The Good Wife recap: Shoot

Alicia Florrick has spent 20 years being a “good wife.” She has stood by her lying, cheating husband. She has denied herself a chance at true love, and as a result, she lost a man she loved. And now, Alicia could not care less … about anything. Her children are grown, her past is her past, and she’s finally living. (And man is she living.)

But before we get to Alicia, we’re introduced to Diane and Cary’s case of the week. The episode kicks off by introducing us to Harry Dargis, played by Blair Underwood, and his daughter. We watch his daughter learn to walk for the first time as a toddler, and 10 years later, we watch her get braces. Fast-forwarding a bit more, we watch her head off to prom, enjoy her first (and second) kiss, and arrive home from prom in just enough time to enjoy some chocolate milk with dad. But when the neighbors start acting up — they’re drug dealers, apparently — shots are fired, and in a moment highly reminiscent of Will’s death, a stray bullet catches Harry’s daughter in the neck.

Now, in present day, we’re sitting in a courtroom where Harry is the defendant. It seems he put up a billboard claiming “Gloria’s murdered my daughter.” Gloria’s Guns in the shop where the gun was bought, and now, the shop owner is out to prove that the billboard is defamatory and has made a negative impact on her business. At the helm of this case is Judge Abernathy, whom I’ve decided is my favorite recurring Good Wife judge.

However, despite the fact that they have a very outspoken pro-gun control judge on their side, not to mention that Gloria’s Guns is known for selling to “straw buyers” (someone who buys a gun to sell to someone who wouldn’t have passed a background check) Cary and Diane lose the case. And yet, when Harry mentions the fact that gun violence in the area has hurt his motel business, they decide to countersue the gun shop for damages, claiming that Harry’s losses are directly related to the increase in gun violence. And because he’s the best, Abernathy is willing to hear them out.

Elsewhere, Alicia and Jason are making the most of their time together when she gets a call from Eli. (Again, this scene took me back to another Will moment where both he and Alicia were on their phones as they tried to hide their relationship from everyone. Just me?)

It seems Lloyd Garber, Peter’s donor, is going in front of the grand jury. Not only that, but Alicia will be next. They know that Connor Fox will put Alicia on the stand fully expecting her to invoke spousal privilege with each and every question. Their only ask is that she doesn’t show her impatience at having to repeat herself. She needs to play ball.

Alicia’s in, but right now, she’s got a bigger problem: The college admissions office is claiming that Grace plagiarized her very personal college essay. But when they won’t reveal which part of the essay they believe to be plagiarized, Alicia enlists Jason’s help.

Meanwhile, Eli continues to listen in on the grand jury hearing (from a bathroom vent) when he realizes that one of the jurors is not convinced by Garber’s claims that Peter told him he had “nothing to worry about” when it came to his son’s murder trial. And one unconvinced juror could be the first step to their victory. With that in mind, they change the game plan for Alicia: She’s to answer Fox’s questions, all the while trying to identify the unconvinced juror and give him more of what he wants to hear.

Alicia, with her new attitude that’s perfectly demonstrated by her not-fully-styled hair, is in. And when she sits in front of the grand jury, she makes sure to focus her testimony on Mr. Garber’s faulty memory. Eli and Mike (and Tom): 1. Fox: 0.

Grabbing drinks with Diane — well, Alicia drinks water because she’s a new woman — Alicia once again considers Diane’s offer of creating a firm with all female name partners. Alicia doesn’t want to hurt Cary, but Diane says she will offer to buy him out. As for what Alicia wants, she brings up the fact that Lucca isn’t happy. And Alicia wants to be at a firm that recognized talent. As Diane puts it, “Let me take another look.”

Also taking another look is Alicia, who spots Jason at the bar … where he kisses another woman?! WHAT. IS. THIS.

NEXT: Alicia really lets loose

Cut to the next scene, and just like that, Alicia’s drinking again. So if you were wondering about the correlation between Jason and Alicia’s drinking habit, it’s DIRECT. Alicia updates Lucca on the situation, who ends up taking the issue to Jason. Now in her new office — see, Diane listens — Lucca asks Jason about the woman he was seeing. He claims it’s an old friend, and that’s the same thing he tells Alicia when he shows up at her apartment.

Alicia tries to stop him from explaining himself. As she puts it, “I am married. If anyone should be explaining, it should be me.” But Jason still feels the need to tell her it was an old friend and “it didn’t mean anything.” But when Alicia stops him, she leaves him unsure of what to do next. It’s quite simple: Walk around the kitchen island and kiss her!

Pulling away briefly, Jason asks, “What if I’m jealous of your husband?” Alicia assures him he shouldn’t be. She also informs him that they have 45 minutes before Grace gets home. He’s fine with that, but he won’t be picking her up because “I threw out my back.”

Can we talk about how cute these two are? And when did Denny Duquette become the new McDreamy? Because the way he was looking at her when he said “It didn’t mean anything” was one of the dreamiest moments in recent TV history. Seriously, I’m loving this.

Back in court, Diane gives Lucca the floor to argue Harry’s case against the gun shop. And when more business owners show up willing to say they’ve been affected by gun violence, things seem to be going well. But Diane knew it would be an uphill battle, and in the end, it’s one they lose. Well, sort of.

WANT MORE? Keep up with all the latest from last night’s television by subscribing to our newsletter. Head here for more details.

Judge Abernathy cannot find a direct causal connection between gun sales and a reduction in tourism, so he cannot award Mr. Dargis any damages. However, when it comes to the damages that Mr. Dargis owes Gloria’s Guns? Judge Abernathy decides that Mr. Dargis shall pay 10 cents for every day that his billboard is not taken down. And considering he has $40 on him at the moment, he just bought himself 400 days. Yep, Abernathy’s the best.

Tying up the other cases, it seems Mr. Fox has called Lloyd Garber back to the grand jury room, and to make matters worse, Eli’s handicap bathroom is being cleaned. And then there’s Alicia, who discovers — with help from Jason — that the part of Grace’s essay that was deemed as plagiarized was from the Sermon on the Mount. And when Alicia discovers that the software company the college employed to scan essays hasn’t acquired the intellectual property rights to any of the essays, she threatens a class action lawsuit, thereby confirming that Grace will not only get into college, but also that Grace will study law.

Alicia, Lucca, and Jason end the day at a bar to celebrate Lucca’s promotion. After Alicia lies to Cary about Diane’s offer — I truly hate it when these two aren’t on the same side — she really lets loose. Alicia’s kept a lot in for 20 years, and now, she’s letting it ALL hang out … as she undoes Jason’s pants IN A CROWDED BAR. Apparently this is her definition of not wasting anymore of her life. And hey, I support her. (Just maybe wrap things up before Lucca gets back?)

What did you think of the episode? What do you think of the new Alicia? Hit the comments with your thoughts or find me on Twitter @samhighfill.