The Good Wife
Talk about for better or for worse.
After her powerful state politician husband, Peter, is thrown in jail on corruption charges (he was also caught in a tawdry sex scandal), Alicia Florrick reboots her life as a defense lawyer and single mom. It's easier said than done. Alicia must battle the shame that came with her husband's personal failings and political missteps, the pain of losing friends, the heartache that comes from watching her children undergo a humiliation they never asked for and don't deserve—all while re-learning a career she left behind oh-so-many years ago.
She proves to still be pretty good at it. The Good Wife showcases a confident and talented Alicia, winning cases for her clients even as she navigates the often murky ethics of this made-for-television justice system. She's well respected by the firm's take-no-prisoners partners, Will Gardner and Diane Lockhart, and even her adversaries—particularly Cary Agos, an ambitious district attorney who was once an applicant for Alicia's position.
By CBS' standards, The Good Wife is top of the line, roping in solid ratings and getting itself nominated for a bevy of Emmys in 2010. But from an ethical standpoint, like many of the clients Alicia defends, it's down a few rungs from that.
Despite a few missteps, Alicia is indeed a good wife, sticking with her husband through the very definition of for better or for worse (though, in truth, a newly released Peter seems to only occasionally float through Alicia's current life). Her homosexual brother, Owen, while bouncing from lover to lover, marvels at her ability to stick with the same man. "How do you make love outlast passion?" he asks. Alicia has no secrets, other than to say that sometimes "the heart needs steering"—her way of implying that love isn't just a matter of emotion, but a matter of reason. Heart and head work together to build a relationship that's still viable after the fickle infatuation stage.
Content concerns vary wildly, depending on the episode. Some plots revolve around ticklish moral issues, gory crime scenes and/or burgeoning, outside-the-office sexual relationships. Others are fairly staid. Characters utter mild profanities and make sexual references.
It's the show's ethos, then, that is most consistently problematic. Alicia's high-priced law firm is paid to get its often well-heeled clients off the hook, and its attorneys will do nearly anything to keep that reputation intact—sometimes breaking the spirit, if not the letter, of the law. The district attorney's office seems little better. In The Good Wife, justice is regularly served in spite of the legal system, not because of it.
In one episode, Will tries to get his client to cop a plea—and in so doing, send the client's girlfriend to prison. He asks Alicia whether he's making a mistake or not.
"I can't tell what's a mistake anymore," Alicia responds. And therein lies the danger of The Good Wife. With so much legal wrangling, subterfuge and shady dealing, it's easier to lose sight of what's up and what's down. It's easier to forget what's right and applaud instead what's clever.
Episode Reviews
"Breaking Up"
Alicia's firm defends a college student against a murder rap, encouraging him to turn against his pregnant girlfriend. Will tries to convince the boy that his girlfriend was having an affair, plopping down her phone records as "proof"—even though Will knows she was calling her ob-gyn. Will also tries to "lose" the murder weapon by telling an apparent street thug where it's at, hoping he'll take it. And in his mind, doing so is merely "on the line," ethically. For the record, Will's client eventually confesses to the murder—even though his girlfriend actually pulled the trigger—to keep her out of prison.
Owen comes to visit after cheating on his (male) lover. He has a conversation with their mother about his sexuality—touching on whether homosexuality is genetic or a choice. "If it's so good, they should be allowed to choose it, shouldn't they?" the mother says. Owen says fellated twice. His mother frets that Alicia's middle school-age daughter might be homosexual after she sees Grace holding hands with another girl.
Characters drink to excess. Will and his girlfriend kiss, and she says she wants to take his pants off. They joke about her having an affair. There's lots of lying and subterfuge. "D‑‑n" pops up, as do irreverent uses of God's name.
"Home"
Alicia takes on a new client named Kenny—an aimless but harmless teen who's been charged with murder. But the case is trickier than it looks. For one thing, Kenny's buddy has turned into a prosecution witness, and he's now lying that he saw Kenny kill the guy. For another, Kenny's the son of one of Alicia's ex-best friends—a woman from the same wealthy neighborhood Alicia used to live in when Peter was the county's attorney general.
We see Kenny cart around a small bag of weed. And he's eventually charged with trespassing and possessing a drug, and he's sentenced to community service and mandatory drug counseling. The light treatment makes it seem like his drug use isn't that big of a deal—though when Alicia talks to the boy's father, he expresses his pained disappointment.
A smattering of profanity includes "h‑‑‑" and "a‑‑." God's name is misused. And someone makes an obscene gesture (out of the camera's focal range). A flashback shows Alicia and Peter in bed together; Alicia gouges a fingernail into the headboard during sex.