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tellitslantOne of the things I love about The Good Wife is how it presents sex on screen.
Cary tends to get the more vanilla-looking sex - in bed, under the covers. Nothing bad, but nothing exceptional. Of course, his sex life is much less integral to the plot, generally speaking.
Kalinda tends to be the aggressor. I particularly love the scene in s2 where we see her and Sophia in bed, post-coitally, when Sophia is naked and wrapped up in the covers and Kalinda is - well, more unbuttoned than we generally see her, barefoot, in a tank top, and with her hair down, but otherwise still clothed. That says so much about her - whether it's about the type of sex they just had, or her desire to get redressed, or something else, it still presents an interesting commentary on control. (If I remember correctly, when we see her with Cary, she is undressed and in bed with him. Is it a sign that she's sleeping with him because he wants her to and she's going along with it?)
And the kind of sex that Alicia has... I tend to have a lot of feelings about. I think we only see her having sex with Peter in a pre-show flashback once, when she scratches her headboard with her ring (and isn't that a great metaphor), and that is missionary, under-the-covers, PIV sex. Nothing against it (well, in theory; it's not for me personally), and it seems to be good for her, but if I remember correctly I think it's immediately followed by Peter taking a phone call that is implied to be from the prostitute he sleeps with. I don't think we see that kind of sex again for Alicia. What we do see, both with Peter and with Will, is sex where Alicia's pleasure is the focus and the goal. In s2 there's a fabulous scene where Peter goes down on Alicia because her prowess in court turns him on. I really like that it happens in her bathroom - it's intimate, but he's still not sleeping in her bed and hasn't gained that level of acceptance/forgiveness back yet.
In 3x01, there's a fantastic scene where it looks like Will is fingering Alicia up against a wall, when they are interrupted by the sound of his neighbour's kids. The manipulation of the diegetic sound - the voices of the kids, outside the apartment and relatively muffled, get louder and louder the closer Alicia gets to coming - foreshadows the ultimate end of the Alicia/Will relationship when Alicia decides that having Will is incompatible with keeping her family in order. It's also a great commentary on why Alicia is with Will at that point in time - she's not avoiding her responsibilities, exactly, but she is pushing herself to be reckless, to be more than a wife-and-mother, to do things for herself. Will asks her to move to the bedroom, but she refuses and basically insists that he make her come right there. It's illicit and quick and dirty and all about Alicia.
There's also one great scene with Alicia and Peter more recently in the series - I don't remember when. Alicia comes home and yanks Peter into their bedroom, with a bunch of people out in the apartment, and rides him; neither of them undress, she's on top, and he's basically serving at her pleasure. This area of her life that was spiralling out of control at the very beginning of the show becomes an area in which she is calling all the shots.
Not that I have memorised all the sex scenes in this show, but. This show. So much thought for everything. These scenes do such excellent jobs of demonstrating character through sex, as well as how to forward plot through sex. I wish more fic writers would watch it. :P
Cary tends to get the more vanilla-looking sex - in bed, under the covers. Nothing bad, but nothing exceptional. Of course, his sex life is much less integral to the plot, generally speaking.
Kalinda tends to be the aggressor. I particularly love the scene in s2 where we see her and Sophia in bed, post-coitally, when Sophia is naked and wrapped up in the covers and Kalinda is - well, more unbuttoned than we generally see her, barefoot, in a tank top, and with her hair down, but otherwise still clothed. That says so much about her - whether it's about the type of sex they just had, or her desire to get redressed, or something else, it still presents an interesting commentary on control. (If I remember correctly, when we see her with Cary, she is undressed and in bed with him. Is it a sign that she's sleeping with him because he wants her to and she's going along with it?)
And the kind of sex that Alicia has... I tend to have a lot of feelings about. I think we only see her having sex with Peter in a pre-show flashback once, when she scratches her headboard with her ring (and isn't that a great metaphor), and that is missionary, under-the-covers, PIV sex. Nothing against it (well, in theory; it's not for me personally), and it seems to be good for her, but if I remember correctly I think it's immediately followed by Peter taking a phone call that is implied to be from the prostitute he sleeps with. I don't think we see that kind of sex again for Alicia. What we do see, both with Peter and with Will, is sex where Alicia's pleasure is the focus and the goal. In s2 there's a fabulous scene where Peter goes down on Alicia because her prowess in court turns him on. I really like that it happens in her bathroom - it's intimate, but he's still not sleeping in her bed and hasn't gained that level of acceptance/forgiveness back yet.
In 3x01, there's a fantastic scene where it looks like Will is fingering Alicia up against a wall, when they are interrupted by the sound of his neighbour's kids. The manipulation of the diegetic sound - the voices of the kids, outside the apartment and relatively muffled, get louder and louder the closer Alicia gets to coming - foreshadows the ultimate end of the Alicia/Will relationship when Alicia decides that having Will is incompatible with keeping her family in order. It's also a great commentary on why Alicia is with Will at that point in time - she's not avoiding her responsibilities, exactly, but she is pushing herself to be reckless, to be more than a wife-and-mother, to do things for herself. Will asks her to move to the bedroom, but she refuses and basically insists that he make her come right there. It's illicit and quick and dirty and all about Alicia.
There's also one great scene with Alicia and Peter more recently in the series - I don't remember when. Alicia comes home and yanks Peter into their bedroom, with a bunch of people out in the apartment, and rides him; neither of them undress, she's on top, and he's basically serving at her pleasure. This area of her life that was spiralling out of control at the very beginning of the show becomes an area in which she is calling all the shots.
Not that I have memorised all the sex scenes in this show, but. This show. So much thought for everything. These scenes do such excellent jobs of demonstrating character through sex, as well as how to forward plot through sex. I wish more fic writers would watch it. :P
