Season 3 Discussion

[maggiegil]

I've watched since day one but I've got to say its beginning to lose me. I didn't mind the red jacket thing but I found Jay talking to camera saying 'why not punch anyone whos speech you find offensive' be to a bridge too far.

It lacked the nuance that I expected from a smart show like this (I think the Good Wife was more balanced than the Good Fight but still). Punch a "Nazi" is such an awful thing to promote because who decides who the "Nazi" is? Once ideas that someone decides are unacceptable are acceptably punished by violence where does it stop.

Also, Michael Sheen's character is so ridiculously over the top and not in a funny or charming way

[meira.hand]

I found the firm being stuck with Blum a nice karma over firing Maia. At least they get a taste of what she had to deal with on her own.

[juno]

I can't hate watch shows anymore. I start fast forwarding through scenes and pretty soon I am left with a 30 min show. I am starting to do that with this show.

I hate when fictional shows use real people to either make a point, cause outrage every show or help push the agenda of the show-runner or cast. This show is doing that and I can't stand it.

So drugs were found in Maia's car. Was she prosecuted? Found guilty? So in this world if drugs are planted in anyone's car they can be fired. I hope they add that in interviews. Should help with hiring new staff.

Most sad for me is that I have started to compare this to another legal show that started out as a really good legal show and then went into the toilet with internal fighting, OUTRAGE (every show) and completely ignoring any courtroom scenes. That is Suits.

Painfully-I am out.

[langford peel]

This blind hatred promoted by the show runners is becoming quite odious. Promoting fake hate crimes, doxing and political violence should not be acceptable in a mainstream production.

I guess that is the point. This is a targeted program for the extremes hidden on an obscure platform.

[2727]

I think I'm out, too, and agree that extensive fast-forwarding is indicative of my increasing indifference.

See: The poll-watching scenes where the "might as well have been wearing MAGA hats" guys were portrayed as oafish thugs. It's tiresome.

Jay not being immediately fired drove home that the show no longer has the faintest grip on reality.

For the People will have to satisfy my legal drama fix; it's a pale imitation but at least is primarily about the cases.

[Aulty]

oooooooooooooooooooooh boy. I thought it was bonkers when they started talking about Kim and Kanye, but what they've ended up with was even more over the top. They can't even finish that storyline in this season if they don't want to drift into fiction.

The whole episode made Blum look like the sanest person in Chicago.

And why is it raining all the time?

Edited April 18, 2019 by Aulty

[Marci]

This show has been promoting violence for a while now. It’s awful.

BTW, that Phyllis Wheatley Elementary?  It is really Street School Community Center, an old-school-turned-center in New City, NY.  I voted there numerous times and lived in that neck of the woods for 30 years. And there would never be a group of guys that live around there that would ever behave like the red jackets or any of the cartoon characters that were portrayed.  Just sayin’

I have a wild thought. Is it possible they’re trying to show how the media has brainwashed so many anti-Trumpsters into becoming mindless followers?  hahaha

Edited April 18, 2019 by Marci

[Joimiaroxeu]

Yeah, no. I'm not buying that high-profile post-nup/divorce storyline at all. I think was mostly fan service. First of all, no way would the client in question just happen to go to a firm in Chicago that's the same one Diane works at. Also, I imagine there's a threat of deportation and loss of custody of her child in play to keep her in line, not just the loss of a potentially huge financial settlement.

Whoa, Mike Colter has put on some weight.

Wonder how they got the actual Vernon Jordan to do a cameo? Impressive get.

Definitely a body double/impersonator. I'm glad Lucca finally accepted it.

[langford peel]

I see where this show had to delete tweets that advocated violence and the assassination of the President. This last episode straight out advocated violence against people with a difference viewpoint. It destroyed the first amendment and advocated criminal violence, doxxing and political violence.

I will grant that they present that side of the political argument correctly but they don’t realize what they are portraying.

Unintended consequences.

Edited April 18, 2019 by langford peel

[bobbyjoe]

This week’s episode is exactly where the show shouldn’t go in pretty much every single way.  Blum is a tedious cartoon, and the Melania story, no matter if she’s a put-on or not is just dumb, dumb, dumb.  I hated Marissa suddenly talking to the camera, etc., etc., etc.

Show, we have to have an intervention.  None of this is what you’re good at, and nobody started watching you for this kind of silly garbage.  Come back to your good characters and closer-to-realism storylines please.  The humor and over-the-top stuff should be there every once in awhile to season the meal, it shouldn’t be all we’re given to eat.

[TVForever]

On 3/28/2019 at 11:54 PM, stonehaven said:

Okay..so the message is the woman has to let her hubby win to protect a dead man's legacy....and they say we've come a long way???? 

I think at this point, it was more about saving the firm than her father’s reputation. They would likely be ruined if it got out that they were paying “hush money “ to multiple(!) women to cover up the misdeeds of the firm’s founder.

I was half expecting the secretary to reveal that her daughter was Liz’ half-sister. 

On 4/4/2019 at 6:53 PM, John Potts said:

Oh, and one minor gripe - in the cartoon segment, the globe was rotating backwards (clockwise as viewed from the North pole) which just added to the pile of things wrong in the episode!

Maybe that was another part of Diane’s fever dream about the world feeling like it’s spinning backwards/out of control. Maybe?

[John Potts]

On ‎4‎/‎4‎/‎2019 at 11:53 PM, John Potts said:

In the cartoon segment, the globe was rotating backwards (clockwise as viewed from the North pole) which just added to the pile of things wrong in the episode!

6 minutes ago, TVForever said:

Maybe that was another part of Diane’s fever dream about the world feeling like it’s spinning backwards/out of control. Maybe?

I wish I could say I thought the TPTB were being that clever, but given the way this Season has played out, I really don't.

7 minutes ago, TVForever said:

it was more about saving the firm than her father’s reputation. They would likely be ruined if it got out that they were paying “hush money “ to multiple(!) women to cover up the misdeeds of the firm’s founder.

Which might make sense, if they could be sure the story would never get out. Given the number of women involved, that's highly unlikely. When it does, their reputation is going to tank - it looks better if (as Diane suggested) they put out a statement saying, "We recently discovered certain allegations committed by our late founder. While it can never compensate for the distress to the women involved, we can only offer our sincerest apologies and assure them that mechanisms have been put in place to guarantee they can never be repeated." (I'll leave it to the lawyers to word it so it doesn't admit to any present liability while blaming somebody who's safely dead). Yes, the firm might still be sued, but they look much worse if the allegations come out and their response is to try to cover it up. If their clients desert them because they have a toxic reputation, the firm could also be doomed - they are endeavouring to cover up multiple rapes, it's not like he misfiled his taxes.

My DVR failed to record the last couple of episodes and given everyone's comments here, I don't think I'll bother trying to catch up.

[wendyg]

On 4/8/2019 at 11:21 AM, Marci said:

I don’t know how Christine Baranski sleeps at night, knowing that she has sold herself out for a paycheck

I think this is unfair. The most likely situation is that Baranski signed a contract before the show began under which she is committed to play the character for x number of years, at the show's option. She couldn't know three years ago how the show would evolve, but she did know that Diane, developed by the same showrunners, was a great character she enjoyed playing. Things change. A professional honors their commitments - and keeps in mind the 200 other people whose jobs depend on their doing so.

[Marci]

5 hours ago, wendyg said:

I think this is unfair.

You may be right. I guess it’s just so sad to me to see her character, and the whole show for that matter, decline so rapidly. I actually like Ms. Baranski and have always been and still am a fan. I think I wrote that after being particularly appalled at one of the shows. 🙂

[skotnikov]

That last episode was just bad, almost unwatchable. I hope it'll be cancelled before it self-destructs completely.   

Edited April 21, 2019 by skotnikov

[Linderhill]

the character of Blum has got to be the worst idea for this show.  Not that I was particularly fond of her but the guy basically got Maia fired, sews unrest where ever his goes.  There are unpleasant characters that viewers love to hate but this one, I think, everyone just hates. Period.  

The quasi Melania plot seemed to me that type of surreal plot that has been used before in The Good Wife and The Good Fight.   Unfortunately the presence of Blum just made the episode pretty unbearable.🤬

[NoThyme]

I like Maia. Do not understand how the firm allowed her to be framed after winning a pretty big case. The legal aspect of the show is getting lost. Sad.

[vibeology]

7 hours ago, NoThyme said:

I like Maia. Do not understand how the firm allowed her to be framed after winning a pretty big case. The legal aspect of the show is getting lost. Sad.

How was Maya framed? She only passed her drug test by cheating and she publicly destroyed company property. She kept those drugs for days rather than getting rid of them. Her firing was deserved. 

[Ceindreadh]

2 hours ago, vibeology said:

How was Maya framed? She only passed her drug test by cheating and she publicly destroyed company property. She kept those drugs for days rather than getting rid of them. Her firing was deserved. 

Blum ratted her out. He’d already threatened to do so and those cops didn’t show up by chance. 

That said, anybody dumb enough to not dump the drugs immediately or at the very least to hide them instead of leaving them in the open isn’t getting too much of my sympathy. 

[HazelEyes4325]

"The Good Fight" Renewed for Season 4

[TVbitch]

Just got caught up. It speaks volumes that I am leaving episodes sit until I have nothing else to watch. I guess I have lost interest. Maybe I will try again next season in case they course correct. Blum is truly unwatchable. Makes me nostalgic for the nuanced, believable foes like Michael J. Fox and Alan Alda played. Hope they can get back to a good balance of characters, cases and interpersonal drama. 

[Aulty]

Wow, Gary Carr, thats some serious eye candy. I am almost willing to forgive the writers for creating Blum after he hired us a nice British squeeze for Lucca - she deserved that. Hope he stays around for a bit.

Marissa is an investigator who, a few episodes ago, got a serious pay rise and all she does the whole day is watch Blum?

At the moment they are highlighting two manifestations of the dark side of the law - one is Diane, Liz and the book club's ruthless fight, the other is the ever so eccentric maniac Blum. It makes me miss Maia's vanilla stories.

Edited April 25, 2019 by Aulty

[Ms Blue Jay]

12 hours ago, Aulty said:

Wow, Gary Carr, thats some serious eye candy. I am almost willing to forgive the writers for creating Blum after he hired us a nice British squeeze for Lucca - she deserved that. Hope he stays around for a bit.

Your post was incredibly useful.  I had no idea that "Gary Carr" was a real actor, and had no idea he was really on Downton Abbey.  Thanks.  I thought that was just a fake subplot for the show.  Colour me very impressed that Downton Abbey has black actors on the show.

I guess Maya is off the show, then.

Edited April 26, 2019 by Ms Blue Jay

[Marci]

First, Gary Carr is hardly eye candy in my book. 

Second, this show is fucking horrible! Eye candy cannot distract from that.

[Joimiaroxeu]

"Competent, clean, and articulate." Blum hit a trifecta of insults to Black people, especially educated and professional Black people. The guy is offensive with surgical precision.

Gary Carr playing Gary Carr is hilarious to me. I never watched Downton Abbey but I loved him on The Deuce. He did a great New York-ish accent. Funny to see him here getting to use his normal voice while fellow Brit Cush Jumbo was doing her Chicago-ish accent.

If anyone's taking an unhacked vote (🙂 ) on Mr. Carr, put me in the "eye candy" column.

[Marci]

5 hours ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

Competent, clean, and articulate." Blum hit a trifecta of insults to Black people, especially educated and professional Black people.

The show deliberately hit the trifecta. That is what this show has been reduced to.

Whoa! Did not recognize CC from the Deuce here at all. I will admit, he is much more eye candy-ish without his pants on. 

[Joimiaroxeu]

Quote

The show deliberately hit the trifecta. That is what this show has been reduced to.

I'm not pinning this one on the show. The comment was referencing something Joe Biden actually said about Obama in 2007 before he became Obama's running mate. Unlike the fictional Blum, Biden apparently thought he was speaking in a complimentary fashion. He was quickly informed otherwise and he issued an apologetic statement the next day.

[SomeTameGazelle]

Love Kathy Najimy, but confused as to why Adrian and Diane confronted the judge apparently based on Adrian's lover's word alone and then gave up and took the dismissal of their case without any further follow up. I mean, it gave Diane the excuse to let the "book club" take the hacking approach, but Adrian doesn't know that.

Whose face was Blum having tattooed on his back? I assume it was an allusion to Roger Stone's Nixon tattoo, but I couldn't make out the face. (ETA: wait, was the tattoo meant to be Roger Stone? I watched that scene again with my lenses in and saw it had round spectacles like his.)

And another thing! Surely Jay could have walked through the code to prove it was working the way he said it was. Didn't he say it was designed to flip votes in order to keep the lead? So what if he couldn't say exactly how many votes had flipped if he could show that the results were in doubt.

Edited April 28, 2019 by SomeTameGazelle
Afterthought.

[Marci]

"He called me," Obama said. "I told him it wasn't necessary. We have got more important things to worry about. We have got Iraq. We have got health care. We have got energy. This is low on the list. He was very gracious, and I have no problem with Joe Biden.”

Obama, the most gracious President I’ve seen, had no issue with Biden’s statement. Leave it to this show to bring it back 12 years later and use it to send a racially-charged message. What bothers me about this show is its blatant manipulation of the viewers’ emotions. 

[Joimiaroxeu]

Quote

Leave it to this show to bring it back 12 years later and use it to send a racially-charged message.

I don't think the show was using it to send a racially charged message. This show generally doesn't do subtle or dog-whistle-y kinds of dialogue; IMO they're pretty obvious with what they're saying.

The only message I saw was that Blum is a loudmouthed bully who's generally allowed to get away with saying provocative things because he says so many of them it would eat up everyone's time and energy to challenge him on every single one of them. Hmmm. Seems familiar...

Quote

Obama, the most gracious President I’ve seen, had no issue with Biden’s statement.

It wasn't my interpretation that Obama had no issue with it. I think what he was saying is that in the overall scheme of more important things, it wasn't something to waste time worrying and getting het up about. I imagine Obama and/or others let Biden know why what he said was problematic, Biden acknowledged that he understood his mistake, and they agreed to move past it.

In the case of this show, I think Blum 100% knew what he was saying was offensive. He also knew that that particular group of Black people was unlikely to make a scene and get in his face about it in public. It's classic bully behavior and Blum seems to be an equal opportunity kind of offender. He finds everybody's sensitive spot and tries to poke at it in an attempt to deflect attention away from his own shortcomings.

[bobbyjoe]

Quote

Love Kathy Najimy, but confused as to why Adrian and Diane confronted the judge apparently based on Adrian's lover's word alone and then gave up and took the dismissal of their case without any further follow up. 

Every character on the show these days is being written as if they’d suddenly swallowed a bottle of idiot pills.  That confrontation scene with the judge makes no sense whatsoever unless you accept that Adrian and Diane have both turned utterly stupid.

In the past, the show would likely have had Adrian get Marissa to do some digging and Marissa would have found some way to force the judge into a corner the judge couldn’t have gotten out of.  But Adrian and Diane just showing up in a diner with no evidence and expecting that to somehow work makes them look like they’re just two fools who fell off a turnip truck.

On a better note, can we talk about what an amazing actress (and really everything else) Audra is?  Cause in an episode that was otherwise annoying the crap out of me, and in a storyline that was making me roll my eyes like crazy because of how badly designed it was, when Audra did the speech about voting in Georgia, etc., I got genuine goosebumps; she really sold it.

Hey show, you know that scene where Blum starts ranting and raving and everyone around the computer just ignores him until he disappears into the background?  Yeah, show please take that scene’s advice, forever.

My fantasy storyline, upon hearing Diane mention in passing the Sweeney divorce:  Colin Sweeney is meeting with Diane about something, trying to get them to help him.  Diane mentions in passing how much trouble Blum is causing everyone at the firm.  Next day, the news reports that Blum suffered a mysterious fatal accident.  Colin Sweeny comes in for another meeting.  Diane is somewhat horrified that Sweeny did something, but as is usually the case, he just smiles and we never know for sure.  Then, anyway, Blum is never ever, ever mentioned, ever again.

Edited April 28, 2019 by bobbyjoe

[riprock]

It won’t even be satisfying when Blum is written out at the conclusion of his arc. He’s not brilliant, insightful, mysterious, sympathetic, formidable, or any other qualities that have made previous antagonists fascinating to contemplate. He should get dropped like Kalinda’s husband. Where’s the accomplishment in beating this thug?

If he’s a permanent character, then what a spectacular error. 

[TVForever]

On 4/25/2019 at 11:10 PM, Ms Blue Jay said:

Your post was incredibly useful.  I had no idea that "Gary Carr" was a real actor, and had no idea he was really on Downton Abbey.  Thanks.  I thought that was just a fake subplot for the show.  Colour me very impressed that Downton Abbey has black actors on the show.

I guess Maya is off the show, then.

Not actors. Black actoR. As in just one. And as much as I appreciate diversity, his story arc felt clumsy and forced. He appeared, shared some kisses with Rose, turned her head, family disapproved, then he was gone, never to be mentioned again. Rose went on to marry someone else. The end.

[auntiemel]

Everyone was all about Downton Abbey, and I was like, "FIDEL! What's up??? Do you keep in touch with Dwayne?" 😀

[Aulty]

Now THAT was a great episode with a good balance between politics and law. Great to have Alan Alda back aswell.

Kurt is a curmudgeon with his heart in the right place, and despite his political views, thats why he needs to be on this show. I wonder if we will see NSA guy again, personally I liked the NSA stories on TGW.

Garry going Scientology, now that was left field.

[Joimiaroxeu]

I think Gary Carr is adorable. And he wears the hell out of a tailored suit.

"Leather and Lace." The very definition of craven opportunism. IMO, probably no one would be giving them a second thought if they weren't Black or some other minority because the incongruity sells. Plus, like untold others, they've turned their race into a commodity. Not that there's necessarily anything wrong with that but when it's so self-hating, ugh.

Did they make Jane Curtin up to look older?

Yikes, when false flags get false flagged.

Diane's husband handled that NSA guy like a pro. But odds are the NSA doesn't allow their regular staff to delete files and there are likely backups of the stuff about Diane which could crop up in the future. Fortunately for her, Kurt did her,  the book club, and his own team a favor by getting those tainted voting machines taken out of service. And she has no idea.

Edited May 2, 2019 by Joimiaroxeu

[Cranberry]

General reminder: I know it's difficult because this show has heightened versions of several real-life political figures as characters now, but please try to discuss politics only as they relate to the plot of the show (see Primetimer's political discussion rule). Thanks!

[statsgirl]

I love Kurt. Where can I get a Kurt of my own? I don't share his political views but damn, he protects his own.  Also he's very sexy.

I'm glad the voting machine hack storyline is over. At least I hope it's over. I've been following Jennifer Cohn on twitter and the possibility that voting machines could be hacked even just through a USB key is a very real danger.  Paper ballots for all is the only safe way.

Ironically for this show, they really underplayed the Chum Hum 'working for China' plot.  Human Rights Watch reverse engineered an app on Uighur phones that monitors their movements. Engineering provided by American tech companies. China even has started facial monitoring and a DNA data base. 

On 5/2/2019 at 12:35 PM, Joimiaroxeu said:

Did they make Jane Curtin up to look older?

She's 71 in real life.  I think she looks pretty damned good.

[bobbyjoe]

Quote

Now THAT was a great episode with a good balance between politics and law. Great to have Alan Alda back aswell.

This felt like an episode of the usual show, not the clown show we've been getting way too much of this season.  Best news: no Blum this episode.  If he never reappeared and they never explained it or mentioned him again, I'd be fine with that.

Good to see some of our recurring secondary characters popping up:  unlike Blum, Alan Alda's character is a great "opponent" character; I wish they could get him to be a regular, since he's a much more interesting character who feels real and fits more with the vibe of the show.  And I loved the reveal that it was Michael Urie's character genuinely trying to help Diane-- I should have guessed it, but they played that out nicely. 

Plus, we get to hear John Cameron Mitchell sing.  The show should look at the difference between how Mitchell's character is used vs. how Michael Sheen's Blum is used:  if Mitchell appeared virtually every episode, the schtick would get tedious, but used sparingly, a time or two a season, he can make a funny villain played by a good performer in a way that seems fun rather than "ohmigod, please, enough."  Had Blum popped up only for an episode or two, he could just have been another quirky character in TGF's rogues gallery played by a charming actor and it could have been fun. 

Edited May 4, 2019 by bobbyjoe

[Jaded]

The Good Fight recap: The one that CBS 'censored'

[Quark]

I've just caught up with this season. Overall, it's good, but not as great as previous seasons. There is too much emphasis on politics and I absolutely despise Blum. He reminds me, in looks and in personality, of Pimento from Brooklyn 99 and I hated him too.

I did like the latest episode though. There was no Blum and there was a great emphasis on the law. 

[SomeTameGazelle]

On 5/4/2019 at 3:32 PM, bobbyjoe said:

And I loved the reveal that it was Michael Urie's character genuinely trying to help Diane-- I should have guessed it, but they played that out nicely. 

I enjoyed all of Kurt and the NSA guy, and laughed out loud at their meeting in the car when NSA guy realised he had admitted more than Kurt knew. "What did I say?"

On 5/2/2019 at 4:00 AM, Aulty said:

Garry going Scientology, now that was left field.

I suspected when Lucca and Maya watched the Mo Rocca interview that Gary wasn't talking about Lucca, but Scientology was not what I expected.

Edited May 11, 2019 by SomeTameGazelle
Removed extraneous word.

[Cranberry]

I thought that "CBS has censored this content" thing was a joke, but it wasn't. The showrunners almost quit over it.

This week's episode... oof. Glad to see Maia again, and I actually like her as a more cutthroat character, but I loved her friendship with Marissa and this ep torpedoed that. (I always kind of felt like she had a little thing for Marissa, so it was fun to see that confirmed, at least.)

I hope next week is the end of Blum. I love Michael Sheen, who was so good on Masters of Sex, but this character is just... too much. He exhausts me. I got excited when he was disbarred and left angrily shouting at no one at the end of this ep, and then they went and showed a preview that was all about him.

[HollyG]

6 hours ago, Cranberry said:

.loved her friendship with Marissa and this ep torpedoed that. 

I hope next week is the end of Blum. I love Michael Sheen, who was so good on Masters of Sex, but this character is just... too much. He exhausts me. I got excited when he was disbarred and left angrily shouting at no one at the end of this ep, and then they went and showed a preview that was all about him.

I hope that Marissa & Maia can repair their friendship. It's been one of my favorite things about the series. But I'm not sure that it's possible after what happened.

I have been ff'ing through most of Blum's scenes for awhile now. I also have enjoyed Michael Sheen in other things, but as you said, this character is "exhausting". I hope next week is the end of him also, even if we have to endure another episode of him blustering through his scenes. 

[Aulty]

So Adrian and Liz did hook up? They brought it up but immediately back-paddled... shame, I like those two.

I'm not sure where they are going with Blum and Maia - esp. with the show getting renewed. Will Blum pull the strings in the background while Maia runs his office next season? The way they set up the story with Maia and Blum, and I kinda like their dynamic, it would be weird to drop everything and bring her back to RB&L?

Maia and Marissa flirting with the idea of hooking up? Was it just to emphasize the betrayal or is there something? It was a pretty intense scene.

As for that investigator that Chumhum brought in - was that just one character with a distinct personality trait too many?

[Joimiaroxeu]

Quote

As for that investigator that Chumhum brought in - was that just one character with a distinct personality trait too many?

I thought so. It made me uncomfortable to see a disability used as comic relief. What was accomplished by doing that? I can see how they may have wanted to lighten the character up a bit but surely there were plenty of other ways to do it.

Guess Diane has found out that the book club is another one of those gangs it's almost impossible to get out of--not safely anyway. Now she's put herself, her husband, and the firm at risk.

I must say though, perhaps Blum could use a good swatting. They can't let him eat another season.

[langford peel]

I have been trying this show because I enjoyed the Good Wife and wanted to catch up with some of the characters.  However I think this is it for me. The only word to describe this show is cartoonish.

Cartoon villains.

Cartoon politics.

Cartoon relationships.

If I wanted to watch Adult Swim I would tune into that channel. 

This is it for me.

[bobbyjoe]

Quote

I also have enjoyed Michael Sheen in other things, but as you said, this character is "exhausting". I hope next week is the end of him also, even if we have to endure another episode of him blustering through his scenes

The scenario I pray for is that Blum falls down an elevator shaft or something next week and leaves Maia a ton of money and his firm.  Maia starting a competitive firm is a storyline I could get behind, as long as we move away from the way-too-far-over-the-top idiocy that is Blum.

The show has lost it this season as to how good TGW and TGF have been in he past about the subtleties and complication of politics.  What the heck has happned?  Diane’s imagined conversation with the guy on the screen felt like it could have been scripted by a first year C-level Freshman comp student.  And the whole “Book Club” thing has just ended up being mustache-twirling villainry.  “We know where you live, etc.”— really, show?  

I even don’t know what real-world political reality the “Book Club” thing is supposed to be commenting on; hasn’t the criticism of the left been more about pretty much the exact opposite, being too slow to act on anything, rather than being some too-quick-to-action violent underground rigging elections*, etc.?  Not to get into the politics other than to note I’m not exactly seeing much relevancy to anything real here, which is pretty much my criticism of much of the rest of this season as well.

*It finally hit me this week what the “Book Club” storyline and much of the rest of this season was reminding me of— Dietland— an absolute hot mess of a show starring Juliana Margulies, the Good Wife herself.  It had many of the same elements of this season:  an underground violent leftist organization of women that the heroine first supports and then grows troubled by; cartoonish fantasy sequences (that like TGF this season were sometimes literally cartoons); an increasingly poor mix of realism and over-the-top clownish stupidity.  Dietland also, like TGF this season, had a terrific cast who were absolutely wasted in badly written and poorly executed material.  It was 100% NOT a show that should be emulated in any shape, form, or fashion but the more I think about it, the more this season of TGF feels like they watched Dietland and said “you know what, let’s do that.”

[schroeder]

I logged in just to say how annoyed I am at this season. This used to be an excellent show, but it is ridiculous now. I enjoy satire, but the cartoon-like characterizations are ridiculous. I was a committed fan of TGW from day one, and what that show was good at was balancing viewpoints. Now this show is obsessed with Trump, which could be funny, but the writing doesn't hold up. I couldn't stand the pee-pee tape episode from last year (it wasn't funny and it was gimmicky) and it's gone more and more in that direction. 

First, this Blum character has to go. He is a guest-star type of character and why they insist on treating him like a regular, I have no idea. TGW and TGF have always had quirky characters, but the reason I enjoyed them is because they were like gifts, once or twice a year. Of course Michael Sheen is excellent, but I don't know why this character has so much screen time when there are so many other regular actors around. They've wasted so much time making every single character deal with his shenanigans. 

The animated Sesame Street-type shorts drive me crazy. When one of them was censored, I was actually glad I didn't have to waste time scrolling through another one. I presume the show runners think they're funny, but they interrupt the flow of the episodes. The change in tone is jarring. The shorts appear to be trying to be clever but come off as sounding self-important IMO.

I don't understand why they've reduced a great character like Diane to being a one-note character who is obsessed with Trump. There has got to be balance. I found the opening scene from the pilot where they showed her sitting in horror watching him get sworn in on tv to be brilliant. Everything you needed to know was there when you saw her reaction. It was subtle, and funny. Now they've gone over the top. She moves flower pots on window sills, she does things that might get her disbarred, and even at home, she's obsessed with her husband hanging out with Don and Eric. I feel like they're about to reveal she's been mentally ill for two years or has a slow-growing brain tumor. 

I also don't know why they've veered so off course the original premise. They started this series by showing different female characters and their relationships, the first relationship of importance being the one between Diane and her mentee, Maia. Last season ended with Maia and Marissa joyfully running to Lucca to support her after she comes home after labour. This season, they've literally taken Maia off the cover for the show. Lucca is not getting much material to work with. (And also, what's going on with Colin?) Marissa is literally relegated to babysitting Blum.

The associates bickering is getting tiresome. I'm also tired of how many women want to be with Adrian. He's also had almost nothing of substance to do.

The above storylines could be forgivable if the writing craft was up to par. There's still funny stuff. Using Gary Carr was hilarious, and I enjoyed how the show made fun of actors pretending to be lawyers by using an actor playing himself pretending to be a lawyer. (Are we supposed to ignore that Rose Leslie was also on Downtown Abbey?) But overall, I regret paying the full subscription for this season.

Edited May 12, 2019 by schroeder

[Quark]

I hope next week is the end of Blum. Boy do I dislike him.

I miss Elsbeth. I think this might be the first season of The Good Fight and The Good Wife (at least the The Good Fight) where she hasn't appeared at all.