Reaction Post - It's kind of weird, everything's ending.

The Good Wife: 5x01 Everything Is Ending.

You'd think that making difficult decisions is the most difficult part of the process, choosing a different path, making choices, but sometimes the relief over finally having made up your mind doesn't actually make the fall-out any easier. Alicia has decided to go with Cary, or rather, to be the Florrick in Florrick & Agos (let's be real, it's never going to be Agos & Florrick), but how to tell Will and Diane? What does it mean for the relationships in her life that she's taken this step? Some of the possible repercussions don't even occur to her immediately - the new firm is likely not going to be able to take the pro bono cases that she loves working on so much (in this episode, she delays the inevitable conversation because she's passionate about a death penalty case), Peter just having won the race for governor ("I forgot", she tells Cary in the beginning, when they're both giggly about the possibilities) may mean that she has to tread even more lightly to avoid the impression of corruption. They won't be able to take Kalinda, "because of money", but with how the show has progressed, that doesn't even seem to be such a big issue, sadly (meanwhile Kalinda, tasked by David to sniff out the rogue lawyers, protects Cary's new venture, but it's only a short delay). Endings are difficult, beginnings are exciting. 

The case of the week is exactly the kind of thing that makes it obvious how much Alicia cares about the law, what part of the job makes her tick - a life is at stake, and while Will seems to enjoy the game of it more, being one step ahead, finding solutions under the pressure of time, she enjoys having a moral respite from defending people like Sweeney. It's not even about the question of whether the death penalty itself is wrong, but at what point the process itself is too violent and torturing to tolerate. It's the beginning of the season and the ending is optimistic, although sometimes the "why did we win" opens as many questions as winning itself. 

• In Chicago, a Power Point Presentation about ethics in politics starts with animated prison bars. 
• I'll miss Kalinda and Robyn Kalindering and Robyning together. They're getting better at it, but on the other hand, seeing them play against each other might be fun as well. 
• Cary reminds Alicia, when she hesitates to go behind Will and Diane's back, that this is how it works - and I think I'm really starting to enjoy their dynamic, finally. I just hope Kalinda stays as far from it as possible. 
• Silly running joke that weirdly worked, especially with David up against ridiculous new technology, considering the weight and seriousness of the case of the week. 
• Eli gets someone an unwanted promotion because she's too pretty to be seen beside Peter Florrick. Spells trouble for the future. 
• Zach discovers that Grace is about to find out what it means to be grossly objectified because she's somehow vaguely in the public eye due to Peter's job. 
• Still not sure if I'll see season five through to the end. Also saddening that they didn't stick with the five-words-episode-titles (maybe especially because people started noticing?) 
• Is there a tumblr yet dedicated to disseminating Robyn's wardrobe choices?