"Wanna Partner" is the season six finale, and though it doesn't measure up to most of the past finales, it's exceptional in its own right, mainly for the way Robert King brings his and Michelle King's script to life with his personal directing touches. King, who is known in Good Wife fan circles as the intrepid mind behind the characters and the story, has emerged as the most fascinating director of the season. He directed three eventful episodes this past year, "The Line," "Mind's Eye," and now, "Wanna Partner." King has established his filmmaking trademarks, such as the narrow framing, aerial shots, and a polished vision of the writing on the page. And what's on the page is equally laudable. The opening scene reminds me of the effect "Oppo Research" attained in its opening: all of the action occurring in a a long, continuous, one-act, 10-minute scene. The teleplay tightly fits the groundwork for the finale into its opening scene, and juggles the multiple story lines for the rest of the episode with brevity.
If the Kings followup on Peter running for President next season, knowing them, they will want to utilize information in the political sphere at the moment, which is Hillary Clinton's bid for the Oval Office. Alicia is often used as an artistic reflection of Clinton, so if Peter runs on the ticket of another Hillary Clinton-type figure, that could be one of the most profound feminist messages "The Good Wife" has ever presented. Feminist wallops were everywhere in "Wanna Partner," more obviously with Lester's "demure" line to Kalinda before she leaves Chicago and the unfair firing of Louis Canning's wife from Lockhart Agos Lee, but the most rewarding source of female empowerment came when Alicia stood up to Eli about his patronizing notes about Alicia's memoir. The man who once branded her "Saint Alicia" now wants to rehabilitate her broken image as a submissive housewife. And the Alicia we saw stand up to Eli, the brains of the Florrick empire, in this moment is the not the same Alicia we first met in 2009. Julianna Margulies kills it this scene in particular, but what's captivating about Margulies's work in "Wanna Partner" is how natural and effortless her riveting portrayal is, even when she's not attacking exciting showcase moments.
The winning aspect of "Wanna Partner" is Kalinda's final appearance and the conclusion of her character. Though she more formally left "The Good Wife's" universe in episode 20, the Kings have called her presence in episodes 21 and 22 "encores," and these encores have made Kalinda's departure fascinating, satisfying and distinctive from that of Will Gardner's exit package. Not only does Archie Panjabi have lively chemistry with Wallace Shawn in this epilogue to Kalinda's actions that incriminated Bishop, but the Kings provide justice for Kalinda as a character in "Wanna Partner," from her badass entrance, to the heartfelt scene with Alicia. Her last scene, in particular, is one for the record books. As a fan of Kalinda's since I first saw her sitting in Alicia's office in the pilot, I couldn't be happier with the way the Kings took what could have been a sorrowful moment and turned it into a triumphant one. It stayed true to the Kalinda we knew and loved. Goodbye, Archie Panjabi. Thank you for leaving an indelible mark on "The Good Wife" (and TV's pop culture) in bringing Kalinda Sharma to life. Your sensational work will never be forgotten.
Alicia's lamented what she learned in season six to Kalinda (by her image being destroyed, Alicia felt liberated to conduct her life the way she wanted to, without restraints of public opinion), which is enough by itself to justify the existence of the scene, and should be enough to satisfy fans of their friendship from earlier seasons.
"The Good Wife" likes to leave its fans with, as Michelle King described it in an interview with NPR, "a question mark and an exclamation point" before shutting down production for summer hiatus. Unfortunately, the ending statement/question of season six was their weakest one yet. After Louis Canning's wife was devastated for being let go from LAL, Canning asks Alicia to partner with him. Though the way the Kings built this "C plot" involving Canning's wife was extremely neat and tidy, this ending could lead to disastrous results next year. Alicia learned at the end of the season she wants to take on cases that matter, cases she believes in. If she partners with Canning, does she expect to find those kinds of cases with him? If they do end up being a dynamic duo who fight injustices for underprivileged people, will Alicia just magically forget Canning has been screwing with her for years now, and almost cost her the election back in "Open Source?" (Canning's plot where he tried tricking Alicia to give money to Hamas in "Open Source" was by far the worst thing season six offered. The more I see of him, the more I wish he would have passed in his sleep during "Mind's Eye.") To be fair, I didn't believe in the State's Attorney's storyline when it was presented in "A Weird Year" and the Kings proved me wrong. I became one of the biggest supporters of it as it was executed, so I have faith they know how to approach the seventh (and final?) season.
'Wanna Partner' Grade: A-
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