TV: The Good Wife (S4) (7/10)

Why did I watch it?

The Good Wife is one of the most unappreciated shows on TV.

What's it all about?

Julianna Marguiles plays Alicia Florrick, a Chicago defence lawyer who returned to work after her husband, the state attorney, was jailed following a sex and corruption scandal.

The plot of season four revolves around Peter's run for governor, Lockhart & Gardner's financial stewardship, the arrival of Kalinda's estranged husband and the distribution of new partnerships to some of the company associates.

Should you watch it?

With another 22 episodes, this time around I thought that the season lost it's direction mid-way through and I really started to wonder if the story is approaching it's natural conclusion. Peter's governor election campaign was similar to season two's campaign to take back his state's attorney seat. It was also mentioned this season that Eli has visions of leading Peter to state senator next. The drama of a political campaign has been played out well by The Good Wife through two seasons out of four now and it's time to focus on something else. Also, the Will and Alicia romance was only ever temporarily concluded in season three and it felt like re-treading old ground at times this season. The other major storyline of the season was Calinda's husband Nick arriving from her mysterious past. His thinly veiled hostility and desire to aggressively insert himself into Calinda's life was interesting to begin with, especially as Calinda's past has been a subject of interest, but it got old very quickly and brought a chunk of the season down.

Despite all the above, and maybe I'm being harsh because of the high regard I hold the show in,  the show still features excellent guest stars (Nathan Lane, Michael J Fox and Christina Ricci) and the episodes Battle of the Proxies, Red Team/Blue Team and the finale What's In The Box made brilliant viewing. Special mention also to the writing of the character David Lee (Zach Grenier), who gets some fantastically cruel and sarcastic lines as usual. The season ended on a big cliffhanger with huge consequences for the show's central storyline and I look forward to the show's return.

Overall, some stagnation and repetitive story lines made for weaker moments in comparison with previous seasons but The Good Wife remains a solild TV show a cut above the norm.