For all of you worried that the criminal justice system does nothing to rehabilitate hardened criminals, allay your fears. Because if Chris Partlow can become a man of God, the prison system does work.
Okay, so obviously I’m talking about an actor who played two different fictional characters, but seeing Chris (the exceedingly talented Gbenga Akinnagbe) as Pastor Isaiah Easton? Awesome.
And how about the guy playing his father? Does the name Frankie Faison ring any bells? As in, Commissioner Ervin Burrell of the Baltimore Police Department? Burrell and Chris back together again, both pastors, both seemingly not corrupt? Yeah you do. And interestingly enough, all this just a week after I compared Will becoming a drug lawyer to Maury Levy (Michael Kostroff) representing the likes of Avon and Marlo. The Wire is finally becoming part of mainstream consciousness … two years after going off the air.
Anyway, Pastor Isaiah and Eli Gold had a really revealing conversation about Peter and his repentance. I don’t like the idea of politicians seeking out God to cleanse themselves, but the discussion that Eli and Isaiah had spells out exactly what I think Peter is being blind to. As far as his camp is concerned, Peter’s done his penance. And I think he considers that true in the case of his family as well. But he hasn’t! And the good pastor was right on the money there. Peter owes his family and the public a lot, and the truth is that he shouldn’t dare focus on healing his public image until he’s repaired the damage he’s done to his family. They’re already polling? Wake up Alicia, and slap some sense into Peter, because no one else is going to tell him that what he’s doing is demeaning and disrespectful to you.
Once again this week I really enjoyed seeing Will as a lawyer. I think he was great throughout the entire emergency hearing, and in dealing with the gratingly irritating Patti Nyholm (Martha Plimpton) — could she have used her baby as a prop any more? But my skin crawled when he and Alicia kissed. First of all, up until the moment that they actually physically connected, there was nothing there. I know that a lot of you disagree with me, and that’s fine, but I don’t see any chemistry between them. She put her hand on his shoulder … that’s it! This entire relationship drama is completely synthetic, and it did not shine a very good light on Alicia.
But that was nothing compared to her and Peter. As gross as what she did was, taking out her sexual needs on him, and as stupid as it was because it gives him the impression that they’re working through their problems, there’s also the fact that seeing the two of them lying there together was so completely gross, I can’t even discuss it. They’re just really not pretty together. Yuck.
I didn’t expect Will to be someone who’d continue using Peter as an asset after everything he did, both while in office and also to Alicia personally. That really disappointed me. But was anyone else so completely turned off by the way Peter and Will had like a parent/teacher conference about how Alicia was doing at work? It so minimizes her, so demeans her, and she doesn’t say anything!
Alicia lets a surprising number of things go, and that, combined with what Peter’s doing, makes me worried that this show is going to go in a direction that we might not like to see. Namely, Peter reassuming the driver’s seat in their marriage, their life, and by default the series. This show is great when Alicia is in charge. I mean, I enjoy Kalinda and Will, and Cary in small doses. And the kids can be good here and there as well.
But The Good Wife is about how Alicia Florrick persevered after her husband left her life in shambles. Not how she decided to continue working even after he’s re-elected. This is not that show. And I hope I’m wrong about what I’m seeing.
Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Mar 17, 2010 @ 13:00 EST5EDT
