Fans of "The Good Wife" wait excitedly every season for a guest appearance by the quirky, whip-smart, and lovable Elsbeth Tascioni (Carrie Preston). With her bright red hair, frenetic approach, and hilarious non sequiturs, Elsbeth grabs your attention in every scene. What has always been the thread of her appearances on the show is that she is clever, sneaky, and the best secret weapon Alicia and her friends and colleagues have ever known.
Elsbeth Tascioni has got to be my favourite character atm.
— Lue (@CallMeLue) October 27, 2014
Elsbeth Tascioni is my spirit animal. #TheGoodWife
— Elisa Susini (@eLi182) October 27, 2014
Season Six of "The Good Wife" has taken a slightly different approach with Elsbeth. We got a peek at all the swirling thoughts and wallpaper clowns residing in her mind, a revealing if perhaps overly comedic view of her unusual intelligence. She appeared across the aisle from Alicia for a case, and we saw that subtle distraction tactics can work to diffuse her brilliance. And her biggest distraction of all came in the form of AUSA Josh Perotti (Kyle MacLachlan), who continued to ramp up his aggressive wooing tactics.
In Episode Six, "Old Spice," Alicia and Elsbeth join forces against Josh, and so begins the delightfully crazy dance of business and pleasure between the AUSA and his ginger love. Josh and Elsbeth's flirtation on the street, which included sniffing each other for their signature scents of baby lotion and Old Spice, Elsbeth jamming to "Call Me Maybe," and the duo's passionate office sex had Twitter buzzing over this whacky and wonderful couple.
"The Good Wife" has forayed into the absurd before, something which gives the show part of its enticing charm, and a lot of the tweets scrolling for Josh and Elsbeth this week were positive:
Elsbeth is absolutely delightful! Great contrast to serious storyline. Please keep her & her lawyer friend on! Old Spice & baby lotion!
— Christiebird (@bluebirdcv) October 27, 2014
Elsbeth dancing to Call Me Maybe #dying 😂
— Sabrina_AWR (@StrawBerrySab) October 27, 2014
@GoodWifeWriters everything about Josh and Elsbeth is hilarious and perfect!
— Cherida Sohngen (@cheridadobbyn) October 27, 2014
Eli's daughter being back or Josh and Elsbeth on the street, can't decide which is better. #TheGoodWife
— Mandi Bierly (@EWMandiBierly) October 27, 2014
Many were feeling the love so much, they wanted more:
Gonna take me an hr & a half to watch last night's Good Wife cause I keep replaying the Elsbeth bodice ripping scn. I demand a spinoff.
— Bumptious Ms. B (@angelinaburnett) October 27, 2014
that was one of my fav episodes so far! #TheGoodWife please make elsbeth a series regular! @TheGoodWife_CBS @GoodWifeWriters @Carrie_Preston
— Isaac Toafa (@limegreenyummy) October 27, 2014
In my opinion Elsbeth Tascioni needs her own show ASAP! #TheGoodWife
— Sashana (@SheFierce1) October 27, 2014
But not everyone was as impressed with the over-the-top portrayal of an iconic "Good Wife" character. Part of Elsbeth's greatness came from her mysterious genius, a feeling that you never knew whether you'd get the daffodil or the demon, or if her mind was even there at all. While there has always been an element of comedy to Elsbeth, "The Good Wife" has definitely pushed the envelope this year:
What's happeningon #TheGoodWife? They're ruining Elsbeth Tasioni. She went from quirky & interesting to distracted & weird. @TheGoodWife_CBS
— Lisa Nesbit Reuss (@randgmom) October 27, 2014
Elsbeth completely lost her mind since last season. She was hilariously brilliant & eccentric b4 now its a bit much. #TheGoodWife
— Carolyn Bevacqua (@cmbeva) October 27, 2014
Don’t get me wrong, I love Elsbeth too!! In… slightly smaller doses maybe? Or…different doses. #theGoodWife
— Scare-ya Skilton (@Sarah_Skilton) October 27, 2014
I hope #TheGoodWife goes back to using Elsbeth more sparingly like they used to. Love her, but a little goes a long way. In my opinion.
— Eric Haywood (@Eric_Haywood) October 27, 2014
And those dreaded three words of condemnation...
“@derekeb: This Elsbeth storyline is a bit jump the sharky. Ish. #TheGoodWife @GoodWifeWriters” // YES! Totally agree!
— Thumbkiss (@thumbkissit) October 27, 2014
My biggest concern was they were de-fanging our dear Elsbeth, but thank goodness there was a light at the end of the tunnel of love...or, erm, something like that.
I love that Elsbeth didn't fall for that "show me original document" trick by Josh
— Wasswa Batte (@WasswaB) October 27, 2014
Thankfully, the dalliance with Josh didn't make Elsbeth lose her edge after all. She had us terrified that she'd fallen for the same trick again, but no, she was as sneaky as ever. And her battle-winning mystique at least continues with Alicia, who stared at Elsbeth in wonder when the AUSA suddenly dropped the case.
Another thing that had me still believing in Elsbeth's magic was that she made me really feel the painful absence of Will, something that hadn't yet happened for me this season.
The joy of Elsbeth was that despite her slightly cray personality, everyone that worked with her came to love her. Alicia had worried how Will in particular would mesh with Elsbeth when she first recommended the unorthodox lawyer to defend him. How he both admired and was amused by Elsbeth created some of the best Will moments on "The Good Wife."
One can't help wondering if that was the writers' plan all along, because we were already feelin' it when Alicia had that incredible moment taking over Will's old office. This is probably the right moment for the hashtag #AllTheFeels.
What do you think, "Good Wife" fans? Has this just been a fun romp with Elsbeth and her integrity is preserved? Or was it all a bit too much of a good thing?
Bonus:
Elsbeth ❤😄 http://t.co/Os97CuyszI
— Viviane Nascimento (@MinionsVivi) October 27, 2014
Great wrap up! I'm in the LOVE Elsbeth (especially) and Josh camp.
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