194 replies to this topic

[TWoP Gadget]

WILL’S FREEDOM IS AT STAKE WHEN WENDY SCOTT-CARR PRESENTS HER CASE AGAINST HIM TO THE GRAND JURY, ON “THE GOOD WIFE,” SUNDAY, JAN. 29
Carrie Preston (“True Blood”) Returns as Elsbeth Tascioni

Amy Sedaris (“Strangers With Candy”) Returns as Stacie Hall



CHEAT TWEET: Wendy Scott-Carr is out to send Will to jail when she brings her evidence to the grand jury on #TheGoodWife 1/29 9pm ET/PT http://bit.ly/yscs2Q



“Another Ham Sandwich” – With her investigation complete, Special Prosecutor Wendy Scott-Carr presents her evidence against Will to the grand jury in hopes of sending him to prison for bribery. Meanwhile, Eli and Stacie Hall square off once again, on “THE GOOD WIFE,” Sunday, Jan. 29 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television. Carrie Preston (“True Blood”) returns as Elsbeth Tascioni, and Amy Sedaris (“Strangers With Candy”) returns as Stacie Hall.

[gritslady]

Since the west coast has not seen the show all I will say is. O....M.....G. Could not love this show more.

[Whiteotter]

That might be my favorite episode ever. Well done, show.

[SanLynn]

I think my head exploded at about minute 45 of this episode. Well done show, well freakin done.

Edited by SanLynn, Jan 29, 2012 @ 10:07 PM.

[Reciprokates]

This is probably the best episode this season so far in terms of finally getting pay off for long term story lines. And damn if the promo for the next episode doesn't promise that there will be even more pay-off.

[jjj343]

I was a bit worried about Kalinda last week, and then I remembered that you should never underestimate Kalinda. I was delighted (but not surprised) to see she was protecting everyone.

[merylinkid]

So much awesomeness this episode.

The topper -- Will and Diane dancing together at the end. Will and Alicia may be end game, but Will and Diane are The Couple of the show.

The only thing more awesome than David Lee with Eli Gold is David Lee with Elspeth. I was giggling at those two together. BTW, Eli stop being a dick to Kaitlin. A first year associate is not a dogsbody. They do the LEGAL dirty work, not the housecleaning dirty work.

Will in front of the Grand Jury. Of course he was helped by knowing what was done to the file. UNICEF receipt. Hehehehehehehehe

The Grand Jury. I love runaway grand juries (there is a real one in Houston right now). Why did you call his wife? WSC: We can only answer questions about the case. Jury thinking: and what did the SA's wife's sex life have to do with Will Gardner bribing judges. "Good for her for getting some" was the line of the night for me.

Peter: realizing he was being too personal about Will and Alicia thereby wrongly using his office again. Then smacking down WSC hard when she kept trying to keep going. But he was right, he couldn't shut things down in the middle. The whole point of the special prosecutor was to avoid the appearance of meddling.

Not awesome:

WSC for convening a grand jury on such flimsy evidence. One judge? One meeting after the grand jury convenes? One case? Our intrepid Heroes had nothing to worry about even without the shenangins. Oh and the whole questioning of Diane about how she knew something was wrong that's why she didn't participate in the basketball games. Would have worked if Diane hadn't already said she didn't participate because she didn't bloody play basketball. Then obviously losing it when she didn't get the answers she wanted. Happens all the time in real life. You regroup. You never, ever, let the jury see you sweat. She lost the indictment at that moment. The walk out by Alicia with no consequences just sealed the deal.

Cary should have walked out the minute WSC started questioning Alicia about her sex life. It was clearly irrelevant. Doing so would have really torpoedoed any hope for an indictment.

[jelaine]

Was I the only one massively grossed out by Eli/Stacie? It was just so wrong.

[dbell1]

Amazingly good episode.

I KNEW Kalinda wouldn't sell out Will. And hopefully Dana will realize that going after Alicia in that office is career suicide.

WSC - the devil wears pink. Loved watching her get schooled by the LG team. Investigator Stroller got played as well - awesome!

And the Grand Jury, for all their initial doodling, figured out it was a witch hunt. That questioning part was pretty funny.

No one can do 'pissed off righteous wronged woman' like Julianne. Or play 'pissed off man in charge' like Noth.

Eli - I love Alan Cumming, but I don't see that character as God's gift to woman. However, any show that works Masada into a scene is forgiven for trying. It's more fun watching him and David Lee get into it.

[ScienceGirl12]

Phew, I was worried there that Kalinda truly had decided for Alicia and to not help Will! Dana and WSC were owned - so satisfying. I still don't get why WSC and Dana thought they had a case at the end. Based on what we see, the judge doesn't answer a bunch of questions by pleading the 5th but when they question Will, it seems pretty obvious that their McDermott case smoking gun evidence is nil (thanks to Kalinda). I enjoyed that the jury asked what I was asking my TV ("what does it matter if the wife is sleeping with Mr. Gardner?") and I also enjoyed that the firm kept bringing up Peter Florrick's name.

Sad - Elsbeth didn't have much magic this time around.

I guess Alicia wasn't that mad that she was excluded from the whole grand jury story. Also interesting - she doesn't try to use Eli as leverage in (nor does Eli actually even seem that interested in) the grand jury trial. I'm thinking her testimony still manages to be leaked somehow (after all, surely some people in the jury found that info juicy)...

Is anyone else NOT feeling Eli and Amy Sedaris' character? She just..doesn't work for me. Eli and David Lee have way more chemistry. I *am* excited for his ex-wife to make a reappearance though.

Will and Diane dancing at the end? Awesome. Although I wish Elsbeth had taken up his dance offer.

The episode was pretty good, but not the best ever (in my opinion).

[L star]

That was freaking awesome. One question though: how exactly did Kalinda protect Will and Alicia? Dana still has the paper they were going to use to disbar her. If anything, their actions are what pissed WSC off enough to put Alicia on the stand and humilliate her. That it worked to Will's advantage was just luck.

Elsbeth didn't get to do nearly enough.

[funkmachine]

Eli has great chemistry with his former wife. Not Amy Sedaris' character. I would like to see David Lee and Amy Sedaris' character together. That would be fun times.

What I don't understand is that WSC was supposedly doing all of this to go after Peter. But that is not what this all seemed to be. What exactly is WSC's game plan? Is she after Will, the firm, or Peter or what?

Just how bad of a lawyer is she?

[Whiteotter]

Investigator Stroller got played as well - awesome!

I have to say, I've always liked Investigator Stroller's tenacity, but this was the first time that I thought he totally crossed a line. Using your toddler's cuteness so you can distract a receptionist and take an incriminating pic? Gross.

Oy, the Eli/Amy Sedaris thing. My hysterical blindness is just starting to fade.

[SanLynn]

That was freaking awesome. One question though: how exactly did Kalinda protect Will and Alicia? Dana still has the paper they were going to use to disbar her.

Actually didn't Dana say early in the episode that if Kalinda got her "more" on McDermott they would tear up the letter together? I know we didn't really see any follow up to that but I just assumed when Dana got so angry and slapped Kalinda that the tearing up of the letter part happened off screen.

[Deco]

Yes, very good, very enjoyable (well, maybe not Eli's sex life). But lingering thoughts:

1) How did this outcome prevent Dana from using the forged rider against Alicia? Sidestepping Peter, couldn't they (well, Dana) still use that or leak it or something to get them on Alicia's trail? Seems Dana would be very motivated to screw over Kalinda in retaliation (don't think the slap was enough to satisfy). Why is Kalinda and Will sure Alicia is safe now? Don't get it.

2) No sign that WSC really was/is after Peter through this case, as she told Will. Seems she was BSing Will, after all. Or her endgame strategy really really blows. Can't see how to get there from here.

3) What was the first thing Kalinda said to Alicia when she answered the phone to tell her about there being no indictment?? I couldn't catch it...

EDIT: See great minds above on #1. If Dana was tricked into tearing up the rider, we really need that to be clearer, IMO

Edited by Deco, Jan 29, 2012 @ 10:28 PM.

[Rockville]

That was freaking awesome.

Might be the best episode of the season. But now we have to wait until February 19?!

What I don't understand is that WSC was supposedly doing all of this to go after Peter. But that is not what this all seemed to be. What exactly is WSC's game plan? Is she after Will, the firm, or Peter or what?

Exactly. It seems she really is out to hang Will. What's her beef with Will? Being personally after Peter at least made sense. Plus, with such lack of evidence, how can Will be almost about to lose everything next week, it seems?

Was I the only one massively grossed out by Eli/Stacie?

I kept saying to my TV, "Eww! Eww! Eww!"

[Deco]

Using your toddler's cuteness so you can distract a receptionist and take an incriminating pic? Gross.

Actually, I thought while watching it that it was a move Kalinda would've appreciated. Maybe when Will comes thru with his promise to have her head her own dept. she'll hire Investigator Stroller (nice tag).

[name234]

So they will indict a ham sandwich, until they wont. I loved the rogue juror that set them all off. It kills me that I wasn't paying attention to Cary's expression as WSC lost control of the room.

Everything to the credits was fantastically well paced, the credits came almost a shock. Definitely one of the best episodes this season.

I smelled a set up when Will walked directly into Judge Parks office, it was still satisfying. Giving David Lee and Eli screen time, thank you show.

Kalinda inviting Dana to slap her was pretty funny. She also just made Dana lose it in the lobby of the Courthouse, the entire slapping the investigator for a firm whose named partner is up for review a by a Grand Jury - isn't that bound to raise questions.

I liked how little details like Alicia's new office to put her near Eli were used to smear her, nice plant of details to harvest later.

I think Peter realized Wendy was after him. That they played the Alicia on the cusp of telling her children to shield them from a Peter-like media scandal in the offing again only this time with her....nicely done.

Was it me or did Zach look 12 years old in his school uniform, both children, looked half a decade younger....

WSC - the devil wears pink.

She has been called Delores Umbridge by someone on the original show thread.... this is yet another sign.

Was I the only one massively grossed out by Eli/Stacie? It was just so wrong.

I was looking away when the whip cream appeared, no way that was ending well. Two fixers trying to play each other, that was funny. I'm not sure how sleeping with your candidate's ex-husband is anything other than a sign of instability. I assume she is counting on Eli being too ashamed to tell Vanessa about it?

1) How did this outcome prevent Dana from using the forged rider against Alicia? Sidestepping Peter, couldn't they (well, Dana) still use that or leak it or something to get them on Alicia's trail? Seems Dana would be very motivated to screw over Kalinda in retaliation (don't think the slap was enough to satisfy). Why is Kalinda and Will sure Alicia is safe now? Don't get it.

I think Peter's final exchange with WSC, where he indicated "you went after Alicia, you will never work in my office again." What is Peter, going to do with Dana if he finds out Dana was planning on having Alicia disbarred as the blackmail threat to Kalinda?

This just occurs to me: Alicia confessed to the timing of the affair, under oath, with public exposure being probably in front of Cary - who now has to know that, Alicia didn't sleep her way into the position after their first year. Will he finally put the grudge down?

Edited by name234, Jan 29, 2012 @ 10:48 PM.

[Mama No Life]

My thoughts are that WSC planned to use this grand jury to weasel into Peter's good graces and start chipping away at him from the inside.

One thing I can say is this....when questions arise on this show, I actually have confidence that the writers will eventually address them and will remember their own plots. I can't say that about any other show on TV these days.

[MT3]

WSC wore the matching Delores Umbridge suit! Do you suppose the costume designer Daniel reads this forum??

The first thing Kalinda said was "No bill" meaning they didn't indict. But I want to know why Will hadn't called her first!

How did Peter know Alicia had been supeonaed? Did he have someone in the hallway watching who was called in?

Will Peter be able to read the testimony somehow?

Great episode

[crashdown]

Excellent pace--the whole ensemble cast really brought their A game (and I never tire of seeing Will and Diane dancing. It's become a February sweeps tradition!). The only weakness was Eli and Amy Sedaris: I agree that there's no chemistry there at all. But I needed some down time from the awesomeness of the episode as a whole, so I used their interludes to get my pulse under control.

1) How did this outcome prevent Dana from using the forged rider against Alicia? Sidestepping Peter, couldn't they (well, Dana) still use that or leak it or something to get them on Alicia's trail? Seems Dana would be very motivated to screw over Kalinda in retaliation (don't think the slap was enough to satisfy). Why is Kalinda and Will sure Alicia is safe now? Don't get it.

Yeah. But Wendy Scott Carr is gone, and I don't see Peter going after Alicia. (Peter was just fantastic in this episode, by the way. Most shows would have shown a knock-down drag-out between Peter and Alicia, but, as usual, everything was much more complex and nuanced in how it played out. Peter was far from a villain, and I think Chris Noth really knocked this one out of the park.) I persist in thinking that the rider might not *really* be a fake, and thus the whole Alicia issue is a non-problem. But if we don't see more evidence for that theory soon, I'm going to have to give it up.

3) What was the first thing Kalinda said to Alicia when she answered the phone to tell her about there being no indictment?? I couldn't catch it...

I had to turn on the closed captions. She said "there was no bill." According to Wikipedia, an indictment is returned as a "true bill" if the grand jury found cause to make the charge, and "no bill" if it did not. Yet another useful legal fact to add to my procedural arsenal!

Some of my personal highlights, besides every Chris Noth scene:

- Cary! I love it when Cary turns into a decent human being. His sympathy for Alicia, and his nudging along the groundswell of the grand jury against Wendy, was a delight to see.

- The grand jury revolt. How satisfying was THAT?

- The Alicia/Kalinda phone call at the end: that little catch in Alicia's voice as she thanked Kalinda was just wonderful.

- The party, which was pure happiness.

Three more weeks? Really???

[All Over Blue]

The episode tonight was great, as usual. But, as someone who has served on a Cook County Grand Jury, I have to set something straight. When the prosecution is finished presenting their evidence, they must leave the jury room. Everyone who isn't on the grand jury must leave. Then the jurors discuss the facts and take a vote. When they have a decision, the Sergeant At Arms opens the door of the jury room and signals for the prosecutor and court reporter to come in. He then gives the thumbs up or down on the indictment. This might seem like an insignificant detail, but it goes to the whole secrecy of the grand jury deliberations. Also, it would have been better dramatically to see the jury have the discussion among themselves and then surprise WSC with the thumbs down.

I was glad to see Peter finally speak the truth to Alicia about Will. Now, I'm wondering if she will end up back with him. I don't see her getting back with Will.

[caitlin claire]

Most of what I feel has already been said, so I'll just add that I can't help but love Cary no matter what because I love Matt C. so it warms my heart when he does things like call WSC out for crossing a line because he's trying to be a good person bless his heart.

[PoeticJustice32]

I freaking love this show!

Alicia/JM a gay icon? I believe it. Hehehe.

Alicia and Peter's confrontation was sooooo good. I was surprised when Peter admitted that Alicia and Will's sexual relationship is the reason for the investigation. I thought he would have maintained some kind of professional reasoning. Oh and I howled when Peter said "you're manipulating the situation like a pro...and Alicia fired back "well you would know all about "pros". BURNNNNN! LMAO.

Was I the only one massively grossed out by Eli/Stacie? It was just so wrong.

No. I was grossed out as well. The writers seem to really be struggling to find things for Eli to do. They should concentrate more on his rivalry with David Lee. But please leave Kaitlin out of it. I actually like her now, surprisingly. I mean, I get Eli's general point that nepotism does have its drawbacks....but he's not even doing it to teach her a lesson or "haze" her a little, he's just doing it to get a rise out of David Lee.

I KNEW Kalinda wouldn't sell out Will.

I'm so glad they didn't string this tidbit out the whole episode. Right after the McDermitt thing, Will whispered to Kalinda "we scored a hit, but we may need more...." So I knew they were in on it together. I loved Elsbeth asking if they were doing anything illegal, and just simply saying "you two behave now".

I've always liked Investigator Stroller's tenacity, but this was the first time that I thought he totally crossed a line. Using your toddler's cuteness so you can distract a receptionist and take an incriminating pic?

No different than Patty Nyholm using her kid/pregnancy to gain an advantage/sympathy from judges. At least the show isn't being sexist about it. Thank goodness, Will was playing all of them. I should have known Will wouldn't be dumb enough to do something shady with a judge, in the judge's office (with the door wide open no less) AND with Investigator Stroller RIGHT OUTSIDE the door.

Dana? Nobody likes a sore loser. Resorting to physical violence (even if given permission) is sooo lame. Take your licks like a big girl and learn from your mistakes.

[SanLynn]

Some of my personal highlights, besides every Chris Noth scene:

No kidding, especially that last one with WSC. Nobody does coldly menacing like Chris Noth. Wow.

Edited by SanLynn, Jan 29, 2012 @ 10:49 PM.

[All Over Blue]

Will Peter be able to read the testimony somehow?

Absolutely not. The whole thing is sealed.

[Barbarossa]

" indeed, as Elsbeth said, if Will had been indicted then yes, but there was no bill so, Alicias secret is safe. However Cary may have told Peter.

[stealinghome]

Easily the most enthralling episode of the season. Easily, easily an A++++. When TGW is on, it's on. Fantastic all the way around.

Loved seeing WSC get her comeuppance. Loved seeing Kalinda play Dana. Loved seeing Cary be ethical (though I wish he'd walked out when WSC told him to). Loved the Diane/Will brotp--the dance at the end was fan-fucking-tastic, the cherry on top of their earlier conversations. Loved seeing Kalinda and Will be SO HAPPY for each other. Loved Kalinda on the phone with Alicia (seriously, they make my heart melt), though I'm now worried about the rider, because WSC is coming after Peter and Dana will absolutely hammer Alicia to get to Kalinda. Loved seeing Alicia and Peter at each others' throats--JM and CN just have such chemistry as actors.

Then obviously losing it when she didn't get the answers she wanted. Happens all the time in real life. You regroup. You never, ever, let the jury see you sweat.

I thought WSC got played surprisingly easily, actually. Apparently she's not actually very good at the law. She should have been on DefCon 10 the moment Will didn't plead the fifth.

That questioning part was pretty funny.

Agree that it was funny, thought it went on about three comments too long.

It's more fun watching him and David Lee get into it.

I hope Eli/David Lee becomes a long-running gag! It's never NOT awesome. Though I agree they're struggling to find things for Eli to do--and that he and Stacie was kind of gross. The finger/whip cream thing seemed more appropriate for a frat party and just came off as gross and awkward.

Sad - Elsbeth didn't have much magic this time around.

Her "you two play nice!" made up for it, though.

Although I wish Elsbeth had taken up his dance offer.

I...may now be shipping Will/Elsbeth. Shhhhhhhhhhhh.

Dana still has the paper they were going to use to disbar her. If anything, their actions are what pissed WSC off enough to put Alicia on the stand and humilliate her. That it worked to Will's advantage was just luck.

I too have misgivings about the rider. What I figure Kalinda's banking on is that, now that WSC is out of the picture, Dana reports to Peter. And no way is Peter going there with Alicia. However, it could definitely become problematic if WSC reappears to work her evil work and Dana rejoins forces with her down the line. I'm kind of expecting that to happen. (And then for the rider to be not a forgery at all.)

What was the first thing Kalinda said to Alicia when she answered the phone to tell her about there being no indictment?? I couldn't catch it...

"Hey, it's Kalinda." To which Alicia said "I know."

Plus, with such lack of evidence, how can Will be almost about to lose everything next week, it seems?

I assume the bar has different standards of evidence.

The Alicia/Kalinda phone call at the end: that little catch in Alicia's voice as she thanked Kalinda was just wonderful.

THIS.

Alicia/JM a gay icon? I believe it. Hehehe.

Man, when he first said that, I was like "...where are we going with THIS, show???"

When Kalinda told Dana to slap her, did anyone else think that it was like foreplay for Kalinda? No? Just me? Heh. Also, Kalinda continues her march toward full humanity, because I thought she looked slightly (very slightly) regretful when talking to Dana. Maybe it was just her cheek's preemptive regret, though.

[merylinkid]

Watching WSC slowly lose her robotic facade when the jury got loose was hilarious. I just knew she was thinking "I'm Wendy Scott Carr, I don't lose. Except when I deal with those damn Florricks. I got played again."

Dana had much the same look when she realized the McDermott file was a set up. She thought she was playing Kalinda and found out the hard part that it is hard to outplay Kalinda.

I can see neither of them learning from their mistakes. Their egos won't let them. Dana wanted to leave the SA's office anyway. She and WSC can team up to try to take down the Florricks and their little friends too. And keep getting smacked down, repeatedly.

[knots]

crashdown

The only weakness was Eli and Amy Sedaris: I agree that there's no chemistry there at all.

This pretty much sums up the ep for me. One of the best of this season.

I don't want to see Stacie again, though this is unlikely as she will be doing all the dirty work for Eli's ex-wife.

Great to have Chris Noth-Zach Grenier-Carrie Preston in the same ep.

Will and Diane dancing was simple but effective and awesome!

Some really good lines in this ep too. Alicia's "Well, you would know about pros!" wins.

Not sure how I feel about Alicia not talking to the children in the end.

Dana, you can't play the player. Hell, you can't even get her to sleep with you like Stacie did Eli. Please go back to school, anything less than straight As won't be acceptable.

Kalinda in that blue coat: hot!

What was in the preview for the next ep? Didn't see it.