1×01 – Pilot

Alicia Florrick returns to her job as a lawyer after her husband, a prominent state’s attorney, is imprisoned. Her first case involves a mother who is facing trial for killing her ex-husband.

• I have to say I wanted to watch this show because I wanted to watch it’s spinoff The Good Fight and I knew I couldn’t without first watching The Good Wife so here I am.
• I really enjoyed this pilot more than I thought I would.
• I seen a bunch of law shows including Law & Order and For The People, but I enjoyed the twist with Alicia’s character from being a mother, a political’s wife, and being a newbie in a law firm at what 40?
• Her character feels already fleshed out compared to a lot of characters in law shows. I like her a lot already.
• It helps that Julianna Margulies is amazing in the role.
• Speaking of Julianna, the role of Alicia Florrick was offered to Ashley Judd and Helen Hunt before Julianna Margulies signed on. – Both of those actresses are great, but Julianna was born for this role so I’m glad she got it.
• I totally believe that Chris Noth would be a imprisoned politician who also cheated on his wife.
• Does that have to do with his character, Mr Big on Sex and The City? Yes, yes it does. I hated his character on Sex and The City with a fiery passion.
• It would take a lot for me to hate his character on here as much as I hated his character on Sex and The City.
• Nice to see Matt Czuchry who I know mostly from Gilmore Girls and I have a feeling I might like him more here than on there.
• Also nice to see Josh Charles who I know mostly from the short lived but great show Aaron Sorkin’s Sport Night alongside Peter Krause.
• I really liked the little moment in the first scene where the press are hammering Peter and Peter talking to them, all Alicia notices is a piece of lint on Peter’s clothing.
• It’s the subtle things like that, that made me like the show right off the back.
• It was so satisfying to see Alicia win her case after the endless amounts of objections she received.
• On its first airing this episode attracted 13.714 million viewers. – That’s a lot, not sure what CBS ratings were in 2009, but that is a lot.
• Overall a really good pilot, it exceeded all my expectations.

1×02 – Stripped

Alicia takes on the second chair of a rape case: a civil suit involving the abuse of a prostitute who may have been hired by her husband.

• The case in this episode, a stripper accusing a man of rape worked for me unlike some of the cases in the next couple of episodes.
• The case still feels relevant in the era of the #MeToo which makes it feel as if the episode was released yesterday opposed to 10 years ago.
• Still I don’t think this was as good as the first episode, but there’s still a lot of good stuff in it.
• Particularly the stuff with Alicia and her learning she needs to learn how to trust Peter again if she wants her marriage to work.
• But also Peter can’t expect Alicia to just be able to forgive him he has to earn her trust by telling her everything and she has to try not to hold his affairs against him.

1×03 – Home

Alicia defends the son of former friends, who have ostracized her since the scandal, on a charge of felony murder.

• I like learning more about Alicia and Peter’s life before the affairs and the arrest.
• So this episode was fun to see what their marriage was like before everything came crumbling down.
• This is another good episode for building Alicia’s character, I liked that he represented her former friend’s son even though her friend turned her back on her.
• Brian was originally supposed to be played by Luke Kleintank, but the role was re-cast because Kleintank looked too much like Matt Czuchry who plays Cary. – Sucks for him but he must have really looked like him to be un-cast.

1×04 – Fixed

Alicia is asked to find evidence that could help her husband get a new trial. Meanwhile, during a class action trial, she suspects that she has found evidence that the defense is paying off a juror.

• This is one of those cases that didn’t necessarily work for me.
• I seen a jury getting paid off before in many law shows and nothing new came out of it in this episode.
• The wife paying off the jury was a nice twist, but that’s about all I have to say on the case.
• The Peter case is the one that’s actually interesting and the question wherever Alicia would testify is a good cliffhanger (of course that is if you’re not streaming like myself).

1×05 – Crash

Alicia and Will represent three widows who are suing the freight train company their husbands worked for after a fatal accident, while Diane asks Kalinda to gather information on a lawyer who may be considered as a new partner.

• This case was also so-so, but it was elevated by a good antagonist.
• Martha Plimpton really knows how to play a bad guy (see her as a recurring character in Younger).
• This episodes after the pilot have felt a little “after school special”, not necessarily bad just something I noticed.
• I hear this changes a lot in the next season, I think it even grew out of it before the end of this season.
• I would argue that Peter’s mother Jackie is worse than Peter himself.
• Jackie is just so frustrating and she doesn’t think Peter is in the wrong at all.
• At least Peter knows and owns up to the fact that he’s not innocent, his mother on the other hand does not.

1×06 – Conjugal

The firm gets a retrial in a case involving a convicted death row inmate, and Alicia is forced to turn to her husband to get information that will help them win the case.

• Now this is a great episode and a great case.
• I think those two are mostly intertwined, when there’s a great case it’s usually a good episode.
• We’ll see if that rule holds up with future episodes.
• The beginning of the episode opens with Cary Agos making a call to make sure the emailed brief gets in by the deadline. In the Gilmore Girls episode 13 of season 6, Matt’s character, Logan Huntzberger, helps Rory get the paper out on time by calling to make sure the email gets in by deadline. – I remember that episode well and liked the similarities of the two scenes.
• The case with how people’s minds can change what they perceive particularly with race is so interesting and very insightful, but true.
• It’s a very taboo topic, but needed to to shown on television because this sort of thing happens everyday with misidentification.
• Alicia going to Peter for a conjugal, but only for the case shows they still have so much to work through if their marriage is going to work (which I doubt it will in the long run).

1×07 – Unorthodox

While representing the daughter of one of the partner’s at the law firm, Alicia finds herself attracted to her co-counsel and his unorthodox approach to defending their client.

• Oh I really enjoyed this episode, probably my favorite episode so far.
• I think the case was really fascinating because it’s exploration of another’s culture and lifestyle.
• I read that the suing lady was supposedly on her way to a Kosher store for gluten-free products when she tripped. However, it was the Sabbath, so the store (being both Kosher and in a Hassidic neighborhood) would have been closed. – They could have went in that route to falsify their testimony, but no they didn’t go there for some reason…
• What I really enjoyed about episode though was the relationship between Alicia and Ryan.
• They were fun to watch together and seeing Alicia interested in someone that wasn’t Peter.
• The twist Peter wasn’t actually an lawyer was unexpected, but I really liked it because there had to had been something wrong with him as he’s not her real love interest.
• Well at least Alicia still has Peter…and Will has options in men.

1×08 – Unprepared

As Alicia prepares to defend a scientist accused of starting a fire in a university lab, she is asked to testify in her husband’s appeal, which could send him home sooner than expected.

• Pedro Pascal makes his first appearance on the show in this episode.
• I enjoyed seeing Alicia stand up for herself in court even if it was Peter.
• I thought I wouldn’t like the kids on the show, but they haven’t bothered me at least not yet.
• They have also been pretty useful trying to figure out who’s threatening their mother. I just hope it stays that way.
• Although I do think it’s frustrating that they wouldn’t just tell Alicia about the threats. That would of saved all of them a lot of time.
• Along with Julianna Margulies, guest stars Peter Riegert and Matt Servitto all had reoccurring roles on The Sopranos. – I like being able to connect all these shows I’m watching with each other.

1×09 – Threesome

Peter’s prostitute goes public with accusations that are very embarrassing to Alicia and her family. Meanwhile, name partner Jonah Stern asks Alicia to help defend him after he is accused of DUI and assaulting a police officer.

• Hello random Chelsea Handler appearance. It does make sense that a call girl would go on her talk show to talk about their affair with a politician.
• What was Peter thinking when he started an affair with that call girl. Was it just because he was unhappy with his marriage?
• I say that because I doubt he did it just because Alicia said no to a threesome. He must have been unhappy if he cheated on her.
• Alicia once again is the star of this episode, she won her case in spectacular fashion and she stood up to her husband’s mistress.
• I will give props to Peter for standing up for his family against his mistress even if it was after Alicia yelled at him.
• I’m curious as to what will make Alicia leave Peter. She obviously has a thing with Will, but I don’t know if that will be enough for her to leave her husband for him.
• I saw some criticism with the show using Muslim’s Call To Prayer and saying it’s music. Yeah I don’t know exactly what they were going for there. I did find it weird and unnecessary.
• Mr. Stern is an interesting character. I hope we see more of him.
• Josh Charles (Will) also starred in a movie called Threesome (1994) alongside a Baldwin brother. – Just thought was interesting.

1×10 – Lifeguard

When a judge overturns a simple plea deal that Alicia arranged, she looks into his motivation, and Diane is made an offer she can’t refuse…to Will’s delight.

• This is one of my favorite episodes of the season. I thought the case was fun to watch unfold.
• I liked how the case wasn’t as simple as the judge is racist and he’s giving people of color worse sentences because like I said we seen stuff like that before.
• So the twist that the judge was making money off of sending people there was smart.
• The judge also being a friend of Will’s shown that he wasn’t a one note villain.
• I liked seeing more of Diane in this episode, she’s definitely one of show’s best characters.
• Purely coincidentally, two of the guest stars on this episode are Tony Goldwyn and Kate Burton. Both of these actors would go on to star as President Fitzgerald Grant and Vice President Sally Langston (respectively) in their own show, Scandal. – I never watched Scandal, but that’s something fun to think when rewatching this episode.

1×11 – Infamy

Alicia is taken off a high-profile First Amendment case involving an obnoxious talk show host who may be responsible for a woman’s suicide when the wife of one of her husband’s rivals requests her as her divorce lawyer.

• This is another favorite of mines of the season. Definitely an episode of an law show I haven’t seen yet before.
• So I think The Good Wife predicted Alex Jones in this episode if that makes any sense.
• The TV commentator reminded me of Alex Jones in a way and so I just had to pass that on.
• Especially with the ending, him making up fake news about Diane being a lesbian and her laughing to end the episode was fantastic.
• Though I’m glad the show didn’t put Kalinda in role because I think it’s obvious that’s she interested in women and outing her like that would of been plain mean.
• So putting Diane in that role was funny because we knew it wasn’t true and we could all have a good laugh about it.
• This episode officially cemented my love for Diane, she was the star of the episode.

1×12 – Painkiller

Alicia defends a doctor accused of prescribing oxycodone to a star high school quarterback who overdosed, provides information to Peter about his rival, Glenn Childs, and deals with Peter’s mother, who has suffered a stroke.

• Alicia has to deal with a lot in this episode.
• Her mother in law has a stroke and ends up in the hospital.
• She is hiring a nanny to help the kids and the house while she’s gone.
• Peter is trying to get out of jail and his team needs her help in order to get him out.
• And on top of that, Alicia has a case defending a doctor that prescribed a teenager with a painkiller that might have killed him.
• So like I said, Alicia has a lot on her shoulders this episode.
• The nanny was terrible so I’m glad she’s already gone even if it’s under false pretenses.
• I liked the ending with the mom actually being unknowingly being responsible for her son’s death. It was sad, but I appreciated it.

1×13 – Bad

As Peter’s trial begins, Alicia is busy with a civil trial defending a contemptible husband who was found not guilty of killing his wife. Meanwhile, Diane considers buying a gun for protection against an ex-con.

• I really liked the case here because just like the audience, Alicia doesn’t believe that the man she’s defending, Sweeney is innocent.
• He’s creepy and his relationship with his wife was anything, but normal.
• We don’t see a lot of cases where we doubt the person our protagonist is defending, nevertheless see them also doubting the person they are representing.
• Alicia thinks he’s guilty, we think he’s guilty, but she has to defend him anyways because that’s her job and sometimes you have to do something even if you don’t believe in it.
• The case is what makes this episode entertaining as we see Alicia keep doubting her own client.
• We also get more Diane in this episode as she’s afraid that a mobster she sent to prison, so she gets a gun.
• I liked that Diane and Kalinda team up in this episode. They make a nice pair.
• During the scene in which Kalinda opens a case showing Diane and the others in the conference a collection of guns that were purchased within 2 miles of their office, Diane is given a gun to hold. Although Diane is timid around guns, showing a lack of experience with them, she still holds the gun properly; more specifically, instead of holding the gun with her finger through the trigger guard like most people do, she has her index finger pointed along the side, just above the trigger guard, which is the proper way to hold a firearm. One must never put their finger through the trigger guard unless they intend to actually fire the weapon. This could indicate that Diane has more experience and comfort about firearms than she lets on, or an error by the director wherein the actress playing Diane, Christine Baranski is subconsciously employing her own training and firearm safety.

1×14 – Hi

As Alicia defends a husband accused of murdering the babysitter, she and her family prepare for the outcome of Peter’s appeal and his possible homecoming.

• I really liked this episode, it was nice to see the team assemble in their own ways and to see them outside their normal routine in the office to something more relaxed.
• Also was it just me or is Will even more attractive without a suit and unshaven?
• Cary being high for the majority of the episode made me laugh quite a bit.
• It definitely brought some humor in a otherwise tense episode.
• The case was interesting, I didn’t see the killer coming like I had be able to in previous episodes, so that was nice.
• However the real star of the episode was clearly Kalinda because of her great investigating skills, Peter is going home.
• Albeit with a ankle monitor, but still a win is a win. He should forever be grateful to Kalinda because without her, he would still be in jail.

1×15 – Bang

Peter returns home and discovers the secret photos that his children have been keeping from Alicia. At Alicia’s firm, Will removes her from a case involving a bodyguard accused of killing his boss, a dishonest financial planner.

• Peter is back trying to find ways to clear his name with his team, now including Eli Gold.
• I am aware that Eli will be a major character as the show goes on, so I made sure to pay extra close attention to him.
• He’s pretty funny, but also very good at his job. Which is great for Peter since he wants to be state’s attorney again.
• Lots of romance undertones in this episode, Diane has a romantic suitor.
• Alicia and Will are only growing closer together…
• And Kalinda and her lady friend are definitely going to be more than friends.
• I’m so glad my assumption that Kalinda is gay was right, it seem like the show was headed there, but I wasn’t sure before now I am.
• Now I’m definitely sure that’s where they are going with her character and I’m glad.
• The main case in this episode wasn’t as memorable as everything happening around it.
• Which is a shame because the case had potential.

1×16 – Fleas

The firm is having financial problems, so Will takes on a questionable case and considers taking on an unsavory client. Meanwhile, Alicia tries to find out who’s been tweeting gossip about her relationship with her husband.

• The firm is having financial problems which forces Will to take a case he probably wouldn’t have otherwise.
• I did love when he used the Chicago defense.
• We have Mike Coulter aka pre Luke Cage guest starring in this episode.
• Alicia meets Eli Gold, I have a feeling those two are going to have a complicated relationship to say the least.
• I hated that Alicia assumed that Cary was the one spreading gossip about her and her family.
• Her and Cary have built a good relationship at this point, so I hated that she nearly ruined it all here.
• Another thing I hated in this episode was Peter thinking Alicia is cheating on him. Hello? Peter, you cheated on her. Even if she was cheating, he did it to her first.
• Don’t do betray your significant other if you don’t want them to betray you.
• My favorite scene in the episode was Eli telling Becca off. That was so good and so well deserved.
• PS, it’s such a small thing, but I love Diane’s laugh. It’s so contagious that I can burst into laughter just because she is.

1×17 – Heart

Will makes a move on Alicia as the firm takes on an insurance company denying coverage for a risky, expensive surgery to an expectant mother. Meanwhile, Peter seeks public reconciliation with the African American community.

• Oh boy, this episode might be the best episode yet. Not my favorite, but it was really well written and great acting all across the board.
• The case was heartbreaking and sad that the nothing has changed in health care wise, years later.
• I really felt for the clients which hasn’t happened in a few episodes.
• It was just a terrible situation, but that’s what it such a fascinating episode to watch.
• To top the episode off, Will and Alicia kiss! We all knew this was coming, but wow what a kiss.
• I don’t condone cheating, but Alicia and Will have great chemistry, it’s hard not to root for them.
• Now that Alicia has gave a Peter a reason to suspicious of her, I wonder how much longer their relationship can last.
• Alicia before this episode hadn’t been close to Peter in a long time and now there’s something going on with her and Will…
• I think it’s safe to assume her marriage is over, or it will be soon enough.
• Peter and Alicia both deserve to have a clean slate and find themselves someone they can really love. I just don’t think it will be each other.

1×18 – Doubt

While a jury deliberates a case involving a co-ed accused of murder, ballistics expert Kurt McVeigh reenters Diane’s life, while the awkwardness between Will and Alicia intensifies.

• This might be my favorite case so far in the show.
• A college student being accused of killing one of her sorority sister seems pretty clear cut, but I love how the show makes it more complicated than that.
• I also love that we saw the jury’s point of view of the case.
• It felt very 12 Angry Men, which isn’t a bad thing to try to replicate in your own show.
• Plenty of shows have done the same like Veronica Mars for example, but I especially liked it here because we see how much the case has affected them all.
• The end of the case was probably one of the more sadder endings to an episode in the show thus far.
• The jury found the college student innocent, but it was too late.
• She took the plea deal because there was still doubt as whatever she did it or not.
• She took 10 years for a murder she didn’t commit, which is something that happens probably everyday in the justice system.

1×19 – Boom

Stern launches his plan to take down Lockhart and Gardner and steal all their best lawyers, while a potential surprise witness emerges with dirt against Peter.

• We see Alicia arguing against her former boss Stern. I liked that Alicia stuck to her promise, but I kinda wish she came forward with it.
• However, how she used the information about Stern against him was probably even better than what we would’ve gotten if she came forward with the information about him.
• I hate that Stern is trying to steal the best lawyers away from Lockhart and Gardner, but I do find it entertaining.
• Not only is entertaining, it’s interesting to see how Lockhart and Gardner will counteract to Stern because they just have to.
• The last scenes with Alicia and Peter were wonderful, it’s what this season has been leading up to.
• Alicia leaving him, possibly even for Will.

1×20 – Mock

Alicia tries to help an Indian family in her building after the mom faces deportation unless the son helps the feds bring down a group of smugglers, while Will presides as the judge in a law school mock trial.

• Of course, that was too good to be true. It’s probably too early for Alicia leave Peter, but man were we close there.
• I appreciate what the kids did to help their dad, but was there really not any other way to help him that didn’t involve Zach getting hurt.
• I mean it is Peter’s fault for leaving the house. That was a dumb move, but his emotions got the best of him in that moment.
• I just thought that there would’ve been an easier way for the kids to help Peter without having to go through all that trouble.
• It also sucks because it leads the police to investigate an Indian family in Alicia’s building.
• I did appreciate the show address immigration as it has only become worse of a problem in these last years.
• It was cool to see Will as a judge until that college student ruined it for him. Seriously an allegation like that should be taken seriously not to get revenge over someone.
• And then he proceeds to go out with her? Yeah I don’t think that’s smart, but whatever I guess. He’s a lawyer, he would know best.

1×21 – Unplugged

While the firm takes on a case involving a divorce settlement for the wife of a musician who is in a coma, Alicia reluctantly considers a bold move to make sure that Lockhart and Gardner choose her over Cary.

• The decision has been made between choosing Alicia or Cary and it’s no surprise who is chosen in the end.
• Cary has been a great hand for Lockhart and Gardner, but Alicia has been the star of the firm.
• It’s not shocking that they picked her over Cary, though Alicia did go to extra measures to get her the job.
• I feel rather bad for Cary, he did some great stuff for the firm, it just didn’t work out in the end.
• I can see him going to work for Stern’s firm which might actually be good for him.
• I know Kalinda has thing for Lana, but I’m wondering if she is bisexual or maybe she’s just playing with that guy. I can see that too.
• This episode originally contained a scene in which Kalinda and Burton were kissing and Kalinda was stung by a bee, which sent her into severe anaphylactic shock. On the DVD special features, the showrunners say that this scene was ultimately cut because it was too “silly” and also too much of a departure from the main storyline.
• Just reading that I was thinking that sounds really silly for the show, so I agree with the showrunners.
• That’s something more suited for 30 Rock or Parks and Recreation to be honest.

1×22 – Hybristophilia

Will sends Alicia to disgraced CEO Colin Sweeney’s home to handle merger details, but finds him with a dead body instead. Meanwhile, Glen Childs tries to save his case against Peter, and Cary searches for a way to get back at Alicia.

• Eli Gold references Daniel Gold being called to the White House. Joe Morton who portrayed Daniel Gold joined the cast of Scandal which involves a White House/Presidential plot. – More The Good Wife and Scandal connections.
• Sweeney is back in this episode and just like the one he was in before it, he looks all types of guilty.
• Even more so than the last episode because the dead woman is literally handcuffed to him.
• That makes it even harder for Alicia to defend him this time around.
• Unlike last time though, he actually goes to prison in this one.
• I’m not sure if this is the last we see of him, though he definitely is a murderer, he is a entertaining one to watch.
• So hopefully he’ll pop up again in the future.
• Speaking of popping up, Peter Hermann from Younger pops up as a judge in this episode.
• I’m glad that Alicia finally ask Kalinda if she was gay, I feel like there’s been this unspoken thing about it, so I’m glad she finally broke the air about it.
• Though Kalinda didn’t want to talk about it further, I’m glad their friendship is good enough that she knows she can if she ever wants to.
• Cary went to Childs which sucks, but doesn’t susprised me. I hope one day him and Alicia could work things out and possibly be friends again.

1×23 – Running

The firm goes head-to-head with Cary and other familiar faces in a police corruption case. Meanwhile, Eli Gold seeks to put pressure on Peter to run for reelection, but will Alicia go along for the ride?

• We have come to the conclusion of season one and what a conclusion it is.
• You should know I yelped when I saw Amy Acker was in this episode. Amy Acker is great.
• Speaking of Amy Acker, she is married to James Carpinello, who played Detective Anthony Burton in several season 1 episodes, including this one.
• Kalinda finally kisses Lana in this episode, though we don’t see it happen, we all know it happens.
• I’m sad we didn’t see it, I don’t know if it was a network not allowing them to, but hopefully that’ll change as the show goes on.
• The love triangle between Alicia, Peter, and Will comes to ahead in this episode.
• Alicia has to decide if she going to pursue a relationship with Will, or stick by Peter as he is running for state’s attorney again.
• We don’t get to see the decision because of a cliffhanger ending…
• Don’t get me I like Alicia and Will together, but she’s right. If they were to be together they need a plan and he doesn’t have one for her.
• They can’t just jump into things, they have to think about their careers and her kids.
• Alicia thinking with her head, while Will thinking with his heart and that just doesn’t work.

This is a pretty decent first season. Better than what I was expecting, but not my favorite season of all the seasons I have been watching as of late. Still, I was always entertained by the show so that’s a huge plus. My favorite episode would be Hi. My favorite character would be Alicia, I just love how strong she is through everything she is put through this season.

Pros: The acting, great protagonist, always entertaining, sometimes feels relevant, engaging plots, good characters.

Cons: Feels a little after school special at times, some drama feels manufactured, feels somewhat dated, and needs more Diane.

Other Seasons In Reviews: The Office – S1, 24 – S1, Breaking Bad – S1, Dexter – S1, The West Wing – S1, 30 Rock – S1