The Good Wife recap: Targets

If I’m being honest with you all, I’d like to take the entire length of this recap to talk about the sexual tension we just witnessed between Alicia and Jason. Because it made for one of the sexiest television scenes…ever. And I’m not talking about the one where they actually sleep together. I’m talking about the one where they both decide they “want it.”

Sadly, however, I have a feeling those of you who came here to read a recap won’t want to hear my every thought about how freaking sexy that was, so let’s talk about everything, shall we?

We start with a couple of military men picking up Alicia in a car and taking her to some top-secret room. Sitting around a table full of men — including Capt. Hicks! — Alicia is apparently working for the Department of Justice this week. It seems the people around the table have been selected for a confidential hearing. The action item involves an ISIS recruiter. The man in question has caused no actual violence himself, and yet, his recruits are responsible for a number of deadly attacks. The U.S. government knows this man’s location for the next 48 hours, and it’s the duty of the people in this room to decide if they have a legal justification to kill him. Welcome to the big leagues, Alicia.

Elsewhere, Eli heads to Elsbeth’s office — where she has started doing yoga (while wearing a blazer?) — for help with the FBI case. Basically, Eli needs a lawyer to figure out why they need a lawyer. Just like that, she heads to Peter’s office to get caught up. However, when Peter avoids telling her about how he tried to rig an election for Alicia, Eli informs him that now is the time to put all the cards on the table…especially because the FBI just called Nora. (Yes, she knew about the vote rigging.)

And in our third storyline of the week, the equity partners at Lockhart, Agos & Lee are posing for some photos for an upcoming article on the firm when the photographer asks to get a photo with just the women of the firm. Immediately, Cary and David become suspicious. Apparently, a year ago, Diane wanted to transition to being an all-female-led firm, and now they think she could be back at it.

On the case, Cary invites Lucca to lunch — where he learns nothing — and David asks Jason to investigate Diane to see if there’s any evidence to the fact that she’s trying to build a female-led firm. Spoiler: Jason finds nothing. (Although there was one call from Diane that Alicia never returned, so perhaps that’s something?)

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Back to the top-secret meeting, Alicia and her fellow citizens have to determine if the ISIS recruiter can be considered an enemy combatant — that’s the only way they can kill him. Surprising everyone around the table, Alicia votes for the killing after arguing that the recruiter has materially supported the enemy by supplying “bodies” for the bombs.

And yet, that’s only the first of two questions they have to answer, and the second one comes with a twist: Turns out our ISIS recruiter is originally a Chicago native named Lance Hopper who disappeared two years ago before resurfacing in Syria. So now that he’s an American, he’s entitled to due process, a fact that Alicia, Hicks, and only one other man around the table seem to care about.

In order to learn more about Mr. Hopper, Alicia temporarily withdraws her support of a targeted strike. That then leads to the question of whether Hopper poses an “imminent” threat, which takes us into the whole “what exactly does imminent mean” debate. Yeah, it’s complicated. So with 30 hours left to decide what to do, the group calls it a night.

(Side note: How significant was the moment when Alicia skipped Peter’s voicemail to listen to Jason’s? Well, you’re about to find out.)

NEXT: Alicia and Jason have sex…on a couch…in her office

From there, Alicia heads back to her office for a drink when Jason strolls by. Just as Alicia pours herself some tequila, she asks Jason the thing we’ve all been thinking: “Do you think I drink too much?” And considering she was planning on breaking that bottle of tequila if she couldn’t get the cork out, the answer is obviously yes. So instead of drinking, Jason distracts her with a bit of meditation.

And by meditation, I MEAN SEX. I would like to personally thank the building’s security for turning off the lights at 11 p.m. and setting the mood. God bless us, everyone!

The next day, while Alicia heads back to the room full of testosterone and secrets, Elsbeth asks to talk to Marissa. Trying to get all of her (literal) notecards in a row, Elsbeth questions Marissa about what the FBI asked her, but it seems when Marissa mentions her time in Israel — and her brief stint making purses — Elsbeth realizes she has to excuse herself from the case. Furthermore, she can’t say why. The only thing she can do is give Eli the business card of her ex-husband, Michael.

In case you were wondering, yes, Michael is just as quirky as you hoped. Specifically, he cradles his dog in his left arm…everywhere he goes.

Catching himself up, Michael asks what Marissa was talking about when Elsbeth decided to leave. At the mention of “Eli’s rich friends,” Michael realizes that Elsbeth must have a client that interferes with her working on the case.

After a failed attempt to see Elsbeth’s client list — she’s always one step ahead! — Eli and Michael devise another plan: They tell Elsbeth that the FBI is tapping Peter’s phone, forcing her to have to warn her client in person. And thanks to Jason, who follows her, they now know her conflict of interest: The dairy farmer who got Marissa her job in Israel. Translation: The FBI is not only coming after Peter, but it’s also coming after at least one of his donors.

Back in her secret-filled room, Alicia is thrown when she discovers Capt. Hicks — the biggest advocate for NOT killing the ISIS recruiter — will not be back to vote on the matter. It seems the government suspects him of “leaking” information. Sure, we’ll believe that.

And the moment that Alicia threatens to stand in the way of the vote to terminate the target, well, they start suspecting her as well. Convenient, right? In the end, a drone strike kills the recruiter.

But when word of the leak spreads, the attention turns to the NSA agents who are still listening in on Alicia’s every conversation. Although her phone was left outside the room, the hot mic feature made the NSA able to hear…I think. I’m not entirely sure, but I know one of the agents listening is about to get questioned, so that’s not good.

And now, we’re back to the sexiest sex-less scene ever. After Alicia calls Jason out on ignoring her calls, he claims he doesn’t like “not knowing what the situation is,” mostly because Alicia is still married to the governor. Alicia tells him that regardless of what Peter feels, he “accepts it.” She then guilts him into coming over by pulling the “If you don’t come to me tonight, who knows, maybe I’ll start drinking again” card. And can you blame her?!

To make things simple, Alicia tells Jason, “I want you again. Do you want it?” Jason’s response? “I want it.” That’s where we get cut off, though from the sound of the NSA guy’s headphones, Alicia starts in on the, “would you like me to tell you exactly…”

I’d like to remind you all that they’re having this conversation in Alicia’s office, which is surrounded by glass. And I love it.

What did you all think of the hour? Hit the comments with your thoughts, or find me on Twitter @samhighfill.