There are times when it appears that Alicia is living her life as some kind of high stakes chess game. She and her fellow lawyers are always moving around, trying to defeat whoever is foolish enough to get in their way. Her ice queen visage and general air of invulnerability helps to underscore the events that occur in the show. You don't want to mess with her, which is why I cringed a bit when Castro makes the mistake of bringing up her one personal piece of pain. He poked at the sleeping giant just when it looked like he was in the clear.




It turned something that was purely on political terms for Alicia -- thus with her continued insistence throughout the episode that she isn't running against him for State's Attorney -- into something much more personal. It's akin to the ugly mud-slinging tactics that some campaigns resort to in desperate times. He could have walked away, ready to take her on with the possibility that she struggles with her full commitment to the campaign in question. Instead, he may have given Alicia the final push she needed to get her head wrapped around the possibility of beating him in the election.


I've been advocating this sort of natural, plot-driven progression towards Alicia's running since the season premiere. The writers don't need to show off their ability to lure big name real life guest star cameos all for the sole purpose of telling Alicia that it would be good for her to run in political office. It's a strange tradition that dates back to Donna Brazile showing up at a dinner or fundraiser, to Valerie Jarrett in the previous episode, to Gloria Steinem here. The famed attorney doesn't embarrass herself, but she isn't saying anything that regular viewers don't already know about Alicia and the kind of power she enjoys as the center of the show. It isn't needed. Something as simple as a comment from Castro gets Alicia to the point the show wants her to be in a much more pointed manner.




It's certainly more interesting to see Alicia run through another gamut of characters around her who seem bewildered that she is running for political office. This time, her colleagues express their collective dismay. It seems to be sowing internal strife that might eventually eat away at the core of the burgeoning law firm. There's already talk of expansion to the floor above them, the creation of an executive committee consisting of partners from Florrick-Agos and some of the partners that Diane brought with her to the firm. It suspiciously looks like a newer, smaller, more controllable version of Lockhart-Gardner. The suspicions seem to only be coming from Cary, who still has to worry about facing a lengthy jail term despite being out on (incredibly contested) bond.

These interpersonal dynamics are the best parts of the show. Alicia and Cary's partnership is under considerable strain due to circumstances of their own doing. Also, while it looks right now like Diane has his back, there has to be the nagging feeling that Cary is slowly being pushed out for a firm led by all women. There are pieces moving all over, which is where the show wants to thrive.




All of this focus on the political side of things makes the case Florrick-Agos-Lockhart takes to be almost immaterial. It's a demonstration of how complicated and combative the legal process can turn out to be when the original conflict is simply a disagreement between neighbors. It's downright comical when the two clients on both sides talk to each other to hash things out while the attorneys on both sides openly bicker about legal procedure. When they bring in the Christian arbitrator as a substitute, the case loses its steam. It's the writers once again showing off whatever odd legal process it can find and stick into the show just because it has the ability to do so.


Alicia doesn't seem that invested in the case. That's an understandable position given what she has on her plate to deal with. She uses her daughter to school her on what Bible verses to wield as tactical strategy for the case. It's nothing more than payoff for Grace having dived into religion through the run of the series. It's all a game to Alicia, and the goal is always to beat the other guy. Castro doesn't understand that, and it's why he might lose when she inevitably gets her paws into the political arena.