The Good Wife – Episode 2.01 – Taking Control – Review

It’s kind of hard to write about The Good Wife. It’s a really complex show, containing many little details that are too rich to be included in any review. So I’ll give you the main things – the main story, the main conflicts, the main characters. But you should now that’s not everything about the show. In my opinion describing every single detail would be kind of offensive to the show, because it relies heavily on its viewers’ intelligence. So keep that in mind. Here we go:

The season premiere of The Good Wife starts exactly where the previous season left off. Alicia is torn between the two men in her life – her husband and her co-worker (or actually her boss). Peter, her husband, is having a press conference and as usual he needs her to be completely supportive, at least in front of the cameras. The second she is about to step up on the stage she receives a phone call by Will, her co-worker, who tells her he loves her. Alicia is holding the telephone in her hand, while looking at Peter, who awaits her on stage.

To be honest, I never really liked that cliffhanger to begin with. It looked a little bit like a cheap soap-opera trick and didn’t capture the mature and realistic spirit of the show. Thankfully, the first few minutes of the premiere managed to make everything right. Alicia didn’t answer Will’s call – the circumstances didn’t let her answer. But that doesn’t mean she is definitely sticking with Peter, she just hasn’t made her choice yet. From what I’m hearing season two will deal mostly with that particular choice.

The season opener doesn’t provide mush information on Alicia’s feelings regarding the matter. The story rather focuses on the outsider’s point of view. Will is still in love with her, although he is lacking a plan. Kalinda is telling her she should talk to him about it. Peter is trying to win her over again, to be gentle, supportive and understanding. Eli Gold is trying to sabotage her relationship with Will, while giving her advises on dealing with the press. A random TV reporter is trying to analyze her body language. And in the middle of all of that is her – Alicia Florrick. She is confused and lost and all she wants is inner peace. The situation she is in is portrayed in a really realistic and touching way. I’m glad the writers didn’t try to force the story, but gave it a space to breathe.

Aside from the love triangle, the episode contains a usual for the show stand-alone case. This time Alicia has to defend an arrogant young man charged with murder. He is a co-owner of a web site and his partner has been killed. The man pleads innocent, saying it was a government job. According to him the military killed his partner, because he posted a specific video on their website. The case looks almost lost, but Alicia is quickly changing the scale. Finding themselves in an unpleasant position, the prosecutor's office decides to sent against her Cary Agos – her former college. Cary is still holding a grudge against her and so the law court becomes and arena for more than one battle. In the end the case is resolved in an unexpected way, but the bigger war between Alicia and Cary is far from over.

Another thing that should be mentioned is the fact that Gardner & Lockhart is now merging with another law firm. Will and Diane have a new senior partner, so new alliances are starting to form. Except for Band no new lawyers have been introduced in the premiere. But we get a new investigator – a young attractive man, who soon pairs up with Kalinda as they both are collecting evidences. That sub-plot was really well written, actually. Kalinda, who was previously shown as a lesbian, is kind of attracted to him and that confuses her and makes her angry at him. I suppose that storyline will continue in the next episodes.


So, all in all, it was a fantastic premiere. It set up a few interesting storylines (not all of whom are mentioned in this review!) and contained an exiting murder trail. I am definitely looking forward to episode two!