The Good Wife – Recap & Review – Alienation of Affection

photo: cbs

The Good Wife
Alienation of Affection

Original Air Date: Jan 8, 2012

Patricia Morris Buckley – Sr. Staff Writer
pmb@thetwocentscorp.com

As each member of our beloved team is subpoenaed, we have one thought in our head: Wendy Scott Carr has finally found a way to get Will in front of a grand jury.

But we are wrong. In this week’s case, the firm is being sued by a former client for a whopping $44 million. David Lee may have handled the divorce case that started all this, but each of the partners will be obligated to pay $1.2 million if they lose. Eli, who just joined the firm, isn’t happy and I don’t blame him.

The firm had represented April Huntley in a divorce against her hubby Jake. She wanted custody of the kids, so David set a trap where a woman he hired helps Jake get a DUI, but Jake took it all the way to infidelity. When the dust settled, the firm handled the sale of a company owned by the Huntleys and retained some profit sharing rights for the lawyers. Now the Huntleys are back together and regretting the sale of a company now worth $44 million.

They call in a big gun lawyer, Burl Preston (played by the ever-marvelous F. Murray Abraham – another example of how this show draws the best talent), who sues the firm for Alienation of Affection – an antiquated law that few states even have on the books anymore. When David and even Alicia lie that they didn’t set up Jake with a girl, Preston turns to accusations of conflict of interest.

Here’s where things get juicy: The firm had April sign a rider that protects them from a lawsuit and the person who filed that was Alicia in her first few months as a lawyer. Only now the document can’t be found, even in the electronic back up files (I suspect the computer problems the firm’s been dealing with may have something to do with this). I loved how Kalinda immediately started finding ways to protect Alicia.

David does a little shuffling, which probably includes Alicia signing the rider as part of papers David has given her on her kids’ trust, and viola — the rider emerges in some of Cary’s papers. I don’t know if there was a reason for the rider to be in Cary’s stuff, but it’s a good excuse for him to come in and unexpectedly save the firm, then have a nice talk with Alicia.

In the past Alicia has been so firm on what’s right and wrong. With this case, she started smudging the line a bit. Where is that going to take her?

Meanwhile, Will is looking for a lawyer and it’s a little bit like a trip to the three bears’ home. One lawyer says he has nothing to worry about, another says he’ll have to serve time in prison. So Alicia suggests the unorthodox and very loopy Elsbeth Tascioni. Let’s have a party to celebrate her return! I loved when she’d lost her phone in her office and kept shouting for her secretary! (General opinion on why the secretary’s name is Fantasia is because the singer of the same name is currently fighting an Alienation of Affection case now.)

And yes, Elsbeth starts to make Wendy’s life hell. In the end, Will is indicted, which is better than the option of a grand jury (which will then be able to have an inside peek to the firm’s finances).

I loved Bryan Brown as the guy server subpoenas – and how he flirted with Diane. Did you notice that he didn’t get anywhere with Diane until he leaked some info that helped on their case and when he strong-armed a man he served? Let’s hope he’s back and soon.

Why do you think Cary helped his former firm? Can Elsbeth really save Will? Is Alicia starting down a slippery slope? Give us your TwoCents…