The Decision Tree.

“Sometimes I think of you as Mom... and other times just as this interesting person who lives at our house.” –Zach Florrick

Well that was one festive way to celebrate The Good Wife's 100th episode! I'm still trying to collect myself after reliving all of those Willicia moments -- it was sweet torture to see so many flashbacks of Will and Alicia happy together, knowing that they were both mining their past romantic encounters for courtroom ammo.

The episode built up to the holiday party that Alicia and Cary were throwing to introduce their new firm to Chicago. Things veered off course in the most fantastical way when Alicia discovered that her now deceased and very eccentric client, Matthew Ashbaugh (played by the very much alive but equally eccentric John Noble), left her $12 million in his will. Alicia and Will end up on opposite sides of the courtroom yet again as LG represented Ashbaugh's widow -- but the drama really came out when Will prepared to cross examine Alicia in court. All of his insecurities, fears, and issues came to the surface during a very heated and very imaginary conversation with Alicia in which he posited that she had only ever pretended to love him to get her way professionally. Heart breaker.

Alicia

A

"What's he got?"–Cary 
"A whole lot of anger." –Alicia about Will

Will

A

“You’re conveniently married when you want to be.” –Will to Alicia

Speaking of emotionally wrecked... it's now clear just how deeply hurt Will feels as a result of Alicia. Yes, we always knew he was hung up on her but now, thanks to his beer-fueled imaginary argument with Alicia, we learned that Will feels that Alicia manipulated her feelings for Will and used her so-called 'love' for him to trump him professionally. We all know that's a ridiculous notion, but it shows how crazy upset Will truly is. It was interesting to get some Willicia flashbacks from Will's point of view for once -- especially considering one of his memories was Alicia whispering in his ear that this is the happiest she's ever been. There was a lot of Will/Alicia interaction in this episode, but it was all so depressingly tragic! That last phone call they shared which Will ended with a hangdog "Happy Holidays" was simply too much.

Diane

B+We barely saw her due to the Willicia nature of the episode, but she certainly hasn't changed her mind about "Will's boy" Damian...

Kalinda

A-

Kalinda kicked off the episode with a high-octane car chase through the streets of Chicago (nice nod to the 100th episode with a close up of the needle of her speedometer inching past 100 mph). Her quarry was none other than Damian himself whom Diane requested that she vet/stalk. That's when things took a turn for the unexpected -- Kalinda fell prey to a trap set by Damian which resulted in her being taken into custody by a pretty blonde lady cop who owed Damian a favor. And by custody I mean shacking up in the lady cop's apartment for a little afternoon delight. 

Damian

B

“Yeah, David wanted me to take the meeting. He said he’d rather negotiate with the devil. Me, I don’t care who I negotiate with.”–Damian

He's certainly a questionable bloke, but that accent makes you want to listen to anything he hast to say. I loved his interaction with Alicia in her office (especially when she tossed him a ball and said "here's something to play with" and he actually played with it). The car chase with Kalinda was exciting, but I'm still very curious as to how/if he knew Kalinda would end up in bed with the lady cop. And what was with asking Kalinda out mid-high speed chase?

Eli

A

“Yes, I’m arranging a meeting with Donna Brazile to keep you from going to Alicia’s party… that makes sense!”–Eli

Peter

A

Inquiring minds want to know... is Peter the father of Marilyn's baby? Or is she just crazy obsessed with him? This will surely be a topic of conversation once the show returns in January.

Jackie & Veronica

B+ & A-

“Holiday decorations Jackie, not Christmas, not Jesus. Holiday.” –Eli
“I have a Hanukkah too.”–Jackie, holding up a dreidel

“Well maybe you should drink a little more and that might kill that bug up your ass.” –Veronica

Ah, the battle of the mothers. Jackie and Veronica couldn't be more different and it made for a ridiculously entertaining subplot. I loved that every time they cut to Jackie, she was arranging some inane and non-secular holiday decorations throughout Peter's government office. As Alicia's mother, Stockard Channing imbues Veronica with the perfect amount of drama queen -- I just wish a visit from Veronica meant a visit from Uncle Owen as well.

Cary

B-I don't get what Cary is up to. He has gone completely rogue and doesn't consult or work with Alicia on anything. Does he seriously think he can get away with that? He made direct contact with Peter behind Alicia's back and sent out a notice to all of their party guests that the new Governor of Illinois would be attending their holiday party. Not cool, Cary, not cool.

Robyn

BI want to like Robyn, and I do for the most part. But then she does something annoying and ditzy like setting her phone on 'smack talk' (whatever that is) when she's supposed to record a legal conversation. I get that they're going for some comic relief with her, but it's not very effective.

Also, what was with her and Cary dancing the night away at the holiday party? We know Cary has a thing for attractive investigators, but really?

Clarke Hayden

AHow adorable was it to watch Nathan Lane's character take on courtroom duties for the first time? He was so nervous and seemed so grateful for Cary's congratulatory fist bump after he nailed the cross-examination.

"The Decision Tree"

A

Just when I thought it was impossible to keep the momentum going weeks after "Hitting the Fan," we get a killer episode like this. Emotions were running extremely high and we got a rare look into the heart wrenching despair Will seems to be going through. With a Willicia-heavy episode like this, it's hard not to hope that they'll be reuniting these two at some point this season. There's so much left unsaid! If only Alicia had actually inherited that $12 million and then maybe she could afford to take a chance on this thing with Will...

Extra Credit

• Give Josh Charles all the Emmys, please.
• Killer opening sequence with Kalinda all badass sporting shades and racing through the streets set to "Angels We Have Heard on High"
• “So, you’re the governor’s wife? Your husband’s the fellow that slept with all those prostitutes?” –Damian
• “Do you want me to finish?”–Alicia to Will in court
• The menacing way Alicia cocks her head at Will in court when she knows he's asking her a question based on their private conversations in bed.
• “Oh thank God! Thank your Christian Jesus God.”–Eli upon learning 'The Wife Killer/White O.J." Colin Sweeney won't be at Alicia's party... despite the fact that drug lord Lemond Bishop showed up instead.
• “So, are we millionaires yet?”–Zach
  “Only in the love we have for each other.” –Alicia
  “Can we buy anything with that?”–Grace
• Alicia's holiday party makeup looked amazing.
• Jordana Spiro from the late great My Boys!

Demerits

• If LG threw a holiday party on the same night as FA, why was Will sitting alone at his desk like Ebeneezer Scrooge that night when he called Alicia to tell her the will was invalid?
• The return of Dumb Yoga Girlfriend. Is this like, the longest relationship Will has ever had? Has she been in his apartment this whole time?
• Um, what about Jeffrey Tambor's coffee date?