The Televangelist: ‘The Good Wife,’ Season 3, Ep. 11
The mid-season finale summoned almost all of the best elements of what has been a rather uneven program this year.
- CBS
- I wonder if anyone will remember to tune back in for the second half of our season ...
For the first time in several weeks, “What Went Wrong” had everything going right. Nearly everything. Well you didn’t think I was going to let it off that easy, did you?
Because I watch so few network shows (Ooooo look at me, with my nose in the air!) and tend to watch a lot of series on DVD, the concept of the “mid-season finale” is fairly foreign to me. It’s a way to extend a 22-episode series into two distinct parts, apparently, and after the crushing wave of new Fall shows, it seems that Christmas acts as a kind of content-dam. Programs like “The Good Wife” hibernate until Spring where they return fresh and new to an audience who has probably forgotten most of where the show was heading in the first place. In “The Good Wife’s” case, this may not be a bad thing.
What is helpful about a mid-season finale, as far as I can tell, is that shows are forced to really step up their game. After a few floundering weeks, “The Good Wife” went in almost an entirely different direction, and for a little while I felt like I was watching a stray episode from another season. With Will out of the picture, Alicia is back in friendly communication with Peter, putting the kids in private school (are they in public school now? An interesting change ... is their school not adequate? Does Alicia fear for their safety? It would be a worthy discussion, but it’s brushed over), and wondering where all of her friends went. For a woman who takes issue with not having a single moment to herself, once she gets one she’s instantly bored. Alicia is, or has turned into, an extreme Type-A personality who needs to be on the go at all times, it seems. Owen tells her that a divorce could occupy her time, because then she could spend free moments having sex with Will. Alicia admits that she’s not in love with Will, just the attention he gave her. Wow! This feels like a huge revelation, but is Alicia being honest with herself? She attempts to go and make friends with women instead, with mixed results.