For those following the show…
What the hell?? They did a great job keeping Will’s death a secret; I had no idea Josh Charles wanted out.
Well…he’s out.
I was pretty surprised. It felt like Downton Abbey all over again.
After I got over my shock I realized it’s probably better for the show. His character’s arc has completed and there isn’t much tension left for him to create on the show. With him gone, they are able to rejigger what that means to Alicia again, to explore her character. All of the supporting cast are really props or foils to her, and the show is about how she deals with each of those.
I thought it was pretty unrealistic that an officer of the court would leave his weapon improperly holstered like that but that’s a minor quip.
Apparently the arc was planned from the beginning of the season. At least now he wont have to testify. I must say I’m liking Alicia less this season. She was better as the underdog - now she is way to confident - too sure of herself. I don’t like her new found sultry/sexiness either. I don’t think it fits with the character.
I was completely shocked. I had no idea.
I’m still too surprised to properly mourn, but I’ll probably experience that along with the characters this week.
It’s certainly one way to handle the Will/Alicia tension…
I was hoping someone would start a thread about this. I thought about it, but didn’t know how much traction it would get. I didn’t think I could handle another thread dropping like a stone! 
But now that I’m in here I don’t really know what to say except… WOW! I did NOT see that coming. This show like a lot of other shows rely on the drama created by the “love” triangle of people. I hope they can successfully move into something that continues to hold viewers’ interest.
When they interviewed the writers I was reminded of an interview with Game of Thrones author George R. R. Martin. In not so many words: Martin said that Game of Thrones ISN’T about the characters, it’s about the throne. The writers for The Good Wife said the show is about the growth Alicia Florrick; to that end I like where it’s going.
I’m usually one to have a strong opinion on such matters as whether killing Will Gardner off was a good choice for this show. But I am strangely conflicted - It’s a well written show with a wonderful cast of regular and guest stars. On the other hand, as a column I read stated, it’s a relationship/legal show - not a violence/shoicker show. Still not sure this was a good call.
I was surprised and pleased that CBS didn’t give it away ahead of time. (A couple of weeks prior, the commercials for the show promised something big for the March 22 episode and they didn’t disappoint. But they also didn’t spoil it.) It was unfortunate for Jeffrey Grant, as the testimony of the paramedics would probably have gotten him off. (Note that Robert and Michelle King, the creators and writers, have said in interviews that the kid was not guilty.) I wonder who else was killed or injured. And my guess is that this will lead to a merger of the two firms. No idea what it means for Peter Florrick’s corruption trial.
In December when I caught up with the first half of this season I remember thinking Will’s character had nothing to do now, so I’m not disappointed that he’s gone. I was certainly shocked though and glad I watched the episode the next day before I’d read any spoilers. Kudos to the show for letting no hints leak.
Well, heck. I thought he was guilty as sin, and the paramedic testimony was going to be a complete farce.
My bad. 
I liked how they handled the incident - the gunshots heard from the next courtroom, the confusion, the grief when Diane and Kalinda have their worst fears realized, the desperate attempts to contact Alicia.
Kalinda had told Will she was planning to leave the firm. I would expect Will’s death to seal that decision for her. I’ll be interested to see whether she follows through on this, and if so, what path she takes.
The previews for future episodes suggest that Will’s death is going to reawaken the problems in Peter’s and Alicia’s marriage, something that is rife with dramatic possibilities.
What will happen with the investigation into election fraud? Did that die along with Will?
It looks like Diane is bringing in Louis Canning to replace Will. I have misgivings about this - he doesn’t seem like someone Diane would want as a partner. Also, I doubt that the Canning character is what the show needs for dramatic possibilities. He’s a good foil, but I don’t know that he would be a good main character.
It wouldn’t bother me if it died along with Will. It was all Eli Gold’s doing anyway. He’s the one they should have killed off. :dubious: (or Peter’s mom! God, I hate her as much as I did Livia Soprano!)
I totally agree with this. He’s been a good side show, but I think they’ll have to make him a little more serious of a character to be a regular cast member. The crazy characters work best as single episode characters. i.e. the sweet simple girl from, what was it, Nebraska? the judge with whom you always had to say “allegedly” and so on. Those characters add a lot to the show, but only as a modifier.
I sure as heck didn’t see this coming. Will was the major male character! My wife is bummed, because she thought he was seriously cute.
And I whole-heartedly agree that the Louis Canning character cannot be used to replace Will. Michael J. Fox couldn’t carry a whole show by himself, and the effort to emphasize his character would throw this show off balance in a major way.
If there was a character to get rid of, I would have wished Kalinda out. I get tired of her role as eye candy, gay/bi fantasy fodder Magic Negro who solves the case for them.
I wonder if they will do anything further with the client who shot Will. If he was innocent, then the Evil Math Professor will be back to wreak havoc with some other innocent coed. Maybe he can be like that serial murderer industrialist of a while back. Slimy but interesting.
But they sure got me hooked to see where the series goes next.
Regards,
Shodan
What I’ve gathered from various articles about the show.
Matthew Goode’s character will return as a regular cast member. He was the prosecutor in the Jeffrey Grant case and is the one who dragged Will’s body behind that table after Will was shot. Supposedly the next episode or two will return to the shooting and may show who else was killed or injured. Jeffrey Grant is supposed to return, although I assume he will get an attorney from outside Lockhart Gardner or Florrick/Agos.
Anybody else wonder about Will’s shoe? I know that an explosion can literally knock your shoes off, but how could a bullet do that? This isn’t the kind of anti-physics movie where a gunshot propels you through a window ten feet away. You simply drop when you’re hit by a bullet. Even if the show was untied it would take a weird twisting motion to wrench it off. It wouldn’t have bothered me so much except that they used it several times as an identifier for Will so they kept calling attention to it.
In the larger picture, I think this is a good move. They’ve been twisting the arm of coincidence to put Will and Alicia together; that scene in the New York diner was the last straw. Their relationship is over and there’s no good reason for him to be in every episode. Conversely, Peter has been conspicuously missing from the plotline about him and he needs to be brought back to the show. Same for her kids. If Alicia’s life was complicated as an associate, it has to be much more so running her own start-up.
It’s been a great show all year. It could get even greater. Yea for network tv.
Apparently the prosecutor (played by Matthew Goode) dragged Will’s body to where we saw them, behind the upturned table. It’s possible that the shoe came off during that.
I thought the tension between Alicia and Will who are former lovers/colleagues and were then rivals was driving much of the dynamic between Alicia and Peter. It won’t be the same without Will. Nor will there be as plausible a reason for tension between Peter and Alicia without Peter’s jealousy of Will to balance Alicia’s resentment of Peter’s adulteries. The only reason that occurs to me that Peter and Alicia might have marital trouble is if Peter resents Alicia’s grieving of Will’s death.
If they want to bring Peter back into the show, why cancel out the election fraud plotline? Now Will can’t testify, and Alicia is off the hook. Maybe they will bring Alicia’s son back in, because he witnessed the ballot box stealing and so he will be the one who has to testify, and then Alicia and Peter will have to sacrifice themselves.
The one I really want to see react to Will’s death is Diane. She is such a wonderful character, and not terribly well developed. She is mostly used as a MacGuffin for the will she be a judge/won’t she be plot, or that rather grotesque marriage to (shockhorrordismay) a conservative Republican.
I don’t care for the Matthew Good character - too pretty and too slimy. They need a complex character for the male lead - flawed, but likeable. He is too unambiguous.
If they wanted to shake the show up - Have Kalinda dump Kary and take up with the Nathan Lane character. Think of the romantic possibilities!
Regards,
Shodan
I don’t think that Matthew Goode is going to be the male lead. For one thing, the character is a prosecutor and the show focuses on the law firms and Alicia’s family.
Could be. What we need is CSI to come in and show the drag lines.
I guess I’m one of the few who didn’t like the Will/Alicia pairing. Having her sleep with her boss before she’s formally divorced was a bad plot move and against Alicia’s character. It was never going to go anywhere. The title of the program is The Good Wife, and that had to have multiple meanings for the show to work.
Nor do I think the election fraud subplot is over. Why would Justice drop it? They can harass forever and they’re getting leaks from the NSA. And they have a slew of video. My WAG is that Eli is going down.
Cary was a prosecutor for a year. Do we even know who the new DA or State’s Attorney are? They can explore lots of new characters much more interesting than Marilyn.
What happened to the character Played by Jason O’Mara?
Actually, I was wondering about his character. We haven’t seen him in a few episodes.