CBS' The Good Wife - Episode 5.15 Dramatics, Your Honor
Alicia enlists Cary as her lawyer when Nelson Dubeck approaches her to participate in a deposition regarding his investigation into election rigging. Meanwhile, Will continues the difficult defense of Jeffrey Grant (Hunter Parrish) as he faces off against a new prosecutor (Matthew Goode) who proves to be a formidable adversary.
CBS did try to warn us that nothing would prepare us for the twist that would happen during "Dramatics, Your Honor." But that was such a gross understatement. Nothing could have prepared us for the bombshell twist The Good Wife had planned.They killed off Will Gardner!
I mean damn. Just writing that sentence hardly makes it feel any more real. And one of the best aspects of it too was seeing it unfold right before our eyes exactly as it was happening. Unspoiled and holding on to the hope that they couldn't possibly kill him. Not in the middle of his best season yet! But no, he is dead which rocks the show down to its core. It's so gut-wrenching. But in all the best ways possible. It was a wonderful sendoff for Josh Charles while also being one of the most tragic moments to ever occur in the history of the show while also remaining faithful to the tone and foundation of it.
This could play as the moment that The Good Wife jumps the shark. And yet, it doesn't! The show took the necessary amount of time to invest into the characters. We needed that first episode with Hunter Parrish last fall in order to feel the emotional insatiability he exerts here. Will needed to have those interactions with Diane and Kalinda and most importantly Alicia in order for this tragedy to work. It would have been a ripoff if he were to die suddenly but Alicia didn't talk to him at all. Their last conversation was now one of her giving him a friendly heads-up about Jeffrey's parents. It was small but a necessary point to bring up that after a season of them being against each other their final interaction was a civil one.
But that also makes things that much more emotionally devastating. Kalinda and Diane carry the bulk of it during the episode's last third as they are the ones trying to discover the truth to what has just happened. His death comes from their point-of-view. Notice how Jeffrey eyes the gun and then the action quickly cuts to Diane in the other courtroom and then the shots are fired. We only see him shoot the window and then try and fail to turn the gun on himself. Kalinda sees Will covered in blood alongside the prosecutor - a hell of a first episode for Matthew Goode, right? At the hospital, they search for answers and have to uncover them on their own. The reveal that he is actually dead just destroys them and rocks the viewers to their core. Then, they have to reach out to Alicia because she should know. Forget all the animosity that was there for the last couple of months. The two of them were close at one time and this news will forever change her as well. The small, subtle work that she and Eli do in that final scene is amazing.
This event will also shake up the dynamic of the show even more. This season has been so tumultuous. Alicia and Cary parted ways with Will and Diane and started their own firm. One that they can now take a step back and admire for themselves and what they've accomplished so far. Will had a profound relationship with everyone. His death is what's going to unify everyone in the coming somber and emotional episodes. Even as all of them will be at a lost as to what should come next both on a professional and personal level.
R.I.P. Will Gardner
Some more thoughts:
- "Dramatics, Your Honor" was written by Robert King & Michelle King and directed by Brooke Kennedy.
- But now, the question must be asked. How does Will's death effect Dubeck's investigation into Peter? It was literally the last thing on my mind but it's a big story that will be hugely effected by this twist.
- I also hope the show doesn't go down the route of having Alicia be distraught and certain that Will was the right one for her and she was a fool not to spend much more time with him. The Good Wife is the story of Alicia Florrick. She doesn't need a man for her to be vital to the show.
- But the thing I'm going to miss most of all is the Will-Diane relationship. They were two great friends who pushed each other to be the best person and lawyer they could be.
