[the good wife is fucking matt damon]
May. 12th, 2011 12:01 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tellitslantOH
MY
GOD
THE GOOD WIFE
Warning: this post is approximately equal parts EPIC FLAIL, amazement at the cast/writing/show, and child-of-divorce rage. Just FYI!)
Weirdly, I was just writing a chunk of my thesis about the usage of a moment in La Femme Nikita where we see Madeline, who is the epitome of cool, calculated, emotionless repression, break down into hysterics (while effectively under the influence, it has to be said). So I was very attuned to the ways we saw Kalinda's facade crumble. I loved that we saw it in everything from her fingers trembling as she scooped up her phone and notebook to the actual outbursts of emotion, and it's interesting to compare the way she's presented to the way Alicia is presented. On the surface they're very similar - they crack, they get shit done, and then they come back with that icy facade five times stronger. It's different, though - Alicia is a lot more in control, surprisingly. Kalinda only has extremes to go to, while Alicia actually has the strength to keep herself somewhere in the middle. That's why it was equally heartbreaking to see Kalinda cry, to see her laugh, and to see her at the end with Will, going back to behind the walls she had up before Alicia. AUGH. <3 <3 <3 (her FACE.)
That scene in Alicia's office, by the way, was absolutely amazing. I want them both to get ALL THE AWARDS. That it came right after this amazing scene only made it more poignant: "You know there's a porn movie about you? There's a porn movie about you. ...It's like Lord of the Rings." OH, that exchange. Only from Sarah Silverman, amirite?
(Also, that scene between Stephanie and Alicia in the prep room was surprisingly hot. Except for how it led to Alicia having Will's magazine in her bedside table, which is a little ridic. But THAT led to that amaaaazing little smile of Alicia's and guh.)
So okay, sidestep here: JACKIE. Fuuuuuck. See, I have... liked Jackie? In the past? She is pretty hardcore, you know? And I admire her willingness to fight for her family. But I literaly kept having to pause the show and take rage breathers when she got on screen this episode because oh my god that is not okay, what she was doing, that is just not okay. "Here, let me bribe you with muffins so we can talk about all the horrible things your mother is doing to your father, who really doesn't want this, it's all that terrible woman your mother's fault, can't you talk to her? I bet she would change her mind if you asked her. Don't you want your father to be happy?" AUGH. I cannot watch that. The brilliance of the show, though, is really that in that moment when Alicia shows up at her club and tells her off, you can still see that under all of Jackie's machinations is really someone who is terribly lonely and wants to hang on to her son and her grandchildren and only knows how to do so by going on the attack. It almost makes me feel sympathetic towards her. (But then I have a momentary rage blackout again and that passes.)
That Grace sort of saw through Jackie's manipulations made me almost like her a little bit more! But then she showed up at Alicia's office and again, that drives me a little nuts. *flailyhands* The bit with Alicia in David Lee's office talking about custody just about broke me, also.
I love seeing Cary back in the game. "Sorry guys, I don't have cookies." Bwee. CARY.
I also love that Kalinda has hot women all over the place who want her to work with them. I mean, this is not a surprise, but it's kind of fantastic.
I actually thought for a moment that the show was in fact going to put Kalinda in the state's attorney's office with that white collar investigation unit and keep her around that way. I mean, how good and yet awful would that have been? For Kalinda, for Alicia, for Peter... I guess the show isn't quite that masochistic.
Again, this episode just keeps convincing me that Kalinda is actually completely head over heels in love with Alicia. The scene where she's telling Will that Alicia and Peter are separated? She's all about "What do you want out of life" and "How can that align with Alicia" and it's just... is there a way to read that other than Kalinda realizing that she can never align things with Alicia that way but maybe Alicia can be happy with Will? Because I don't see it any other way. (And Kalinda was willing to GIVE UP HER OUTFITS - even her BOOTS - as penance. Absolutely punishing herself. Oh Kalinda.)
I feel like I should have something to say about the conclusion of the case (surprisingly meh, considering how good I felt the rest of the storyline was) and Nancy whatsherface as the prosecutor again (actually more entertaining, and a lot more layered), but mostly I'm stuck on stuff like Alicia asking Kalinda whether Peter was good in bed. I love how that scene emphasizes how much of Alicia's pain is about her relationship with Kalinda, not her relationship with Peter - she's upset because she thinks what she had with Kalinda wasn't real on Kalinda's part. I just. This SHOW.
The only other thing I would complain about (besides the case resolution) would be that there was not enough Diane. Other than that? OH MY GOD, how AMAZING.
GAH. GAH. Season finale next week and the show still hasn't been renewed. GAH. (eta: just saw that Josh Charles (Will) says the show is coming back and that the renewal will likely be announced next week. PHEW.)
(for those of you who don't get the title of this entry - skip to 2 minutes in)
MY
GOD
THE GOOD WIFE
Warning: this post is approximately equal parts EPIC FLAIL, amazement at the cast/writing/show, and child-of-divorce rage. Just FYI!)
Weirdly, I was just writing a chunk of my thesis about the usage of a moment in La Femme Nikita where we see Madeline, who is the epitome of cool, calculated, emotionless repression, break down into hysterics (while effectively under the influence, it has to be said). So I was very attuned to the ways we saw Kalinda's facade crumble. I loved that we saw it in everything from her fingers trembling as she scooped up her phone and notebook to the actual outbursts of emotion, and it's interesting to compare the way she's presented to the way Alicia is presented. On the surface they're very similar - they crack, they get shit done, and then they come back with that icy facade five times stronger. It's different, though - Alicia is a lot more in control, surprisingly. Kalinda only has extremes to go to, while Alicia actually has the strength to keep herself somewhere in the middle. That's why it was equally heartbreaking to see Kalinda cry, to see her laugh, and to see her at the end with Will, going back to behind the walls she had up before Alicia. AUGH. <3 <3 <3 (her FACE.)
That scene in Alicia's office, by the way, was absolutely amazing. I want them both to get ALL THE AWARDS. That it came right after this amazing scene only made it more poignant: "You know there's a porn movie about you? There's a porn movie about you. ...It's like Lord of the Rings." OH, that exchange. Only from Sarah Silverman, amirite?
(Also, that scene between Stephanie and Alicia in the prep room was surprisingly hot. Except for how it led to Alicia having Will's magazine in her bedside table, which is a little ridic. But THAT led to that amaaaazing little smile of Alicia's and guh.)
So okay, sidestep here: JACKIE. Fuuuuuck. See, I have... liked Jackie? In the past? She is pretty hardcore, you know? And I admire her willingness to fight for her family. But I literaly kept having to pause the show and take rage breathers when she got on screen this episode because oh my god that is not okay, what she was doing, that is just not okay. "Here, let me bribe you with muffins so we can talk about all the horrible things your mother is doing to your father, who really doesn't want this, it's all that terrible woman your mother's fault, can't you talk to her? I bet she would change her mind if you asked her. Don't you want your father to be happy?" AUGH. I cannot watch that. The brilliance of the show, though, is really that in that moment when Alicia shows up at her club and tells her off, you can still see that under all of Jackie's machinations is really someone who is terribly lonely and wants to hang on to her son and her grandchildren and only knows how to do so by going on the attack. It almost makes me feel sympathetic towards her. (But then I have a momentary rage blackout again and that passes.)
That Grace sort of saw through Jackie's manipulations made me almost like her a little bit more! But then she showed up at Alicia's office and again, that drives me a little nuts. *flailyhands* The bit with Alicia in David Lee's office talking about custody just about broke me, also.
I love seeing Cary back in the game. "Sorry guys, I don't have cookies." Bwee. CARY.
I also love that Kalinda has hot women all over the place who want her to work with them. I mean, this is not a surprise, but it's kind of fantastic.
I actually thought for a moment that the show was in fact going to put Kalinda in the state's attorney's office with that white collar investigation unit and keep her around that way. I mean, how good and yet awful would that have been? For Kalinda, for Alicia, for Peter... I guess the show isn't quite that masochistic.
Again, this episode just keeps convincing me that Kalinda is actually completely head over heels in love with Alicia. The scene where she's telling Will that Alicia and Peter are separated? She's all about "What do you want out of life" and "How can that align with Alicia" and it's just... is there a way to read that other than Kalinda realizing that she can never align things with Alicia that way but maybe Alicia can be happy with Will? Because I don't see it any other way. (And Kalinda was willing to GIVE UP HER OUTFITS - even her BOOTS - as penance. Absolutely punishing herself. Oh Kalinda.)
I feel like I should have something to say about the conclusion of the case (surprisingly meh, considering how good I felt the rest of the storyline was) and Nancy whatsherface as the prosecutor again (actually more entertaining, and a lot more layered), but mostly I'm stuck on stuff like Alicia asking Kalinda whether Peter was good in bed. I love how that scene emphasizes how much of Alicia's pain is about her relationship with Kalinda, not her relationship with Peter - she's upset because she thinks what she had with Kalinda wasn't real on Kalinda's part. I just. This SHOW.
The only other thing I would complain about (besides the case resolution) would be that there was not enough Diane. Other than that? OH MY GOD, how AMAZING.
GAH. GAH. Season finale next week and the show still hasn't been renewed. GAH. (eta: just saw that Josh Charles (Will) says the show is coming back and that the renewal will likely be announced next week. PHEW.)
(for those of you who don't get the title of this entry - skip to 2 minutes in)
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2011-05-12 12:25 am (UTC)-J
(no subject)
Date: 2011-05-16 05:28 pm (UTC)This show, man!
(no subject)
Date: 2011-05-12 12:24 am (UTC)I love how pretty much all the characters are very developed. I really loved the emotion that Kalinda showed as she brokedown over losing her friendship with Alicia. I also loved how it was always planned by the writers that this would come happen (since season 1), yet they never gave any clues.
Awesome show! Alicia is one of my favorite characters, right there with River Song and Brenda Leigh Johnson.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-05-12 08:25 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-05-12 01:32 am (UTC)But omg. SEX SEX SEX. This is all about sex but they'll try to convince you it's not.
It's all right there!!
Again, this episode just keeps convincing me that Kalinda is actually completely head over heels in love with Alicia. The scene where she's telling Will that Alicia and Peter are separated? She's all about "What do you want out of life" and "How can that align with Alicia" and it's just... is there a way to read that other than Kalinda realizing that she can never align things with Alicia that way but maybe Alicia can be happy with Will? Because I don't see it any other way. (And Kalinda was willing to GIVE UP HER OUTFITS - even her BOOTS - as penance. Absolutely punishing herself. Oh Kalinda.)
That's exactly how I read that scene, too, but others have seen it more manipulative on Kalinda's part, so... intrigue.
THIS SHOW IS SO GOOD.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-05-12 08:28 am (UTC)I don't even know what I would write about this show were I to study it. I might actually love it too much.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-05-12 01:53 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-05-12 08:31 am (UTC)Actually, I really want to read/write the fic that reveals that all of this is taking place after they've slept together.