Bromanian rhapsody
Dec. 16th, 2011 01:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
swatkatI was thinking about how much I love Will and Kalinda's friendship in TGW. I have a weakness for male/female friendships that take centrestage, so hard to find under ordinary circumstances. And besides, it's easily one of the best things to have come out of the Alicia/Kalinda breakup arc in S2, to the point where it's hard to imagine the show now without Will and Kalinda being bros.
Will and Kalinda first have a truly intimate moment at the end of 2.20, with Will watching Alicia on the television and Kalinda declaring her love for Alicia—er, that is to say, urging Will to declare his love for Alicia,
Kalinda: You should tell her how fantastic she is. [Will snorts slightly at that]
Will: She knows. [camera pans to Kalinda's face]
Kalinda: You should tell her. People like to be told. [Will swivels around to look at her]
Will: You're in a weird mood.
Kalinda: Yeah, I am.
It's hard not to read the scene as Kalinda articulating, in her own way, how much she cares about Alicia, even when you take off your slash glasses. More importantly, it sets the tone for almost every Will and Kalinda heart-to-heart that will follow: the subject of conversation is frequently Alicia, with Kalinda encouraging Will to talk about his feelings about Alicia, to pursue what he wants with her. Kalinda sets the tone of the conversation, always shifting the focus back to Will when he occasionally pries, and Will lets her, with some friendly ribbing ("Suddenly this is about me?", 2.22) or an observation like (MY FAVOURITE) "At some point Kalinda, you're going to have to confide in someone." The latter is also in 2.22, shortly after Kalinda informs him that she's not leaving L&G, and after she rebuffs his attempts to clarify as to whether her decision to leave had anything to do with Alicia; the implication is clear—Will is willing to listen, should Kalinda choose to talk, although he's not going to demand that she talk now or push her in any way. He is willing to be a confidante, even if it is only to listen to Kalinda telling him how much she doesn't need a confidante ("No, I don't. You know what I discovered? I never have to confide in anyone."), that she's a ~lone wolf. On the surface it's just a rebuff and Kalinda being her usual closed-off self, but that's not it: it's a surprisingly emotional declaration, especially coming from Kalinda. It's an expression of her frustration with people and friendships, and the fact that she has screwed up something that meant so much to her. That she would make such an emotional declaration to Will at all is significant—it's why come S3 they're still fast friends, drinking together after work and talking about their feelings (well, mostly Will's). It's an easy friendship, with clearly a lot of history and firm faith that the other person has their back.
The last bit again is important, because both Will and Kalinda are the kind of people who put a lot of stock in 'having someone's back'. It is—and I'm not sure if I can express myself very clearly here—a certain kind of a 'bro' ethic, where words are given and kept and backs are watched and debts are paid and honoured. It's an integral part of who Will is (think, for instance, of his anger when his friend the judge was exposed in S1, or his entire Wednesday night basketball affair with his male buddies), in sharp contrast with his smooth, amoral lawyerly self (also integral to who he is). And on any other show, Will's 'bro' would be a man, but TGW isn't any other show and Kalinda isn't any other female character, embodying, frequently, character traits that would be ascribed to a male character (stoic, silent, ~mysterious with a ~past, and so on). Kalinda, of course, is less demonstrative (the fact that it's usually Will's feelings that get discussed is one of the things I love best about their friendship), but all you have to do is consider a scene like the one in 3.08, where Kalinda urges Will to ask for her help,
Kalinda: Then use me.
Will: Thought you were an island these days. [note: referencing Kalinda's frustrated declaration in 2.22]
Kalinda: Hmm, no man is an island.
…
Kalinda: Okay, then ask for my help.
Will: [looks conflicted and then smiles prettily] I feel like hugging you.
Kalinda: No, just… Just ask for my help. [Will nods]
All Will has to do is ask, and Kalinda will have his back. It's in sharp contrast with her own I-will-use-your-feelings-for-me-and-throw-you-under-a-bus self (a prominent theme this season since it was Cary’s principal complaint against her), but that's precisely why their friendship works: they're very similar in that they both possess these oddly self-contradictory traits, and they understand each other. I think it's best demonstrated in that brilliant scene in the bar in 3.01, right after Kalinda claims that she’s 'fine' (when Will says that she needs a friend, or a dog),
Will: We're not like normal people, are we.
Kalinda: What are normal people like?
Will: Emotional.
Kalinda: You're emotional.
Will: No. Sometimes I'm in the middle of an emotion, and I just look at myself and realise, I’m not feeling anything. I just like acting like someone who feels something.
Kalinda: You wanna stop acting and actually feel?
Will: Yeah.
Kalinda: Yeah. [and then she punches him]
Will: Ow.
Kalinda: That's what it feels like.
Will is being emo about how emotionally stilted he is. He is having feelings about his lack of feelings. It's ridiculous, but knowing what we know of both Will and Kalinda, knowing that the playful punch is Kalinda's way of replying that actually feeling things for people instead of simulation hurts, it just works.
It's precisely the kind of thing Will cannot bring himself to tell Alicia—what if she doesn't understand? It's one of the many things he cannot bring himself to tell her, as we see in S3; as though Will fears Alicia's pure ears cannot bear such scurrilous talk. Kalinda is different. Kalinda is like him. Kalinda isn't going to judge him and break his heart.
It is actually quite unfair to Alicia, but that's another thing Will and Kalinda have in common: Alicia is their unexpected Achilles' heel. They're both slightly in awe of Alicia—her strength, her warmth, her passion, her moral compass. What they see as her 'goodness', this incredible, unattainable thing they cannot possibly hope to possess (or even want, on most days). This was evident in the Alicia/Kalinda break-up arc; in 2.18, for instance, where Alicia has that telephone conversation with the psycho murderer and Kalinda is listening in,
KILLER: I wanna remake my life, like you have. How do I do that?
ALICIA: Well it would've helped if you hadn't killed someone.
KILLER: Oops. I can't change the past, can I? Once a bad person, always a bad person.
The camera pans on Kalinda's face, and you know she's thinking about herself and Alicia—that unlike Alicia, who painstakingly remade her life after the storm, she’s a bad person; once a bad person, always a bad person. Or even last episode's 'I haven't changed'—that is to say, 'I haven't become a better person. A good person like you.' It's very clear why Kalinda could never bring herself to tell Alicia about her and Peter—how could she? How could she speak of something like that, something that she did, to Alicia? It's not unlike Will's arc this season, where Will has the same problem—how can he confide in Alicia when it means telling her of his past indiscretions?
It's not fair at all to Alicia, because it just assumes that she cannot handle such harsh truths without actually verifying if she can, but we also know why Will can’t—he can’t bear the thought of falling in her estimation. It precisely what Kalinda had also feared, and when her fears came true she was singularly incapable of expressing to Alicia how much anguish she had suffered because of it. I don't think Alicia really understands, even now—she didn’t see her break down in the elevator, or realise that depth of emotion behind a simple, 'unadorned' statement like, "I do that. It means nothing to me, I do that. Look, Alicia, I didn't know you. I'd never even seen a picture of you. To me you were the housewife. Then I met you, and I liked you, I liked working with you, I liked talking with you, I felt bad. I don't like feeling bad." And Kalinda simply lacks the skills to truly explain herself to Alicia in the way she can to Will with a simple, playful punch.
It's particularly interesting to think about in the light of Alicia's own arc this season, which is about being pulled down (at least a little bit) from the 'good' pedestal and coming face to face with her own indiscretions in her professional as well as her personal life. Since this season is finally going to explore Will's backstory, I want more on Kalinda and Will's shared history as well.
Will and Kalinda first have a truly intimate moment at the end of 2.20, with Will watching Alicia on the television and Kalinda declaring her love for Alicia—er, that is to say, urging Will to declare his love for Alicia,
Kalinda: You should tell her how fantastic she is. [Will snorts slightly at that]
Will: She knows. [camera pans to Kalinda's face]
Kalinda: You should tell her. People like to be told. [Will swivels around to look at her]
Will: You're in a weird mood.
Kalinda: Yeah, I am.
It's hard not to read the scene as Kalinda articulating, in her own way, how much she cares about Alicia, even when you take off your slash glasses. More importantly, it sets the tone for almost every Will and Kalinda heart-to-heart that will follow: the subject of conversation is frequently Alicia, with Kalinda encouraging Will to talk about his feelings about Alicia, to pursue what he wants with her. Kalinda sets the tone of the conversation, always shifting the focus back to Will when he occasionally pries, and Will lets her, with some friendly ribbing ("Suddenly this is about me?", 2.22) or an observation like (MY FAVOURITE) "At some point Kalinda, you're going to have to confide in someone." The latter is also in 2.22, shortly after Kalinda informs him that she's not leaving L&G, and after she rebuffs his attempts to clarify as to whether her decision to leave had anything to do with Alicia; the implication is clear—Will is willing to listen, should Kalinda choose to talk, although he's not going to demand that she talk now or push her in any way. He is willing to be a confidante, even if it is only to listen to Kalinda telling him how much she doesn't need a confidante ("No, I don't. You know what I discovered? I never have to confide in anyone."), that she's a ~lone wolf. On the surface it's just a rebuff and Kalinda being her usual closed-off self, but that's not it: it's a surprisingly emotional declaration, especially coming from Kalinda. It's an expression of her frustration with people and friendships, and the fact that she has screwed up something that meant so much to her. That she would make such an emotional declaration to Will at all is significant—it's why come S3 they're still fast friends, drinking together after work and talking about their feelings (well, mostly Will's). It's an easy friendship, with clearly a lot of history and firm faith that the other person has their back.
The last bit again is important, because both Will and Kalinda are the kind of people who put a lot of stock in 'having someone's back'. It is—and I'm not sure if I can express myself very clearly here—a certain kind of a 'bro' ethic, where words are given and kept and backs are watched and debts are paid and honoured. It's an integral part of who Will is (think, for instance, of his anger when his friend the judge was exposed in S1, or his entire Wednesday night basketball affair with his male buddies), in sharp contrast with his smooth, amoral lawyerly self (also integral to who he is). And on any other show, Will's 'bro' would be a man, but TGW isn't any other show and Kalinda isn't any other female character, embodying, frequently, character traits that would be ascribed to a male character (stoic, silent, ~mysterious with a ~past, and so on). Kalinda, of course, is less demonstrative (the fact that it's usually Will's feelings that get discussed is one of the things I love best about their friendship), but all you have to do is consider a scene like the one in 3.08, where Kalinda urges Will to ask for her help,
Kalinda: Then use me.
Will: Thought you were an island these days. [note: referencing Kalinda's frustrated declaration in 2.22]
Kalinda: Hmm, no man is an island.
…
Kalinda: Okay, then ask for my help.
Will: [looks conflicted and then smiles prettily] I feel like hugging you.
Kalinda: No, just… Just ask for my help. [Will nods]
All Will has to do is ask, and Kalinda will have his back. It's in sharp contrast with her own I-will-use-your-feelings-for-me-and-throw-you-under-a-bus self (a prominent theme this season since it was Cary’s principal complaint against her), but that's precisely why their friendship works: they're very similar in that they both possess these oddly self-contradictory traits, and they understand each other. I think it's best demonstrated in that brilliant scene in the bar in 3.01, right after Kalinda claims that she’s 'fine' (when Will says that she needs a friend, or a dog),
Will: We're not like normal people, are we.
Kalinda: What are normal people like?
Will: Emotional.
Kalinda: You're emotional.
Will: No. Sometimes I'm in the middle of an emotion, and I just look at myself and realise, I’m not feeling anything. I just like acting like someone who feels something.
Kalinda: You wanna stop acting and actually feel?
Will: Yeah.
Kalinda: Yeah. [and then she punches him]
Will: Ow.
Kalinda: That's what it feels like.
Will is being emo about how emotionally stilted he is. He is having feelings about his lack of feelings. It's ridiculous, but knowing what we know of both Will and Kalinda, knowing that the playful punch is Kalinda's way of replying that actually feeling things for people instead of simulation hurts, it just works.
It's precisely the kind of thing Will cannot bring himself to tell Alicia—what if she doesn't understand? It's one of the many things he cannot bring himself to tell her, as we see in S3; as though Will fears Alicia's pure ears cannot bear such scurrilous talk. Kalinda is different. Kalinda is like him. Kalinda isn't going to judge him and break his heart.
It is actually quite unfair to Alicia, but that's another thing Will and Kalinda have in common: Alicia is their unexpected Achilles' heel. They're both slightly in awe of Alicia—her strength, her warmth, her passion, her moral compass. What they see as her 'goodness', this incredible, unattainable thing they cannot possibly hope to possess (or even want, on most days). This was evident in the Alicia/Kalinda break-up arc; in 2.18, for instance, where Alicia has that telephone conversation with the psycho murderer and Kalinda is listening in,
KILLER: I wanna remake my life, like you have. How do I do that?
ALICIA: Well it would've helped if you hadn't killed someone.
KILLER: Oops. I can't change the past, can I? Once a bad person, always a bad person.
The camera pans on Kalinda's face, and you know she's thinking about herself and Alicia—that unlike Alicia, who painstakingly remade her life after the storm, she’s a bad person; once a bad person, always a bad person. Or even last episode's 'I haven't changed'—that is to say, 'I haven't become a better person. A good person like you.' It's very clear why Kalinda could never bring herself to tell Alicia about her and Peter—how could she? How could she speak of something like that, something that she did, to Alicia? It's not unlike Will's arc this season, where Will has the same problem—how can he confide in Alicia when it means telling her of his past indiscretions?
It's not fair at all to Alicia, because it just assumes that she cannot handle such harsh truths without actually verifying if she can, but we also know why Will can’t—he can’t bear the thought of falling in her estimation. It precisely what Kalinda had also feared, and when her fears came true she was singularly incapable of expressing to Alicia how much anguish she had suffered because of it. I don't think Alicia really understands, even now—she didn’t see her break down in the elevator, or realise that depth of emotion behind a simple, 'unadorned' statement like, "I do that. It means nothing to me, I do that. Look, Alicia, I didn't know you. I'd never even seen a picture of you. To me you were the housewife. Then I met you, and I liked you, I liked working with you, I liked talking with you, I felt bad. I don't like feeling bad." And Kalinda simply lacks the skills to truly explain herself to Alicia in the way she can to Will with a simple, playful punch.
It's particularly interesting to think about in the light of Alicia's own arc this season, which is about being pulled down (at least a little bit) from the 'good' pedestal and coming face to face with her own indiscretions in her professional as well as her personal life. Since this season is finally going to explore Will's backstory, I want more on Kalinda and Will's shared history as well.
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no subject
Date: 2011-12-16 02:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-12-17 04:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-12-16 04:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-12-17 04:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-12-16 06:35 pm (UTC)Also, I want to say this thing, because in a way I think it speaks to how Kalinda's inarticulatedness isn't always that:
When Kalinda told Alicia "I haven't changed", I actually found it extremely articulate, in that it goes to the heart of the problem - it says, so succintly, "what separated us then, made you angry and unwilling to be my friend, it should still separate us now, unless *your* outlook/expectations have changed."
I was gaping at that, and had a brief moment of wishing I could be so lucid and precise myself. It seemed emotionless, perhaps, in some ways, but it was so *intelligent*, too.
I love her so much. ♥
Anyway, great post. Thank you.
no subject
Date: 2011-12-17 04:53 am (UTC)Oh yes, so true. It's not so much inarticulate as... unadorned, perhaps, as Alicia discovered in the previous episode? It's blunt, and almost unemotional, although we the viewers have the privilege of knowing how much emotion Kalinda carries underneath. It's that emotion that Kalinda can't quite articulate when she's being absolutely honest and herself with people. She has multiple weapons in her arsenal when she's convincing various people of her sincerity about various things (like, say, the button lady in the previous episode), but none of them are appropriate when it's something important to her - that's where she's unadorned, she has to be. But coming from the other side, her blunt precision without (seemingly) any deep emotion behind it can be extremely hurtful and difficult to comprehend, as it was for Alicia.
I ♥ her too.
no subject
Date: 2011-12-16 06:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-12-17 04:58 am (UTC)(Seriously, it's good to be able to write meta again, both TGW and Fringe seem to have given back that ability to me.)
no subject
Date: 2012-01-04 05:35 pm (UTC)In many ways, Will acts as a stand-in for Kalinda. They're a funny kind of triangle, devoid of jealousy, wanting the best for each other. And I also am firmly of the non-slash school with the Kalicia relationship: the fact that Kalinda loves Alicia platonically is what makes the relationship profound. For Kalinda, sex is easy; not-sex is hard.
no subject
Date: 2012-01-14 11:54 am (UTC)Yes, this. It was the most passionate thing Kalinda has ever said on this show, but Alicia wouldn't recognise that (and even more so at that moment, when she was angry and hurt). Kalinda has so many ways to convince someone of her sincerity when she's faking it, but no way at all of expressing herself when she really, truly means it, in a language Alicia will understand. It's made worse by the fact that Alicia herself - while emotionally healthier and far more expressive than Kalinda - is not very good at these things; one of the things this season has highlighted is that she's not very good at making friends and keeping them.
Will is a stand-in in some ways, but there's also genuine bond there that I wouldn't wish to lose once Alicia and Kalinda go back to being friends again, whenever that is. It's truly the best thing to have come out of the breakup arc, IMO.
And while I wouldn't say no to Alicia/Kalinda (I am that easy, and friends falling in love is a narrative trope I enjoy), I agree: sex is easy for Kalinda, it's the not-sex that she's not very good at.
no subject
Date: 2012-01-14 09:07 pm (UTC)Yes--exactly. It's the tragedy of their inability to understand and communicate that makes the whole thing so poignant to me. In that scene where Kalinda is trying to tell Alicia what she felt and feels, her voice catches just a little bit on the line "I don't have friends." And Alicia rolls her eyes to the heavens, as if to say "Of *course* you don't--someone like you couldn't possibly ever have friends." It's horrible to watch. In every episode in which we see Kalinda in action, she's always talking about this friend or that friend who helped her accomplish such-and-such astonishing feat of investigation. But none of those were actually "friends"--Alicia was, and she's not able to understand what that means.
I was also thinking that Alicia and Kalinda are interesting contrasts when it comes to expressing and understanding their feelings. Both are private and reticent. However, Kalinda understands how she feels and can't really speak of it. Alicia *doesn't* really understand how she feels but is much better able to verbalize how she thinks she's feeling. Sad, sad, sad!
I do wonder how the show is going to move them back together--they're getting there, of course, but I think we'll need another breakthrough or two to really get there. I'm worried that they won't do it well enough to satisfy what they really are to each other (although in my most impatient moods I'd happily accept an ill-conceived reset button, just to send the torture). I just want some ending that shows that Alicia *finally* understands how Kalinda feels about her. That's a tall order, and if the writers pull it off even a little bit I'll be impressed. (At least the Grace rescue had to make her reconsider the question of Kalinda and morality. Going after Grace and then backing away from the credit for it was an act of pure goodness, especially after months of Alicia's acting horribly toward her. Alicia herself wouldn't have been able to do something like that, and I'm sure she knows it. Kalinda's moral code isn't a conventional one, but it's real and deep, and Alicia has to be forced to recognize that now.)
As for Will and Kalinda, I share your enjoyment of the two of them together--they're great. Your bro code reading of the two of them exactly nails it. If the show ever puts them together as a romantic couple, I'll be furious: not only would neither of them ever do that to Alicia, but it would also be a fundamental betrayal of the relationship that they *do* have. I hope the showrunners have enough sense of their own characters to know that.
no subject
Date: 2012-01-15 07:12 pm (UTC)However, Kalinda understands how she feels and can't really speak of it. Alicia *doesn't* really understand how she feels but is much better able to verbalize how she thinks she's feeling. Sad, sad, sad!
In some ways Kalinda is far more self-aware than Alicia is: Kalinda knows she doesn't have friends, and what that means; for Alicia it is a painful process of self-discovery (the show is, after all, her journey). Just like Alicia doesn't know how much she means to Kalinda, I suspect she doesn't truly understand what Kalinda means to her, either. I'm thinking of the way she reacted to Cary playing games with Kalinda's arrest: it was such an utterly spontaneous and fierce leave my person alone or I will end you response on her part. It was a callback to the episode where Kalinda trusts Alicia to keep her out of jail - and perhaps it's not too far-fetched to assume that this was playing out somewhere in Alicia's sub-conscious when she volunteered to get Kalinda out (she didn't have to), that somewhere, Alicia does consider it her responsibility to keep Kalinda out of jail. This, juxtaposed with the recognition that she doesn't have too many friends. I suppose this too will be a part of her journey this season.
I don't know how they will get back together, except that they need to because I CAN'T TAKE IT (and also the angst is delicious).
Kalinda's moral code isn't a conventional one, but it's real and deep, and Alicia has to be forced to recognize that now.
Someone called Alicia a Vulcan - I'm not a Trekkie, but I do appreciate how appropriate it is in describing Alicia's difficulty in comprehending why people don't always do what one would logically expect them to do. Kalinda's moral code - her dogged loyalty to people who she decides are hers - isn't logical, and Alicia hasn't read The Bro Code. I do believe she's getting there - this, again, should be a part of her journey this season as she confronts the question of 'goodness'.
I don't want Will/Kalinda on the show, oh no, although I must admit I've contemplated the pairing on a fannish level. I can only imagine them in a fun, no-strings-attached fling pre-Alicia, and a painful (possibly drunken) episode post-Alicia that will leave EVERYONE heartbroken - I cannot imagine them as a romantic couple at all. I trust the showrunners on this, though. It just doesn't seem like the kind of thing they'd do (Will/Diane would happen before Will/Kalinda, IMO).
no subject
Date: 2012-01-16 04:10 pm (UTC)Very nice insight. (Do you ever feel a bit ridiculous analyzing fictional TV people as if they were real? I do, and then I shake it off!) I loved Alicia's roaring into action against Cary in that scene--I tried to imagine her doing that if it were, say, Diane who was being held, and it just didn't seem likely that Diane would have inspired that lovely fierceness. It was a wonderfully visceral reaction that showed the depth of her feeling for Kalinda. I have to think in my fanwankish way that Cary also (deep down) admired Alicia for roaring at him about Kalinda. I really wanted him to say that in the scene between the two of them in "Alienation of Affection"--rather than turning and saying that he liked working with Peter, I wanted him to turn and say that he liked what she did for Kalinda (to the great puzzlement of Alicia the Vulcan!). But then, I think the whole show is about Alicia and Kalinda, and I sometimes have to concede that it's about other things as well.
As for Kalinda's moral code, we're starting to see that play out now in last night's episode. I'm still hoping that we'll see a Kalinda twist that shows she knew that she was keeping Alicia and Will *both* safe, but she's playing with fire in handing over information about that case at all. Her moral code would certainly put protecting Alicia over protecting Will in her personal hierarchy, but what a Sophie's Choice to have to make! The angst continues . . .
(You need to write a new Good Wife post--your insights are gold. I'm officially a fan. Do you ever post at TWOP?)
no subject
Date: 2012-01-23 04:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-23 04:43 pm (UTC)Oh, well--just as long as you post somewhere, I'm happy. :-) It would be convenient for me if all the insightful TGW stuff were all in one place, but I've noticed that the world hasn't been strictly set up for my convenience!
no subject
Date: 2012-02-01 11:47 pm (UTC)I've been appreciating those Will/Kalinda scenes too. They've been a welcome respite to the lack of Kalinda and Alicia this season. (And as you said, more up front these days *because* of the lack of Kalinda and Alicia...)
Personally, I have no problem seeing Kalinda's feelings as more an unrequited romantic *something* and don't think it NOT being platonic love as some sort of "lesser" version or diminishment or unwelcome, as some do. So, I tend to see Kalinda playing a sort of Cyrano for Will's efforts to be with Alicia. Because Will IS so similar to Kalinda, it plays into that. A natural wish fulfillment surrogacy there. Because anything else is unlikely.
And in some respects I think Will recognizes this too. And it's another reason they're so bonded. This is my interpretation anyway (certainly when Elsbeth was talking about Will's hidden vulnerability in this last epi, she was essentially talking to both Will and Kalinda and they both seemed to know that).
I don't know how conscious this surrogacy would be for Kalinda, but besides the honest *selfless* desire to see Alicia happy, I find that interpretation enriches the whole Will/Alicia/Kalinda dynamic for me as a viewer.
I totally agree that Alicia is only starting to get a clue as to how much Alicia's friendship means to Kalinda. We can forget that Alicia hasn't seen what we've seen. She doesn't know either why Kalinda decided to stay on at L/G after saying she'd leave. It must've just seemed like spite to Alicia. She doesn't realize how much she works for her welfare behind the scenes and unsung all the time. The Grace "rescue" was just a bit of that. Kalinda saying they didn't know how Will got off being indicted when she basically orchestrated it (never mind Alicia not knowing how she saved her from Dana's threats) is just the latest.
At some point, I hope the let *Alicia* see more of what we see. Not just the efforts but the elevator-level of emotion that we've seen.
I imagine part of why Alicia felt so "foolish" (to quote her) after the Peter reveal is that Alicia was very aware of how Kalinda generally moves thru her life and her world, and had allowed herself to think she was an exception to that. And then she thought it proven that she wasn't an exception at all. But in fact, she IS, very much. I can only wonder at how they'll have her believe it again.
Oh, and thanks for mentioning Kalinda's reaction to "once a bad person...". I caught that too and find it pretty heartbreaking.
I hope you continue to review TGW!
no subject
Date: 2012-02-23 12:18 pm (UTC)I don't want to think of Kalinda's feelings as unrequited romantic, mostly because it just hurts my heart to think of Kalinda falling for the straight girl and playing Cyrano. ;__; But Will does recognise Kalinda's vulnerability wrt Alicia, because in some ways they're very similar.
I totally agree that Alicia is only starting to get a clue as to how much Alicia's friendship means to Kalinda. We can forget that Alicia hasn't seen what we've seen. She doesn't know either why Kalinda decided to stay on at L/G after saying she'd leave. It must've just seemed like spite to Alicia. She doesn't realize how much she works for her welfare behind the scenes and unsung all the time. The Grace "rescue" was just a bit of that. Kalinda saying they didn't know how Will got off being indicted when she basically orchestrated it (never mind Alicia not knowing how she saved her from Dana's threats) is just the latest.
I don't have words for how much I love Kalinda's silent, selfless, chivalric way of going about things. It hits all my narrative kinks. But of course Alicia doesn't know any of that - I'm hoping the final arc of the season will address that.
I imagine part of why Alicia felt so "foolish" (to quote her) after the Peter reveal is that Alicia was very aware of how Kalinda generally moves thru her life and her world, and had allowed herself to think she was an exception to that. And then she thought it proven that she wasn't an exception at all. But in fact, she IS, very much. I can only wonder at how they'll have her believe it again.
I can't help but read this in the light of Alicia's statements to Peter in 'Another Ham Sandwich' - that more than his professional indiscretions, it was his personal indiscretions that upset her more. Where does Alicia stand with respect to such indiscretions being committed by people she loves? It's an interesting thing to think about.