We’ve come a long way with The Good Wife in seven glorious seasons. As we begin the final four episodes, this episode, “Landing,” sets us on the glide path for the journey’s end. It’s not a completely smooth flight, though.
First, we’re off to Toronto for another up-to-the-minute legal case, then back to the governor’s mansion, where the law continues closing in on Peter. Over to the law office, where Diane and Kurt come to an agreement about their future. Plus, a little layover with Cary. And finally to Alicia’s apartment, where she makes the decision we’ve all waited for.
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Caught Between Two Countries
For once, we’re not in Chicago. Instead, the show opens in Canada — the Toronto airport, to be exact. Former NSA employee and whistleblower Jeff Dellinger (returning guest star Zach Woods, of Silicon Valley) must pass through en route to his mom’s funeral in Arizona. The US customs agents nab him, but he claims he never left Canadian soil. With a jurisdiction fight looming, he needs his lawyer. Though he doesn’t know it, his former employers are listening to every word he says.
Back at Chez Alicia, the lady of the house is looking beautiful in a red suit. She’s also pouty about leaving Jason in bed for work. Before she goes, however, she drops a bombshell on him. “I’m getting a divorce,” she says. But you know — no pressure!
Before the P.I. can respond, Eli calls. Bad news — they’re coming to arrest Peter. She assures Gold she’ll be there for Peter when she returns from Toronto.
Oh, Canada, My Canada
Apparently, in Canada you call a Justice of the Peace “Your Worship” instead of “Your Honor.” As we learn throughout this hour, that’s just one of the many differences between the US and our neighbor to the north. (The judge also gets in a crack about their nationalized healthcare system.) Lucca, meanwhile, finds the general cleanliness of the country unnerving and wants to litter.
Jeff introduces himself to Lucca as a “C-List Edward Snowden.” To Alicia, that’s not funny,
especially if they lose the jurisdiction case. Can the Americans just take Jeff away? Not if Alicia and Lucca have anything to say about it. She calls Jason (at Diane’s suggestion) about international law, for two reasons. One, Cary used to be the firm’s expert. Two, Jason knows about everything.
The ladies win their first round. Jeff can stay while they argue jurisdiction. Lucca hangs around, while Alicia heads home. (Chicago really is a short flight to Toronto, actually.) She enters her apartment to find Eli, Peter and attorney Mike Tascioni hiding from the media.
Cary’s Back, If Only Briefly
Good thing she came home. ASA Connor Fox (Matthew Morrison) and the US Marshals show up a day ahead of schedule to arrest the governor. As they take him away, Alicia grabs a nice tie and puts it on her soon-to-be ex.
“You will not embarrass my husband,” she hisses at Fox. Peter thanks her for her kindness in his hour of need.
He needs all the kindness he can get. Jason investigates the charges against Peter (at Mike’s request). The path takes him to Cary (yay!), who is gone from the firm but not forgotten in the hearts of Good Wife fans.
The good news: Cary looks great in a new suit. The bad news: he believes Peter may have caused a mistrial for a wealthy backer’s son by having the prosecution mishandle evidence in a murder trial.
Are Kurt and Diane in Trouble?
While Alicia and her men are dealing with troubles both personal and professional, we get our first peek at Diane and Kurt together in quite a while.
He says they have to talk. She’s worried — he seems so serious. Unlike Alicia and Peter, however, her fears are unfounded. He doesn’t want a divorce. Instead, he wants to sell his ballistics consulting business and move in with her full-time. He’s even found a buyer. Full of relief, Diane pulls him onto their bed. Because if we’ve learned anything from The Good Wife, it’s that sexiness isn’t limited to twenty-somethings.
Diane’s mood turns south the next day when David Lees’ review of the contract shows that he’s undervaluing the firm by half a million dollars. She grows concerned when she meets the would-be buyer: a beautiful, much-younger blonde. She’s a ballistics expert but seems a little too familiar with Kurt. Diane’s jealousy shows, big time.
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Alicia Makes a Shocking Discovery
Alicia’s racking up the frequent-flyer miles. In Toronto, the judge rules that Jeff never crossed onto American soil (in the customs area). But the American official on the case (who is in constant touch with the NSA) then requests that Jeff be extradited to the US on charges of espionage.
The judge manages to get in some more digs about how Canadians don’t conduct surveillance the way the US does. The joke’s on her, though, because we soon learn that the Canadians do listen in, mostly to find out what the NSA’s up to. (And the young analysts are mirrors of their young American counterparts, with fewer goat videos.)
The case grows more serious when Alicia and Lucca bring in Tyler, Jeff’s former NSA colleague, to testify on his behalf. Tyler says Jeff was unfairly targeted — he’s no Edward Snowden. But then he admits that he played a tape for Jeff about the Massoud Tahan case, the secret panel Alicia served on. That panel decided to order Massoud’s killing. When info leaked to the press, Alicia’s friend, Colonel Hicks, was blamed for the leak and lost his job.
Alicia confronts the American official with the fact that Jeff leaked the news, but Hicks paid the price. And they only learned about the panel because the NSA had “hot miked” Alicia’s phone. The official says that Alicia can’t talk about it or she could be charged with espionage. What to do?
On the plus side, Alicia thinks the judge is now on their side. On the negative, Lucca believes that what Jeff did — leak information about an American military action — is treason. She kind of hopes they lose.
Which they do. The judge decides there’s enough reason to approve the extradition. Then Alicia makes a surprising move by asking for Canada to give Jeff political asylum. She also notices that someone is watching them from afar. Jeff tells her he’s a bigwig from the Canadian version of the NSA.
Does Peter Face Prison Time?
Back in the Windy City, Diane apologizes to Kurt for being so pushy about his business. They can afford to take less money — you do what you want. Her husband surprises her by saying he’s finding another buyer.
It’s unclear if he wants to surprise her with more information, presumably about his relationship with the beautiful young ballistics expert. Instead, he keeps quiet about that. They hug and reaffirm their love for each other. And it has to be said: their marriage dodged a bullet on that one, right?
Alicia and Peter talk in her apartment. (Her passport is getting a workout lately.) She says the media seems sympathetic.
That might not be enough. Peter tells her that Connor Fox sent over a plea bargain — three years of jail time, not probation. Peter says Mike believes that the state has a case.
“We’re right back where we started, huh?” he asks. Yes, they actually said what we were all thinking. The difference this time is that Alicia’s now in charge, no longer the shrinking violet.
Important Questions Asked and Answered
Alicia calls Lucca (who is still in Toronto). She and Lucca discuss how valuable Jeff would be to the Canadians because he understands the “hot miking” technology. What she’s hoping — and we at home see — is that analysts from both sides are listening to her call. A bit of a trap, eh?
The trap gets sprung when Canada agrees to keep Jeff and give him asylum. He’s now a valuable asset to our maple syrup-loving allies.
When Alicia enters her apartment, she discovers Jason waiting for her. She’s still worried that he took her announcement about the divorce too seriously. But for all his joking, he’s a serious guy. He wants to know why she’s asking for a divorce now.
“Because I want to. Because the kids are leaving home. Because … everything,” she answers. “What do you want, Jason?”
He says he wants things simple. But things aren’t simple, she says. “I’m not simple. Nothing’s simple.”
“Then what do you want?” he asks. A look of realization comes over her face.
“You,” she says.
Summary Judgment
Think about the word “landing.” Sure, it’s about airplanes (and half this episode took place at an airport). But it’s also about finding your way home, as “a soft place to land.” With this episode, Alicia and Jason may finally have found their soft place to land.
We also saw Peter mourning the end of his marriage. But he also knows he caused the rift to begin with. His resignation at facing prison and the loss of Alicia is genuinely touching. Even if you haven’t been on Team Peter for a while, it was hard to watch him and not feel some sympathy.
With Peter’s trial looming, the series continues to close out the many plot lines, including Jackie and Howie’s wedding. A little levity will be a nice thing, to muffle the wailing of sad fans. Don’t miss it!
The Good Wife airs Sundays at 9pm on CBS. For three more weeks. (Don’t get me started!)
(Image courtesy of CBS)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
