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Jan. 13th, 2014 10:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkat1. Enjoyed last night's The Good Wife even if I got a bit lost on the case of the week, which was once again used metaphorically to underline the gender politics and legal politics. It was amusing.
Will Gardner reminds me a great deal of some of the lawyers that I had the unfortunate experience of meeting and dealing with in Law School. (They actually hid case books. Had this experience on a litigation competition that I was involved in. Luckily, I had Lexis/Nexus and Westlaw access at home - so it didn't matter. ) Yes, there's a reason people dislike lawyers, although the medical, marketing and advertising professions aren't much better.
At any rate, this week Alicia and Will are stuck defending the two lovers on trial for drug smuggling. Apparently this is a pre-existing case. They inform the judge that it works best for their clients if they separate the case. And well, there is the small issue of the fact that they now work for different law firms. Which Will feels a need to explain further - "Alicia is poaching my clients!" Leaving out crucial evidence regarding his own misdeeds, which are numerous and sundry.
Carey wisely suggests being first chair on the case that Alicia was defending. As does Diane for Will's case. Unfortunately, this does not stop Will from finding new ways to get back at and undermine Alicia - although in this case it is in the best interests of his client.
Ironically, he's defending the female client. Who, Alicia and Carey, are ironically trying to prove manipulated their client, the male client, with sex, to trick him into smuggling drugs. The jury convicts Alicia/Cary's client and not Will/Diane's.
It's rather funny in places, because the Judge not wanting any further delays, insists on having both trials in the same courtroom at the same time, with a double jury. (Which may well be grounds for appeal right there.) As a result the prosecution doesn't have to do all that much - since the two opposing defense teams are basically doing all their work for them. They are thrilled. The judge begins to regret his decision in part because he can't control either the jurors or the opposing defense teams. And states at one point that attempting to work with them is akin to herding cats. The jurors don't want to be in the folding chairs, they want to be in the comfortable juror box, and they don't like not being able to interact.
Two of the jurors, from opposing juries, do interact. Will sees them first and points them out to Alicia. But says nothing to the judge (who was Victor Garber this week). When Alicia brings it to the judge's attention, Will blatantly lies that he saw them - making Alicia look like an idiot.
Meanwhile, Robin has found a way of poaching another client from Lockhardt/Gardner. A Mr. Pailsey. Will apparently has been so busy that he's been ignoring the client's calls.
But it falls through. Pailsey isn't interested. Kalinda tries to make up with Carey, after spying on him earlier in the year. Carey keeps giving her the cold shoulder. Finally, he sees her coming towards him at a bar, and sends himself a text from Robin's email - providing false information on Pailsey's granddaughter. He pays the bar-tender to spill a drink on him that Kalinda buys him. Deliberately leaves his cell behind, when he rushes to clean up in the lavatory, knowing full well Kalinda will take the bait. She does.
And Will and Kalinda walk right into Carey's trap. LOL! Later, a bemused Kalinda stops by Cary's apartment and asks if he'd still like to go for that drink now that they are "Even".
He agrees. (Guess she's over the female cop?) Pailey's was played by Tom Skerrit.
Then we have the political sub-plot. Marilyn is investigating the video of the stuffed ballot box without getting any cooperation from Eli or Peter - who have a problem. While Peter didn't know about the ballot box, and it wasn't needed to win the election - since Alicia and Will ironically proved it to illegitimate, Eli inadvertently pushed Moody to stuff the box. He didn't intend to - but that's what happened. Moody isn't so sure he wants to let Eli off the hook and Eli crosses an ethical boundry by asking him too. Peter has his own problems - Will brought the video of the box to Peter's attention on the eve of the election. Peter refused to watch the video and claimed to have no knowledge of the box or the video. Will doesn't remember it that way - instead he remembers that Peter did convey knowledge of the video and what it revealed. Then he tells Peter - that's what you get for taking Diane's judgeship away from her. (Yes, Will is a vindictive bastard.) Peter calls Will on his Ethics, Will basically tells Peter that this is a case of the pot calling the kettle black. (He's not wrong). "And here I am talking to the most ethical administration ever?" So Peter has no choice but to refuse to waive his lawyer/client confidentiality. What Will has forgotten is who else was involved - Zack, Peter and Alicia's son, who witnessed the box being brought in and testified that there was something off with it. And Alicia wants Peter to fix it so - that her son doesn't have to testify before the Feds.
Upon Peter's inability to waive his lawyer confidentiality privilege so that Marilyn can get Will's testimony, Marilyn tells Peter that she'll have to refer the case to the Feds.
This may blow up yet in both Will and Peter's faces. Eli is fit to be tied - and knows that Will Gardner most likely tipped off the press about the tape. Will has made an enemy in Eli, although how effective an enemy Eli is, is to be determined. Eli seems to be used for more comic effect...
2. Am embroiled in new novel What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarity. It's rather interesting and deals with memory loss (a huge story kink of mine, memory loss fascinates me). What would you do if you lost 10 years of your life? If you woke up one morning, thinking you were 29, only to discover you were on the eve of your 40th Birthday? That you were not about to have your first kid, but had actually had three - and about to get divorced, not only divorced but embroiled in a bitter custody dispute?
Told in three perspectives, one third person close, the other two first person close, and stream-of-consciousness, the story delves into the thought processes of three women grappling with one of them losing her memory. It also is a bit of a mystery - because the story is told mainly through Alice's point of view, and sparsely through the journal writings, and letters of Alice's Sister and Grandmother, who also focus more on their own issues than necessarily on Alice, as people will do. As a result, we don't quite know what Alice forgot. We don't know why her once happy marriage crumbled, or why her husband hates her, or her sister is estranged from her, or why she's a fitness addict, or so so busy all the time. Nor does Alice. It's revealed bit by bit, as is her life up to the age of 29.
The narrative style is rather interesting - for it is the random thoughts we think in nonsequitur manner on a daily basis. Pure stream-of-consciousness, with better grammar.
All three narrators ramble on about their lives. Often switching to what appears to be mundane topics.
An overwhelming theme of Moriarty's work is the obsession women have with weight and their looks. Alice, even at 29, is self-conscious of her weight and appearance. And comments at one point that women have to appear pretty even for ugly men, that no one cares if the man is ugly, they only care if the woman is.
Unlike the romance genre, the contemporary women's lit genre focuses more on female relationships outside of the romantic ones, and less on sex. It also focuses on how women struggle to be well women in a male world. Alice has no job, her children are her life.
She's involved with their school, everything concerning them. It's not clear at this point if her husband is or was, he appears to be consumed with work. That imbalance, while seemingly stereotypical is actually still a major factor in so many people's lives.
About 25% of the way through - it's a long-ass book apparently.
3. When doing the list of Favorite Movies yesterday, it occurred to me that there are a bunch of movies that I'm told are brilliant and I'm supposed to love - because film scholarly or high lit, etc. This happens with books too by the way. And I try, but seriously wonder what the frak folks were thinking when they declared THIS the best thing ever? Were they smoking crack?
A brief list?
Literary Canon: Citizen Kane, Lost in Translation, Great Expectations, Atonement, The Departed, A Sun Also Rises, The Searchers, Dracula by Bram Stoker,
I honestly think taste is a personal thing that cannot be quantified or examined or explained. You just like what you like and don't like what you don't like. But being social creatures - we desperately want to share our interests with people who feel the same or if they are our friends or close to us, we want they to share our same tastes. It's impossible of course - best you can do is 5 out of 10, but doesn't change the desire for 10 out 10, now does it?
Will Gardner reminds me a great deal of some of the lawyers that I had the unfortunate experience of meeting and dealing with in Law School. (They actually hid case books. Had this experience on a litigation competition that I was involved in. Luckily, I had Lexis/Nexus and Westlaw access at home - so it didn't matter. ) Yes, there's a reason people dislike lawyers, although the medical, marketing and advertising professions aren't much better.
At any rate, this week Alicia and Will are stuck defending the two lovers on trial for drug smuggling. Apparently this is a pre-existing case. They inform the judge that it works best for their clients if they separate the case. And well, there is the small issue of the fact that they now work for different law firms. Which Will feels a need to explain further - "Alicia is poaching my clients!" Leaving out crucial evidence regarding his own misdeeds, which are numerous and sundry.
Carey wisely suggests being first chair on the case that Alicia was defending. As does Diane for Will's case. Unfortunately, this does not stop Will from finding new ways to get back at and undermine Alicia - although in this case it is in the best interests of his client.
Ironically, he's defending the female client. Who, Alicia and Carey, are ironically trying to prove manipulated their client, the male client, with sex, to trick him into smuggling drugs. The jury convicts Alicia/Cary's client and not Will/Diane's.
It's rather funny in places, because the Judge not wanting any further delays, insists on having both trials in the same courtroom at the same time, with a double jury. (Which may well be grounds for appeal right there.) As a result the prosecution doesn't have to do all that much - since the two opposing defense teams are basically doing all their work for them. They are thrilled. The judge begins to regret his decision in part because he can't control either the jurors or the opposing defense teams. And states at one point that attempting to work with them is akin to herding cats. The jurors don't want to be in the folding chairs, they want to be in the comfortable juror box, and they don't like not being able to interact.
Two of the jurors, from opposing juries, do interact. Will sees them first and points them out to Alicia. But says nothing to the judge (who was Victor Garber this week). When Alicia brings it to the judge's attention, Will blatantly lies that he saw them - making Alicia look like an idiot.
Meanwhile, Robin has found a way of poaching another client from Lockhardt/Gardner. A Mr. Pailsey. Will apparently has been so busy that he's been ignoring the client's calls.
But it falls through. Pailsey isn't interested. Kalinda tries to make up with Carey, after spying on him earlier in the year. Carey keeps giving her the cold shoulder. Finally, he sees her coming towards him at a bar, and sends himself a text from Robin's email - providing false information on Pailsey's granddaughter. He pays the bar-tender to spill a drink on him that Kalinda buys him. Deliberately leaves his cell behind, when he rushes to clean up in the lavatory, knowing full well Kalinda will take the bait. She does.
And Will and Kalinda walk right into Carey's trap. LOL! Later, a bemused Kalinda stops by Cary's apartment and asks if he'd still like to go for that drink now that they are "Even".
He agrees. (Guess she's over the female cop?) Pailey's was played by Tom Skerrit.
Then we have the political sub-plot. Marilyn is investigating the video of the stuffed ballot box without getting any cooperation from Eli or Peter - who have a problem. While Peter didn't know about the ballot box, and it wasn't needed to win the election - since Alicia and Will ironically proved it to illegitimate, Eli inadvertently pushed Moody to stuff the box. He didn't intend to - but that's what happened. Moody isn't so sure he wants to let Eli off the hook and Eli crosses an ethical boundry by asking him too. Peter has his own problems - Will brought the video of the box to Peter's attention on the eve of the election. Peter refused to watch the video and claimed to have no knowledge of the box or the video. Will doesn't remember it that way - instead he remembers that Peter did convey knowledge of the video and what it revealed. Then he tells Peter - that's what you get for taking Diane's judgeship away from her. (Yes, Will is a vindictive bastard.) Peter calls Will on his Ethics, Will basically tells Peter that this is a case of the pot calling the kettle black. (He's not wrong). "And here I am talking to the most ethical administration ever?" So Peter has no choice but to refuse to waive his lawyer/client confidentiality. What Will has forgotten is who else was involved - Zack, Peter and Alicia's son, who witnessed the box being brought in and testified that there was something off with it. And Alicia wants Peter to fix it so - that her son doesn't have to testify before the Feds.
Upon Peter's inability to waive his lawyer confidentiality privilege so that Marilyn can get Will's testimony, Marilyn tells Peter that she'll have to refer the case to the Feds.
This may blow up yet in both Will and Peter's faces. Eli is fit to be tied - and knows that Will Gardner most likely tipped off the press about the tape. Will has made an enemy in Eli, although how effective an enemy Eli is, is to be determined. Eli seems to be used for more comic effect...
2. Am embroiled in new novel What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarity. It's rather interesting and deals with memory loss (a huge story kink of mine, memory loss fascinates me). What would you do if you lost 10 years of your life? If you woke up one morning, thinking you were 29, only to discover you were on the eve of your 40th Birthday? That you were not about to have your first kid, but had actually had three - and about to get divorced, not only divorced but embroiled in a bitter custody dispute?
Told in three perspectives, one third person close, the other two first person close, and stream-of-consciousness, the story delves into the thought processes of three women grappling with one of them losing her memory. It also is a bit of a mystery - because the story is told mainly through Alice's point of view, and sparsely through the journal writings, and letters of Alice's Sister and Grandmother, who also focus more on their own issues than necessarily on Alice, as people will do. As a result, we don't quite know what Alice forgot. We don't know why her once happy marriage crumbled, or why her husband hates her, or her sister is estranged from her, or why she's a fitness addict, or so so busy all the time. Nor does Alice. It's revealed bit by bit, as is her life up to the age of 29.
The narrative style is rather interesting - for it is the random thoughts we think in nonsequitur manner on a daily basis. Pure stream-of-consciousness, with better grammar.
All three narrators ramble on about their lives. Often switching to what appears to be mundane topics.
An overwhelming theme of Moriarty's work is the obsession women have with weight and their looks. Alice, even at 29, is self-conscious of her weight and appearance. And comments at one point that women have to appear pretty even for ugly men, that no one cares if the man is ugly, they only care if the woman is.
Unlike the romance genre, the contemporary women's lit genre focuses more on female relationships outside of the romantic ones, and less on sex. It also focuses on how women struggle to be well women in a male world. Alice has no job, her children are her life.
She's involved with their school, everything concerning them. It's not clear at this point if her husband is or was, he appears to be consumed with work. That imbalance, while seemingly stereotypical is actually still a major factor in so many people's lives.
About 25% of the way through - it's a long-ass book apparently.
3. When doing the list of Favorite Movies yesterday, it occurred to me that there are a bunch of movies that I'm told are brilliant and I'm supposed to love - because film scholarly or high lit, etc. This happens with books too by the way. And I try, but seriously wonder what the frak folks were thinking when they declared THIS the best thing ever? Were they smoking crack?
A brief list?
Literary Canon: Citizen Kane, Lost in Translation, Great Expectations, Atonement, The Departed, A Sun Also Rises, The Searchers, Dracula by Bram Stoker,
I honestly think taste is a personal thing that cannot be quantified or examined or explained. You just like what you like and don't like what you don't like. But being social creatures - we desperately want to share our interests with people who feel the same or if they are our friends or close to us, we want they to share our same tastes. It's impossible of course - best you can do is 5 out of 10, but doesn't change the desire for 10 out 10, now does it?
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no subject
Date: 2014-01-14 05:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-01-15 02:58 am (UTC)That's really at the heart of it.
Will's child is his law firm. That's where he lives, it's his heart and soul and what defines him.
But for Alicia...it's her kids. She cares about her new firm. She cares about Peter. But her kids come first.
And I don't think Will can wrap his head around it - he's too wrapped up in Will. Also, Will still sees Alicia as the girl who got away, the law student that he fell for. He's never been comfortable around her kids or with Alicia as a parent. The kids have taken her away from him. He actually has been in competition with the kids since the beginning. It really isn't so much between Will and Peter, as it is between Will and her kids.
Going to back to the first season finale - Alicia tells Will that she has children, the only way she can leave Peter for Will is if Will is willing to make a serious commitment to her and her children. And even though Will impulsively says yes, when he finds out the message was deleted...he backs away.
This is just one more example of that. He's oblivious to the kids.
He puts his career above everything and so should everyone else. Diane is similar - she puts her career first, but Diane did marry Kurt despite what it could do to her chances to become a judge.
no subject
Date: 2014-01-15 05:13 am (UTC)Or maybe Kalinda thinks that Will is going to eventually take the firm down, and she's hedging her bets, seeing this as an opportunity to do so. She did tell Carey (back when Alicia was being fired) that "If Diane leaves, the firm is done for", or words to that effect. I got the idea that in the middle of her playing one side against the other (to keep her job, as she confirmed in this current episode) that was a truthful statement.
I think that's what is going to happen by the end of this season-- Will is going to do something that dooms the firm. Whether Diane leaves before or after that point is going to be an interesting question.
no subject
Date: 2014-01-17 12:12 am (UTC)