Over the summer, I caught up on all five past seasons of The Good Wife. It’s a show that I’ve been meaning to watch for a long time, and once it came to Netflix it was easy to get into it.
At first, I was put off by the idea of watching a law procedural. But The Good Wife is so much more than that, and by season two I was completely hooked. Still, as I binge-watched the show, I wondered how long they’d be able to pull this off for.
Season six has premiered, and the first two episodes were outstanding. How often can you say that about a long-running drama? Over the course of the entire show, there’s only been one storyline that I didn’t like. (Kalinda and her ex-husband, which I’ve read was a pretty polarizing storyline.)
Last season ended with the possibility of Diane leaving Lockhart Gardiner Canning for Florrick Agos, and the idea of Alicia running for State’s Attorney. The premiere picked up right where it left off, and we got a juicy new storyline. Cary was arrested on a drug charge, accused of giving illegal advice to Lemond Bishop on how to transport a large quantity of heroin.
The first two episodes were frantic and high-stakes, exactly the kind of thing I love to get from The Good Wife.
Matt Czuchry was really good in these episodes. I also like that he, Alicia, and presumably Diane, are now seeing the consequences of representing someone like Bishop. They are all people who have stood on a moral high-ground. Alicia is honest and “Saint Alicia”. Diane has always held strong ideals of what she wants for her law practice. Cary liked seeing justice served when he was an ASA. Will was more ruthless, more corporate. He’s gone, they’re still representing a criminal, and they might pay for it. Cary already has. It’s storylines like this one that elevate The Good Wife above your basic procedural drama.
Personally, I don’t want to see Alicia run for State’s Attorney. It’s not really a storyline I’m interested in, although I do want a way to keep Eli on screen. But it seems rather inevitable, doesn’t it? What do you think?
