The Good Wife 3x07: Executive Order 13224

Original Air Date: 6 November 2011

Storyline: Alicia worries that she will break confidentiality when the Treasury Department forces her to report on her latest client, and hires outside counsel to help her through this. Meanwhile, Peter reluctantly digs into Will's past transgressions, aware of the conflict of interest with Lockhart/Gardner.

Trivia: Executive Order 13224 is an executive order signed into law by U.S. President George W. Bush as a response to the 9/11 attacks. In general terms, the Order provides a means by which to disrupt the financial support network for terrorists and terrorist organizations by authorizing the U.S. government to designate and block the assets of foreign individuals and entities that commit, or pose a significant risk of committing, acts of terrorism. In addition, the Order authorizes the U.S. government to block the assets of individuals and entities that provide support, services, or assistance to, or otherwise associate with, terrorists and terrorist organizations designated under the Order, as well as their subsidiaries, front organizations, agents, and associates.

Best Quote:

Will: You poked the bear. I asked you not to poke the bear.
Diane: Would you stop with the bear talk?

Review: This week's episode was a crowded one - and it didn't even feature Eli's crises management machinations, or Eli himself, as a matter of fact. But, between defending an American citizen with Afghan descent accused of terrorism and Peter going after Will for an embezzlement charge, there was enough to go around.

Lockhart/Gardner took on a particularly interesting client in this week's installment: Daniel Marwat, a translator who worked in Afghanistan and had been arrested by the US army for his alleged connection to the Al-Qaida terrorist group; he had been tortured for information and was now suing the government. But, between the redacted transcripts of the army and the State Attorney's office bringing criminal charges against him, the case got a lot more complicated than anticipated and Alicia found herself put in the position of either breaking attorney-client privilege or be arrested for not complying with the Executive Order 13224's disclosure requirements.
I was more than surprised that Alicia didn't go with the lawyer proposed by Will and Diane; after all, she found herself in an impossible situation because Diane put her there. Maybe she considered that Diane's attitude - in the aftermath of her figuring out the relationship between her and Will - was too dismissive and she didn't fully trust her boss. Instead, she hired Peter's former defender, Carrie Preston's Elsbeth Tascioni, a quirky lawyer whose eccentricity is the perfect secret weapon, as she manages to rattle Treasury Official Gordon Higgs (played by the great Bob Balaban) and get Alicia off the hook in an unexpected way. As much as I love Arlene, Elsbeth Tascioni is so far my favorite Carrie Preston character. She shines as the scatterbrained lawyer who finds original ways of helping her clients and steals the scene every time.
In the other plotline of the episode, Will's past comes to haunt him as Dana and Cary threat him to go after him for a 15-year old embezzlement charge if Lockhart/Gardner doesn't give them one of their biggest clients - drug lord Lemond Bishop. It's not the first time Peter goes after Will, but this time gloves are off and Will's reaction showed just which of the two is more determined: "You're pitiful. Get a pair of balls and throw a punch." I would actually love to see them get into a fist fight, wouldn't you?
Other stuff: Grace is back into religion (didn't we go down that road before?) and she's as annoying as ever. Jackie's returned marked another interference in the family business; the lady is determined to undermine Alicia's authority at all costs, but at least she makes a good villain. Reminds me a little too much of my paternal grandmother, though... As for Diane figuring out the relationship between Will and Alicia (damn her ringtone!), her solution was to put them both in a sexual harassment seminar. My only thought was that that video was totally lame (so lame, that it justifies me using a lame word as "totally"). Seems like secrets and Peter are not the only obstacles to their happiness, but we need some more action on that front and Diane has to find out at some point.The Good Wife 3x06: Affairs of State Back to Season 3