6.15 - "Open Source"
With 3 days left before election day, Alicia must decide whether or not she will publically go negative against Peter at a conference. Meanwhile, Finn, Diane, and Cary face Nancy Crozier in a lawsuit against a man who designed a 3D printable gun that lead to a gruesome injury.
"You make me feel like I'm 22..."
The case of the week immediately felt a bit like it was straight out of seasons 2-4, with the montage of a gun design for a 3D printer being dispersed, and various people across the planet seeing it or accessing it from their computers. After a man downloaded the design, modified it a bit, and had it "printed," we see a small group gather around him firing it for the first time at a firing range. However, it misfired and paralyzed a bystander. This unfortunate incident was strangely a breath of fresh air to me--much less to have a case of the week at all at this point. While I was very fond of last week's episode, I seem to be yearning for a honest-to-God interesting case for F/A/L to litigate and delve into all sorts of moral dilemmas. This was the first case we've had in multiple episodes that was its own case that had nothing to do with recurring clients like Colin Sweeney, or that barely-there lawsuit Canning is waging from his deathbed.
In court, Finn Polmar represented the victim along with Diane and Cary, opposite Nancy Crozier--who was as tactically "confused" as usual. Denis O'Hare's Judge Abernathy--known for being absurdly left wing and very verbal about his opinions--was presiding over the gun trial, and editorialized a lot of exposition that actually gave the audience an interesting look at the ramifications of designing and dispersing a practically undetectable weapon to anyone with access to a computer and a proper 3D printer. Diane's husband, Kurt McVeigh, the resident expert witness for ballistics, gave his testimony against the gun designer, even when he felt that political pressures started to seep into the proceedings.
Over the course of the episode, the case becomes a point of contention between Kurt and Diane. As evidence begins to shift the blame away from the accused, and either to the man who printed it, or even the printer itself, Diane keeps on against the gun designer, much to Kurt's disdain. He abstains from further testimony and says that Diane should keep her politics out of the logic of their case if she wants him to work with her. She responds to his refusal to comply with a subpoena... So, in the course of 1 episode we have gone from not seeing Diane's personal life since last season, to her having it out with her husband through pulling testimony from his throat on the stand. It was compelling, as they are a great couple (which is... not a normal situation on this show, by any means), but a bit odd to throw them into a tangle like that. One thing that did not occur to me when watching was why Diane was being so blatant in her attempt to politicize the trial. She was being partial at the expense of her husband's own stance on gun control... Why would she push him like that? Then it hit me: Her best friend and law partner was just gunned down in that very building just months earlier. How could I have not put that together?! Also, why was that never mentioned, or brought up somehow? I guess it was subtly handled.
In the end, after Kalinda found footage of the designer talking about how cold his place of business was in a vlog, Kurt came to the conclusion that it was designer's fault after all. But just as suddenly, Nancy Crozier had a huge settlement offer from an undisclosed party. They asked if it was the NRA, but we don't know. (Anyone out there catch anything to specifically say who might have come forward with $5 million?) The client is relatively enamored with the money, while Kurt and Diane decide to take a few days off and go hunting. Meanwhile, Cary is hanging out in the background, no real item on his plate... (2-3 episodes in a row, now...)
"God, handsome men are so weak!"
When Prady makes a move to call Peter Florrick out on racial hiring practices, Johnny and blah blah guy push for Alicia to distance herself from her husband, so that she could take the sting out of Prady's strong comments that could kill her lead in the polls. There's only 2-3 days left in the campaign (Thank God!), and it's the "smart" thing for her to do. As soon as Eli puts it together through noticing a schedule change for a convention, he calls Johnny's bluff and states that if he wants his next position in Sacramento to remain available to him, he'll call Alicia off saying anything negative about Peter, as they are a "package deal."
Johnny then spits that spiel out to Alicia, and says there will be a new speech written for the convention that does not shit on Peter's poor decision-making. Marissa then calls him out on it immediately, as she knows he caved only because her father threatened to take away his cushy little job in California. After getting told off, he abruptly changes his mind again...
"Get well, Mr. Canning."
After a quick call from Cary, Alicia finds her way over to Canning in the hospital (where is Simone?) to hear why he called for her at her office. He claims to want to do something for the girl that donated her kidney to him. She was young, and she died unexpectedly, and he wants to give back. Canning gives Alicia power of attorney (through an oral agreement? does anyone feel like that's binding at all?) to donate $18 million to a charity that would benefit the girl's family.
She goes through some leftover guilt trips from last week's episode about how she should handle the situation, and ends up approaching David Lee, to ask why he would not return Louis Canning's calls when he's trying to make a donation? David Lee claims he is taking Canning's calls, and he also already looked into that charity--it could have ties to terrorist entities, so he decided to not make any transactions to them.
She visits Louis once more later in the episode when he is unconscious, and tries to talk out her worries about him donating to that charity, and that she really doesn't want him to die. She may not like him very much, but she'd miss him. She even moves over to clutch his hand for a moment before she leaves.
"You're perfect."
Before the convention speeches, Alicia and Frank Prady find themselves waiting in the same room. They talk a bit, and reflect. Alicia states that she wishes she'd have been more honest in what she said publically. Prady finally reveals the reasoning for his silence on his marriage: as a Jesuit, he could not allow himself to remarry after his first wife. It would be against his religion. He only never spoke against it because he didn't want to have any negativity from stating that go against people who were gay. Just like that, we find that Saint Alicia has nothing on Frank Prady, who is a much better person than she has been.
"You look like something's wrong..."
Right after Frank Prady gives his speech--well-received by the crowd, Alicia finds Johnny looking pale and worried. But he reassures her that he's fine as he tells her that she will, in fact, be going after Peter's racial oversights as State's Attorney. He tells her to show no mercy, be strong. As she eloquently damns Peter with faint praise on live television, Eli calls Johnny to draw a line in the sand: He's got no job in Sacramento, and he's made an enemy out of the Governor.
After the speech, Johnny checks up on Alicia at home, and awkwardly tries to express his "emotions" to her. It was really funny, and after declining Alicia's offer to "come inside" (har har), he says "oh whatever" and they kiss for the second time.
While I have a lot of things to point out that need to be sharpened or improved upon, there is still plenty that I am enjoying this season. I think it will be another season 4, in terms of being a bit unfocused, with very jarring oversights to the plight of certain characters (namely Kalinda, which is now at a point where I'm so apathetic to what they will do to her character that I don't want to talk about it) but still having many poignant moments and character-driven threads that I can't really get anywhere else on television. So, all I can say is, TGW writers, please bring the ensemble back into this show... It never fared as well with Alicia isolated from the rest of this incredible cast. You're making us quietly resent her for all her time on the screen out of the context of what we love about your show...
Sidenotes:
- "Who is this?" -----> Me, upon seeing Kalinda for the first time all episode. Y'all are killing me! She is leaving this season, yet she continues to be relegated to cleanup duty for cases...I need at least more about the Bishop situation...
- I am not a fan of how little we are seeing of Cary, Kalinda, Diane... Robin, Carey Zepps, etc. I understand the story is going another way, but guys, does anyone even remember Taye Diggs' character anymore? Is he not a partner?
- *Pregnant pause* Eli: I hate these silences, Alicia!
- Marissa Gold delivered yet another bevy of great one-liners this week, but her line about "handsome men" is on the nose. Precious egos and all that.
- Nancy Crozier wasn't annoying enough! She had a good poke at Kurt and Diane, though...
- That nurse was awfully forward in practically demanding Alicia squeeze Canning's hand and talk to him...
- The end of this episode was in the promo of last week's episode. Look, keep the good stuff for the episode, please!
What did you think of this week's episode? Start a discussion below in the comments!
