The Good Wife: Red Zone
November 10, 2014 10:12 PM - Season 6, Episode 8 - Subscribe

Alicia can't keep quiet at a university hearing, then joins Finn in doing a good deed for which she is immediately punished. Cary wants to testify in his own defense, despite Diane’s fears. Kalinda lets her hair down. Eli massages Alicia's image. Louis Canning wheels and deals. And both Lemond Bishop and Owen ask for favors, but in very different ways.

Goodbye, Castro. Hello, Prady.

Proposed GW spin-off: “Mock Trial with Rita Wilson”
posted by roger ackroyd (20 comments total)
 
It was heartbreaking watching Cary in this episode, I really hope something goes right for him soon. Loved Alicia fantasising about the woman who criticised her too.
posted by ellieBOA at 5:10 AM on November 11, 2014


Yes thank God this was posted! I have been waiting and refreshing FanFare ever since it aired.

At the end, when Kalinda snapped that card in half, do we know why? She was about to put it in the wallet and then looked like she realized something and broke it. Does anyone have any ideas for this? It is driving me crazy!
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 6:42 AM on November 11, 2014


The white card looked like a proximity card. I use the same thing to get into work -- I hold it up against a little electronic box at the entrance to the parking lot, where it kicks off the mechanism to open the gate, and then use it again to unlock the employee entrance and get into the actual building. The conceit seemed to be that Bishop intended to use it as some kind of tracking or frequency-jamming device, but here's an alternate view from the comments on the NYT recap: "Crazy notion: Is it possible that Lana is working for Lemond and the white card was his way of testing Kalinda's allegiance to him?"

This episode (and all other episodes) needed way more of Eli's daughter. Where is Alicia's body woman?! She would never have let the soup kitchen scandal happen on her watch. To be fair, though, as someone who also volunteers at soup kitchens, I can attest that rich people dropping in to photogenically scoop out mashed potatoes while wearing a smile and inappropriately dressy attire are not terribly unusual. They are, however, pretty much worst. They always slow down the line and they're always awkward with the guests. My main quibble is that no one was wearing hairnets, which are generally required per the state health code and/or the USDA's safe food handling regulations. I get that Alicia's hair is just too fabulous to muss, but seriously: Where were the hairnets?! I have never once served at a soup kitchen without a dang hairnet.

Other than that... starting to feel some Alicia/Finn vibing going on, yeah? Need more Diane, always need more Diane. The ostentatious female-only nudity was both depressing and par for the course -- if my only knowledge of same-sex relationships was based on the way they're portrayed on The Good Wife, I would be under the impression that women who are dating tend to spend all of their time either fucking or post-coitally relaxing in silky pyjamas, sensually plaiting each other's hair, and sipping tea. (Just like real life!) It kinda seems like Cary's gonna get locked up, innit? Such hilarity: "We're not married. We're not even going steady." YA BURNT, SON.
posted by divined by radio at 7:51 AM on November 11, 2014 [2 favorites]


Yes, I've kind of lost the plot re Kalinda and Lemond Bishop. Why is she at his beck and call? She went to him after Cary was arrested in an effort to help Cary in jail (?) but now he's giving her orders. Is she indebted to him forever?

Also last week, after Finn left his job with the SA, I was expecting a discussion about asking him to join Florrick/Argos. Instead Alica offered to rent him an office on the other floor.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 8:00 AM on November 11, 2014


Kalinda's going to get killed, isn't she?
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:23 AM on November 11, 2014


Seems like it, yeah -- Archie Panjabi is leaving the show at the end of the season, so it's either that or they give her the ol' "magical disappearing ex-husband" treatment.
posted by divined by radio at 8:31 AM on November 11, 2014


Kalinda's going to get killed, isn't she?

That's sort of been the assumption in the Pterodactyl household, yeah. I agree with divined by radio that that looked like a key card or something and I thought maybe it was a way to track Federal Agent Silky Jammies but Kalinda looked like she had figured something out and I was wondering what it was. It would be crazy if FASJ were working for Lemond Bishop! Wow!

Maybe I had this though subconsciously already because I dreamed on Sunday night that I was working for Lemond Bishop along with a few other people, basically like a crime internship.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 8:33 AM on November 11, 2014 [2 favorites]


The white card looked like a proximity card.

That's what it looked like, but Kalinda snapped in half like it was a ginger snap. I'm not sure if that's supposed to mean something, but it was weird.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 8:34 AM on November 11, 2014


It means Kalinda has godlike powers.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 8:37 AM on November 11, 2014 [3 favorites]


I don't think they can kill Kalinda. There would be rioting in the streets.
posted by roger ackroyd at 8:41 AM on November 11, 2014


I've seen speculation elsewhere that Kalinda will kill Bishop and then either get killed herself or go into witness protection. Losing Bishop would solve Cary's problem but it also might put the kibosh on Alicia's candidacy since Bishop's PAC is apparently her major contributor.

About the white card, I wonder if Kalinda snapped it because she suspected that she's being set up? Her girlfriend the FBI agent drives a rather expensive car. Is Lana supposed to be in some kind of flashy undercover role or could she perhaps be working for Bishop?
posted by fuse theorem at 9:12 AM on November 11, 2014 [1 favorite]


With Castro out of the race, Alicia's only stated motivation for running is gone, along with the SA's motivation to stick it to Cary. I guess we'll see if it matters.

The "clean pot" thing reminded me of Paul Ryan's soup kitchen photo op. I don't think that was just made up though.

My SO and I sometimes call this show La Buena Mujer when it seems especially soap opera ish. Kalinda snapping the keycard/badge felt like that; way more symbolic than sensical. Like if Kalinda had been given a glass marble and been told, "Put this under your lover's pillow, to prove your loyalty to me! What is it? None of your concern. Why? Do not ask why!" What will she do? She flushes it down the toilet! Dramatic choices are being made. Pride... or folly? Find out next time on ~~ La Buena Mujer ~~.

For all the times they've had Martha Plimpton and Michael J. Fox play possum, I just wish they'd for once say something like, no it actually is harder for them, they're not just ruthless fakers.

And for all the times this show has been sorta The Eduction of Alicia Florrick, I feel like she hasn't been learning much. It doesn't seem plausible that she'd be so naïve about image in politics, the importance of a photo-op, etc. Though I think her decision to go to the soup kitchen was based on wanting to seem like a good person to Finn Polmar, seeking affirmation from someone she likes, not unusually deep narcissism and vanity. I did like Eli's line about, "If you really want to do good, I can tell you where to send a check."
posted by fleacircus at 1:29 PM on November 11, 2014 [2 favorites]


So was there a reason for Castro leaving the race? It seemed very odd that he would, and was only mentioned very very briefly. Maybe I'm forgetting some stuff from last week when he was pushing and pushing past the point of reason on Cary leading to Finn resigning.
posted by yellowbinder at 8:19 PM on November 11, 2014 [1 favorite]


I am hoping that killing Kalinda would be too similar to killing Will so they won't go that route. Since she disappeared before, I think she'll mess up Bishop somehow, not kill him, that seems a bit much even for her, but she'll find some evidence or even frame him so he can finally be indicted. Then she'll take off to avoid retaliation. Blonde investigator hasn't been on the past several episodes so that actress will be happy to get a steady gig.

Note this week, Alicia and Kalinda only talked on speaker phone.

Good point about Castro dropping out and taking Alicia's motivation and Cary's ordeal with him. I assume it was because OtherGuy decided to run and talk show hosts are apparently unbeatable.

And no one at Florrick/Argos seems too perturbed that Alicia is abandoning them for the SA job (if she gets it), she isn't taking on any cases. This just seems so weird for a new law firm that relies on her name/connections.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 2:14 AM on November 12, 2014 [1 favorite]


But Castro's the incumbent! They don't just drop out unless Scandal! A show this is starting to remind me of with how it tosses off plot points.

Note this week, Alicia and Kalinda only talked on speaker phone.

They haven't had a scene onscreen together in something like 40 episodes. It's weird. Must be some truth to the rumours of the two actors not getting along.
posted by yellowbinder at 7:21 AM on November 12, 2014


So was there a reason for Castro leaving the race? It seemed very odd that he would, and was only mentioned very very briefly.
I kinda got the impression that it wasn't real, it was just to gauge the focus groups reaction.
posted by unliteral at 7:01 PM on November 12, 2014


So was there a reason for Castro leaving the race?

His losing the election is a forgone conclusion - the other candidates are wildly more popular than he is. So what's the point of running?
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 2:33 AM on November 13, 2014


That's fair but I feel like they should have explained that more, especially as he's been such a force this season. To toss it off in a split second to the point where people aren't even sure it's real or just focus testing is a misstep.

I still love this show and am more excited for it every week than any other, but I feel like they're dropping some balls (like this and how Diane and Cary feel about Alicia's run) that they would have deftly juggled in the past.
posted by yellowbinder at 9:31 AM on November 13, 2014


I think that Kalinda saw Lana's face on the license in the wallet, and that was enough to give her pause.

I also noticed Lana's car. I recognized it as a new Jaguar F Type convertible (starting at $68,000) which makes it roughly a year's salary for an FBI special agent (depending on cost of living and pay grade).
posted by Monochrome at 4:16 PM on August 25, 2015


and talk reality show hosts are apparently unbeatable.

Dear god, the prescience.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 6:20 PM on November 19


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