The Good Wife: The Breakdown

CBS’s The Good Wife continues to find the perfect balance between emotional tension and legal drama, as this week’s episode offers viewers not only what the show needed, but something viewers probably didn’t even know that they wanted. I didn’t, know that is, until I saw it. But we’ll get to that later, because Peter’s mistress is in the house, on the TV, and in the magazines, in bookstores, and pretty much everywhere…

We start this episode with an interview of Amber, Peter’s call girl and the woman at the center of all of the scandal, on Chelsea Handler. True to form, Chelsea asks really ribald questions about the sexual encounters between Amber and Peter Florrick. There was something about threesomes, kinky sex, and his frigid wife, spoken a little too casually for comfort, especially if you are Peter’s kids who are watching this at home. Oh, and did I mention that Amber’s writing a tell-all book, yes, so that’s going to be great.

Anyway, Peter’s lawyer and image consultant are in damage control, while Peter’s just trying to reach Alicia who’s avoiding his calls but still doesn’t know about the interview that has her back under everyone’s microscope. This ignorance is ended shortly when a coworker shows a mortified Alicia the interview. But no time for an emotional breakdown, time to get to work.

This week the elusive law partner Stern comes back in town bringing with him a very public DUI. Stern, coming in like a burnt up rock star, no offense to any actual burnt up rock stars, immediately puts Will off who then presses Diane to oust Stern from the law firm. In defense of his DUI case Stern solicits Alicia to be his lawyer, this is only a front as his true intentions are to defend himself using Alicia as some sort of puppet mouthpiece. This becomes obvious to everyone in the courtroom as Stern steamrolls Alicia in his own defense. The judge and opposing counsel don’t even bother speaking through Alicia as they direct their questions to Stern. This arrangement suits no one, leaving both Stern and Alicia dissatisfied. After discovering that Stern has dementia, which he tried to cover up with alcohol, Alicia pressures him to give up practicing law, but he declines.

Back on the home front, Alicia has a talk with the kids concerning Amber’s interview where she denounces everything that Amber has said as false. When confronted, Alicia admits that she is still too angry to talk with their father. This prompts another argument between Zach and Grace, Zach who feels that Peter should be forgiven, Grace defending her mother’s right to be angry. After promising the kids, Alicia makes a visit to Peter where she breaks down and demands that he stop Amber. She’s crying and emotionally distraught, she shows that she’s still hurting. And this moment when Alicia cracks is, quite simply, beautiful. It’s something that I didn’t know that I wanted to see, until I saw it. The Good Wife focuses on Alicia’s strength, how she is working to put her life back together. And she is marvelous in her strength, her intelligence, her passion for her family, they carry her through. It’s what keeps people tuned in week after week. But this crack, this moment where she just loses her composure, shows her vulnerability and gives us a glimpse into the constant struggle that she lives with. This scene just gives her such depth and really makes this character shine. I love it. After Alicia’s visit, Peter threatens Amber with his own tell-all involving one of her former lovers who would not appreciate being spoken of. After Peter assures her that yes indeed he would follow through, she backs off.

Back in trial Alicia uncovers the preliminary breathalyzer that the officer failed to put in the report. The breathalyzer showed that Stern was not drunk. The officer’s failure to include it in the report is not appreciated by the judge, who consequently drops the DUI charge.

As she is leaving her office Alicia is confronted by Amber who says that Peter threatened her and that she was afraid for her life. Alicia makes no response and gets into her car. This upsets Amber. In the final scene, Peter gets a visit from Alicia who kisses him and then leaves.

Season 1, Episode 9: Threesome (originally aired November 24, 2009)

For more on The Good Wife, click here.

Tuesday at 10/9c on CBS

Photographs courtesy of CBS