Monsters of Television

“What can be given can be quickly taken away.”

I don’t know that I can recall the last time I’ve seen Alicia as happy as she was when Diane and Will sat her down and informed her that they were offering her an equity partner position at the firm. And it was a moment her elation for us, the audience, too. Alicia’s done a great deal of work for the firm, and to have it rewarded in this way is a big deal. (While we could say she’s made sacrifices for the firm, I’d be hesitant to even suggest that as, really, her job has never seemed to cause a massive strain her personal life, that whole Will thing aside).

It was all downhill from there.

Alicia’s someone who values loyalty. She’s stuck with Peter through his affairs and drug use, jail time, and two political campaigns despite the fact that anyone else might’ve dropped Peter before the first comma. She’s stayed with L/G even after offers from other firms, including Louis Canning, who offered more time with her family (not that time with her family seems to be a huge thing for Alicia, at least on a consistent basis). So, you know, Cary getting the offer isn’t that big a deal. Sure, he left for a little while, but he’s a good lawyer and before he left for the SA’s office, he did bill more hours than Alicia did. And it’s probably not too uncommon to offer an equity partnership to two associates in the same year.

But then you find out, in a very public way, that Diane and Will sat down four other fourth year associates and made them the same offer. And it wasn’t because of the work these people have put in (though I’m sure those other associates work really hard, too), but it’s because Will and Diane wanted the over $3 million the associates have to chip in to be equity partners in an effort to show that they’re making progress on paying off all their debt. It wasn’t because Alicia’s been loyal or been good to the firm. It’s because the firm needs the money, and this is an easy(ish) way to get it.

It’s insulting, no matter how Diane wants to slice it. Diane should’ve been insulted to be asked to be a partner as a result of a sexual harassment lawsuit, and I’m willing to bet that Past-Diane was insulted, and probably sat in her office and pouted. Diane, the liberal and feminist firebrand, didn’t get her partnership because of her skills, but because she had a vagina. But she sacrificed her principles to get where she wanted to be, and tells Alicia to put her pragmatic big girl panties and go out there and thank everyone for the opportunity, otherwise it wasn’t going to happen again. Because, you know, they need the money, dammit, and they need it now.

But then there’s Louis, yet again, offering a “Get Out Of Jail Free” card. And it might not have even mattered to Alicia until after Diane’s little “pep talk.” I don’t see Alicia taking the offer, her fake smiles and thank-yous aside. But I do want her to do something about this, I want this to have some impact on her relationship to the firm. And that long shot of Diane watching Alicia make the rounds promises us some sort of fallout.

Speaking of fallout, turns out that Louis buying up L/G’s credit through a trust was mostly a way to destroy the firm and stop them from filing nuisance suits against a company that put up the money. Guess that plan didn’t work out to well, including Clarke outing Louis’s under the table dealings. I’ve really enjoyed Clarke this season, and in a lot of ways, he’s just Alicia. He values precision in the same way that Alicia values loyalty, and both of them are uncomfortable when those things are upended by those who don’t share their value systems. Maybe they should go into business together.

Oh, there was a case of the week involving, yet again, Neil Gross from ChumHum. This time because he’s about to get married, and his wife-to-be wants a second opinion on the prenup. David Lee, of course, is thrilled at the prospect of new business and, with Cary and Kalinda’s assistance, walks a fine tightrope of keeping the young lady just upset and happy enough to push for some lucrative things in the prenup. Turns out Gross was putting aside a $112,000 (noted in the footnotes, as Cary learned from Clarke) due to an ill-advised night of passion and as a result, David Lee got everything he could have possibly wanted. I guess it was fine, if completely inconsequential.

Other Thoughts

• Jordan is really annoying. I’d walk away from the guy, too. Sheesh.
• I was happy to see Maddie again, and I hope against hope to see that debate, but I was waiting for the fallout from Alicia saying that she was an atheist. Hopefully in the next new episode. Also: Maddie, no worries, I do the same thing at prayer things. I’d probably still vote for you. Not that it means much since I don’t live in Illinois. And that you’re a fictional character.
• Is it just me, or have the Kings been really good about having their name on every screenwriting credit this season? Seriously, they haven’t had a writing credit since “A Defense of Marriage.” Are they okay? Did their hands break? Can they not dictate?
• The Good Wife is surrendering February sweeps for things that will get CBS better ratings, namely the Super Bowl and the Grammys. Next new episode is Feb. 17, and then March 3 after that.