The Good Wife: “Dramatics Your Honor” - The Shot That Changed Everything

Season 5, Episode 15 | Original Air Date: Sunday, March 23, 2014
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Spoiler Alert! If you haven’t watched ‘Dramatics, Your Honor,’ turn back now and immediately catch up.  What has happened is huge.  Gigantic.  Epic. 

Sitting Here in Camp Denial

They say it is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all.  For this reason I’ll be thankful for the time I had with the original Good Wife cast and not bemoan the fact I’ll never have a Team Gardner Sunday again.  Sigh.

Assuming everyone reading this has heeded my warning, I’ll skip burying any more of the lead.  

Will Gardner is dead.  

Really dead.  

It’s not one of these, ‘he’ll be back in a few years and surprise everyone’ sorts of dead either.  He was murdered in a courtroom massacre, by a client he was trying to defend.  He was shot in the neck and pronounced dead at the hospital.  It was one of the most tragic things I've witnessed on a television drama, maybe ever.  In fact, it is being touted as one of the most shocking deaths in television history.  I have to agree.  If I’d seen it coming, I’m not sure that would have made it any less sad, but the fact no one expected it brought a true sense of vulnerability to the situation. 

It’s not just that Will is gone that has left me grieving, but what – and who – he has left behind.  Diane – his business partner, cheerleader and ethical compass; Kalinda – his friend, confidant and drinking partner; Alicia – his one true love, legal rival and lifelong friend.  It’s about his sisters, the firm and the fact he’ll never have to testify against Peter in the show’s third grand jury (which I image should be aptly named Another, Another Ham Sandwich).  Selfishly, it’s also the end of one of my favourite on-screen romances – the end of Team Gardner and a love that deep inside, always stood a chance.  There’s no accounting for a lifetime of bad timing.

“In the end it’s all okay.  If it’s not okay, it’s not the end.”

I’ve loved and lived this quote a few times in my life and it’s always worked out for me.  This is the end of an era.  It’s the end of Team Gardner.  It’s the end of Lockhart Gardner.  It’s the end of the Peter/Will rivalry.  We’ve seen the last of Will and Diane dancing in the halls.  There will be no more tumblers of Whiskey between Kalinda and Will.  I’m sad because I’m going to miss all of these things tremendously and also because it means we’re going to have to watch David Lee lurking around more than ever before and thusly I will have to shower twice on Sundays just to feel clean. 

I don’t know how long the sadness will last.  Saying goodbye to a character I've backed from the beginning won’t be easy. While I can’t quite believe he is really gone, I find myself thankful for the time we had with this dynamic character.  I’m not yet angry we’ll never see him again, though of course I’m disappointed Will and Alicia will forever be remembered as a couple with perpetually poor timing.  Still, their chemistry was electric and we’ll always have the elevator, a $7,800 hotel room and a butler named Jerome. 

I’m thankful that the writers didn’t back away from a challenging situation by taking the easy way out.  That’s what The Good Wife has always been about – taking chances and challenging us on a weekly basis.  Whether Will had been killed by a bookie, one of Bishop’s henchmen, a Florrick underling or an unstable client, it wouldn't have mattered.  Okay – a Florrick underling would have been something different altogether – but the point is, the writers took a stand and it was shocking.  It made all of us feel a bit more human, if just for a moment.  The fact is, what happened to Will could have happened to anyone on the show.  He was in the wrong place at the wrong time.  It’s a situation that is sadly played out in real life each day.  The writer’s choice to have Will killed doing the one thing he always did best and loved most – law – provides pause for each of us to be grateful for the times when the right place and the right time allowed us to say ‘I love you,’ hug our kids or mend broken fences before it's too late.

The Show Must Go On

Now we’ve been left to grieve alongside Alicia, Diane and Kalinda.  It’s going to be an emotional ride, and one with a few flashbacks that might provide some kind of closure, or at least give us some perspective on Will’s final moments.  Seeing Diane cry breaks my heart and knowing Alicia and Diane are going to cry together is almost more than I can bear.  I have a feeling I’ll be digging into a fresh case of Kleenex, just to make it through.  I better go to Costco this week.

What will become of Lockhart Gardner is anyone’s guess.  It will surely involve a new named partner (please Julius, come back!) and more new stationery (this, on the heels of all that rebranding).  Perhaps it will mean new characters.  We’ve seen Louis Canning will be part of the mix, but who else will come along for the ride?  How will The Good Wife rebuild from this loss? At the end of the day, The Good Wife is about Alicia Florrick and her journey through life.  While I will always ship Team Gardner, I hope that Alicia is able to move on and find someone new to love.  I don’t think it’s Peter – I think it’s someone else entirely and I look forward to seeing Alicia move past this extraordinary loss to find happiness.

Now it’s your turn.  How do you feel about the death of Will Gardner?  What are you going to miss most about him?  What do you think is next for The Good Wife?  Sound off below!

P.S. – Thanks to everyone for so many thoughtful messages about me writing this post… and also for the condolences.  I have been a huge Team Gardner fan and this is certainly a loss!  I’m glad I have all of you to share in this next adventure with me though.  Cheers! 

The Good Wife: "We the Juries" - Two Game-Changing Developments

Season 5, Episode 12 | Original Air Date: Sunday, January 12, 2014
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Kalinda’s looking for friendship in all the right places, Alicia is looking for answers behind closed doors and Eli is hoping for a Governor-sized miracle.  Basically, most things are a delicious mess and I’m over here devouring every single second.

Before I go on: a bit of an interlude. After a brief, albeit not insignificant, hiatus from Lockhart Gardner, I’m back – and thrilled to be so!  In mid-October I gave birth to my first child – a daughter – Baby E.  I’ll be honest in confessing it’s difficult to hold a baby, type, do jazz hands and cover my face during those “I didn’t see that coming” moments.  Trust me, I’ve tried.  That said, I haven’t missed an episode and I’m still as involved as ever.  So now, with my Team Gardner mug in hand, I bring you some thoughts from “We the Juries.”  As always, please weigh in below – and thanks for coming back to Lockhart Gardner – An Inside Look at the Good Wife!

Two Game-Changing Developments from “We the Juries:”

1) A Little Thing Called Friendship

Who doesn’t want to be friends with Cary Agos?  I’m just saying – it’s pretty much impossible.  He’s kind, smart, quick on his feet, funny, a sharp dresser (his tie/shirt combos this year have upped his fashion game big time!) and, let’s be honest, not terrible to look at.  Okay.  He’s exceptionally handsome.  On top of all that, he’s clever enough to keep pace with Kalinda and even catch her in a trap that only she would think of setting.  Oh, and he is now the named partner of an up-and-coming firm.  Take a number ladies, this man is on the move.

Meanwhile, it turns out Kalinda has come to the sad realization that she doesn’t have any friends.  It’s not surprising though - no one else does either.  Will?  Nope.  He’s forced to hang out with a tattooed sex junkie (okay, I made that up.  I don’t know her deal, but it seems fairly accurate based on the facts we’ve been given).  Alicia?  Super lonely.  Her only confidant is her brother, who, admittedly, I love, but he’s still not a friend.  Everyone seems to be a lone wolf, with the exception of Diane.  In any case, Kalinda is suddenly in the market for a friendship revitalization and who better to strike up a reunion with than Cary?  Sure, Alicia would have also been a good choice, but like Peter’s ethical compass, that ship has sailed.  All of this does make me wonder how Alicia will react when she finds out Kalinda and Cary have been canoodling after hours.  I’m guessing she won’t be overly supportive.  Not only is Kalinda working for the enemy, she kind of is the enemy.  But then again, she is she?  I’m always on the fence of whether or not to trust K, which seems to be something everyone on the show struggles with, Cary included.  One thing is for sure.  Kalinda is loyal.  You just never know to whom.  For now, I’m just excited these two are rekindling whatever it is they are rekindling.  Friendship?  Maybe.  Something more?  I wouldn’t be against it. 

2) It’s Not a Mess Without Flying Paper

Eli is in trouble.  As Chief of Staff to Mr. “I’m running the cleanest office in Chicago’s history,” things have been an uphill battle.  It could be because as much as Peter tries to be good – and, to be fair, he has been trying – he always has one foot lurking in a smoke-filled back alley.  I feel like Peter is the kind of guy who knows someone who knows someone who has probably rolled a body into a ditch off the I-90 within the last three months. 

Of course, Eli’s hands aren't entirely clean either, but with Peter now in office, he is trying to keep things a) legal and b) out of the public eye. Enter a video of those darn ballots that may have been tampered with during the election.  Now Alicia knows that Peter’s success may have been rigged and she’s mad – like ‘pack your bags and sleep in your beloved campaign bus’ mad – because now Zach could have to testify in front of the Feds.  Alicia has given Peter an ultimatum to ‘fix things,’ and we’re left to wonder what that could mean until Will arrives on the scene to chat with Marilyn.  Turns out, Will isn’t afraid to throw Peter under the bus (okay, I DID see that coming), but this time it’s not about Alicia, but rather, Diane.  Will is all, ‘why did you take Diane out of the running for the judgeship?’ and Peter is like, ‘Ummmmm… I can’t believe you’re bringing that up – I didn’t think anyone noticed’ and Will follows up with, ‘well, I think I told you about all of those rogue ballots on election night and I’m pretty sure you turned a blind eye kind of like when you erased Diane from your memory’ and then Peter shoots Will an I could have someone kill you tomorrow look and Will gives a nod that says bring it, old man. 

Peter and Will in the same room has to be one of my favourite things The Good Wife does on a not-frequent-enough-for-my-liking basis.  These two are so juxtaposed in life, with their defined connection being their relationship(s) with Alicia.  To Peter’s credit, I think he is heavier handed with greater propensity for treachery – I think he would win almost any battle against Will. 

But I digress.  Now Alicia is mad at Peter, Will isn’t talking to Marilyn, Marilyn’s not talking to Eli because Peter told Will not to talk to anyone and paper is flying because Peter is doing what he can to make it all go away, which means doing nothing.  As it turns out, dirty laundry always manages to resurface at some point.  I hope Eli has a fresh bottle of Scotch in his office – he’s going to need it.  My question?  If Peter gets kicked out of office, what’s next?

And the Honorable Mention Goes to...

I would be remiss if I didn't at least mention how much I enjoyed Matan Brody in this episode, mainly because of this exchange:

Maton: "No Your Honor, we withdraw our objections and ask that we be allowed to redirect this witness in front of the other jury" 

Bailiff Harris: "You've got to be freaking kidding me." 

Judge Spencer: "Harris!  Why is that Councilor?" 

Maton: "I don't know. I... Because?"

Brilliant.  I think I've watched this scene eight times just to listen to him stumble and look confused.  It's kind of amazing.  Amazing enough that I'd love to see Matan join Florrick Agos so I could see him every week.  Give this man a regular role!

How do you feel about Cary and Kalinda’s budding relationship?  Do you think the video of the tampered ballots will go viral? Sound off below!