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Just finished watching the first two seasons of The Good Wife, and wow what a great show! Again I seem to be at odds with fandom opinion though oops, shades of Luke/Lorelei all over again, because I really couldn't get into Will/Alicia that much, instead I found myself rooting more for Peter and Alicia to make their marriage work. NOT the popular opinion I'm sure :P Idk I actually didn't like Will's character that much. And I don't mean in the sense that I really hated seeing him on screen or anything like that, I found him an interesting character, just not a very likeable one.
This might sound odd, but if anything I found Peter to be the more idealistic character in some respects, while Will comes across as the sleazy lawyer who would compromise his morals every time if you paid him enough... I'm guessing that many of the audience will never get past the sex with hookers while Peter was married to Alicia, and don't get me wrong that's understandable, but to me he came across as genuinely remorseful and wanting to do the right thing now. Whereas Will might on the surface be the more romanticised character for Alicia to get together with, the old college roommate still carrying a torch for her and not a cheater like Peter, but eh I don't know. Their moment at the end of season 2 was very well-done mind you, and I'm not opposed to them hooking up, but they're not really a couple that I'm particularly rooting for either
I found myself caring way more about Will and Diane's partnership than Will/Alicia actually, them successfully outplaying the new partner in 216 and taking back control of the firm was AWESOME <3 And Diane's relationship with Gary Cole's character I also loved as well :D
I'm so glad that they made Eli a regular for season 2, he quickly became one of my favourites. I was surprised at how early they downgraded Peter though. He appeared in practically every episode of season 1 (I think he may have maybe missed one or two?), but then in season 2 he seems to only appear every other episode and barely be a regular any more? Towards the end of the season especially it seemed like he was only making the bare minimum of appearances, so that even when he did appear in an episode it would be just one or two scenes. Is the actor just not available? There were several episodes where I would have thought it would have been more sense to include him :shrugs:
And lol Carey was played in the exact same smug way as Logan was in Gilmore Girls, suggesting the actor might not have a ton of range, but in both roles I somehow still find him so so charming *g*
Kalinda I don't really have a ton of thoughts on. I was intrigued by her in the beginning, but as the show went on I find her a bit much at times if I'm honest, everything about her just seems designed to be ~cool and mysterious~ and I never felt like I got to know her as a character. The fall-out over her one-night stand with Peter was effective though, I felt really horrible for her when she was breaking down in the elevator and when Alicia was being so cold. I can understand Alicia feeling hurt and needing to take a step back and re-evaluate their friendship, but then Kalinda was in kind of a no-win situation as there really wouldn't ever have been a good time to bring up her past with Peter...I hope those two manage to work things out in season 3
This might sound odd, but if anything I found Peter to be the more idealistic character in some respects, while Will comes across as the sleazy lawyer who would compromise his morals every time if you paid him enough... I'm guessing that many of the audience will never get past the sex with hookers while Peter was married to Alicia, and don't get me wrong that's understandable, but to me he came across as genuinely remorseful and wanting to do the right thing now. Whereas Will might on the surface be the more romanticised character for Alicia to get together with, the old college roommate still carrying a torch for her and not a cheater like Peter, but eh I don't know. Their moment at the end of season 2 was very well-done mind you, and I'm not opposed to them hooking up, but they're not really a couple that I'm particularly rooting for either
I found myself caring way more about Will and Diane's partnership than Will/Alicia actually, them successfully outplaying the new partner in 216 and taking back control of the firm was AWESOME <3 And Diane's relationship with Gary Cole's character I also loved as well :D
I'm so glad that they made Eli a regular for season 2, he quickly became one of my favourites. I was surprised at how early they downgraded Peter though. He appeared in practically every episode of season 1 (I think he may have maybe missed one or two?), but then in season 2 he seems to only appear every other episode and barely be a regular any more? Towards the end of the season especially it seemed like he was only making the bare minimum of appearances, so that even when he did appear in an episode it would be just one or two scenes. Is the actor just not available? There were several episodes where I would have thought it would have been more sense to include him :shrugs:
And lol Carey was played in the exact same smug way as Logan was in Gilmore Girls, suggesting the actor might not have a ton of range, but in both roles I somehow still find him so so charming *g*
Kalinda I don't really have a ton of thoughts on. I was intrigued by her in the beginning, but as the show went on I find her a bit much at times if I'm honest, everything about her just seems designed to be ~cool and mysterious~ and I never felt like I got to know her as a character. The fall-out over her one-night stand with Peter was effective though, I felt really horrible for her when she was breaking down in the elevator and when Alicia was being so cold. I can understand Alicia feeling hurt and needing to take a step back and re-evaluate their friendship, but then Kalinda was in kind of a no-win situation as there really wouldn't ever have been a good time to bring up her past with Peter...I hope those two manage to work things out in season 3
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Date: 2014-06-28 03:59 pm (UTC)However, I am also not an Alicia/Will shipper. I don't know whether I'd call myself an Alicia/Peter shipper- but I do find Peter interesting and I think he wants to be a better man but he falls because there's a big selfish streak. He tries- but he's very imperfect. Meanwhile, I'm more dubious of Will's attempts to be a better man for Alicia or whatever. Will carries on his corruptions or sleazy "dance near the line" conduct in his business but he just...looks a little tortured about it. But they're both interesting characters because of their serious flaws.
I adore Carey but disliked Logan Huntzburger- although I see the similarities between the two. I think it's because Carey is the harder worker and he's also the relative underdog as the youngest, least connected lawyer.
I heart Elie and Diane too. Your opinions are similar as mine. Stick with the show- it continues to be awesome through today. ;-)
Re:
Date: 2014-06-28 05:35 pm (UTC)And I hope Carey might come back to the firm eventually, aww I loved the twist from the season 2 finale of it actually being Peter who send them the evidence, but Diane was as good as winking at him and convinced that it was a rather bemused Carey heh
Eli didn't really impress me that much at the end of season 1, but then suddenly in season 2 he just became the best character ever *g* I hope they continue to find ways to work him into the show, even with Peter not being around as much (Oh and lol one example of mysteriously absent Peter was when Peter had won the election, yet the actor didn't even make an appearance for the party, it just cuts away to the other characters congratulating an unseen Peter on his victory. Wtf after an entire season spend on him doubting whether he could pull it off or not, I really think we should at least have seen his response to managing to win the election after all)
How did you find the later seasons, did they live up to the first two for you?
(no subject)
Date: 2014-06-28 05:59 pm (UTC)I won't say anything about Carey because I don't want to spoil you. I always adored Eli Gold! A lot that is Alan Cumming. If you really want to see a transformation, his current role as the Master of Ceremonies in Broadway's revival of Caberet is awesome. Here was his darkly raunchy performance of Willkommen at 2014 Tonys from a week ago.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja1vt5q_F8I
I think the later seasons lived up to the first two seasons. Like, there are some scattered characters/plots that I didn't get into. I think S3 is the weakest season- but it's still quality TV. The show is generally great. I think the last season that aired- S5- is tied for S1 for my favorite.
(no subject)
Date: 2014-06-28 06:15 pm (UTC)Thanks for the link! :) Eli seemed fine at the beginning, but he never stood out to me as anything special if I'm honest among the other people helping Peter out, then in season 2 I just started loving his every scene
Oh and one plot that I didn't really get into was the feud with Kalina and the other investigator...I didn't really like the actor playing Blake anyway, and a lot of that felt dragged out and O/T to me. Especially when they tried to force chemistry between the actors (I didn't really see it). Although obviously the pay-off was fantastic when he reveals that he knows that Kalinda slept with Peter
(no subject)
Date: 2014-06-28 07:26 pm (UTC)You are so lucky to have just started the show though, because the quality is really maintained (although maybe it dips a tiny bit around the start of s4); every single episode is worth watching, which can't always be said for network TV now.
(no subject)
Date: 2014-06-28 07:30 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-06-28 08:55 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-06-28 09:05 pm (UTC)And oh I like the actor too, it just amused me how he seems to smirk the exact same way in both roles lol. I'm curious about how liked Carey is by the viewers actually because it seemed like nearly all Gilmore Girls fans hated Logan and how smug he came off, but he was my favourite of Rory's boyfriends and I always found his charming
(no subject)
Date: 2014-06-29 01:32 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-06-29 10:21 am (UTC)I do want to take a bit of a break now and catch up with other things, but there's a part of me that just wants to watch the rest of the seasons right away as well *g*
(no subject)
Date: 2014-06-28 11:30 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-06-29 12:13 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-06-29 08:19 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-06-29 10:31 am (UTC)I mean it was harder for me to get a grip on Peter and Alicia when he was missing for so much of season 2, but I remember rooting for them a lot more in season 1 as he really did seem genuine in his family meaning everything to him. But then season 2, even the final break-up didn't really give us a ton on his POV, so I'd be interested if he started playing a bigger role in later seasons again
I did see something there with Cary/Kalinda, I just wondered if it was more on his side than hers? I'd be all for it if those two did ever get involved though
(no subject)
Date: 2014-06-29 10:51 am (UTC)Re. Will. I just DON'T buy him as the guy they're trying to sell. I think a large part of the problem is that I find him negative amounts of attractive, but yeah... there's so much more coming and I don't want to spoil you!
Re. Peter and Peter/Alicia. THOSE TWO. YOU HAVE NO IDEA. Guh. Though, probably not in the way of 'normal' shipping. I am very rarely a normal shipper! I love these two for their power games. IT IS RIDIC. And it only gets better. They are my Walt/Skyler of TGW!
(no subject)
Date: 2014-06-29 11:21 am (UTC)Do you think that the show is trying to sell Will differently then? I definitely get the sense that we're supposed to root for him and Alicia, but otherwise I've found the show pretty refreshingly honest in making Will a pretty scummy lawyer and not trying to whitewash it? Early on I remember there was a case with a more idealistic lawyer telling Alicia about a case where a kid was dying and Will buried the case in paperwork while waiting for the kid to die, and when Alicia asked him about it I was expected the show to come up with some justification to make Will look better and explain what he was really doing, so I was impressed when they just left it there and never had Will attempt to justify it. The shows always come across as pretty honest to me about him and Diane being lawyers means that they're not here to fight for truth and justice, they're about getting their hands dirty and doing what's best for their clients to keep the money rolling in.
Peter is the more obvious villainous character on the surface as he's the corrupt politician who screws around and ends up in prison, but I definitely haven't found Will to be any better, just making sure that he operates just on the right side of the law. (Heh I liked the twist one episode where he knows that he can't hide his clients murder weapon himself when he comes across the gun, so he tells a nearby group of black youths, assuming that they're gang members, only it turns out that they're college students and one of them hands it in to the police!) Still there were several occasions when the show explicitly calls attention to Alicia being uncomfortable at how the law firm operates
(no subject)
Date: 2014-06-29 11:38 am (UTC)I agree with your analysis of the politics absolutely.
(no subject)
Date: 2014-06-29 11:45 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-06-30 03:37 am (UTC)Seasons 3 and 4 are a bit erratic, but S5 is fantastic, with several twists and turns that I didn't see coming at all. Its very rare that a show can surprise me that much.
(no subject)
Date: 2014-06-30 09:23 am (UTC)And hmm maybe you're right about Will, I just always get the vibe that we're supposed to root for Will/Alicia over Peter/Alicia, so much of their romance seems like a typical star-crossed lovers set-up with bad timing and circumstances coming between them, although I agree that neither guy come across as a typical Mr Right exactly
(no subject)
Date: 2014-06-30 06:45 pm (UTC)Heh, yeah, the whole sex-with-hookers-and-various-other-women thing is a dealbreaker. I want Alicia to end up with anyone but Peter. I feel like it's going backwards for her to get with him again. I was never a huge Will/Alicia shipper, but they certainly have their moments. I like Josh Charles a lot.
And yeah, this show is EXCELLENT. There are a few misfires over the seasons, but on the whole the quality has stayed so high, with S5 being the best yet. Not many shows I can say that about!
(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-01 12:35 pm (UTC)And same with Matt! That's why I was surprised when his character was apparently so hated by Gilmore Girls fans for being smug and full of himself, I've always found the actor very sexy and charming *g*
(no subject)
Date: 2014-09-17 06:11 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-09-17 11:39 am (UTC)And it's nice to hear other people were rooting for Peter/Alicia, I felt like I would be in such a huge minority not to care about Alicia and Will so much. But when I watch video's like this
I just really feel the love and history between Peter/Alicia, so I can't help but root for them to work things out
And Will/Diane is such an awesome partnership, they're my fav to watch actually after how awesome they were working together during season 2
(no subject)
Date: 2014-09-17 07:27 pm (UTC)Oooh, I love that video. It's absolutely gorgeous and it's like the perfect song for the two of them too, because there's so much wonderful and delicious history wrapped between the two. I could really never get behind Will/Alicia, because for me it always felt forced or like something that she missed out and now they're going to make sure that she gets that second chance. Personally, I always thought the better more interesting story to tell was always Alicia/Peter.
Will/Diane's partnership is just amazing to watch. I love the chemistry between the two actors and it is a lot of fun to see them working together. :)
(no subject)
Date: 2014-09-17 10:18 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-09-18 03:24 am (UTC)