What I’m Watching: The Good Wife (Season Finale)

The Good Wife: Season 2, Episode 23 “Closing Arguments” (B+)

An extraordinarily strong season comes to a great close with this exciting finale, which manages to leave many of its plotlines open for interpretation while providing some much-needed satisfaction for a few of its main players. The case of a murdered judge and its presumed innocent accused could be used as a major stunt on other shows, but this series doesn’t let it overtake the story and the plot developments. I like how it does force Kalinda and Alicia to work together as they both express their newfound disdain for each other, creating an icy dynamic that still proves to be quite effective. It was interesting to see more of Kalinda’s relationship with Kelli Giddish’s Sophia, and I really wish that Giddish would stick around on this show rather than be relegated to unconventional but still unimpressive procedurals. Eli being pressured by the party to work with Alicia is one thing, but talking his way into Lockhart Gardner by telling Alicia that this isn’t a call she gets to make is extremely intriguing. I’d love to see him featured more prominently in a professional relationship with Alicia next season, and to see how he perceives things in the office. Alicia and Will finally expressing their feelings – and then some – for each other has been a long time coming, and it was a great note on which to end the episode. This has been a great year, and, while Emmy season is still a wee bit away, I think that Julianna Marguiles and Archie Panjabi should have great shots, and hopefully they’ll be joined by both Alan Cumming and Josh Charles in the supporting actor category. Season three of this show begins in the fall in its new home of Sunday nights at 9pm, and I look forward to seeing it then!

Season grade: A-
Season MVP: Archie Panjabi as Kalinda