We may have had to wait months for The Good Wife to return, but this episode made it so, so worth it. And not because the plot was so spectacular or anything (it wasn’t, if you were wondering), but because of one reason, and one reason only: the return of Elsbeth Tascioni.
Carrie Preston (who plays the reoccurring character of Elsbeth) is the most brilliant thing to ever happen to The Good Wife. She’s witty, engaging, and has perfect comedic timing. In just one episode, she’s managed to brighten up a relatively dreary season.
The episode starts off with Alicia working on her speech about opt-out moms. But when Cary tells her the speech is dry, she’s forced to rewrite it in 24 hours. And if that wasn’t enough pressure, she soon learns that an important potential employee will decide if she wants to work for Florrick/Agos based on Alicia’s speech.
But as Alicia starts to remember the path she took back to employment after years as an opt-out mom, she recalls the struggle she faced trying to overcome her baggage. Enter her white knight, Will Gardner. After months of failed interviews, Will finally appears to give her a helping hand. But the real kicker of the story? Will wasn’t her actually her savior like we once thought — Alicia totally seduced him with her whorish make-up and slutty dress!
Meanwhile, Will is still dealing with the whole Peter Florrick voter-fraud nonsense. The Office of Public Integrity is basically stalking him. So who can he call for help? Elsbeth Tascioni, of course! The two meet up in Times Square after Elsbeth is harassed by an anti-Semitic bear (but actually). Elsbeth is just as nutty and hilarious as ever, and is also just as clever.
She catches the government official Nelson Dubek on tape admitting he’s merely chasing Peter for revenge. And while he protests at her tape recording, she quickly proves that her actions were totally legal. She also warns him about the anti-Semitic bear — she's quite the humanitarian.
But just when they think Will is home free, Jim Moody from the DNC tricks Will into meeting with him in private, which Nelson Dubek quickly gets on tape. As Will and Jim Moody are both testifying in the same case, conversing together is completely illegal. Busted!
While Will is still in jeopardy, a few good things did come out in the end; Will and Alicia make up (sort of) and Elsbeth walks away with a new business partner (she snags Florrick/Agos' potential lawyer for herself).
Overall, the episode was entertaining and engaging, but had one too many flashbacks for my taste. And what’s more, the plot line was a bit too Alicia-centric. Some of the side characters are really some of the most intriguing. Eli, Diane, Cary, and Kalinda’s scenes were way too sparse last night. Thank goodness we had Elsbeth to give us a good laugh!