Everybody is That Person

From Biglaw to Trash Bins

My must watch prime time shows are Lost, Modern Family, and The Good Wife. Fans were kept in suspense all season over the competition between Alicia and Cary for the junior associate position at their law firm Stern, Lockhart & Gardner. Last week's episode finally gave us a winner. Of course, most of us guessed the winner would be our show's heroine Alicia over the young and cocky Cary. But until the very end, the race was very close with Cary as the likely favorite because of his higher billable hours and politicking around the office to put in a good word for him with partners Diane Lockhard and Will Gardner. That is, until Alicia had the guts to ask Diane what exactly she needed to do to ensure she'd get the job.

Alicia takes the hint that she's a goner unless she uses the Florrick name to build her client list and save her flailing law firm from more lay offs, including her own. After a "BIDER moment" with her stack of unpaid bills, Alicia decides she can't lose this job no matter what and goes to her cheating husband's creepy political operative Eli Gold (played magnificently by Alan Cumming) for help. We know this can't be good because Gold has wanted Alicia to commit to her husband's comeback campaign for attorney general despite her many reservations to stand by her man after his very public and humiliating affair with a prostitute.

Btw, I love Alan Cumming. He plays cold and calculating characters like no other. I'm so glad to hear he'll be a regular on the show next season. I love the part when he's like, "Do you want me to offer your nemesis a job and dump him the minute he gets here? Because I can so easily destroy someone's life in return for your loyalty to do whatever I ask next season. Bwahahaha."

So Alicia, unsurprisingly, can be that type of person when it comes to saving her job and keeping her family from moving to Chicago's South Side. What we don't know is whether or not Alicia will regret being that person when Gold's favor comes back to haunt her . Will she be able to put on a happy face when Gold forces her on the campaign trail with her husband? From the look Alicia gave Gold when he mentioned her husband's campaign after meeting with Diane and Will, she's only beginning to realize the extent of this favor. What Gold gives, he can easily take away if Alicia doesn't deliver what he wants from her.

Hah. Like a lamb to the slaughter, Cary walked into the lion's den without a clue in the world that his biglaw career was dead the minute Alicia sold her soul to the devil in return for his client list. Cary's an arrogant asshole, but for a few seconds I sympathized with his plight. He put in 110% to the firm, worked long hours everyday while Alicia was dealing with family drama, and all of it was for nothing. Can't say I blame him for seeking revenge next week. What else is an unemployed lawyer supposed to do with his time?

Welcome to our world, Cary! You did everything right, but in the end connections won out over your Harvard JD, ass kissing and billable hours. You're welcome to guest post here in between your job search and destroying the lives of your former co-workers. Cheers!