Wednesday, March 23, 2011
"THE FLORRICK CHILDREN JUST LOVE BLACK PEOPLE": Welcome back to The Good Wife, in an episode which demonstrates yet again why Eli Gold would not be running any future campaign of mine (though I'd want to hear from him a few times a week), why Mr. Noodle should not mediate your divorce, and why Blake was actually around all this time because that, my friends, is a hell of a setup for what the writers describe as the third act of the show, a twist they've been planning ever since the show was conceptualized. Also, can we please have David Lee every week?
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As I noted last night on Twitter, this seems a likely Emmy submission episode for Panjabi (though the Kalinda v. SUV and Kalinda/Blake "strip secrets" game ones would also be worthy) and a potential one for Scott Porter as guest actor. The Eli plot was also great, though it raises questions about whether Alan Cumming will be back next year and what the time ratio is on the show. (Are we running in more or less real time--a season of the show is a year in the life of these characters, or something slower, a la Grey's?) That said, I found the drug dealer divorce plotline kind of a bore (aside from how it hooked into the Kalinda plot)--needed more meat for Baranski and Charles.
ReplyDeleteOh, reality check: the FBI agent at the mediation ... that wouldn't happen, right?
ReplyDeleteAnother question that may be particularly of interest to those in our audience who dabble in acting. The Kings claim that this has been in the cards since day one, but they only disclosed this piece of backstory to Panjabi about halfway through this season. (Not clear when Noth was told of this twist.) Should the writers have told the actors earlier, or was it better for them to hold on to the backstory to avoid tipping the hand.
ReplyDeleteI like that they held it back. When I went to a Good Wife panel earlier this year it was clear how much love and respect the writers and actors have for one another and that they're all ok with how much they need to know or need to hold back depending on the actor/character/story. And with Archie, she talked about trying to figure out who Kalinda was and it wasn't till she tried on the boots that she started to figure out how to embody her. But with a character like Kalinda who is such an enigma, I think it's best to keep things back from the actor, so they aren't trying to show "I've got a big secret" anymore than the character already seems like they've got a big secret. (If that makes any sense at all.)
ReplyDeleteThey lucked out with Archie Panjabi, who as Kalinda always seems like she knows more than she's telling. And watching her slowly thaw, first, then become what passes for friendly (in Kalinda's world) with Alicia over the past two seasons, fits right in with this new twist.
ReplyDeleteMy opinion is that it shouldn't terribly matter on your characters objectives scene to scene if you don't know every specific of their background. Also, if the writers and showrunners knew, they could likely step in and redirect a performance if it headed the wrong way. And sometimes not knowing can be better for twists (although this is more likely for bad to mediocre actors think of the versions of Romeo and Juliet you have seen and think whether or not the Romeo's and Juliet's did a very good job of this?)
ReplyDeleteI agree. To look back on that initial reticence and understand that there was a reason layered on top of what we assumed to be Kalinda's normal guardedness is intriguing, and probably very fun to play for Panjabi. That she's become so friendly with Alicia, especially recently, also contributes to the impact, which I'm sure was also planned.
ReplyDeleteI feel like the election plotline has been going on forever, and while I really like Alan Cumming and some of the shenanigans, I'll be fine with it wrapping up and getting back to Alicia navigating the ashes of the initial shock, as well as the newer ones. I think they're setting up some really interesting stuff for the next season.