The Good Wife,’ Season 4, Episode 9 Recap

• CBS
• Death Stares caught on Dradis, set Condition One throughout

“The Good Wife” trimmed the fat (mostly) for “A Defense of Marriage,” and focused almost entirely on Alicia both in and out of the courtroom. It’s of little wonder though when this series’ named is paired with an episode title and theme like this one. Marriage was on trial for everyone this week, from the micro to the macro, and while some may criticize the show not taking a stand one way or another on, well, anything, I think it was actually a perfect way to illustrate the ambiguity of its subject.

The best “Good Wife” episodes usually deal with politics, and “A Defense of Marriage” was no exception. The other key part is having a relevant and related Case of the Week, which also played out nicely with Alicia’s family politics. The idea of what a marriage is or can be defined as (or can it really, when one comes down to the nitty gritty) was the main thrust in both the politics of DOMA (the Defense of Marriage Act) as well as both Alicia’s and her mother’s person lives.

While Stockard Channing made a great turn as Alicia’s flirty and outspoken mother, her turning on Peter and resurrecting the Will storyline (which always happens when Owen is in town - Owen also being my least favorite and least essential supporting cast member) felt too backwards. We’ve been over this, we’ve moved past it. What’s more interesting at this point is Alicia repairing her relationship with Peter. Lest we forget, we’ve actually seen them very happy over the last few weeks, with Alicia standing behind him during the attacks by Mattie to shade his reputation. Though “The Good Wife” is right to return its focus to its main character, it is wrong if it seeks to retread her old plots when there are plenty of new places to go.