the storm

[swatkat]

First, let's talk about the bad things: that entire convoluted narrative about Venezuela, just to make a point as commonplace as 'dictatorship bad, democracy good LOL HUGO CHAVEZ' - was that really necessary? It made me cringe more than the dictator episode in House (you know, the one where Chase killed an African dictator to ~save the country), because that, at least, was a gripping episode with some very powerful performances, whereas here we have parody!Chavez and schoolboy level humour.

UGH.

BUT THEN WE COME TO THE GOOD PART, involving Kalinda, and her ~feelings. Mostly, her feelings about Alicia. And Alicia herself, who is, again, left utterly alone - betrayed now by her husband and her friend. God, I can't imagine that confrontation now. ;__;

The scene with Will and Kalinda, meanwhile, was heartwrenching in unexpected ways. She seemed nervous but better off with Cary, who was light and deliberately trying to make her laugh (♥), but the utter devastation in her face all throughout that scene:

'What do you think?'
'I think she's fantastic.'
'I think she just won him the election.'
'Probably.'
'You should tell her how fantastic she is.'
'She knows.'
'You should tell her.' (camera focuses on Kalinda's face) 'People like to be told.'

Will picks up on it, and says, 'You're in a weird mood,' talking about feelings like that, and all she has to say is 'Yeah, I am,' while appearing resigned and heartbroken. It's easy to comment on the subtext - the show made it really easy, putting her alongside Will like that and talking about how fantastic Alicia is (it's practically a declaration of ~love) - but more importantly, I just need the two of them to be okay, and it's not going to be okay. Alicia (and to a certain extent Cary) is probably the only real friend Kalinda has made in her new life, if not EVER, because Kalinda doesn't do friendships; Kalinda has been one of the very few Alicia trusts without question. And now that trust is gone, to be replaced only with a lot of heartbreak. Like Alicia said in that interview, 'I just think it's easy for people to judge, and I think it's harder for them to forgive' - Alicia hasn't forgiven Peter, and it's unlikely she'll forgive Kalinda anytime soon. Under any other circumstance, this would perhaps have brought her closer to Will, but now, given the commitment he's just made with Tammy, that's unlikely too - so where does that leave Alicia? To fend for herself, as always.

You have to hand it to the writers, they broke the news in the least dramatic and yet most hurtful way possible. Everything went just the way it should have: Peter won, Kalinda is no longer under investigation, Blake is no longer a threat, it's just Alicia who'll end up heartbroken all over again.


PS: I want to write odes to Archie Punjabi's expressions.

PPS: hibernate, I can't wait till you get to this arc (but don't spoil yourself).

Comments

[zulu]

Oh man, I kinda dropped the Good Wife early in season two when the focus shifted a lot onto the dudes and I was like, BUT WHAT ABOUT KALINDA AND ALICIA, PLZ TO BE BOOTING OFF THE MEN. So this sounds both incredibly promising and incredibly sad, because I started loathing House (the show) and Chase after their ~fake dictator~ plot. But I want to see this betrayal arc! SIGH.

[swatkat]

I'm not sure which arc in particular you're referring to, mostly because I marathoned S2 - everything just blends together in one giant arc! That said, if it was the focus on Peter and Will and Eli Gold worried you, you should consider watching again. If there's one thing this show does CONSISTENTLY is its focus on women - female characters and their relationships drive the narrative. There's never any questioning of the fact that it is Alicia's show, and that Diane and Kalinda and Grace are as important to the narrative as Cary and Will and Peter.

Whatever. WATCH THIIIIS. Watch it for Archie Punjabi's face.

[zulu]

It was around 2.06-2.08, it just seemed like more guys were showing up in the cast, and more guys were getting attention/screentime/storylines. Eli, certainly, but also Blake, and it felt like "I am waiting for the good stuff!" So! I am totally willing to give it another shot if the good stuff arrives.

[swatkat]

Again, I marathoned through the thing, so Eli's increased screentime didn't bother me, mostly because it never felt like the focus was shifting away from Alicia. But anyway, I'd recommend giving it another try. This Alicia-and-Kalinda storyline has me writing odes to their friendship with every episode.

[zulu]

I watched five eps yesterday, and was mostly able to wince my way through the more egregious bits (THERE ARE NO BLACK SWEDES?), and you're right, so far the Alicia-and-Kalinda makes up for a lot!

[swatkat]

THERE ARE NO BLACK SWEDES?

NONE, I TELL YOU.

I was actually hoping Eli would grind his teeth and point out to the silly teenagers that there are, in fact, people of all kinds in Sweden, but no, then it became a plot point. But isn't the Alicia-and-Kalinda awesome? I didn't even know how invested I was in their friendship and how integral I consider it to the show until all of this happened. :DDDD

[bell]

Thanks for the heads up. Seriously. (Normally I abhor spoilers, but Zulu knows that I want to be warned for spoil, so she told me what was behind the cut...!) LJALSDJFALSDFJ WHY SHOWS WHY DO YOU INSIST ON EPISODES WITH DICTATOR STEREOTYPES WHEN YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THE CULTURES AT HAND (*ragey*)

...There's more stuff I started to complain about but I was digressing. >___> At any rate, I'm feeling torn about whether or not I should continue to watch episodes!

[swatkat]

Skim through the dictatorfail (maybe occasionally pausing on America Ferrera's face, because it's certainly nice to see her do stuff on the show) and watch the rest. This, and the 'all Swedish people are white and blonde' thing had me speechless, but thankfully it's balanced by the good stuff. Of which there's a-plenty right now. (I say this with my Alicia-and-Kalinda bias, note.)