Note: Do not read on if you have not yet seen Season 4, Episode 1 of CBS' "The Good Wife," entitled "I Fought The Law."
Oh, "The Good Wife." Thank you for coming back to me. It's a been a long summer without my weekly dose of Alicia, Kalinda and court room drama. Was the wait worth it? You bet. Let's break it down, shall we?
The guest stars. So much "Good Wife" press this summer was about the caliber of guest actors the show was bringing in for Season 4. Then there was the unfortunate news about Kristin Chenoweth getting injured on "The Good Wife" set. I tried not getting too attached to her character because I knew she was going to stick around for long, but I loved her interactions with the Florricks. She was the voice of every "Good Wife" viewer out there who asks "Why is Alicia still with Peter?" I loved that she challenged Alicia on the issue, because it's something we've all been wondering. It was refreshing to see Chenoweth in a more dramatic role after her recent stints on "Glee" and "GCB" had the Emmy winner hamming it up all over the place. Get well soon, Kristin, and please come back to "The Good Wife."
After two years, we finally met Nick (Marc Warren), Kalinda's oh-so dangerous ex-husband. He wasn't at the door thankfully, because then we wouldn't have been treated to that exhilarating scene with Kalinda, her gun and her trusty sledge hammer. Remember guys, always have a sledge hammer as a back up weapon. I was a little surprised Nick could just waltz into Lockhart/Gardner and become a client without Kalinda knowing/Alicia and Cary figuring it out. But I guess with the bankruptcy and campaign, it's easy to get distracted. Warren's chemistry with Archie Panjabi was there -- let's be real, she could have chemistry with a wall -- and it was terrifying and exciting at the same time. The elevator scene was so unbelievably badass and the bedroom scene that followed had me on the edge of my seat.
And then there was Nathan Lane. So unassuming, so the complete opposite of his last TV persona, Pepper on "Modern Family." That's the beauty of "The Good Wife." The writers are able to take actors known for working in one genre, say comedy for example, and write them such juicy dramatic parts. And it's worked -- just look at stage and sitcom star Christine Baranski and her three Emmy nominations for "The Good Wife." I'm looking forward to seeing Lane's bank trustee interact with Will and Diane, especially now that he pulled off the not-so-easy feat of putting David Lee in his place.
The case. Zach's pulled over while driving home from a college visit. Alicia and Zach uncover that the Madison County cops are stopping people on the affluent side of the highway to score funds. While a forgettable case, especially in terms of opening the season, this whole Madison vs. Cook County could be a setup for future problems for Peter's campaign. And Zach wasn't really annoying! So there's that.
Meanwhile, Diane and Will had to deal with making huge budget cuts.
To summarize: Kalinda was awesome, guest stars continue to be joys to watch and Lockhart/Gardner is in deep financial trouble.
Some other things:
- We got to meet another one of Kalinda's lovers! And it's a woman! That was fun.
- There wasn't enough Kalicia for me. Tequila time soon, please?
- Peter and Alicia ... working things out? I hope not.
- Very interested to see how things play out with Kalinda and Nick ... especially if Alicia gets involved!
"The Good Wife" airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on CBS.
