Posted by Janie Logan Dec 15, 2010, 12:43 GMT
Alicia (Julianna Margulies) works to save a man from death row, while Peter (Chris Noth) continues his campaign for State's Attorney, in "Nine Hours." Photo courtesy of CBS.
With a Lockhart/Gardner client about to be executed after a decade of failed appeals, the characters of The Good Wife put on hold their vast array of personal issues as they make a desperate attempt to save a man's life.
"Nine Hours" was a superb episode, full of ambition. It took many factors that the show has dealt with before--the moral and ethical dilemmas that lawyers face, the emotional roller coaster that Alicia, her colleagues, and her family go through, questions of spirituality, and sexuality, and politics--touching on them all.
Obviously, there's not enough time in an hour to dwell on any one of these elements for very long, but the construct of this episode was perfect for racing through everything. With the clock running out on Carter Wright's life, "Nine Hours" achieved the sense of urgency it needed, and the viewing experience was a tense one.
Alicia is just as conflicted as ever about Will and Peter. Her newfound knowledge of the phone message she never received is giving her dreams about Will. And then one of Peter's political opponents asks in a debate if Alicia has forgiven Peter. Alicia doesn't even know the answer to that question herself, but she can't help but smile when her husband curses the other guy for his impertinence. She's still attracted to him in moments like that.
Kalinda and Blake have their little competition going on with all the secrets they've uncovered about each other. Diane plans on leaving Will to start her own firm because of the disagreements they've had since Derek arrived.
All of this, while not forgotten, was pushed aside for a greater purpose: to do anything to stop their client, Carter (guest-star Chad Coleman), from being executed. It was a Saturday, and he was scheduled for a lethal injection at midnight. They had 9 hours to find something--anything--that would delay it and give them another chance for an appeal. It was a team effort that united everyone, from Diane and Will, to Alicia, to Kalinda and Blake, and even a reluctant Cary.
It all culminated in a phone call between Alicia and a federal judge in the appellate court who had the power to stay the execution for another trial. Nobody was certain if Carter was even innocent of the crime for which he had been convicted 10 years ago--burning down his wife's home, with her and a lover inside. But as Alicia told the judge, fighting back tears, even if there was the slightest chance he was innocent, then they HAD to delay his sentence:
"So much of what we do is uncertain, Your Honor. So much of my day is working between right and wrong. But this has to be right…to do this to a man…it has to be right."
What I love about The Good Wife, which this episode perfectly exemplified, is that the writers rarely take the easy way out. They didn't focus on whether Carter had truly killed those people. We know Lockhart/Gardner has represented guilty clients before, and maybe Carter was. Nor did they make the warden or the prison guards inhumane. Everyone is just trying to do the best job they can, within a justice system that is flawed but essential to society.
So when the show returns in January, the tangled web of drama and romance will be back to the forefront, but it was nice for one episode to see them change the focus.
You can follow @theTVcricket on Twitter for more tv news and reviews!
Comments