‘The Good Wife’ Review: “The One Percent” (5×21)

There was something odd about this week’s episode of The Good Wife. It wasn’t anything to do with the quality, although it was a significant improvement over last week, but with its forward momentum. In the grand scheme of the season it felt like a stagnant episode that didn’t have any clear lead up to the next week’s season finale.

This episode’s case of the week concerned a Florrick/Agos billionaire client who makes insensitive comments about holocaust survivors, Italians, Greeks, and the poor, while in the middle of a wrongful termination lawsuit involving a gay employee. Yeah, the guys seems like a bundle of fun. It seemed appropriate considering the recent influx of discussion about the line between freedom of speech and discrimination.

It becomes shockingly familiar when we consider Donald Sterling’s recent comments that were released after the wrap of shooting on The Good Wife. The Kings have always had a knack for providing their own commentary on current issues and this episode is no exception. However, the case never made the full impact that was written into the potential of the storyline, possibly because if focused so much on Alicia and Cary’s struggle to win the case in voir dire.

The one part of the episode that I found completely refreshing was Alicia taking pictures with Zach in his graduation gown. In fact, I think it was the best scene of the episode. Why? Because it humanized Alicia, something that I think the writers attempted in the last episode yet forgot what character they were writing for. Alicia is a lot of things, a lawyer, a mother, but what she isn’t is a woman who is lost. This episode brought her back from the sloppiness the previous episode pushed her in to.

The episode also bring us to an anti-climactic end to Finn’s struggle with the Jeffrey Grant case. Although he was found to be uninvolved with the cause of the shooting, the blame ended up going to State’s Attorney Castro, he is instantly pulled into some mud involving his campaign. Shortly before Peter was to announce his endorsement of Finn, Castro brought him a picture of Finn leaving Alicia’s apartment. Scandal. Somebody call Olivia Pope.

The issue was quickly extinguished when it was explained that Finn was simply meeting Alicia to discuss their strategy for the Jeffrey Grant scapegoat case, but what came of it was much worse for the characters of the series. First of all, Eli learns of the arrangement between Alicia and Peter. Second of all, Peter’s attention is drawn to a new redhead working in his office.

This is the one piece of forward momentum that I found in the episode. Well this and Canning’s crusade against Diane at Lockhart Gardner & Canning. With such an event heavy season I was expecting to have a shocking finale, but I have a feeling that we may be let down. The one “big event” that I can see coming is Diane possibly being pushed out of the firm. Maybe even joining up with Florrick/Agos. Either way, I think it would be impossible for the Kings to completely fail us at the end of what is making to be a terrific season of television.