The Good Wife (TV Series) Winning Ugly (2015) User Reviews

****

[edwagreen · 10/10 · 12 April 2015]

Christine Baranski is terrific here since for the first time we see her highly vulnerable to the fact that she could be disbarred and go to jail for presenting false evidence.

There is so much going on as usual. Alicia faces a recall and her lawyer who is so faithful to her, turns on her with a vengeance at the episode's end calling for her resignation for the benefit of the political party. We see politics at its worst here. The lawyer even tries to go after Peter in order to save his client. Chris Noth plays a defiant victim here.

The episode also shows that any law firm, especially a prestigious one, should not have organized drug dealers as their clients. This gives the government leverage over them when a crisis arises. Lamont Bishop is a force to be reckoned with as the government wants someone from Lockhart-Gardner to spill the beans on him so that Diane's problems may suddenly evaporate.

Do we see Kalinda possibly even entering a witness protection program or even worse should she dare to talk against Bishop?

Dirty Chicago Politics Great Illustration

[DKosty123 · 8/10 · 13 June 2020]

This is a great example on how the Democratic Party does "dirty politics" though the way it applies the laws here are laughable. So in a close election Alicia gets told what the party line is and after winning the election is slapped and told to wait for 4 years. Actually it is understated here but really Peter is behind all of this. First he tries to lower turn out so she will lose.

Then failing that, he has appointed a corrupt man in charge of his voting machines. Actually it turns out the guy had helped him win both of his offices. What is laughable is he threatens Alicia in his office, she records him making the threats, presents it in court, and the guy is able to walk out of the proceedings and is not even charged or arrested for corruption even after she presents the recording in an open hearing. This means Peter, his boss is behind it. This might spoil what is coming the last season but there is no doubt Peter has become jealous of how capable his wife has become.

The guy who runs the voting machines makes a second threat in his office to wait 4 years, but Alicia can not record this one. Then her Defense attorney lies and hangs her out to dry at the next hearing. The weakness of the way the law is handled in this one is the only problem with it.

The Democratic drama is handled well as any prime time soap script. This show ran from 2009 until after Hillary ran in 2016. There is no doubt this entire series was an attempt to help her win election. Unfortunately, her campaign turned out to be even uglier than this fictional one. Acted well and the old House/Boston Legal team is still producing good drama though as usual the scripts are getting more and more hokey here.

The Most Polarizing Post-Election Episode, But The One With The Most Impact

[RyanCShowers · 3 May 2015]

The last of the The Good Wife's three post-election outings is the one that polarized me the most, but the episode that stayed with me the longest. "Winning Ugly" has been lauded by audiences, not necessarily critics, but regular television viewers as one of the best episodes the series has ever produced. It's easy to understand why; the point of the episode is for you to feel as if you have been beaten by the time the 43 minutes are up. I certainly felt that way. Everything begins to fall apart in "Winning Ugly," placing the characters in the most vulnerable positions we have ever seen them trapped in.

Christine Baranski was given another sensational showcase this week, this one allowing her to transform Diane be a storm of anger, disdain, hurt, and fear. Julianna Margulies knocks Alicia's scenes out-of-the-park, especially the final three minutes. If you feel indignant after watching "Winning Ugly," it's probably because of Margulies's devastating portrayal of Alicia's wounds. Alicia had her whole world tore from under her--her professional life, her reputation, the public's opinion of her, her daughter's faith in her; all that seemed to be left on her side is the one force she has been fighting all season: Peter. "Winning Ugly" is the first episode where the narrative pieces that have been up in the air since January--or even September--finally begin to fully crystalize.

"Winning Ugly" aired the night Hillary Clinton announced her candidacy in the 2016 presidential election. Eerie timing considering the episode's mission to critique the critical system and, frankly, how hard it is to be a woman running for office. The criticism of the political system cannot be dismissed; the plot advancements are so brutally memorable that I retold the major points of the episode to people in my life as I saw them all week last week, even people who have never seen a single episode of the show. A problem that many people had with the season was the idea of Alicia ejecting herself from the courtroom to become a politician. It never bothered me; I was always along for the ride Robert and Michelle King wanted to take me on, but "Winning Ugly" finally accentuated how this journey has changed Alicia.

Some directorial choices (such as the awkward pan as when Ron Riftkin gives his "protector" monologue at the end of the second act) played atrociously upon the initial viewing of "Winning Ugly." It is an episode that required a few viewings to answer my questions about certain (what I initially thought were) plot holes and those odd, disjointing filming techniques. But there is so much good in "Winning Ugly," least of which is the visceral reaction it grabs from viewer through the startling narrative and character developments. Some photography is breathtaking, such as Alicia standing outside the hearing after being sacrificed; it captured how small of a fish she is in the big, cutthroat pond of politics.

Grade: A-