Parallel Contruction, Bitches.

“That was… almost Will-like.”–Alicia
“Thank you, Diane.” –Cary

I didn't realize until just now that I'd essentially been holding my breath since January 12th. Finally watching a new episode of The Good Wife after nearly two months of radio silence was like a blast of fresh air after being deprived of oxygen. It feels so good to have our Sunday nights with Alicia back! And she was on point in this twisty, turny, red herring-filled installment.

When we last left off, the video of the fraudulent ballot box was causing all sorts of trouble, and it continues to do so. Now there's a legit investigation going on with the Department of Justice getting all up in everyone's business -- namely Marilyn Garbanza who decides to fork over the video to clear her conscience (and maybe avoid some jail time... she's probably seen Orange is the New Black and really doesn't want to give birth in prison).

Somewhere along the way, Alicia discovers that her firm's phones are being tapped. They think the DEA is behind it at first, what with drug dealer cum business man getting all in a huff about his drug drops being leaked to the cops, but it's slowly revealed that the NSA just might be behind it (which they totally are, and have been for quite some time). Cary does a great job of explaining what exactly 'parallel construction' is and I will attempt to paraphrase now: basically, the NSA helps out other government departments by leaking information gleaned from their wire taps, but the DEA can’t use classified info to build a case, so they create a new evidence trail to use tips from the NSA. Got it? You knew you needed a law degree to fully understand this show, right? 

Alicia

A

“Okay, I think this will make sense if I get more wine.” –Alicia

I forgot how much I enjoy the dulcet tones of Julianna Margulies's voice. Alicia held her own in this complicated episode and I was very impressed with how fiercely she defended her employees and their integrity. She had some great deadpan sarcastic one-liners (“Really, what would I look like if I hadn’t seen it?” love you, girl) and didn't even come close to cracking under the pressure of Lemond Bishop's inquisition or the DOJ's investigation. She also looked ultra fab in that fur collared coat of hers.

Will

B+We didn't get a whole lot of Will time, but it looks like next week's episode will be all about him. He's in a very interesting and complex position right now (damn, I'd like to be in an interesting and complex position with him too, if you know what I mean, which you totally do because that was not at all subtle...) Will is the linchpin in the government's potential voter fraud case against Peter and he pretty much holds the governor's fate in his hands, but it remains to be seen if he'll rat Peter out. At this point, Will's holding his ground. But how long can he actually resist destroying Alicia's husband and saving his own ass?

Cary

AOMG CARINDA! We finally got to see some between-the-sheets action with Kalinda and Cary. How long has this been going on?! They've been hinting at it for ages and these two were certainly stealing glances at each other and meeting for clandestine drinks, but this is the first official time we've ever seen them in bed together. And it was just as special as I'd imagined. Like Alicia, Cary's been on his game lately and the best interaction of this entire episode was no doubt their Will/Diane comparison.

Kalinda

B

“You want to get me to talk, just say talk. Don’t play games.” –Kalinda

As if this little international woman of mystery needed more secrets to keep, she's now sleeping with the enemy, quite literally. Her relationship with Cary is probably not something that would entirely surprise Will, but it certainly wouldn't please him to know about her extracurricular fraternization with Lockhart/Gardner's biggest competitor. What was the deal with her reporting back to Will and Diane that Cary was lying about their firm being wiretapped? Did she honestly think he was lying when he wasn't? Or is she deliberately misleading Will and Diane? This girl is so hard to read!

Eli

BI hate it when Eli is in the dark about something. He is going to shit a brick when he finds out about this wiretapping business.

Lemond Bishop & Charles Lester

A & A

“That’s, uh, pancake batter, sir.”–Charles Lester
“If it’s more than 900 grams, that’s ten to fifty years.” –DEA agent
“For Bisquick?”–Charles Lester

Somebody get these two a buddy spin-off immediately. Just the sight of these two polar opposite looking men standing next to each other on the elevator had me cracking up. The pancake batter gag was brilliant and their banter in the car was priceless as well. They're like a less antagonistic version of Walt and Saul.

"Parallel Construction, Bitches"

AThis episode was action packed and it was almost enough to make us forgive the Good Wife gods for such a long, cold absence. I was surprised that they actually followed through on Jeffrey Tambor's Judge Kluger's request to have coffee with Alicia. Although, I'm a little confused as to why he's cold shouldering her so harshly after she was late for their lunch meeting. It was great to see Zach and Grace, if only for a moment, and watching Alicia watch television is my new favorite pastime. Did anyone else freak out that they were watching the wrong show when the episode began with that “Previously on AMC’s Darkness at Noon”? Because I did. Never have I been so grateful for a hashtag. Welcome back to #TheGoodWife!

Extra Credit

• Attack of the amazing guest stars yet again: Wallace Shawn, funnier than ever; Jack Davenport, from Coupling and Pirates; and of course, George Bluth, Sr. himself, Jeffrey Tambor
• They're doing a great job splitting time between F/A and L/G...it reminds me of the two sides of the island on Lost
• “Why do I ask if it’s a drug arrest? Because it’s Lemond Bishop.”–Alicia
• “We have a full cast of characters, like a clown car!” –Judge Kluger
• “And be careful, the packaging can cut.”–Alicia while handing out burner phones, always the mom

Demerits

• Can someone please explain to me this whole "three episode event" advertising campaign? It seems to me that CBS is making a big deal out of this crazy plan to air consecutive weekly episodes of a program with a continuous plot, leading up to a major story development, which is literally how every television series has ever worked in the history of everything. It's like a car salesman being all, "Wait until you see this new car we have -- it's got four tires and a steering wheel, you're going to flip."