'The Good Wife': Five Tragic Turning Points for Will and Alicia--Was It Really All About Bad Timing?

That fateful phone call...

I still haven't gotten over the big twist on "The Good Wife," and while I understand some of the reasoning behind taking the show in this new direction, I still don't approve. I often feel like character death is an easy out. It's considered the "brave" choice, but I think it takes a lot more creativity to find a believable way around a character leaving a show, rather than just opting out for the easy emotional payoff.

But "The Good Wife" has always been immensely skilled at shocking the hell out of viewers and turning our expectations inside out, so they definitely kept that trend going here. I'll still be tuning in to see where the show goes next, because any disagreements I have and have had with the show's choices haven't warranted me ditching a series with such excellent writing and fantastic characters (especially female characters). Hopefully they won't let me down going forward, but I'm always going to resent them slamming the door on a Will/Alicia reunion.

I'm not the only one who got rattled by the abrupt end of Willicia. When the character death on "The Good Wife" had loyal viewers flooding every entertainment site, forum, and social media outlet to vent all of their shock and outrage, the creators of the show decided to address fans in an open letter. One of their reasons for killing off Will Gardner, said Michelle and Robert King, was that "to us, there always was a tragedy at the center of Will and Alicia's relationship: the tragedy of bad timing." Was that really all it was? (Click to read the rest of our story on Yahoo.)




PHOTO: Julianna Margulies as Alicia Florrick on "The Good Wife", screencap 2014, CBS, fair use.

'Star-Crossed,' 'And Left No Friendly Drop' -- 13 Things We Learned

Roman...looking pretty.

This week on "Star-Crossed," "And Left No Friendly Drop," we get more into secrets and deceptions, but also a little human/Atrian bonding. Here are 13 things we learned about our favorite troubled teens:

1. Daddy Nox had a secret it seems. Mama Maia lets the kids know that their home has just been ransacked by human guards because they're looking for technology the Atrians aren't allowed to have. Technology like this phone of Nox's that she hid from prying eyes. Roman's completely wigged out because only the rebel Trags have phones like this, so what was his noble father doing with one?

2. Kids lie to their parents, big surprise. Roman says he'll take the phone and destroy it, but instead he asks Julia and Lukas for help. Lukas the computer genius says he'll hack into the encrypted phone and figure out what the deal is.

3. The class gets to learn about Atrian biology, including their two Doctor Who-esque hearts and a bonus set of lungs. Also, their glowing markings apparently helped light their way on their darkened homeworld. And oh, by the way, Atrians are allergic to human stuff like cilantro and caffeine. There's no way sharing THAT info will come back to haunt the Atrians, right?

4. Sophia has a secret love of swimming and a desire to know what it's like being on a team. That extra set of lungs sure would come in handy at the upcoming swim meet, Emery thinks, so she convinces Sophia to try out.

Resident sourpuss Eric (w/his main man Grayson) hates the idea.

Roman and Teri are ready to start WWWIII if necessary...

How can anyone resist those alien puppy dog eyes?

5. Eric always leads the pack of anything anti-alien. In this case, he's all up in arms about sharing the pool with these potentially disease-ridden glowing alien peeps. Gloria tells Sophia that sporting events for Atrians are a no-go. Emery gets unexpected back-up from Grayson, and they make their case for giving Sophia a shot at competing in the swim meet at their own school. Gloria caves and says she'll consult the board, but the Atrians are going to have to promise to be on their best behavior.

Sibling angst

This pic is here just 'cause Roman looks so hot while leaning on things.

6. Roman and Sophia have different ideas about their dad. Roman is entirely focused on finding out what's on that phone, and doesn't think Sophia should be risking all this negative attention by swimming with humans. Sophia tells him he can do all the investigations he wants, but this is the way she's choosing to honor their father.

7. Emery can't be bought with flowers. A little pro-Atrian speech at the pool, though, and she's ready to forgive Grayson in 3...2....1....

8. Kids lie to their scheming uncles. This one is pretty forgivable. Maia is extremely distressed that the human guards seem intent on finding the tech, as if they *know* it's there. Uncle Caster mentions "Trag" and "your father" in the same sentence and Roman is pretty peeved. He tells them the phone has been destroyed.

9. That mysterious phone came with a hidden video and a way to track the only other number Nox ever called. Lukas starts to show the vid to Roman, but they're ambushed by Gloria and security, who takes the phone before Roman can learn its contents. What's really mysterious is that the other phone was apparently being used right on school grounds. Curiouser and curiouser...

Oh, you goin' down, b#$%@. You messed w/the wrong Atrian.

10. So, these high school kids hate Atrians all the way up until a rival team tries to kill one of them. So it seems sports brings out both the worst and the best in people.

'Member when we mentioned that thing about Atrians and allergies? The opposing swim team pretends to play nice and then essentially poisons Sophia with some caffeine. She has an immediate allergic reaction, and may have died if not for Emery's experience with EpiPens--and the fact that luckily they don't kill aliens.

Grayson and Eric team up with Teri and Drake and others to kick some serious swim team ass in retaliation. (We also learn that attempted murder on an Atrian is apparently not a crime anyone gets charged for.)

11. Near-death experiences bring about camaraderie and a desire to swim some more. The meet is canceled and our home team gets their wrists slapped. Gloria is feeling pleased since brawling together is the first step towards peace and harmony. She grants them an in-house swim meet amongst themselves. Eric even engages in some friendly smack talk with Sophia. While showing off his abs.

12. Roman's not a big fan of conflict. He shares a moment with Emery, and makes up with his sis Sophia. Unfortunately all the eye-fucking with Emery doesn't make her his, though. He's got to watch from the Atrian bus while Emery and Grayson make out. Ouch.

13. This last one is the biggest bombshell of all. We finally see what that video is on Roman's dad's phone. Turns out Gloria's secret Atrian baby was fathered by Nox.

Go back to the previous episode: 'Star-Crossed', 'Our Toil Shall Strive to Mend' -- 13 Things We Learned

Watch "Star-Crossed" on The CW, Monday nights at 8/7c.



PHOTOS: "Star-Crossed" Episode 4 screencaps, 2014 The CW, fair use.  

'Star-Crossed', 'Our Toil Shall Strive to Mend' -- 13 Things We Learned

Not exactly the Princess and the Pea, but...

Like many fantasy series, 'Star-Crossed' can get a bit complicated, so if you need a refresher on characters and the plot so far, have a look back at our Episode 2 post. This week we get deeper into the human and Atrian conflicts, learn more about the different power players, and end with another surprise death. Here are 13 new things we learned from Episode 3, "Our Toil Shall Strive to Mend":

1. Teri apparently has the ability to work some wicked mind control with the help of special flower petals. What else would a teenager use this for than to insert herself into some of Roman's wicked sex dreams? Oh and yeah, by the way, while humans have "after glow," Atrians have "blue glow," courtesy of those natural tats.

2. Even with half her life spent in a hospital, Julia has learned: "A way to a boy's heart is not through his dead father's passion project." Emery persists, however, in contributing to the "Arrival Day" memorial event. She wants to film the Arrival Day stories from the Atrians' point of view, with Grayson as her volunteer video camera operator. Gloria gives her the go-ahead to film a segment during a human-students-visit-The-Sector field trip.

3. Sometimes dragging a boy into a storage closet and taking your top off is a totally innocent and necessary thing to do. At least it was for Julia, who decides a lot of "show not tell" is needed to illustrate that all her veins are glowing blue ever since Roman cured her--and then touched her again at the Fair.

After his teenage libido cools down from the free show, Roman understandably freaks out. Secrets like this are tough to keep when the object of the secret can be seen for 10 miles in the dark.

Welcome to the Trags...

4. Sometimes getting dragged into a dark alley with a bag over your head is a good thing. Erm, at least Drake thinks so, since it means an introduction to Vega, leader of the Trags. Apparently all his "Kill all the humans!" ranting has gotten him noticed. And since Drake will be attending the special Arrival Day memorial event, he'll have important access to the crashed Atrian ship that still stands as a monument to all who were lost. All he needs to do is some training shirtless with Beaumont. And learning how the Atrian version of brass knuckles (a ring of woven thorns) can drop somebody dead with one blow. Fun!

Erm, this isn't what it looks like...

5. When Roman's sister Sophia agrees to be interviewed for Emery's video, she shows the budding filmmaker and her cameraman their home. Emery is pleased to discover Roman still has a metaphor-illustrating star made of yarn hanging by his bed--the same yarn she used as a child to calm her Atrian refugee friend with string games.

6. Emery later follows a young Atrian girl through The Sector and discovers the Atrians have a candlelit memorial wall (just like that hallway in "Battlestar Galactica"). When she's surrounded by angry Atrians, she's rescued by Castor, who explains it's a wall depicting those missing since Arrival Day. Asked if he believes they're still alive and living on the outside somewhere, he says he doesn't know, but it gives people hope.

7. When Beaumont reports to Castor, we learn that Castor isn't necessarily a Trag enthusiast. He's an opportunist, who believes in always being on "the winning side." Asked how to deal with Emery, he tells Beaumont ominously, "Leave her to me."

Who knew herb gardens could be so dangerous?

8. Feigning an interest in horticulture is not going to work when Trags find you in their own personal herb garden. Feigning interest in the Trag leader's daughter seems equally stupid, but somehow gets Roman out of trouble, thanks to Teri. Oh yeah, did we mention Teri is Vega's daughter? She's conflicted about her mom's Trag ways, and even sneaks Roman some of the plant he needs to cure Julia's glowing problem (though like the original ciper, the cure might have unforeseen side effects).

9. Grayson shows his hand a bit early when Emery's video gets broadcast on Arrival Day and it's been overwritten with Redhawk propaganda. He tries to pretend it's his Evil parents who stole the footage from him, but Emery's not buying it. We'll see how long it is before he talks his way back into her good graces, though.

 10. Roman does have his father's spirit after all. When the memorial event is hijacked, he steps into his father's shoes and takes the podium, sharing his story of Arrival Day and how a young girl saved his life. He says not all Atrians are as hostile as those shown in the video, and he thinks not all humans are like the Redhawks. Emery is more in love than ever, and Gloria tells him he's saved the integration program.

11. Drake is brave enough to go through with his mission, sneaking onto the Atrian ship on Arrival Day and retrieving a small silver cube from a storage bin. He's not ruthless enough yet to kill a human guard who discovers him, but luckily Teri is there to save his bacon and wipe the guy's memory clean with her wicked-witchy ways.

And red ciper becomes deadly black ciper...

12. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Teri decided Trag business was her business once she realized Roman was more interested in Emery than her. And her mom has decided that it's time to use some of that healing ciper with the cube Drake procured. The thing is, the cube magically activates ciper into some deadly flesh-eating cloud that Vega tests out on Beaumont. Seems she found out he was meeting secretly with Castor. Drake looks slightly less sold on this whole Trag thing now.

13. Our last big shocker of the episode comes at the end, when Gloria returns home and uses a security code to enter a secret room. A room where she's apparently hiding her Atrian child. We're not sure if this means she's another secret Atrian, or if she had a child with an Atrian man. So many questions!!

Watch "Star-Crossed" on The CW, Monday nights at 8/7c.




PHOTOS: "Star-Crossed" Episode 3 screencaps, 2014 The CW, fair use.