#last but not least i love the tone of the show way more than elsbeth's. | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

florrickandassociates · 3 years

Text

TGF Thoughts: 5x05-- And the firm had two partners...

Hello and happy season 6 renewal! I think I assumed TGF would last three years when it premiered—not five, and certainly not six (this assumption was because I thought the CBS All Access experiment would fail and it would take three seasons for them to admit defeat). Now, I kinda think TGF might just run as long as the people involved want to do it. The way I’ve come to think of TGF is that, because it has no overarching arc or plot and because it is always topical, it is a show without a clear end point. That’s why it’s still fresh even though it is a spin-off in its fifth season. I could see it still feeling fresh in its tenth season if it continues to evolve and change. Anyway, here’s to season six!

Thoughts on season five, episode five, which I didn’t really love, under the cut.

The episode kicks off with TikTok and Jay’s hallucinations... yay. I’m hooked.

Look, before we get further into this episode, I’m going to comment on Jay’s plot as a whole. I am really, really glad this show decided to dedicate screentime to showing how horrific COVID is, and especially how horrific the disparities in treatment by race and class were. The hallucinations pay off about as well as they could. And I still do not like anything about this plot. I wish I could say I did.

Rivi is now out of the hospital and suing Harbor Hospital. He claims that his daughter died of COVID due to their improper care.

I’m intrigued by Rivi’s wife. She’s deaf and reads lips, and her first scene—where she reads the lips of Harbor Hospital’s lawyers privately discussing settlement—establishes that she’s a partner to Rivi and not “just a wife.” (I think this is going to also help distinguish Rivi from Bishop. Both care about families, but we all know Bishop had his wife killed.)

Julius and Diane talk about Kurt’s case. Diane looks incredulous when Julius floats the idea of Kurt taking a deal. I almost laughed at Diane’s expression because, well, she’s talking to Julius, her former client who spent time in prison for something he didn’t do. Luckily the show remembers its history, and Julius notes this to Diane.

Julius also points out that Diane is acting more like Kurt’s wife than his lawyer in this situation, and he won’t share things that are relevant to her personal life but not her professional life.

I am also not going to recap too much of the COVID stuff. Everything I have to say about it is going to be a variation on what I said above-- I'm glad they’re spotlighting important themes but I still don’t like this plot.

I do like that Jay notices Carmen saying “darn” instead of “damn.” She blames parental training and notes she also starts every email with “Dear.”

I do not like that Jay now hallucinates a woman who is literally credited as “naked woman” to illustrate that he has a little bit of a crush on Carmen.

Why are they already bringing the suit before they have found any evidence of discrimination at Harbor Hospital and before they’ve looked into what type of care Pia Rivi actually received?

Jay asks Carmen if she wants to join a group of RL staffers for drinks. Carmen says she’ll think about it. Yay for Carmen plots that bring her into the firm’s social circle.

I also don’t think I’ll have much to say about the Diane and Kurt plot. These FBI investigation plots are always the same: a lot of rehashing of the same fights, lots of new twists and turns where it always feels like the facts are changing, and a clean slate when all is said and done. I was thinking about this the other day and was like, “Ah, wouldn’t it be nice to go back to the good old days before the stakes got so high that the FBI was always investigating one of the regulars”? And then I remembered that season 1 of Wife has a plotline (which ends up being mostly inconsequential) in which the FBI investigate Peter.

The FBI’s investigation of Peter in season 1 is so inconsequential, in fact, that it brings us Elsbeth’s first appearance and I STILL see people thinking that Executive Order 13224 in season 3 is her first appearance. It is forgettable enough that people manage to forget ELSBETH TASCIONI.

Anyway my point here is just that this feels like familiar territory and until the writers prove to me they have something new to say, about Jan 6 or about the FBI or about Diane and Kurt’s marriage, I... am not that invested.

Julius calls Diane out on being part of every conversation with Kurt. This is a good point. This is something that I would like to see the show address more. Didn’t Kurt ask Diane last episode not to be involved? Why don’t we get to see the fallout of that decision and how it impacts their marriage? I know this show is not character driven in the way I’d like it to be, and I know that is part of why it always feels fresh. It just tries my patience sometimes.

Diane looks really red in this scene.

LOL @ the stock footage of an ambulance pulling up in front of Harbor Hospital that clearly says “LOS ANGELES CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT.”

One problem I have with Jay’s plot in this episode is that it feels very, very similar to the hospital episode of Evil. This is only a problem because the episode of Evil is much better. The hospital episode of Evil uses horror to show racism in the healthcare system; it’s very innovative and suspenseful. This episode wants to do the same thing... but I don’t think the writers found the exact right tone to pull it off. I can see what they are trying to do and admire that they are trying, at least.

I am struggling to articulate why I dislike this plot so much! The best I can say is that something just isn’t clicking. And, honestly, this may just be a problem with how little I’ve ever understood the hype around Jay. I’m not sure if I’ve ever said this before, but the show seems more enamored with Jay than I am, and I’m always at a little bit of a distance from the character. (I suspect it’s an acting thing, not a writing thing.)

There is also just a LOT going on in all of the Jay/hospital scenes, probably more than is needed to get the point across. It’s like the episode can’t decide if it’s all in on being horror, if it’s trying to be surreal, if it’s trying to be quirky, if it’s trying to be heartfelt, if it’s trying to be pointed, or if it’s trying to be about Jay’s emotions. I actually think this plot would’ve worked better if it were a little toned down.

Starkey is in Diane’s office and it’s time for one of those scenes that happens in all of these FBI plots where the FBI agent is annoying and then the person they’re annoying walks away and is sassy towards the FBI. This scene feels like a mix of the one in the season two premiere where Starkey tries this strategy on Maia and some of the clunkier moments of the TGW series finale.

Danny Pino is on The Good Fight now! I’m excited to see him! He’s super charismatic; I see why they had him playing a politician on BrainDead. On this show, he insists everyone call him Racehorse.

Racehorse is now representing the hospital, and Carmen is a little outmatched.

Predictably, Racehorse’s strategy is to try to force Rivi to testify by bringing a countersuit. Testifying is obviously bad for Rivi since he runs a criminal enterprise and would have to answer questions under oath.

Really long pause before the credits. Also, I don’t like this thing where we don’t get to see Liz until after the credits. I demand more Liz!

This episode is called “And the firm had two partners” but has nothing to do with Diane and Liz and the drama about who should be a name partner. It barely even has anything to do with Liz! Misleading.

Yay for Nikki M. James, who directed this episode!

Okay, I saw a post on Reddit about how everyone looks red in this episode and didn’t think anything of it, but on rewatch? That post is spot-on; everyone looks red. The scenes in Diane’s home are particularly bad. Kurt looks like he has an awful sunburn.

I’m glad to see Diane’s home also has a kitchen; I was getting concerned it really was just that one room.

I love Diane and Kurt but sometimes their plots rely too heavily on just being like, she’s a liberal! He's a conservative! Tension ensues!

This episode is, sadly, Wackner free and very light on Marissa. I am fine without Wackner for an episode (sometimes a break from gimmick is nice) but I really miss Marissa’s energy.

Diane asks Marissa to investigate something related to Kurt’s case. Marissa’s not thrilled, seeing as she is no longer an investigator and has two other jobs, but she agrees anyway.

Diane doesn’t learn, does she? Two scenes ago she was apologizing to Kurt for meddling and revealing info he didn’t want her to reveal (the name of the rioter) and now she’s trying to get more information so she can... put herself in a position where she can act on more information Kurt doesn’t want her to act on? Cool.

LIZ!!!!!! FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!

Rivi and Isabel want to talk to Liz without Carmen present. Isabel, wisely, wants Liz to be on the case along with Carmen. Liz protests, but Isabel insists. She notes that she could see some associates using a racial slur against Rivi... and Liz knows she has to join the case to keep Rivi on as a client. She apologizes and then fires all three associates involved in the joke.

There’s a whole subplot about a doctor who posts TikToks that allege racism at Harbor Hospital, but also silly TikToks to boost her follower count. I do like that they allow this doctor to be both someone who wanted to do good and someone who wanted fame.

After this, though, we lose the thread of the TikTok dancer (and of the COTW, kind of) because the plot becomes more about Jay. That’s fine, though it’s a little bit clunky.

There’s a reveal that Jay’s hallucination of Frederick Douglass is actually a fellow patient who was in the COVID pit at Harbor Hospital with him. As I said before, this is the best payoff for the hallucinations possible, but there were still too many scenes of the hallucinations.

Wow, I actively do not want to watch these scenes a second time.

NRA lady from the season 2 panel (with Adrian, Mr. Elk, the Florrick fan, etc.) is back. She is friends with Kurt, because of course she is, and could speak up and defend him. She doesn’t want to.

God, I hope he isn’t fucking her. I can barely do another one of these FBI plots—don't make me sit through another Kurt Likes Pretty Ladies with Guns plot.

Even though NRA lady doesn’t want to speak up, Marissa has followed Kurt and identified her.

More stuff happens with Jay.

What if the hallucinations don’t end with this episode? I like showing that Jay is a long hauler but omg do I loathe these hallucinations.

I do like that Jay clues Carmen in on the hallucinations.

Why is Julius even allowing Diane to tag along on visits to Starkey, and why must this gag with the dead birds keep going?!?

More Jay stuff.

I just don’t get why they’re asking about the Pit, where Jay and lots of other black or brown people with COVID were held, before they have any idea where Pia Rivi was held in the hospital. Are they just trying to fact-find?

Shockingly, Pia Rivi was never sent to the Pit and actually received special care because no one wanted to anger Rivi. I... would have assumed this from the start or looked into this before bringing the suit? I know the whole point of this case is to get to explore Jay’s experience in the hospital and shine light on disparities in healthcare but I can still nitpick!

Jay recalls hearing someone say that he was taken out of the Pit and given better care after the hospital received a call. He asks Liz if she made that call—she didn’t. She says she wishes it had been her, but she didn’t know the situation was that bad. I’m a little surprised we didn’t get references to Adrian or Marissa here. If they could’ve made a call, they absolutely would’ve. Adrian’s like a father to Jay, and Marissa is a loyal friend. Adrian has enough sway to get Jay better care, and you KNOW Marissa is resourceful and connected enough to get him good care.

I really love this Liz and Carmen scene where Carmen asks Liz for advice and Liz helps her out. I like that Carmen still has things to learn—and knows it—even as she’s a great, capable, talented lawyer.

Carmen starts to leave, then turns around and says, “I want to learn from you. I don’t... My attitude is knowing, but it’s just my attitude. It’s not who I am.” YES! I’m so glad we’re getting lines like this that make Carmen’s personality clearer. She’s not a malicious sociopath who wants to defend drug dealers and help bad people get away with horrible crimes. She’s a new lawyer who wants to be ready to handle anything, make a name for herself, and come across as untouchable. This line makes everything click into place: this is why she’s willing to represent Rivi, put forward her own strategies, and be so polite it's rude to Liz... and why she also would rather stay at RL than go work full time for Lester.

Liz smiles, realizing she’s gotten through. “Carmen. When I was your age, I acted exactly the same way. I wanted to be perfect. So, I acted like I was perfect. Because bluff is always a part of it, but just... just let me help you, when I can. Ask questions.” I believe it. And now I really just want to see an episode where young Liz and young Alicia face off. My guess is Liz tried to project boldness and fearlessness, while Alicia tried to project hyper competence and that’s why they clashed (and why Alicia was thought to lack a “killer instinct”). Okay, okay, I’ll stop talking about Alicia.

Racehorse deposes Rivi and it ends with Rivi beating the crap out of Racehorse. I assume this is setting up a longer arc. You don’t introduce a personality as big as Racehorse played by a Kings-favorite like Danny Pino without having plans.

Also, it’s heavily implied that Isabel is a huge part of the leadership of Rivi’s drug empire. I’m no longer surprised by “actually the wife isn’t so innocent and is also a criminal!” reveals, but I still like this. I think it works better because there’s never any implication that Isabel is an unknowing innocent. Rivi treats her like his equal from their first scene together; she clearly is aware and okay with his prison time and the accusations against him.

We spend a lot of time on how the whole fight was caught on camera. Wonder if that will come back. (I can’t remember—did that accidental sex tape of Maia and the DNC girl ever come back into play?)

Diane threatens NRA lady until she agrees to help Kurt out.

Jay asks Diane if she made the call to help him. She didn’t. Like Liz, she’s apologetic that it wasn’t her.

Turns out it was David Lee. He claims it was a business decision. Sure, David. This is so fitting with David Lee’s character—he's always doing stuff like this. And he always likes to say it was about business. I think he secretly has a heart, though.

(I don’t have much to say about this reveal since it’s familiar territory for David Lee.)

I like that Jay’s hallucination appears to him as his friend, rather than Frederick Douglass, in his last scene of the episode. I hope that is the end of the hallucination plot.

Kurt gets the news that NRA lady is going to speak up for him. He tells Diane and says “it’s amazing how close we came to disaster right then,” as they have a drink. KURT AND DIANE, YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER—IT IS NOT OVER UNTIL IT’S OVER. And this? Is not over! Does anyone really think this is over!? It will be more surprising to me if NRA lady actually follows through and this all gets wrapped up than if there’s a Big Twist.

I know these writers and I know these arcs. They are meandering and full of twists and turns and add up to a complete picture that doesn’t really hold together. That’s why I’m so negative on this episode even though I’ve been positive on the arc in the past. This feels like the mid-season misdirection that it almost certainly is, and I was hoping this arc would be a little more about commentary and a little less about convoluted plot nonsense.

Diane and Kurt dancing at the end of the episode HAS to be a reference to Diane and Will’s post-victory dances, right?

#this is definitely shorter than most of my recaps because i had VERY little to say about most of the plots in this ep #the good fight #tgfthoughts

5 notes · View notes

florrickandassociates · 8 years

Text

TGF Thoughts: 1x07-- Not So Grand Jury

Thoughts on a delightful and eventful episode of The Good Fight under the cut. And (spoiler alert!) I don’t complain a single time about Maia not working.

We pick up where we left off: With Colin in Lucca’s office, telling her to be careful because her firm took an $800,000 bribe.

After Colin exits, a ticking noise kicks in (it’s the opening of a song, and it heightens the tension appropriately) and Lucca walks directly to the open seating area. Maia’s claiming a desk when Lucca arrives and pulls up a chair. (This is news Lucca has to sit down to deliver, a smart stage direction that both demonstrates Lucca’s understanding of how hard this will be for Maia to hear and matches with the lyrics about friendship in the tick-tick-tick song (“just for tonight/we can pretend/that we are friends/to the end”.)

(The Tick Tick Tick song is actually “Pretend” by Emika; I don’t know what it’s about because I haven’t listened beyond the line played in this scene yet, but it seems fitting to me to pair a lyric about pretending* to be friends with a moment where Lucca makes a friendly gesture—sitting instead of standing to deliver tough news—to someone who she wouldn’t call a friend.)

*it sounds sinister in the song, but in the show, I think it comes off more as acting as a friend towards someone you normally wouldn’t give that label to.

Lucca states the information she just heard from Colin. “That’s what I told my dad,” Maia realizes. “I know,” Lucca says in an understanding tone.

“Look, I know your first instinct would be to call him, but for the firm…” Lucca begins, but Maia’s learned her lesson already: “We need to tell the partners,” she interrupts. This breaks my heart. Whatever reservations I have about how Maia’s been written, it’s devastating to see a woman who had the utmost trust in her family just a few episodes ago become the person who suggests going straight to the partners. (Also, I love that Lucca makes a point of letting Maia know about the betrayal before she clues the partners in.)

Meanwhile, Mike Kresteva has empaneled a grand jury. He’s working with AUSA Zschau (Aaron Tveit), who appeared once on TGW (in 3x07) and has returned to the TG-verse now that Aaron Tveit is a favorite of the Kings. (He was a series regular on BrainDead last summer.)

Bribery and tax evasion (the fake stories Elsbeth planted) are the main focuses of the Grand Jury… for now. Like all TG-verse Grand Jury plots, the initial focus or strategy barely matters. As Kresteva says, all the grand jury has to believe to indict is that there is a possibility a crime was committed. This is why, at least in TG-v (I really need to come up with a standard way to refer to both shows at once; I feel like I’ve switched names for this as often as the writers switched the name of Diane’s firm in late-season TGW), grand juries usually involve throwing a bunch of things at the jury and hoping at least one thing sticks.

Diane isn’t on the list of name partners. Two episodes out from her power play, I’m wondering if they’ve dropped that thread or if we just haven’t circled back to it yet? On TGW, the signage was always updated the second the name changed. At the end of 1x05, Adrian congratulates Diane on being a FULL partner, not a name partner. Is there a chance Christine just said the line wrong and the script supervisor didn’t catch it? Diane asking to be a full, rather than junior, partner would make more sense than her asking to be a name partner, no? (Though, after bringing in an $86m/y client name partner makes sense too…)

Kresteva arrives at Elsbeth’s office with an order to assist in their investigation. Is that legal? Isn’t there attorney/client privilege here?

Anyway, Kresteva is there to confiscate Ada. “Ada! Erase history! Purge all files!” Elsbeth requests. Ada says “activating,” but then gives a synopsis for the movie The Purge. This is the second time in two episodes the writers have referenced The Purge; is Eli Gold responsible for this?

(The Tick Tick Tick song continues.)

Only a few minutes in, and Kresteva knows the bribery story is a lie. This is the moment where, on my first viewing, I knew this episode would be good. One of Elsbeth’s strategies failing? Elsbeth being undone by voice recording!? The piece of info that seemed like it would be central to the episode becoming an afterthought already!? How exciting! (But seriously, they just swiftly dispense with what seemed like the premise of the episode, instead focusing on new strategies without forgetting about the underlying tensions—the ones between Maia and her family members— of the old strategy.)

I don’t always love it when TG-V is all, TWIST! TWIST! ANOTHER TWIST! LEGAL MANEUVERING THAT’S SUPER FUN BUT WAIT WHAT IS ACTUALLY GOING ON! But it never fails to be fun, especially when it’s treated as fun and good character moments are sprinkled in. (Okay, it’s failed to be fun before, but usually it’s fun on the first watch, at least, and the only time I really wasn’t on board was Peter’s trial in s7 of TGW, and… that arc had its own problems that had more to do with the structure of the season/character development/abandoning interesting threads than it did with the courtroom stuff.)

Ah, Colin has answered my question about attorney/client privilege. They can listen whenever it’s just Elsbeth talking to Ada. Colin remarks that Elsbeth reprimanding Ada is “not privileged.” Still, Ada records everything, so Ada has recorded Elsbeth saying that the $800,000 bribe story is a lie. (Wait, who is Elsbeth talking to here and why isn’t it privileged?)

Now Henry Rindell is in trouble: Kresteva suspects Henry is working with Maia, which would make much more sense than a father turning on his daughter, but isn’t the truth because Henry Rindell is horrible (but has potentially convinced himself he is not horrible).

Henry seems outraged when he realizes Maia might’ve been wearing a wire. Yeah, how dare that daughter of yours mistrust you! You’re so innocent, just trying to destroy her place of work, thinking she’d want you to do that without ever bothering to actually take her feelings into account. Father of the year.

“I have to see her,” Henry insists. Kresteva’s ready to send Henry back to prison. Henry wants to investigate, and Kresteva and Zschau go for it… if Henry wears a wire.

AMY IS BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is the moment that confirmed the episode would be good. (Note: I don’t watch the credits so I can be unspoiled about guest stars.) Henry’s there for a visit, and Amy is not thrilled. She hands Maia a rum and coke, knowing she’ll need a drink.

Maia asks what Amy’s been talking to Henry about, and then realizes she’ll need to record this, too. (It’s April 13th, according to Maia’s phone.)

“Your apartment looks beautiful, Amy,” Henry makes small talk. Your apartment? Is it Amy’s apartment? Doesn’t sound like it, since Amy replies that they’ll have to move in a month or two.

“Oh, why’s that?” Henry asks cluelessly. Maia and Amy both glare at him. “Money, dad,” Maia reminds him. So, this answers questions I had about who’s paying for that lovely apartment: clearly, Maia’s parents were the ones paying much of the rent. (Though, it seems weird to me that between Maia and Amy, the two of them wouldn’t be able to pay the rent on that apartment. It’s a great space, but it appears to be an extra-large studio or a loft and they have two salaries between them. OK NOT THE POINT, I GET IT, THEY ARE UNDER MORE FINANCIAL STRAIN THAN THEY WERE AND I APPRECIATE THAT THE WRITERS ARE ACKNOWLEDGING THIS. (I just like to nitpick.)

Amy says she’ll let Maia and Henry talk. I’m not sure where she’s exiting to—is there another room other than the bathroom? A kitchen?

Maia stands as far away from her dad as she can—the distance is obvious. And, they’re standing.

“You didn’t trust me,” Henry accuses. EL-OH-EL. “You told me a lie last time. There was no bribery at your firm” he says. This scene was a sneak, and my first thought was, “MAIA, DON’T ANSWER HIM, HE COULD BE TRYING TO TRICK YOU INTO ADMITTING THE LIE!” That’s irrelevant, now, because he already knows it’s a lie and doesn’t need Maia to confirm. I’m happy to see that Maia and I were on the same page, because, after she expresses some frustration with the fact this conversation is even happening, she says, “You were wearing a wire. If I told you a lie there was a reason.” Note the use of the word “if.”

“Talk to me like I’m your daughter. I am right here,” Maia insists, sitting down. Oh, how cool! I wasn’t even thinking about the sitting/standing difference when I mentioned it with Lucca, but it seems to be a thread, since Maia sits down at the exact moment she requests that the conversation switch from being formal to familiar. *Pats self on back*

Henry turns off his recording device (how cynical am I that I worried he had a second one stowed away?) and sits down. Maia, in return, turns off her phone recording.

Henry finally offers her an explanation: “I’m not doing this to save my skin. They’re coming after you. […] [For] the foundation. Your signature on the transferred funds.” Maia reminds him that her signature was forged. “Honey, I don’t think they’ll believe that,” Henry says. “You’re saying you were recording our conversations and using them against my law firm out of some clear concern for me?” Maia restates. Henry confirms this and says the Feds are threatening to prosecute her. Maia says that’s a lie; Henry insists it’s not. “Then don’t fucking use me to clear your conscience, dad,” Maia says. “You want to make a deal for yourself, do it. Don’t do it for me.”

Henry slips Maia info about how Kresteva knows the bribe is a lie. Maia knows that’s true, but she still asks Henry why she should trust him. Good question. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice…

Henry’s info here is right: Kresteva does just want to destroy the firm; subpoenas are about to go out. And maybe he has convinced himself he’s doing the right thing or protecting his family. But that doesn’t mean he’s not acting in his own self-interest, that he’s not betraying his daughter, or that his family wants him to involve them in his strategies.

Cut to: a French cooking class. This sequence reminds me of the beginning of 3x12, where everyone’s subpoenaed while they’re out and about, so I knew what was coming and that we’d get little glimpses of what the characters do in their free time. What I didn’t know—and what was brilliantly withheld from the way this first scene is written/directed/edited—is that it’s not Diane who’s taking the French cooking class. As soon as I heard the word “French,” I assumed this was Diane’s way of capturing a little bit of France since she couldn’t have her country home. But nope! Adrian is the one taking the class, and now I love this moment even more than I would’ve if it had been Diane. He’s also, apparently, good at making complicated French sauces. I love it.

Barbara, meanwhile, is having dinner with an old friend from school. (#WilliciaVibes?) She’s having a good enough time with her companion that she doesn’t even stop to realize that the “waiter” (the process server) is bizarrely dressed. What an unpleasant surprise. I want to know more about Barbara’s friend!

And Lucca? She’s gearing up for a run (I was so excited to see her doing something on her own time that wasn’t flirting with Colin!) when the process server stops her at her doorway. She closes the door on him, but he slides the subpoena under.

Notably, we don’t see Diane get served—at this point or later in the episode. Any episode that gets the little things right is an episode I like. While I would’ve enjoyed seeing Diane in her free time, I also already have a sense of what Diane would do in her free time. It’s news to me that Adrian takes cooking classes, that Barbara is (apparently?) single, and that Lucca’s a runner. Choosing to focus on what the more unfamiliar characters do in their free time is, to me, a better use of time than showing us more of what Diane likes to do in her free time. (I suppose there’s no reason they couldn’t have shown a fourth—or fifth, since we do see Marissa get served too—one of these for Diane, since episodes don’t have to be 43 minutes anymore, but three examples conveys the point better than a sequence that goes on and on and on, and if there’s one that I’d choose to take place off-screen, it’d be Diane.) (Also, we’ve seen Diane get subpoenaed several times, including at least once already on TGF.)

Elsbeth and the partners strategize. “Grand juries always indict,” she reminds them. I’m a little shocked this episode isn’t called Yet Another Ham Sandwich. “Unless it’s a police brutality case,” Adrian comments. Accurate.

Elsbeth then gets off on a tangent about Barbara’s earrings. “Elsbeth.” Diane warns. “Right! Sorry. You’re amazing,” Elsbeth responds. God, I love Elsbeth. (I also love that Diane always seems to have less patience for Elsbeth than most of the other characters do.)

The Paisley Group, a former Florrick/Agos client, is thinking of jumping ship. How did RBK even have The Paisley Group as a client in the first place? I mean, that’s the client who told Alicia to read Ayn Rand. Kresteva is trying to scare off all the RBK clients.

Lucca has something to add, but she decides against sharing. Elsbeth calls her out on it, and she shares some info she got from Colin. The assistant attorney general was concerned that the investigation was seeming racist. She can’t reveal how she knows this, but everyone in the room agrees on a strategy: make it seem like the white AG’s office is targeting the firm because of race.

(I love the hand gestures Elsbeth makes as she says “close down the grand jury.”)

They have an audience of one, Elsbeth explains: the assistant AG. (This is similar to Elsbeth’s strategy from when she represented Will in 3x14: the strategy then was to tie everything to Peter Florrick.)

(I’m pointing out all the similarities to past episodes because, as I said on Twitter, this episode feels like TGW’s greatest hits thrown into a blender. Since this episode isn’t just repeating past episodes, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s just that every twist and turn in this episode felt familiar.)

Adrian asks Barbara for her opinion. “About using race?” she asks. “Well, it is about race.” The scene ends there. Perfect. I love the acknowledgement that this is a trial strategy, but it’s also the truth. Kresteva’s whole strategy is that he’d rather silence and destroy a majority African-American law firm than improve policing so that officers stop shooting/beating black people. It is absolutely about race.

Next, Adrian appears before the grand jury. He emphasizes that the firm is majority African-American, taking every opportunity he can to mention the racial makeup of his firm. Heh. (Also, he’s been practicing law in Chicago for 35 years.)

Barbara appears next, and Zschau and Kresteva seem increasingly irritated by all references to race. “I didn’t ask about your firm’s racial makeup,” Zschau says. “Yes, but you did ask me to answer in my own words, and these are my own words,” Barbara replies. (This is straight out of 1x14—Kalinda says this on the stand, too.)

Colin informs the AAG (is that an abbreviation? I don’t care; for the purposes of this recap it is) of what’s going on in court. He’s not pleased. Kresteva insists he’s staying away from race, but the AAG doesn’t care. He wants it to be clear it’s not about race.

This means that another round of subpoenas has to go out… this time only for the white people. Yes, because subpoenaing an assistant who’s been at the firm a month because she’s one of three white people at the firm is definitely going to convince the grand jury it’s not about race.

When she’s served, Marissa is learning Italian in the work elevator. Jay gets on the elevator, too. He asks why she’s learning Italian; she says she’s always wanted to. Apparently, Marissa is saying, “In my next life, I want to come back as a shark.” I’d question what kind of tape would have this as a phrase to learn, but I’ve used Duolingo before and some of the sentences really are that bizarre.

The process server finds Marissa: “Marissa Gold?” She responds by saying, in Italian, “No, in my next life, I want to come back as a shark.” In a wonderful twist, the process server speaks fluent Italian and responds, “Too bad. In this life, you’ve just been served.” I can’t. stop. Laughing.

As Elsbeth strategizes about what to do now, the Tick Tick Tick song returns. Now Kresteva’s being served. I love the process server guy even more because he’s self-aware about how many subpoenas he’s delivered in the last 48 hours.

Elsbeth has a strategy, and it’s one she also used in 4x15 to defend Eli (as I said, this episode is TGW’s greatest hits, though I’m not sure 4x15 actually counts as a greatest hit). She opens a suit in civil court to find out information from the investigation.

Elsbeth vs. Kresteva is working SO well for me. It’s like he’s the adversary for her that they always wanted Josh Perotti to be. What a shock—when there’s no weird romance/stalking subplot, Elsbeth vs. the liar working for the federal government works.

I keep getting served Netflix ads during commercial breaks. This feels weird.

Elsbeth presents Jay with The Schtup List. He expresses no interest in it until Elsbeth explains its importance. Neither Elsbeth nor Jay recognize the numbers listed next to the names, and Elsbeth asks Jay to investigate.

The Chicago Board of Trade is the DOJ now? Stock footage, shrug. (I mean, you can read that it says CHICAGO BOARD OF TRADE in the clip they show.)

“I hate him,” Colin tells his boss. “Him” being his coworker, Kresteva. Heh. The AAG asks Colin if he’s under the mistaken impression he only defends people he likes. “No, I’m under the mistaken impression I don’t defend anyone. I’m a prosecutor,” Colin replies. HEH. (And, this is a thread that keeps coming back throughout the episode!)

Colin’s stuck with the case anyway. He tells his boss he’s dating a lawyer at RBK; his boss just says to stop dating her. This strategy doesn’t work either.

Colin tries to get Elsbeth’s case dismissed, but Elsbeth has a plan for that. She turns things over to Adrian, prompting Colin to ask if Adrian is the plaintiff or a lawyer. Since Colin’s the first to mention that Adrian should be called as a witness if he wants to talk, Judge Gallo allows the case to move forward. Heh. Colin’s out of his element. He also calls Elsbeth “the defense” and Gallo corrects him: “the plaintiff.” This is great. As I said, I love the little things, like reminding us that Colin isn’t used to arguing in civil court. They infuse moments of courtroom drama (or other plot-driven moments) with revealing character information.

Another example of this is that Colin, even though he hates Kresteva and personally agrees with Team RBK, is not in any way (well, aside from not breaking up with Lucca) intentionally throwing this case. He’s not giving it 110% (he wouldn’t be fumbling like this if he were), and he’s distracted by Lucca and by his internal conflicts, but he is doing his job.

“Make me your second chair,” Lucca advises Elsbeth. Elsbeth agrees.

Colin objects to a witness’s statement. He is really off his game.

Colin questions Adrian and asks how important the three clients they lost, the ones Kresteva scared off, were. They were only worth a combined 1.3 million, which means they must not have been doing much business for The Paisley Group (which makes sense to me, given what we know about The Paisley Group). Colin points out that they just signed ChumHum, which is worth $86 million. Yeah. But, as Lucca points out, that doesn’t mean Kresteva isn’t still affecting their client list.

Colin and Lucca bicker in court. Judge Gallo isn’t happy. Lucca apologizes, then asks why the defendant isn’t there. “I see. So Mr. Kresteva is too busy for Judge Gallo?” Lucca says when Colin explains Kresteva is busy. This is smart: Gallo seems like exactly the type of judge who would take offense at this sort of snub.

Marissa takes the stand next—in the grand jury room-- and sticks with the strategy. She explains that Diane mentors her in “becoming aware of the nature of white privilege.” Heh. Zschau mentions that Marissa also worked with Diane at Lockhart Deckler etc., and Marissa just comments that “that was definitely not an African-American firm. It was like the Trump White House there.” Bwah. The grand jurors like Marissa. When Kresteva suggests she move off of the subject of race, Marissa apologizes and says “Touchy.” The grand jurors like that, too, and their level of respect for Kresteva declines by the second.

Now Diane is the target: did she slip Adrian privileged information in F101?

Marissa calls Diane after court, then notices Andrew Hart. She takes a picture and takes it to the legal team.

To find out what Andrew Hart said to the grand jury… they call him to the stand in the civil case. Hehehe.

Elsbeth is on the most obvious fishing expedition ever—she has a list of possible motivations and runs through them one by one (at least, I think that’s what that list is?) until she figures out what Hart is up to—and it works. Idk about the legality of all this, but it sure is fun to watch.

Lucca distracts Colin as he tries to object. And by distracts, I mean sucks on her pen. In the middle of the court room. It works. (Hello, 5x12 Willicia.) (Only without the tension/hatred.) (Colin doesn’t really seem to care that Lucca’s throwing him off.)

After court, Lucca walks past Colin, makes sure he sees her, and then walks into an empty courtroom. He follows her in. She asks him to come by that night, and he tells her he’s been told to break up with her. She says he better do it and starts to leave. He stops her and pulls her in for a kiss. “You’re going to get fired,” she warns. “Mm. I hate my job anyway,” he says. That’s the truth right there. At this point, I think Colin really doesn’t care if he gets fired over this.

Meanwhile, Barbara sits down with a client Andrew Hart is trying to poach. The client doesn’t seem to like Hart very much, because he testifies for RBK and offers even more information than he’s asked to just to help.

The litigation financiers have been subpoenaed to testify at the grand jury. This episode moves fast, y’all. It’s impressive (but unsurprising) that TGF built, in six episodes, a complicated web of things that could come back to hurt RBK.

Can two people testify before a grand jury at once or is this a thing I just have to believe could happen because TV?

Things look bad for RBK: they have a clear story about the settlement for the case in F101 and how Diane’s warning led Adrian to be confident in a favorable settlement.

The litigation financiers don’t want to tell Adrian and Diane what they said to the grand jury, but they say just enough Adrian and Diane understand what they’re up against. “Fuck,” Adrian says, and one of the financiers reminds him not to swear. “It bugs out Jer,” Adrian recalls, quoting F102.

Diane takes full responsibility for this. She says she told Adrian more than she should have. (Adrian is correct in recalling what Diane says, FWIW. Diane said they would be getting a good settlement and to hire Maia, because she found a key piece of evidence. Unless this all hinges on the “you’ll get a good offer in a few hours” part of it? Is that disbarrable?)

Adrian doesn’t let Diane take responsibility for this. He reminds her Kresteva is going to go after anything he can. “Stop kicking yourself. We are dealing with people who are coming at us for the smallest infraction,” he says. He meant it when he told Maia in 1x04 that people at RBK look out for each other. Of course, RBK still has its office politics (see: Julius Cain), but the sense of loyalty and community is refreshing. It feels like the family environment L/G always purported to be. It’s easy to see, given this moment and others earlier in the season, how committed RBK is to its mission and culture. Adrian and Barbara have a clear vision for what they want their firm to be and how they want it to run, and I’d like to know more about it. (And more about how Diane threatens/can strengthen it—this is the sort of corporate culture Diane always said she wanted to cultivate!)

Adrian suggests that they defend themselves with something called “mere puffery.” I don’t know what this is (rather, I didn’t know what it was until they explained it in a later scene), but Adrian and Diane both crack up at the suggestion, so I find it funny too. Also, “mere puffery” just sounds funny.

Marissa saves the day! She recognizes a nine-digit number from her W-2. This… is a stretch.

Y’all know I paused the stream to read Marissa’s W-2. This W-2 says 2013. Also, that Marissa made $71,706.01. Lol. Lol. Lol. Lol. Lol. LOL. Doesn’t that seem awfully high for an assistant job that consists of running errands? Oh, God. Now I’m looking up the salaries all of these people would be making (Glassdoor says Marissa would not be making that much).

It’s a federal tax ID number. Marissa and Jay realize at the same time that if numbers on The Schtup List match numbers from Lockhart Deckler, Diane is screwed.

Diane is on the stand. She tries out mere puffery, which she explains (it means promoting through exaggeration). Kresteva says he knows what it is. (Yay for good exposition!)

They show her The Schtup List, and connect it to Diane hiring Maia, and… yeah, this doesn’t look good.

Kresteva also explains that they have Henry Rindell coming in the next day.

After the grand jury, Diane finds Adrian and says she needs to resign because she’s about to be indicted. “Are you… guilty of anything? Other than being friends with the wrong people?” Adrian asks. No, she isn’t. (Maia listens in and figures out what she has to do—this is something I wish she’d done a few episodes ago, but better late than never, and I appreciate that it’s tied to her concern for her godmother.) Diane keeps insisting that she should resign, but Adrian is, in his words, “not running scared from motherfuckers like [Kresteva.]” Awww, warm and fuzzy feelings.

Then the scene ventures on preachy, but only because it’s the 2nd scene in 3 episodes to include repetition of the word “fight” as what Diane has to do. Like, yeah, we get it, this is called The Good Fight. No one ever called Alicia “The Good Wife” to her face! (But I guess “Saint Alicia” is the same thing.)

Diane looks shocked that someone could be so kind to her. Must take a lot of betrayal to get to the point where you’re surprised when your partners stand up for you. Poor Diane. (I wish Barbara were here for this conversation, though. It would be interesting to see her agree with Adrian on this, not necessarily because she supports Diane without any reservations but because she believes that her firm shouldn’t throw its own under the bus.)

Maia meets with her father again, recording devices off. “You’re testifying against Diane?” Maia asks. “No, I’m telling the truth,” Henry says. “Oh. Your alternative truth?” Maia says. HAH.

Maia connects the dots, a little too late. Was that the only use of The Schtup List? Not turning against Jax, but framing Diane in exchange for a lighter sentence? (I wonder about this. Given that Jax is barely mentioned in this episode and Henry wanted the list, not proof it was on Jax’s computer, I suspect that Maia’s right about Henry’s motives.)

Henry says it was just about leverage, but Maia cuts through that bullshit: “You betrayed her for a lighter sentence?” Henry insists this is so Maia won’t see jail time, and neither will Lenore. But… dude… you had to have Maia break the law and implicate herself in order to get that list, and now you’re ruining her workplace. And Maia sees through this, too: it wasn’t just altruistic… Henry wanted a lighter sentence for himself, too.

“I want a chance to see you have kids. I want to hold my grandkids,” Henry says. Maybe you should’ve thought of that before you stole people’s money! “What was the deal?” Maia asks. “Ten years,” Henry says, and Maia immediately understands how favorable that is. She asks him not to testify against Diane—an offer of ten years indicates a weak case.

But Henry keeps insisting he has to testify… “it’s for you, too.” Maia rejects his help in the strongest way possible: “You do this, dad, and if I ever have any kids, you’ll never see them. I’ll never let you see them.” This is hard to watch (would be even harder if I had emotional investment in any of the Rindells, which I don’t, really). Maia’s probably more damaged by this conversation than by any other part of the scandal. Her own father is trying to disguise his own self-interest as protecting her, to the point where he’s able to rationalize throwing old friends—friends whose life savings he’s already wiped out because of his own greed!—under the bus as something noble.

He tries to kiss Maia goodbye, but she rejects his embrace. “I love you,” he says. Maia doesn’t respond.

For the first time in episodes, Diane and Maia feel like godmother/goddaughter. They’re sitting together in civil court, anticipating Henry’s testimony (he’s been subpoenaed there as well). “Are you alright?” Diane asks Maia. “No, not really,” Maia replies. “I wish I could tell you it’ll get easier,” Diane says. “I wish you could tell me that too,” Maia says. And in one short exchange, Maia gets the character development I’ve been looking for! She’s grown more accepting, mature, and resolute. And, unlike in past episodes, we’re actually getting a check-in on how she’s doing. In the episodes where Maia was acting recklessly, it wasn’t clear enough, IMO, why, other than the generic motivation* of “family,” she’d make the decisions she did. (The solution to that problem would’ve been more stories about life before, or moments that felt very genuine between her and her parents, or anything else that would make me believe Maia would really help her cartoon villain parents.) But in this episode (and the last), I understand Maia’s decisions. I see what changes for her and when and why, I see her questioning her loyalties, and I see her coming to terms with her new reality and forming/strengthening new bonds. Even a line as simple as this exchange shows Maia’s thought process, and that’s a welcome change from the conspiracy-driven nonsense of the past few episodes.

*this is not a bad motivation or even a bad plot; my problem is that it was an underdeveloped motivation that made it hard to sympathize with a brand-new character who was almost exclusively interacting with two dimensional characters who seemed so obviously shifty that Maia’s trust in them (well, just Henry, really) and willingness to break the law for them never quite made sense.

Anyway, Elsbeth asks a question influenced by information Maia’s told her: what did Kresteva offer him in exchange for his grand jury testimony? Henry stares right at Maia, and tells the truth: ten years instead of life without parole. Maia stares back: she knows what she’s done, and she’s not hiding it. She knows she’s just almost guaranteed her father will get life without parole. And she is okay with that. She knows she’s going to have to be.

Things aren’t going well over at the DOJ. The news of the (proposed) plea deal is out, and Kresteva’s strategy, now that it’s so public and not just a backroom deal, isn’t to the assistant attorney general’s liking. (Shitty boss, though, because he totally signed off on this strategy in a prior episode.)

Kresteva shows up at Elsbeth’s office. He hands her a cardboard box, and tells her he was just fired. “I’m just happy it’s over,” Elsbeth says. “I just think it’s funny that you think this is over,” Kresteva says. Then he leaves. So… is there more? Or is this just Kresteva’s way of getting the last word? (Side note: I appreciate that this episode didn’t rely at all on the “Kresteva is a lying liar” thing. He still is a lying liar, but he’s not just someone who makes up stories. That only works to a point.)

What’s in the box? Ada! I dunno about you, but I wouldn’t use that thing ever again. Half the time, it doesn’t work, and it’s also always recording you.

At RBK, Diane stops by Maia’s desk and thanks her. “You could have protected yourself, and instead you protected me,” Diane says. “Please, don’t mention it,” Maia replies. “You got me this job,” Maia says warmly. “You deserved it,” Diane replies. She thanks Maia again, patting her head (well, not exactly, but I’m blanking on how to describe it and “patting her head” captures the dynamic more accurately than “stroking her face”). Maia doesn’t reject this gesture the way she rejected her father’s kiss.

Another great, short moment that’s better late than never. I would’ve liked to see more from Diane and Maia between 1x01 and 1x07, but this is exactly the sort of development I wanted. Strangely enough, this is also development that had to take place this far into the season and after the events of this episode. It wouldn’t have worked to have Maia realign her loyalties so she values her relationship with Diane (and, secondarily, the firm) more than she values her relationship with her parents right at the start of the show. Maia had to lose her trust in her parents and make choices for herself before we could get here. Otherwise, it might have felt like Maia was just rebelling, or that she was making a hasty, emotional decision. So, I’ll amend my earlier statement: this moment isn’t better late than never. It’s precisely right for this moment, but I wish we’d gotten the Maia and Diane scenes that were precisely right for all the moments between 1x01 and 1x07, too.

(I can’t say enough good things about this scene. It shows Maia’s maturity and awareness, but still conveys that Maia is the closest thing Diane has to a daughter. This moment doesn’t establish Maia and Diane as peers—even though you got me a job, I saved your job seems like it could do that. It reminds us that they’re each other’s chosen family, and it acknowledges that Maia is both a mature adult and someone who could use a mother/mentor figure. I want more of this going forward, and I will be very disappointed if this thread disappears for another several episodes. This is the sort of thing that should be present in almost every episode, even in the smallest moments.)

(For example, Diane tells Maia that she “deserved” this job. That could be because Maia’s a great lawyer who found a key piece of evidence, but it’s also totally because Diane has an easy time picturing Maia, the smart girl she’s watched grow up, as someone deserving and capable. That sort of thing should be clear in every scene between Diane and Maia—and there should be plenty of scenes between Diane and Maia, since her connection to Diane is the reason we have Maia on the show in the first place, right?)

In another good moment for Maia (have you notice I haven’t complained about her not working in this recap!? Sure, that’s because there’s no COTW or subplots that seems to take place during business hours, but it’s also because the writers finally bothered* to use Maia well), Marissa asks to get drinks. Maia says no, at first, but reconsiders. She needs a drink after that day, but this isn’t about alcohol: this is about establishing ties. She’s reaffirmed her loyalty to Diane, but she’s also starting to think about making new friends, embracing her workplace, and focusing on the things she’d be focusing on without the conspiracy drama surrounding her.

*I say “finally bothered” because the past few weeks, they haven’t even been trying. I’ve seen the writers try and fail to convey character development, and I’ve seen them try and succeed at character development. It felt like they were not even trying the past few weeks.

Lucca’s heading out for another run, but she’s interrupted again, this time by Colin. He says something, but the music’s too loud for us to hear it (by which I mean that the music plays instead of whatever he’s saying). Lucca gives him a hug to comfort him and invites him in. Hm. I don’t know what he said. Perhaps he was fired? That would make sense, given that Kresteva was fired, the grand jury was a mess, he’s already indicated he was ready to move on, and that Lucca’s hug suggests she’s reacting to bad/sad news, not just greeting him. I wonder if we’ll ever find out what he said, and why the writers chose to make the line silent.

In any event, I’m intrigued. This has been the most enjoyable episode since the pilot, and it hit the right balance of character moments and plot development. It also seemed to tie up some plots that weren’t working and brought together a lot of threads. Plus, the grand jury episodes are always fun, especially when they have real stakes and/or involve Elsbeth. It’s smart that this episode, by the end, places more importance on the consequences of this investigation for Maia. We know the firm’s probably going to survive this, and that it’ll probably survive any subsequent investigation plots. But Maia’s relationship with her dad doesn’t have to survive or be repaired for the show to continue, so there’s a character-motivated reason for the grand jury. The episode also concludes (?) the Rindell conspiracy arc in a way that involves everyone at RBK instead of pulling Maia even further out of the RBK orbit, and it solidifies Diane’s membership among the partners of her new firm. That’s what I want to see: A fun (if, at times, derivative) episode that still feels consequential and is about characters as much as it’s about plot.

#The Good Fight #TGFThoughts

20 notes · View notes