically incorrect, but I have never understood people wanting everyone to have a voice yet silence a voice that isn't always polite. Freedom of speech should be for everyone even people who don't always say the right things. Silencing certain viewpoints doesn't mean they aren't there.

 

Freedom of speech means the government can't silence voices they don't like to hear.  It doesn't mean you can say anything you want without consequences. Paisley's racist and classist statements are bad for business.  That is why FA wants him to shut up.  He has offended many people, which has scared companies about to enter into a huge merger with his company.  They are thinking about backing out of the merger, which would be a enormous financial loss to both Paisley and FA. 

Edited May 14, 2014 by Lisin
formatted quotes

[Cattitude]

Cattitude wrote: I really liked Mr Paisley(Tom Skerritt). I know he is politically incorrect, but I have never understood people wanting everyone to have a voice yet silence a voice that isn't always polite. Freedom of speech should be for everyone even people who don't always say the right things. Silencing certain viewpoints doesn't mean they aren't there.

 

Freedom of speech means the government can't silence voices they don't like to hear.  It doesn't mean you can say anything you want without consequences. Paisley's racist and classist statements are bad for business.  That is why FA wants him to shut up.  He has offended many people, which has scared companies about to enter into a huge merger with his company.  They are thinking about backing out of the merger, which would be a enormous financial loss to both Paisley and FA. 

Oh I know what you are saying. I don't mean to say he was correct in any way. I just liked his character and the way he played it. Even in the end doing what he was "supposed to" for business didn't really change how he felt. I liked that in the end he got the last laugh with Alicia for her "racism". I know I'm probably not explaining well but saying the "right" thing doesn't mean you really believe it. I just prefer honesty even when totally offensive to lip service to "the right thing". If someone wouldn't buy his product b/c of his views then the apology shouldn't change their minds, as it was clearly lip service and not how he really felt.

[CleoCaesar]

I really liked Mr Paisley(Tom Skerritt). I know he is politically incorrect, but I have never understood people wanting everyone to have a voice yet silence a voice that isn't always polite. Freedom of speech should be for everyone even people who don't always say the right things. Silencing certain viewpoints doesn't mean they aren't there.

 

I absolutely hate politically correct perpetual victimhood and this constant fetishization of being "offended" that the media perpetuates, so I liked that Paisley spoke his mind too. He was saying pretty stupid, more hyperbolic, things, sure. But I also refuse to believe that people are half as truly "offended" as they claim they are when it suits their purposes. The show seemed to comment on that, (like when the Greek woman had to be coaxed into admitting that she was sooo offended by the Greece comment). People like Paisley can say stupid things, and people can choose not to buy their products. Forcing bullshit apologies written by PR consultants is pure theater.

 

I rolled my eyes a lot this episode. It felt like Liberalism 101 written by a doe-eyed college freshman. Let's make fun of Ayn Rand! Let's skewer an old rich white guy and his "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" philosophy! Let's say some platitudes about the evil 1%! It was all so clumsy, regardless of where you fall on the political spectrum. (In their defense, some of it was played for humor, like how easy it is to be a seen as a "racist" nowadays - Alicia couldn't see the two men of the same age wearing identical suits with similar haircuts so of course the kneejerk response was that she couldn't tell them apart because she was a racist. And of course she offended people, and of course she had to give an apology, and the game goes on.)

[buckboard]

I agree that Paisley's carelessly chosen comments about Jews and class were dramatically well written and well acted and I was glad for those reasons to see them in Sunday's episode.  But I think Paisley absolutely believed what he was saying, but he couldn't help himself, because he's used to being the big guy on the block and entitled to say whatever he wants, even if it ends up costing him hundreds of millions of dollars.

 

What I found fascinating was how this played out in line with Donald Sterling's racist statements and the apologies, which have gotten him in even deeper. TGW storyline apparently was based on Tom Perkin's 1% victims statement, but it had to be written before the Clippers situation broke out.  It reminds me of "The China Syndrome" parallelling Three Mile Island.

[cheyz]

 

Alicia couldn't see the two men of the same age wearing identical suits with similar haircuts so of course the kneejerk response was that she couldn't tell them apart because she was a racist.

 

Actually, she literally could not see them. She was in a different room (city?) with no monitor, she could only hear the questions. They set her up for it.

[fastiller]

Actually, she literally could not see them. She was in a different room (city?) with no monitor, she could only hear the questions. They set her up for it.

True.  She should've said something like "since you're both men and since I have no video feed here, please identify yourself when you ask a question/make a comment.  That way I'll know which of you I'm answering."  Would've taken the race angle away right away,

[shapeshifter]

Watching Cary/Alicia and Canning watching the different press conferences was comedy gold.

Yes, but the whole Paisley thing was so similar to the current Sterling racism rants, that I found it uncomfortable to watch. I think both the fictional Paisley and the real life Sterling do have dementia, but I could be wrong in either instance and, regardless, that will never fly as an excuse.

[AnitaM86]

I love seeing Diane in charge. When she said at the end "This is MY fight." I was thanking the gods. I hope she takes down Canning and his smug self, but I did enjoy him very much on the scenes where he was watching the press conferences. Very entertaining.

 

I am not a Peter fan, but I do like him when he's in offense mode like he did Castro. I knew that once Alicia set the limits to their "marriage" that Peter would soon be tempted (sorry, but "nice lipstick" isn't a proper compliment), no surprise there. 

 

Eli Gold is made of gold. I always want more of him. When he was asking Alicia about Finn, there was genuine care for her and it was a nice change of pace from the usual strategic thinker that Eli is. 

 

I am not sure I am completely ok with moving Alicia to another man (I love her on her own), but I do hope that we see something good and substancial for Finn soon. (But man, did I hate his haircut. Leave it as it was last episode.) 

[maraleia]

Help me out here. Isn't Zach already supposed to be in college and Grace finishing her junior year in HS according to the timeline? This is the fifth season and when the show started Zach started 9th grade and Grace started 7th grade.

As for the episode, I continue to love Eli and wish that they would do something better with Kalinda.

[Inquisitionist]

(But man, did I hate his haircut. Leave it as it was last episode.)

 

Agreed. I didn't recognize him at first.  Not flattering.

 

Isn't Zach already supposed to be in college and Grace finishing her junior year in HS according to the timeline? This is the fifth season and when the show started Zach started 9th grade and Grace started 7th grade.

 

The timeline is a little sloppy.  Some seasons have picked up immediately after the previous one ended.

[Catherinewriter]

Eli rocks. I laugh to myself when I think that this uptight character walks out the door and puts on the costume for the MC in "Cabaret." Now that's talent.

[mansonlamps]

True. She should've said something like "since you're both men and since I have no video feed here, please identify yourself when you ask a question/make a comment. That way I'll know which of you I'm answering." Would've taken the race angle away right away,

She shouldn't have to. How would she in a million years have known that three men were going to set her up as a racist?

[7-Zark-7]

Actually, Alicia did mention that she didn't have a monitor in the room and couldn't see who was asking her questions.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

One of the things I love about Eli is that he is really good at his job. I loved his facial expression as soon as he heard a woman laughing in Peter's office and then how he later told the intern to stay 50 feet away from Peter. The fact that Peter then had a temper tantrum about it just goes to show that he DOES need Eli to babysit him. Say what you will about Eli, but he goes out of his way to protect Peter and do what's best for him. I believed him when he told Alicia he was there to talk to her because he cared. He cares about both Peter and Alicia (and Peter's career) and he was so gentle when he asked if this was about Will's death.

 

While I understand in theory how it could look bad that there was a photo of Finn leaving Alicia's apartment, in reality I don't see the big deal. Lots of people stop by her apartment and she isn't sleeping with most of them. If being seen walking out of her building means she's having an affair, then Eli better hope that no one produces a picture of him leaving from his talk with her and then accuses Alicia of sleeping with her husband's campaign manager.

 

If Peter is that easily convinced that Alicia is already sleeping with Finn, then they really shouldn't be together. I mean, seriously, that's all it takes? A photo of a person leaving her building? What if Finn knew someone else in the building? Or what if he was dropping off files to Alicia? Or what if he, as someone else who was profoundly affected by WIll's death, wanted to check on her to see how she was doing? Besides, it's not like the photo was time stamped at 3am. Hell, Cary has been stopping by Alicia's apartment at all hours since they were at LG and no one has ever questioned if they were having an affair. I just don't understand how people can make such a huge leap based on Finn being at her building. But does Peter think that Alicia would really ask him to endorse someone she's sleeping with? I did love that Peter's reaction to Castro's attempt at blackmail was to throw not one but two glasses of water on him.

 

I have to agree with Louis and Eli about FA needing doors for the conference room and more walls. What if they have one client in the doorless conference room and another client somewhere else in the office? Wouldn't they be able to hear what the other person is there for? You'd think at a law firm, they would want to have at least two rooms with doors to provide confidentiality for thier clients.

 

One fun thing about having LG and FA is having them watch the same interviews with opposite reactions. "Say it!" "Don't say it!"

[lucindabelle]

 

have to agree with Louis and Eli about FA needing doors for the conference room and more walls. What if they have one client in the doorless conference room and another client somewhere else in the office? Wouldn't they be able to hear what the other person is there for? You'd think at a law firm, they would want to have at least two rooms with doors to provide confidentiality for thier clients.

 

Word. My office is in a converted garage. Cubicles. We open the garage door on nice days. Exposed vents. Supposedly "design choices," it's depressing as hell.