6.14 - "Mind's Eye"
Late in the campaign, Alicia begins to prepare for an important interview, when she finds herself thinking through all the turmoil that's come up in her life. She thinks through strategies to deal with both personal and professional situations that may just blow up in her face, while handling Louis Canning in another of his practically perennial suits against her firm.
Given the reaction I've seen to this episode, I'd say it's rather polarizing. I've seen reactions that range from calling this the worst episode of the series (after 6x12 was also called the worst in the series as well by many critics--which I disagreed with) or actually stating that they skipped the episode (what?!) to others claiming that it's the best episode we've had in months. As for myself, I stand by this episode as one where we finally get to have a better understanding of where Alicia is, as a mother, a firm partner, and as a possible politician. It's a nice change of pace from Alicia rushing through multiple plot points without a lot of decent exposition, and even some contrivances in the politics of the firm to keep things at a boil late in the season as we transition from Cary's imprisonment arc.
"Do you have a cold, Alicia?"
Uh oh! Alicia's suffering from laryngitis mere hours before an important interview that, as per usual, Johnny is claiming will make or break her chances at becoming the next State's Attorney. And also as per usual, Marissa Gold sweeps in with a bevy of lozenges and cold medicines and with a one-liner in tow--Sarah Steele continues to steal every scene in which she pops up. However, they have to leave Alicia alone for her to focus on her arguments and to rest her voice for the upcoming interview.
Immediately after being left to her devices, she goes against Johnny's advice and pulls up Frank Prady's interview on her laptop, where she watches him skillfully charm the interviewers. Prady confidently names Alicia as one of his own reasons to run for office. He then makes arguments against how she perceives the issues of the office. Suddenly, we see Alicia sitting at the interview, surrounded by stark gray books on a shelf, responding to Prady's claims that she wouldn't "manage" the problems of the State's Attorney's office.
From this point, the interweaving threads of Alicia's life begin to constrict and become tangled. She may not have had a cold, and we didn't actually see her take any of that cold medication, but things begin to get a little trippy as she mentally battles herself as well as her perceptions of the people in her life.
But which issue should she focus on? Depicted by two separate notepads listing mostly unrelated priorities, Prady's interview paused on-screen, and many phone calls whilst she is supposed to be resting her voice, we see a schism in her attention between many items. While worrying about her interview answers, none other than Louis Canning calls her up to have her know that even while on his deathbed, he's going to sue Florrick, Agos & Lockhart for wrongful eviction. She finds herself playing a "mental chess match" which branches out into a stream of consciousness where a few times her political and professional quandaries confusingly mix and match. Between figuring out how to cut Louis Canning down in his lawsuit, and trying to distance herself from Lemond Bishop after a supposed wiretap has him claiming he "bought the next State's Attorney" through his PAC, many things collide. It results in amusing scenarios and arguments Alicia has for and against herself wherein she slowly comes to terms with the decisions she's made and what she will do next.
"Will?"
An advertisement for a credit card the Court Scene blog starts to play, and a familiar voice immediately haunts Alicia. She scrolls down only to find a person she doesn't recognize, but is plainly speaking with Will Gardner's voice. From that point onward, the personal problems almost overwhelm her ability to sift through her professional problems. A mix of grief and sexual stimulation has Alicia practically lurching out of her apartment to get fresh air.
During the most absurd and cerebral of her inner arguments, Alicia is walking through the city listening to music, which seems to influence her train of thought. She's thinking about all those times spent with Will under the sheets, and she's winded from it. Johnny Elfman calls in the middle of her fantasy/memory and suddenly he's the man under the sheets with Alicia, while they discuss the Lemond Bishop problem. Halfway through their conversation of course, she has a thought about her other crush Finn Polmar, who trades places with Johnny, to Alicia's surprise.
Ultimately, she goes to Will's voice, which is accompanied by a silhouette of the man from the online ad (a lot of people really didn't like how obvious it was that it wasn't Will -- I think they could have used that actor without the weird shadow figure, or something else entirely, and it would have been less cheesy looking -- but I don't think that all the outrage at the stand-in is warranted...it was likely the same man she saw on her laptop, he even looked the same) where she admits that she really misses him. She knows it isn't him--it can't be, as she will never see Will Gardner again--but she could hear, and feel some semblance of him, and she seemed to embrace him after he said a few kind words to her. The scene itself looked rather cheap for the typical polish this show has, even with a shiny cityscape behind them. It was a bit awkward to me.
After shaking off the shock of her libido running through her thoughts, she is reminded of the interview and the implications of being involved with Bishop and her PAC, but she's also reminded of Louis Canning's use of his own handicaps in arguments, and she receives a text message from someone named Evan as well as a response from Grace on her phone somehow. It's all very messy in its jumbled form, as thoughts often can be. But this works to the show's advantage as some small breakthrough can lead to another. She has ridiculous flashes of Zach, homeless, passive-aggressively taunting her about why he's a bad example, why she won't forgive him, along with Grace possibly giving up her faith in God, getting knocked up, and sniffing glue. She admonishes herself through a ridiculous sexual scene between Peter and Kalinda, where he turns to her and states that she knows it didn't happen that way, and she's being hateful to paint it in one light while she was literally planning her second affair during their marriage. She asks herself, through Peter, why is it so much worse for him to do it?
Suddenly jarred from her walk by a call from Diane and Cary, she finds that Louis Canning has gone to the hospital. She debates with Canning mentally about whether or not she should go to him. In their inner debate, he claims it would make no difference, and he certainly would not go to her side if she were dying.
She goes to the hospital, and waits to see Canning, while her next iteration of inner arguments develops into an amalgam of ethics versus religion. This was another scene that many found possibly distasteful or self-serving, as having a famous atheist author argue against Pastor Isaiah about whether Alicia's a hypocrite for deciding whether or not to come clean about Bishop's involvement in her finances, whether Grace will be a bad person if she gives up religion, and whether or not Alicia's wrong in being polite to say she'd pray for Louis Canning when she had no intention to do so. After meeting with Canning's wife, and returning home to get ready for the interview, she discusses logistics of prayer with Grace. It was another conversation that gives more insight into Grace's faith, and Alicia's lack of tact when dealing with it. I appreciate their interactions, but I wish there was more to them than just arguments about God. She then thinks over her stance with Zach, and forgives him internally for the abortion and lies, and tries to call him. He doesn't make it in time to the phone, so she has to get going.
"The truth, to me, is about doing good."
In the car, she and Johnny further discuss whether she should disclose her knowledge about Bishop. Johnny of course goes for the greater good angle of her lying to protect the position from people of lesser ability. He's thoroughly convinced she's the right one for the job. She internally argues from Frank Prady's point of view. He states that the truth is the truth. He would never lie as a State's Attorney. And that is when Alicia makes up her mind. She states that because he wouldn't lie, because he wouldn't work the angles, he'd never make an effective State's Attorney. He wouldn't do what needed to be done, and he didn't deserve it. She thinks back to Will, and closes that chapter with him, finally. She then stares quite longingly at Johnny, while he pumps her up more for her interview. Finally, at the end, he states that her voice is sounding better. "I'm finding it," she replies.
Many have stated this is a filler episode. I think it's a vital episode for getting all the motivations and confusion out of the way for Alicia to move forward. It's definitely not a typical episode, but one we've seen a few of since season 5 started with 5x10, and I think it's much more on point than the unfortunately denigrating episode that focused on Elsbeth earlier this season. It actually revitalized my thoughts on her possibly winning State's Attorney, because for once, it seems like she's ready to face that type of responsibility. Let's see what happens...
Immediately after being left to her devices, she goes against Johnny's advice and pulls up Frank Prady's interview on her laptop, where she watches him skillfully charm the interviewers. Prady confidently names Alicia as one of his own reasons to run for office. He then makes arguments against how she perceives the issues of the office. Suddenly, we see Alicia sitting at the interview, surrounded by stark gray books on a shelf, responding to Prady's claims that she wouldn't "manage" the problems of the State's Attorney's office.
"You want Alicia to win, right?"
From this point, the interweaving threads of Alicia's life begin to constrict and become tangled. She may not have had a cold, and we didn't actually see her take any of that cold medication, but things begin to get a little trippy as she mentally battles herself as well as her perceptions of the people in her life.
"Will?"
An advertisement for a credit card the Court Scene blog starts to play, and a familiar voice immediately haunts Alicia. She scrolls down only to find a person she doesn't recognize, but is plainly speaking with Will Gardner's voice. From that point onward, the personal problems almost overwhelm her ability to sift through her professional problems. A mix of grief and sexual stimulation has Alicia practically lurching out of her apartment to get fresh air.
During the most absurd and cerebral of her inner arguments, Alicia is walking through the city listening to music, which seems to influence her train of thought. She's thinking about all those times spent with Will under the sheets, and she's winded from it. Johnny Elfman calls in the middle of her fantasy/memory and suddenly he's the man under the sheets with Alicia, while they discuss the Lemond Bishop problem. Halfway through their conversation of course, she has a thought about her other crush Finn Polmar, who trades places with Johnny, to Alicia's surprise.
Ultimately, she goes to Will's voice, which is accompanied by a silhouette of the man from the online ad (a lot of people really didn't like how obvious it was that it wasn't Will -- I think they could have used that actor without the weird shadow figure, or something else entirely, and it would have been less cheesy looking -- but I don't think that all the outrage at the stand-in is warranted...it was likely the same man she saw on her laptop, he even looked the same) where she admits that she really misses him. She knows it isn't him--it can't be, as she will never see Will Gardner again--but she could hear, and feel some semblance of him, and she seemed to embrace him after he said a few kind words to her. The scene itself looked rather cheap for the typical polish this show has, even with a shiny cityscape behind them. It was a bit awkward to me.
"That's the point?"
After shaking off the shock of her libido running through her thoughts, she is reminded of the interview and the implications of being involved with Bishop and her PAC, but she's also reminded of Louis Canning's use of his own handicaps in arguments, and she receives a text message from someone named Evan as well as a response from Grace on her phone somehow. It's all very messy in its jumbled form, as thoughts often can be. But this works to the show's advantage as some small breakthrough can lead to another. She has ridiculous flashes of Zach, homeless, passive-aggressively taunting her about why he's a bad example, why she won't forgive him, along with Grace possibly giving up her faith in God, getting knocked up, and sniffing glue. She admonishes herself through a ridiculous sexual scene between Peter and Kalinda, where he turns to her and states that she knows it didn't happen that way, and she's being hateful to paint it in one light while she was literally planning her second affair during their marriage. She asks herself, through Peter, why is it so much worse for him to do it?
Suddenly jarred from her walk by a call from Diane and Cary, she finds that Louis Canning has gone to the hospital. She debates with Canning mentally about whether or not she should go to him. In their inner debate, he claims it would make no difference, and he certainly would not go to her side if she were dying.
"Why is that bad?"
She goes to the hospital, and waits to see Canning, while her next iteration of inner arguments develops into an amalgam of ethics versus religion. This was another scene that many found possibly distasteful or self-serving, as having a famous atheist author argue against Pastor Isaiah about whether Alicia's a hypocrite for deciding whether or not to come clean about Bishop's involvement in her finances, whether Grace will be a bad person if she gives up religion, and whether or not Alicia's wrong in being polite to say she'd pray for Louis Canning when she had no intention to do so. After meeting with Canning's wife, and returning home to get ready for the interview, she discusses logistics of prayer with Grace. It was another conversation that gives more insight into Grace's faith, and Alicia's lack of tact when dealing with it. I appreciate their interactions, but I wish there was more to them than just arguments about God. She then thinks over her stance with Zach, and forgives him internally for the abortion and lies, and tries to call him. He doesn't make it in time to the phone, so she has to get going.
"The truth, to me, is about doing good."
In the car, she and Johnny further discuss whether she should disclose her knowledge about Bishop. Johnny of course goes for the greater good angle of her lying to protect the position from people of lesser ability. He's thoroughly convinced she's the right one for the job. She internally argues from Frank Prady's point of view. He states that the truth is the truth. He would never lie as a State's Attorney. And that is when Alicia makes up her mind. She states that because he wouldn't lie, because he wouldn't work the angles, he'd never make an effective State's Attorney. He wouldn't do what needed to be done, and he didn't deserve it. She thinks back to Will, and closes that chapter with him, finally. She then stares quite longingly at Johnny, while he pumps her up more for her interview. Finally, at the end, he states that her voice is sounding better. "I'm finding it," she replies.
Many have stated this is a filler episode. I think it's a vital episode for getting all the motivations and confusion out of the way for Alicia to move forward. It's definitely not a typical episode, but one we've seen a few of since season 5 started with 5x10, and I think it's much more on point than the unfortunately denigrating episode that focused on Elsbeth earlier this season. It actually revitalized my thoughts on her possibly winning State's Attorney, because for once, it seems like she's ready to face that type of responsibility. Let's see what happens...
Sidenotes:
- Ok, is ChumHum still a client or not? Not that I really care, but they are acting like CH is still a client...
- They did a ton of those up close facial shots that Robert King likes to do.
- For a second I was like "why this David Lee crap again? Why would he work with Louis Canning again?" then I realized that Diane and Alicia and Cary REALLY screwed David over earlier, so it would only make sense he's got a long con going against them.
- A lot of people don't care for the political storyline as it takes away from the court scenes. I am inclined to say now that even the few court scenes we're getting aren't even what I'd hope for, or perhaps they're becoming too formulaic (see 6x13, or "Colin Sweeney gets away with the exact same murder as in 2009) -- let's use Cary and Diane in a better capacity, please! These two deserve so much more than what they're getting these last few episodes.
- Ok, is ChumHum still a client or not? Not that I really care, but they are acting like CH is still a client...
- They did a ton of those up close facial shots that Robert King likes to do.
- For a second I was like "why this David Lee crap again? Why would he work with Louis Canning again?" then I realized that Diane and Alicia and Cary REALLY screwed David over earlier, so it would only make sense he's got a long con going against them.
- A lot of people don't care for the political storyline as it takes away from the court scenes. I am inclined to say now that even the few court scenes we're getting aren't even what I'd hope for, or perhaps they're becoming too formulaic (see 6x13, or "Colin Sweeney gets away with the exact same murder as in 2009) -- let's use Cary and Diane in a better capacity, please! These two deserve so much more than what they're getting these last few episodes.
- RIP Louis Canning? (?!??)
- I may have hated that they killed Will Gardner, but I was glad they killed any semblance of a love triangle. Why is there one now again? Furthermore, Why does she have to specifically have a man at all just to feel she's moved on from Will? -- I've seen this question asked once or twice, and the only thing I can think of is that's just Alicia Florrick. She's never been anyone's typical poster child female character, why should she be defined as any other person than someone who has been repressed as a political wife who happens to be surrounded by very attractive men who can't help themselves around her? Don Draper never gets any flack for his shenanigans!
- I may have hated that they killed Will Gardner, but I was glad they killed any semblance of a love triangle. Why is there one now again? Furthermore, Why does she have to specifically have a man at all just to feel she's moved on from Will? -- I've seen this question asked once or twice, and the only thing I can think of is that's just Alicia Florrick. She's never been anyone's typical poster child female character, why should she be defined as any other person than someone who has been repressed as a political wife who happens to be surrounded by very attractive men who can't help themselves around her? Don Draper never gets any flack for his shenanigans!
What did you think of this week's episode? Start a discussion below in the comments!
I think this ep. is great and intertesting,gave us an opportunity to look into Alicia's mind. I don't get the whining,maybe thet recent two eps are a little bland,not explosive enough?
ReplyDeleteI actually really enjoyed the episode, don't understand all the hate it got.
ReplyDeleteI actually LOVED this episode. Just thought it was fantastic - so creative and brilliant. I loved the direction. I loved seeing into Alicia's mind - the battles that she plays out to get to her strategies. It felt like insight into how she operates. And I can't say enough about the walking outside scene mixed with the different music that influenced her thoughts, and her visions of the different men. I just thought this was so creatively brilliant.
ReplyDeleteI also love your review - nice job, as always! I actually didn't pick up that it was Will's voice in the ad, so thank you for clarifying that. That makes much more sense. But I was one of those who thought it was really strange to see the obviously-not-Will actor on the roof scene. It completely detracted from the essence of the scene for me. It never occurred to me that it was the actor from the ad, but after re-watching it, I still don't think it was. So that didn't work for me. I also loved the scenes with Grace and that whole storyline revolving around her loss of faith. I was pleasantly surprised at Alicia's reaction and still thought it fit her character perfectly. Finally, I also was surprised at the new apparent love triangle. I really thought Finn was her love interest and now it seems to have moved to Johnny, but yet Finn clearly isn't out of the picture. Interesting. But it doesn't bother me. I like your thoughts on why it should work for Alicia. Nice argument! I didn't think I would like her moving on with other men so quickly, but actually it has worked well and this episode gave her relationship with Will some closure as she moved on, whatever that means. I have to say - it was great hearing his voice, though!!!
I think it was a really good episode and showed how Alicias mind works. So, well done.
ReplyDelete