I fought the law (I liked it)

[swatkat]

I remember reading an interview with the Kings at the end of the previous season, one in which they talk about the two different worlds Alicia and Kalinda live in: Alicia's world, realistic and (somewhat) mundane, Kalinda's overblown and operatic - the knock that the previous season ended with - left ambiguous (was it simply Bill knocking on Kalinda's door, or also Alicia knocking on Peter's?), no doubt on purpose - signifying a sudden collapsing of the two worlds. I was reminded of that again when the season began on two very different notes for the two of them - Kalinda's with what the AV Club reviewer calls 'pulpy', 'several levels kinkier and more violent than the rest of the show' (the reviewer does not think this pulpy storyline has a place in TGW, but I disagree on that account), and Alicia's with a routine family trip gone awry thanks to an overzealous policeman and some iffy police practices. The lighting in the first Kalinda scenes are dark and menacing; in Alicia's scenes the same lighting becomes bright and sunshine-y. The AV Club reviewer felt that TGW 'doesn't also need to be a sexy crime drama', which is absolutely true, but Kalinda's 'pulpy' plot does not necessarily make the show a 'sexy crime drama' - it simply brings to the forefront an element that has always been a part of the show, in the shape of Will's shady past and Kalinda's shady past and Lemond Bishop. It, furthermore, brings Alicia and Kalinda on the same page in an entirely unexpected way - as 'the good wife'. Or rather, as women who have, in their own ways, tried to escape their lives as 'good wives', only to find themselves pulled back. Nick, in his own sleazy and scarydisturbing way, makes for a fun parallel to Peter's smooth and (rich, white) upperclass brand of... Peter-ness (Peter was, in the scene where he threatens the Madison County SA, at his scary best/worst), just as Lana Delaney in her I-will-use-my-office-and-power-to-essentially-sexually-harass-you avatar is another fun parallel to Peter (thanks, tanndell).

ETC

+ The social media continues to be a central aspect of the show; I remember reading a fascinating article - possibly by Emily Nussbaum - about the centrality of the new social media in the show, but I can't seem to find a link for it now.

+ Will + Diane = ♥ Say what you will, but they're my true OTP of the show.

+ I love Alicia's new hair.

+ Is there anything sexier than Kalinda Sharma pointing her gun at a man and asking him to kneel? (Answer: NO)

+ Zach was surprisingly lawyer-ly in this episode.

+ Cary and Alicia's newfound friendship is nice.

+ Upon meeting Kristin Chenoweth, I said, 'She's like an evil Lois Lane'.
'No,' my sister said. 'She's Rita Skeeter.'