photo: cbs
The Good Wife
Parenting Made Easy
Original Air Date: Dec 4, 2011
Patricia Morris Buckley — Sr. Staff Writer
pmb@thetwocentscorp.com
What a great title for an episode because it’s so damn ironic. Parenting is never easy. And Alicia learned that lesson both professionally and privately. I don’t know about you, but I gasped a few times during this episode. There were moments of excitement, disbelief, fear and sadness. What a roller coaster ride.
The show started with Alicia “parenting” Caitlin through her first case. It’s just a simple arbitration where the client says she was unjustly fired. But then Martha shows up as the opposing counsel, also on her first case, tethered to be “parent,” Louis Canning (Michael J. Fox). At first Alicia advises Caitlin to take it easy, but after Martha angrily confronts Alicia about not hiring her, Alicia changes her mind. And the gloves came off…
It was one of those tennis-like cases, where one team pulls ahead, then the other. Of course it quickly becomes about the rivalry between Alicia and Louis.
Meanwhile, the witch hunt on Will is moving forward. I’d like to take a poll: How many of you think he’s at least a little guilty? Hands? Well, my hand shot up. The best thing about this plot is that we get back freelance detective and full-time dad Andrew Wiley (remember his talking bear phone? Santa, if you’re listening, I still want one of those).
All of this comes to grinding halt when Alicia and Louis go out to dinner for a settlement conference and Alicia realizes that Grace has called 12 times. Then Alicia can’t find her. Peter joins the fray, getting the police involved, fearing the worse. But it’s Kalinda who tracks her down to a church, where Grace is being baptized. I thought this is what would bring Kalinda and Alicia back together, but Kalinda asks Grace not to say anything. Oh well…
All this makes Alicia think about her priorities. Louis continues to ask her to join his firm, where she would be home for dinner every night. But she makes a more dramatic decision – breaking up with Will. Did you snicker when Will let Diane think he did the breaking up? I’d make a derisive comment about the male sex here, but my publisher is male, so just I let that thought go on the ether and hope you get it.
Did you see the break up coming? Were you amused at Eli’s Diane-forced attempts to make friends at the firm? Should Grace wear a GPS? Give us your TwoCents…
TheTwoCents 
Oh yeah, Will bears some guilt. Thrilled Alicia broke it off with him and not at all surprised that he let Diane think it was his doing. She’ll find out anyway of course; do they never learn that nothing stays secret for long? I love any scenes with Eli; my favorite character by far along with Elspeth Tascioni (Carrie Preston), who we don’t see often enough. I know most people think Peter is a sleaze-bag but I think he has changed – or at least making an effort – and I like him and Alicia as a couple far better than Will and Alicia. Never did quite see that matchup.
Excellent episode; love the mystery they are creating with Grace and I wonder where that will end up. Overall they have set up some fun and interesting dynamics. I am waiting to see what happens when they are actually housing that Legal Aid group (that is still part of the plot, isn’t it?) Sometimes I lose track of things!
I don’t know about it having anything to do with being male when Will didn’t tell Diane that Alicia was the one that broke it off. I think he was hurt and didn’t want to get all emotional with Diane, especially given the fact that most of the time the characters on the show don’t were their hearts on their sleeves.