***Warning post contains season 7, episode 1 spoilers***
“I’m not .”- Alicia Florrick
The Good Wife, season seven premiere, Bond, reverberates beats found in the pilot. Meet Alicia Florrick, a struggling attorney desperately trying to revive her law career in the wake of a political scandal. She sacrificed her own career, due to her husband’s own agenda to run a vice presidency campaign. During the opening sequence we are introduced to the fast-pace, bond court world. Side note, even after seven seasons these writers still are able to present a different, refreshing part of our court system. We see Alicia fumbling around this foreign arena, as she finds herself untethered to any law firm. But, independence is exactly what Alicia wants, as she explains to Louis Canning, “But I don’t want to work for anyone.” This leads to a revelation and, phone call to, Eli Gold. In the aftermath of last season’s events, Alicia decided that she did not want to be involved in Peter’s campaign; then again he can’t run without her. She doesn’t want to make Peter’s decision for him, so she’s back on board.
Now that the band’s back together, Eli can run his first national campaign-enter Ruth Eastman (Margo Martindale). Ironically, it was Eli’s suggestion for Peter to contact Ruth about campaign strategy; too bad the plan includes removing Eli as Peter’s campaign manager. One thing Ruth’s operation does include is Alicia; rehabilitated wife, Alicia Florrick. After finding out that Eli has been let go, Alicia has an unapologetic confrontation with Peter about his habit of being unfaithful; to his constituents, friends, and his wife. Peter argues back, “You can’t come in now and pretend you have a voice,” and now The Good Wife has really returned to form. This line strikes that feminist chord, perfectly harmonizing with the feminism subtext found throughout the episode. Rewind back to Alicaia’s earlier encounter with Louis Canning, he mentions that she’s an “apologizer.” This theme got lost in the political plotting, during the back half of last season. Peter may have silenced Alicia for a moment, but she’s not the same wife from season one. Alicia certainly makes it clear to Ruth that, she has no intention to ever be made into “a wife again.”
“You just lost your greatest asset and gained your worst enemy.”- Eli Gold
Back to Eli’s plight, how can he get his revenge for Peter’s betrayal? Well, obviously become Alicia’s chief of staff, and destroy the Florrick campaign from the inside out. For the first time in the series Alicia and Eli have aligned themselves against Peter. Did you notice the lighting difference in Eli’s scenes after being betrayed? The shadows became more striking, darker; at one point almost all encompassing, as we discover him alone in his apartment watching old black and white war films. Well, he is certainly now going to go to war against his former ally. Needless to say that Eli certainly knows how to make an exit, as Ruth finds him collecting his things from his former office. “I am going to undercut you and eventually destroy you,” explains Eli. The Florrick marriage is a political façade, good luck to Ruth navigating that relationship, especially since she isn’t a fan of the Clintons.
“You think its just happenstance that you have a case against us?”- Diane Lockhart
The episode concludes with Alicia regaining her confidence that was absent during the opening scene. I’m Sorry by the Hothouse Flowers plays during both acts. She finds herself going for a celebratory drink with her new friend, Lucca Quinn (Cush Jumbo). Alicia found herself stuck in bond court, while Lucca brilliantly schooled Diane Lockhart and David Lee in repossession court. Awe, back in the first season it was Kalinda sitting on the barstool next to her. Hopefully, by the season’s end Carey will return to Alicia’s side, he seems really lonely without Kalinda around. Alicia Florrick is back, but it’s no longer Will Gardner breaking her fall, it’s-Louis Canning? Yep, he helped Alicia get the repossession case and will continue to pass along work to her, because he wants revenge against Lockhart Agos. Oh, the show’s political chessboard has been reset, and bonds were broken, but not forgotten.
By Sarah Belmont
Featured Writer
@sjbelmont