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Betrayal. It comes in many forms. Sometimes it’s a lie you tell yourself while
other times it’s an action that’s thrust upon you. No matter what, betrayal makes you question
those things you’ve always known – like who you are and how far you’ll go – and
sometimes it makes you question those things of which you’re just not sure –
like employment or friendships.
In ‘Runnin’
with the Devil,’ betrayal is the main ingredient in a juicy tale that starts in
a partnership meeting and ends in a courtroom.
This week, I'm looking at how trust and disloyalty perform an intricate dance together and how they're beginning to play a larger role on The Good Wife. Don't forget to stop by the Q&A at the bottom of this article to share your thoughts on this week's developments!
“Be brave, lone voice in the wilderness”
Oh David
Lee. Less than three minutes into the
show and I've already got a quote I love to hate. If there’s one thing I can say about David,
it’s not that I like him – no – it’s that I can’t get enough of his smarmy quips.
As Alicia
goes against the grain in her first partnership meeting (she doesn't mind
having the firm look like a Burmese tent city… and neither does Diane), she
stands alone in her resolve to not hire a second investigator. Alicia’s in a difficult position because she’s
friends-on with Kalinda again and the last time the firm brought in a second
investigator, glass repair shops were operating on full cylinders to keep up
with K’s bat-wielding ways.
Still, no
one seems to care and as Alicia stands alone in the forested wilderness known
as covert friendship, she gets herself tasked to the hiring committee.
Flash
forward. K finds out new investigators
are being interviewed and she’s anything but pleased. Even Will, who has had Kalinda’s back since
season one, seems particularly emotionless about the new team that’s being
formed. Maybe it’s time for these two to
go for drinks and for K to punch Will in the leg again, because that’s the one
thing he seems to be missing: tough love.
With a
parade of ex-cops running around the 28th floor, the ‘Investigator
Hiring Squad’ went with an unexpected choice: Robyn Burdine (Jess Weixler) a
former treasury enforcement agent, turned babysitter. She’s a quirky dynamo who seems just a bit
out of her element when it comes to working in a law firm. Strangely though, this just might work. She’s Kalinda’s 360 degree opposite, but it
could make them a formidable team.
Everyone needs a sidekick… and if Batman could make it work, so too can Kalinda. I hope.
The Defense of Lemond Bishop
Finally! Lemond Bishop is back – albeit in shackles –
to fight for his innocence. When last
we saw Bishop, in ‘Waiting for the Knock,’ he was being carted away under with
the charge of murder hanging over his head.
As Chicago’s biggest drug lord, it never really made sense to me as to
why he could be charged with killing one of his employees and leave her for
dead in a trunk – not because he wouldn’t want to, but because he has people
for that kind of thing. I mean, right? For
Chicago PD I don’t think it mattered though.
It was like catching Al Capone on tax evasion.
The more I
think about it, the more I feel they've crafted Bishop into a modern day
Capone. Sure, he doesn't wear a fedora
or smoke cigars, but he deals in cash, is a master at creating plausible deniability
and no one will testify against him… at least for long. This is especially the case when we start
looking at Bishop’s second attorney on retainer: Charles Lester (aka Blair Waldorf’s
step-father Cyrus Rose, aka Wallace Shawn).
Travelling
around with Alicia and talking to witnesses, we find Lester jumping into
conversation with seemingly simple questions.
To a guy at the gym: What are the hours here and are you interested in
body mass? To a man at a bowling alley:
How old are your little girls? Alone,
these questions seem innocent, but the result is always the same: a recanting
of testimony. Charles Lester, as it
turns out, reminds me a bit of Louis Canning, only unlike our plaid-loving
attorney nemesis, Lester has an almost sweet demeanor. It’s like he doesn't realize Bishop is the
master puppeteer and using him to threaten witnesses, but at the same time, we
know he’s aware of what he’s doing – he’s been at it for the last 10 years. Lester isn't afraid to betray his oath as a
lawyer: who says threatening witnesses is wrong?
Oh. Right. Everyone.
Of course, then there’s Alicia, who assumed the role of innocent bystander with ease
because, well, who saw this coming? This
guy looks like a kind old man who eats prunes for breakfast and writes thank
you notes to the kids down the street who shovel his snow. He doesn’t look like Lemond’s confidant and
co-conspirator. That’s why I was
especially worried for Judy Bishop, Lemond’s sister, when she decided to
testify against her brother. A)
Seriously? Who testifies against their
drug lord brother who had their wife offed? And B) See A. When Lester said “you know what you need to
do,” I thought Judy was a goner, but maybe for Bishop blood really is the tie
that binds. He won’t betray Judy,
because Judy won’t betray his son, Dylan.
It’s the circle of life, even when you’re a kingpin.
The Case of the Restaurateur
Cary: The
man who has been passed up and looked over, is plotting his next moves, one of
which is in a play to start his one firm, the other of which is to finally hook
up with Kalinda. While the latter
continues to be a bust, Cary’s aspiration to reach for something better is both
inspiring and promising. Just think:
Cary could branch out and start Agos and Associates… and soon. For those of you waiting for Cary’s big
break, I’m hoping this is it. While my
personal preference would be for Cary and Alicia to team up, that’s not in the
cards, at least for now. In fact, last
week I read an article with Robert and Michelle King that said the last half of
the season would be characterized by a Lockhart Gardner civil war. Could Cary be at the crux of the mutiny? Who would he recruit over to his new
firm? Could this finally be Cary’s
chance?
Well, it
might be if Kalinda has anything to say about it. Having been out investigating with local restaurateur
and cheese-lover, Seth DeLucca, Kalinda found out Cary had been talking to him
about a higher level of personalized service.
With Robyn in the mix and Kalinda more uncertain about her job at
Lockhart Gardner than ever, she’s let Cary know she’s up on his plan but that
he needs to keep his nose clean. She’s
can’t lie forever. Wait. It’s Kalinda.
Yes she can. But betray his
trust? No way.
Q&A
What did
you think of “Runnin’ with the Devil?” Was
Alicia’s law school rival, Liz Lawrence, right to ask Alicia when she sold her
soul to the devil? Are you excited at
the prospect of Cary going rouge and starting his own firm?
What’s Next?
What’s
better than formal wear and fisticuffs? The
answer? Nothing. In “Invitation to an Inquest” my two
favourite things come together in an episode that’s promising to feature the
demise of Jordan, the reappearance of Mike Kresteva and a fistfight. Did I mention Alicia in a floor-length red
gown, Will putting the moves on Laura and Alicia and Will having not one, but
two, heart-to-hearts. Oh for the love of
Sunday. I can’t wait.
