"Two Girls, One Code" - Isn't Life Chummy?

Episode Title: "Two Girls, One Code" - Isn't Life Chummy?

Season 4, Episode 3 | Original Air Date: Sunday, October 14, 2012

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Having spent the last week listening to Joan Osborne’s version of ‘Midnight Train to Georgia’ (and dreaming about this year’s delicious season… don’t judge), my blood pressure was sufficiently off the charts for, “Two Girls, One Code.”  Why?  This face:

Honestly… look at him.  His tie collection alone is cause for anther nomination for Chicago’s Most Eligible Bachelor list (which is perhaps a strategic move… making him more handsome than ever before, now that he’s back to business with Alicia, though still completely in love with her? Right…?!).  

Okay, I could spend my entire post talking about Team Gardner (and don’t worry, I probably will) but this week marked the culmination of all that’s great about The Good Wife.  The moments when I scream at my TV, stand up in shock, cover my face out of disbelief and frustration and those times when I’m forced to triple underline a scene that exceeded my expectations (Kalinda, Peter and Eli on the campaign bus, anyone?  Hello awkward, we haven’t seen you since everyone was in the elevator back in “The Dream Team”) – these are the moments that make for television gold and the ones when I sit back and think, “Could I love this show ANY more?”  The answer is no.  But then again, when things are complicated, they can always get better.

This week, I’m featuring the top six scenes from “Two Girls, One Code”… my favourite episode, so far, in season four.

1) Behind Closed Doors with Alicia Florrick

The scene (with slight liberties taken on dialogue): Eli is found sitting in Alicia’s office (on what appears to be a new and very nice couch).  Alicia walks in.

Eli: Remember when I used to sleep on your couch? 

Alicia: How could I forget?  That was always awkward.  Kind of like where I see this going… 

Eli: Enough with the small talk.  I’ve been avoiding talking to you about it… ever… especially since I intercepted Will’s ‘I love you’ voice mail back in season one, but… 

Alicia: By ‘it’ you mean…? 

Eli: You and Will.  I’d rather be chatting about anything else right now. 

Alicia: Okay. 

Eli: Mandy Post, the reporter, wants to talk to you about your… affair. Her word.  Mandy, she seems to have a copy of a hotel receipt for a September 30, 2011… encounter… and I need to know if that timing makes sense. 

Alicia: I don’t know. (But in reality, we all know she does) 

Eli: Is there any chance you could look into things?  I mean, remember when you came bounding off the elevator with your new haircut last year? I’m pretty sure the timing of that could have something do with the spring in your step and what Mandy is after. 

Alicia: Is she going to press with this? 

Eli: She hopes to, and I hope to stop her. 

Alicia: Can you?  I mean, you got rid of Becca – could Mandy really be any cleverer? 

Eli: I don’t know, but you’re right, Becca was terrible.  Then again, she was 16.  Let me put it this way: If you are still seeing Will, you need to stop… for a time (side note: Really, Eli? “For a time?”  His commitment to a harmonious campaign has hit a whole new high with this statement.  He’s not asking Alicia to stop seeing Will altogether – that he doesn’t care about – he just doesn’t want to it to go public.) 

Alicia: I’m not seeing him (insert teary-eyed glance out the window, matched only by my own teary-eyed stare down of the television) 

Eli: Good (said with an almost apologetic expression as if to say, ‘I’m sorry.’  *Sigh.* I’m sorry too, Eli, I’m sorry, too).  Can I ask when it ended? 

Alicia: No. (She exits her office and lunges for the closing elevator.  The doors close as she puts her head against the wall, in a way slightly reminiscent of when Kalinda cried for the first and only time, after Alicia confronted her about the affair with Peter).  

 Oh sweet love, how I adore these elevator moments.

End scene.

That is, until Alicia talks to Will about the receipt.  Suddenly all of the Team Gardner goodness we’ve (I’ve) enjoyed so much in the past is coming back in an almost haunting way.  Alicia feels cursed, and not just because of her annoying ringtone that she finally changed after the Jesus-napping (but yes, that), but because in many ways she feels as though she can’t catch a break.  Then, as if the knife needs to be twisted any more, Will asks Alicia if she’s okay and reaches for her hand just as she turns.  More bad timing.

Right now, the Team Gardner bandwagon is a sad place to be.  Looking at Will’s face is all the confirmation one needs to confirm this fact:

2) The Case of the Campaign Bus Investigator

With Eli in a jam with this dastardly Mandy, he has nothing left to do but call upon the trusty (though slightly less reliable these days) Kalinda.  Using the guise of ‘protecting Alicia from unjust reporting,’ Eli convinces Kalinda to spend the afternoon doing what she does best: making omelettes sleuthing.  Labeling her as his “assistant,” Kalinda takes to the streets to get to the bottom of the mysterious hotel receipt that apparently doesn't have to do with Will and Alicia at all. Of course, the first stop on Kalinda’s investigative journey is the heart of the Florrick campaign: the bus.  Apparently a 2011 campaign worker accused Peter of sleeping with her at the St. Martin.  Maybe she’s lying, maybe she’s not, but at the end of the day, we’re all a little skeptical about Peter’s past.  I know, I know, he went to prison therefore he’s a changed man.  Well, he’s also the man that ripped Gerald Kozko’s shirt off in church only to find him wearing a wire.  Remember that?  Changed?  I don’t know.  Remorseful?  Maybe.

As Kalinda goes through the campaign supporter team photo she’s instantly able to identify a girl who looks, believe it or not, a bit like Amber Madison.  Peter has a type… and it’s not Alicia.  For that matter, it’s not Kalinda either, so his type is also a little flexible.  Just as Eli gives K the go-ahead to track down Madison Junior, Peter climbs aboard his home-away-from-home.  The shock on his face when he finds these two working together?  Worth the price of admission.  Is he worried?  You bet.  Sure, he’s playing it cool, oh yes, Kalinda… we worked together at the State’s Attorney’s Office, but it’s only because Eli can’t ever find out about his affair with K.  If he did, Eli’s apologetic glance in Alicia’s direction about her quashed romance with Will might turn more into advocacy for her ultimate happiness, of which Eli seems to have a genuine affinity.     

3) “The problem, Peter, is I don’t give a damn.”

Delivered with the strength of character only Alicia has, this quote says it all.  While Peter tries to convince Alicia he’s not in the wrong and that Mandy’s lead is a fake, it doesn't matter.  As much as Alicia has come to accept Peter and his shortcomings, she’ll also never fully trust him.  She has made a commitment to stick with him through the campaign, and much to my chagrin, they seem to be getting along reasonably well. And no, I’m not going to address all of this bus affection that seems to be happening in the Team Florrick camp.  Forgiving and forgetting are two very different things – Alicia’s in a very interesting spot.

Prediction: Amber and Kalinda aren't Peter’s only indiscretions – they are just the only ones that have been caught.  He dodged a bullet here, but he won’t be able to forever, mark my words.  The campaign supporter was a fraudster (and really should have taken lessons from Becca who was much stealthier when it came to the art of deception), but we all know his past isn't squeaky clean.  It’s only a matter of time before the next scandal surfaces. 

4) 10 points for tech-savvy judges

Okay, I’ll confess this favourite scene isn't pertaining to a specific moment, but rather to the entire case involving Lockhart Gardner’s tech nemesis, Neil Gross (John Benjamin Hickey) and his oft-conniving lawyer, Viola Walsh (Rita Wilson).  When I hear the words Chum Hum, I get all fuzzy inside.  Why?  Because 1) it usually means a great case and 2) who doesn't like the name Chum Hum?  Oh, right.  Everyone.  It’s weird.  Yet still, I like it.  This week, we also met Chum Hum’s mascot, Chummy the Gopher.   Will called it a squirrel, which instantly made me love him more (Will, not Chummy) but the best part of all was spending the entire hour watching Judge Michael Marx (Dominic Chianese) school the courtroom on his deep understanding of search engines and code optimization.  With Will still getting his feet wet since the suspension, this was just the judge he needed when going up against Gross and Walsh.   The best part?  Will's never played basketball with Marx, so there's no way this can come back to haunt him.  I think.

5) “You’ve been paranoid for so long, you don’t recognize when someone is on your side”

With last week’s lay-offs and this week's renting out of the Lockhart Gardner boardroom, there’s almost nothing Clarke Hayden won’t do to make the firm some extra cash.  Clearly he hasn't spent enough time in Alicia’s office though, otherwise I’m sure he’d have her camel-colored couture couch listed on Ebay faster than Kalinda can crack an egg with one hand (which, by the way, was seriously impressive).  The surprising twist?  Viola approaching Hayden, thinking she could get him on her side with a lower settlement than the case was worth.  

With Cary not doing much more than acting as a poster child for “returning associates who lurk in the wings,” he spotted Walsh and Clarke in the throngs of discussion and reported it back to Diane.  Sure, it was a little tattle tale-y, but with everyone getting the ax  Cary’s busy trying to prove his worth and not end up ousted from the firm for a second time.  Enter Diane in a fabulous blazer and an attitude worthy of an Emmy, ready to confront Clarke who, as it turns out, isn't easily wooed by the likes of opposing lawyers.  But why would he be?  He works for Lockhart Gardner and he’s there to get them out of the little hole we like to call bankruptcy.   Clarke Hayden, you’re quickly moving up the ranks to become one of my favourite new members of the Lockhart Gardner team.  Just stick around for the Christmas party – it’s going to be fun.

6) Omelettes for Two

So, Kalinda’s culinary specialty is an omelette?  I didn't see that coming.  The fact she can crack an egg with one hand is equally surprising and impressive.  Not that much that she does isn't impressive – she’s basically a leather-clad superhero in amazing heels – I just didn't know she could cook.

Flash forward to a little canoodling with Lana Delaney (Jill Flint).  With creepy Nick stalking Kalinda’s every move (I wonder if he was lurking outside Peter’s campaign bus earlier?  Probably siphoning gas...), we quickly learn he has a jealous streak (surprise, surprise) and doesn't like the idea of K making omelettes for anyone else, least of all another woman.  Kalinda’s response?  1) A punch in the face and 2) accepting the challenge head-on – with Lana as a federal agent, anything Nick does will come with serious consequences.  Bring it on.

What did you think of "Two Girls, One Code?"  Favourite scenes?  Sound off in the comments below!

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