What I’m Watching: The Good Wife

The Good Wife: Season 5, Episode 15 “Dramatics, Your Honor” (B-)

I’m in shock about how this episode ended, and not in a good way. Killing off a character is a big deal, and can be productive if it comes about in an organic way. There was no reason that Will needed to die now, and to have him gunned down by a nervous client during a trial just doesn’t feel right. This has been a great season of growth for Will as a character, and to kill him off is a real disappointment, especially since he died pretty much offscreen and it all happened so quickly. To have Kalinda declare her unlikely intentions to leave and Cary confess to Alicia his relationship with Kalinda is almost inconsequential now, since there will be much more important things to deal with in the near future. Matthew Goode’s Finn Polmar might also experience a crisis of conscience given the role he played in precipitating Will’s death by antagonizing his client. Will’s death also throws a serious wrench in Nelson’s case, though Alicia did a good job of ensuring that, with Cary’s help, she didn’t say anything that might incriminate her, Eli, or Peter. I’m concerned that this show is going to transform into something dramatically different now that, for the first time in its history, a major character has been lost. I’m hopeful that the show can pull it off and get ready for an equally strong sixth season, for which it was recently renewed by CBS. The show has been at a creative peak, and let’s hope it stays there despite this questionable development.