Jeff Neumann/CBSGoodbye, Kalinda. Thank you for the memories. The tequila shots, the orange notebook, the leather jackets, the baseball bat, the BOOTS, for taking care of that horrible husband and so much more. But most of all, thank you for being a friend to Alicia Florrick. Because you loved her. Yes, I am writing this thank you note/goodbye letter to a character.
The Good Wife season six finale featured a scene you've been waiting for. A scene I've been waiting for. And oh what a scene it was. But before we get to that, let's get the other stuff out of the way because, well, there were a few other OMG moments.
Peter Florrick: POTUS? Nah. Maybe? Peter revealed he has been asked to run for president, but only so he can be considered for vice president because he doesn't have the chops or funding to truly win the election. Alicia's first reaction? Laughter. It was mine too. I don't think The Good Wife can handle another election storyline. Peter told Alicia it's her decision to make with the kids as a family, but you could so tell he wanted to do it. But Alicia put him in his place. She doesn't want him to run. She doesn't want to have her family torn apart anymore.
Farewell, Finn? After agreeing to start a new firm with Alicia, Finn backed out. Their first case had to do with Father Gabriel from The Walking Dead (Seth Gilliam) being illegally detained. Alicia had some badass moments, but the case kind of forgettable compared to everything else that was happening in the episode. So was that the end of Matthew Goode on The Good Wife? Finn is trying to make a go at it with his ex-wife again and working so closely with Alicia, well, he said it wouldn't be good for him.
"Wanna partner?" That knock on the door? Louis Canning, who has always been a supporter of Alicia and has asked her on numerous occasions to come work for him, knocked on Alicia's door and asked her to start a firm with him. His mission? Take down Lockhart, Agos and Lee after they fired his wife. Wasn't he just in a coma?
"One for the road?" Oh, Kalinda. You will be missed. But what was really missed as the interaction between Kalinda and Alicia. It was more than 50 episodes since they appeared in a scene together. That changed tonight—or was it CGI? Request for comment was not immediately returned—when Kalinda met Alicia in their favorite bar. There were tequila shots. There were tears. Mine. Alicia's. Kalinda's. Alicia explained she learned to really let things go after the State's Attorney debacle. "It made me miss sitting a bar. Drinking. With you."
"My time with you as your friend was the best I ever had, and I'm sorry. I'm really sorry that things got messed up," Kalinda told her.
"I wish we had the chance to do it over again," Alicia said.
"I have to go," Kalinda told her.
"I'll never see you again?" Alicia asked.
"I don't think so," Kalinda replied.
"That's too bad," Alicia said.
"I, um [nods], goodbye," Kalinda said.
"Bye," Alicia replied.
Does this make up for having one of the best things about The Good Wife suddenly dissolve all those years ago? No. Was it a great end to something that was once magical? Yes. Julianna Margulies is a master at scenes like this. Alicia's sadness was palpable. Archie Panjabi turned it up a notch too. Kalinda was totally going to say she loved Alicia. She didn't need to say it. We all know.
The Good Wife wrapped its sixth season on a high note. Where does it go from here? Onward and upward, one would suspect.
Gasp count: 3
Some other things:
Diane's white suit was amazing.
Alicia is done with Eli and his manipulations. At least for now. She scrapped the memoir and put her foot down. "No to this, no to being first lady, no to everything," she told him.
I wish Kalinda had her baseball bat in that final scene with her walking away. It was still pretty perfect though. I would also watch a Charles Lester/Kalinda spinoff.
"Are you still going to pretend you're married?" Finally, Grace said something I didn't roll my eyes at.
"I've been apologizing a lot lately. I need to stop doing that," Alicia to Finn. YES.