Contributor: Henry T.
Written by Keith Eisner
Directed by Griffin Dunne
I find it interesting that the writers have kept Kalinda in the background for so much of the season and have only now brought her story to the forefront. It throws the focus immediately on her as the crux of everything that has been going on during this entire season. That is something I can’t quite fully accept because she can be easily seen as more of a plot device rather than a character. It’s not that I hate it either, but the new twist at the end of this episode has me wanting to wait until all of the dust settles before passing judgment. The revelation by Blake threatens to bring down a lot of things that have been built up in the season so I wonder if this is the right move or not.
Kalinda having a sexual affair with Peter fits a lot of what has been established throughout the series: why Peter has had this on and off connection with Kalinda (at least in the first season, not so much this season). His propensity to cheat on Alicia, which was just sitting there, waiting to come back and bite him. Now, it affects Alicia and how their friendship is working. Alicia will eventually find out about this little tidbit and that friendship will be dissolved.
The irony is that she and Kalinda share a lot more than she knows. Bored suburban housewife who changed her life for the good. Now, here’s the kicker: Why hasn’t this information come up sooner? Peter and Kalinda can’t be that good at covering their tracks. Surely, Alicia would have noticed something going on with them. Sitting on the information is only going to deepen the betrayal and the fallout would push Alicia towards an affair with Will. Not to mention wrecking Peter’s political campaign and position as the State’s Attorney.
Speaking of which, politics take an odd turn here. Peter has ousted Childs from the race but Eli bends to the will of the polling. Shunning the black vote in a city where a good percentage of the voting population is black feels like a death move. It’s compounded by the fact that the Florrick kids try to bring their own opinions on the direction of the campaign. Grace’s new obsession with religion is leaking into other parts of the family. It isn’t sitting well with me because it is so tonally different from everything else presented in the series. As has been the usual with this portion of the show, it seems.
Even if it does happen and Alicia finds out about her husband’s infidelity with her best friend, and she runs to Will to have an affair, that could create quite a mess. There are indications from events in this episode that various parties are going after Lockhart-Gardner in its moment of weakness from the Bond ouster. Part of that is the potential for Will to be exposed as not quite the saint he’s been portrayed as throughout the series. Also, the firm’s desperation for trying to keep Lemond Bishop as a client with all of his criminal baggage is a concern. Things were already complicated enough and it will spiral out of control as the end of the season approaches.
Grade: 8/10
