Note: Do not read on if you have not yet seen Season 4, Episode 19 of CBS' "The Good Wife," titled
"The Wheels of Justice."
For a Colin Sweeney episode of "The Good Wife," "The Wheels of Justice" was very tame and quite boring in some aspects. While there was some great Diane Lockhart bits -- finally! -- this episode just fell flat. The start time delay on the East Coast/Central Time Zone probably made me feel even more sour toward the episode because fans of drama are tired of being pushed around by sporting events. Anyway ...
"You feed my 'Mary Poppins' obsession." Colin Sweeney (guest star Dylan Baker) is always a delightfully wicked presence on this show. The main case revolved around him and a sex party that included a gun shot and resulting damages. No death this time. The charges would've been considered his third strike, thanks to a ruling Cary and Robyn got wind of (more on that below) and Colin would've been put back behind bars. The ruling made Will and Alicia rush to trial in order to beat the Supreme Court's decision. His girlfriend Isobel Swift ("Homeland" actress Morena Baccarin) did her best to botch things up solely so she'd ensure a marriage with Colin without a prenup. Aside from a few throwaway sexual jabs and jokes, it was a pretty tame appearance.
The rush to trial and resulting ups and downs in preparedness on both the defense and prosecution sides was so gimmicky. This episode screamed filler and that's thanks to the election storyline. The election wasn't even featured in this episode, but its affects were still there. By making Peter's gubernatorial race such a big part of the series, "The Good Wife" hurt itself. There was very little movement of central stories here besides the Diane Lockhart story fans have been anticipating for what feels like ages. Thankfully, like Kalinda's husband, the election story will go away soon.
"I don't want to wait." Diane, Diane, Diane. Where have the writers kept you all season? If Peter wins the governor race, he'll nominate Diane for the Illinois Supreme Court. To prepare herself, Diane hired Kalinda -- who broke out a new blue notebook for the occasion -- to unearth the skeletons that are lurking. Those skeletons included "Vampire Diaries" fan fiction (Diane claimed her housekeeper wrote it, I'm still skeptical about this), communism (her dad flipped his best friend), and Kurt McVeigh (Gary Cole) and his crazy love of guns. Kalinda advised Diane to kill her on-again/off-again relationship with Kurt. But Diane was probably listening to Paula Cole's "I Don't Want To Wait" on her iPod all episode because she finally broke down and told Kurt she wants to move forward with their relationship ... and possible marriage.
Meanwhile, while Kalinda was working with Diane, Robyn (recurring guest star Jess Weixler) worked with Cary to help interview new associates. It was during this process that Cary and Robyn discovered the Supreme Court ruling that would hurt Colin's case. Robyn is the best thing to happen to "The Good Wife" since Carrie Preston's Elsbeth Tascioni. She's a nice, quirky shot in the arm that Eli used to be back in the day.
Over in Alicia's dreamscape, there was sex with Will and then watching Will have sex with Laura (recurring guest star Amanda Peet). The passion between Will and Alicia is back, despite their best efforts. The episode ended with Alicia sitting in bed, drinking wine (we've all been there) and giving Will a call. But he was with Laura! But then Laura bailed! And Alicia was there, alone with her wine. Will was in the office, alone with his drink. Will they reunite in the same place with drinks once again? I bet yes, at least once by season's end. The producers won't pull one of those "Will they or won't they" cliffhangers again. It'd be too sloppy. There are only three episodes left in Season 4. Season 5 is already set and I'm hoping for a few good shakeups to spice things up for the new season. Less court gimmicks, more time outside a courtroom and please, no more season-long stories about Peter.
Gasp count: One when the promo informed viewers there were only three episodes left.
"The Good Wife" airs Sundays, 9 p.m. ET on CBS.
