TGW Rewatch Project #42: 2x19-- Wrongful Termination
Stern’s back! Hello, Stern!
“What happened to that cute little housewife I used to know?” Stern asks Alicia. “When did she grow to be so tall?” Alicia responds. Heh.
There are certain phrases—like “phone” instead of “call” these writers love. One of them is “a new day,” used heavily here, and also the title of the season three premiere.
Eli finds out that Frank Landau of the DCC has done something or other that’s hurting the campaign. He winds up basically strangling him. That’s a little much, Eli. I love Eli, but sometimes, when you just describe his plots and separate the actions from Alan’s performance, the results are a little worrisome. “Eli gets bad news at work and physically attacks a peer.” “Eli threatens a sixteen year old girl while commenting on her sex life.”
Tammy tells Will she’s been offered the chance to go to London to cover a major story. She seems to be asking Will to tell her not to go, but Will’s in a position where no matter what he says, it’s the wrong thing to say. If he tells her to stay, he comes across as controlling. If he tells her to go, it seems like he doesn’t care about their relationship. He’s so busy navigating this awkward social situation that he barely seems to mind the idea of Tammy being away for a few months. Says a lot about how serious he is about her, doesn’t it?
Stern dies in his office, and what follows is brilliant, but next to impossible to watch. It’s the scene where Will and Diane discuss death (“All that’s left is our Wikipedia entry,” says Will), and much as I like the way this conversation’s written, it hurts.
As it turns out, Canning—another character who’s now dead/dying, because this episode is strangely prescient—has bought Stern’s firm. Yay.
Abernathy conducts a moment of silence for Stern in the courtroom, which means there’s a scene where Will observes a moment of silence for the death of a lawyer he knew well in the courtroom where Will later dies. I hate this episode.
“Stern’s dead and he’s still screwing us.” Sort of like how Will’s anger in season 5 leads to the stupid decisions that allow Canning to force Diane out in 5x22?
This episode contains what may be the single best sight gag this show’s ever done: the talking lion speaker phone. I love it... and I want one of those phones.
Tammy and Alicia talk. Tammy says Will’s still childish; Alicia says, “He isn’t. He thinks he is.” Hmmm. My first instinct is to agree with Tammy—Will is not the most mature character on this show by any stretch of the imagination. At the same time, Will understands responsibility and the value of hard work, so Alicia’s not wrong: Will is more mature than he thinks he is. (Alicia would also, naturally, view adult Will as being more mature than Georgetown Will. Tammy isn’t nearly as familiar with Georgetown Will as Alicia is.) It still surprises me that Alicia views Will as mature, given that she doesn’t think Will would be a good long-term romantic fit for her, but I have to remind myself that being mature and being right for Alicia are two different things. Beyond that, a lot of the “Will isn’t a long-term option” stuff stems out of their season 3 relationship, which—obviously—hasn’t happened at this point in the series.
There’s a close up on the logo of Alicia’s car. I really hate product placement.
Elvatil, the drug from Poisoned Pill, is crucial to Canning’s case here. I’m pretty sure it’s mentioned again in season 4, too. This show.
Alicia and Will talk about Stern’s death: “It’s so sudden.” “I saw him the day before.” Do I even have to point out the parallels to 5x15/5x16 here? (Also in this scene: Will seems to be expressing more romantic interest in Alicia than he had been in previous season 2 episodes. He’s been trying to move on, but... it’s not working.)
Alicia does a phone interview at Eli’s request. She keeps her cool, but when the reporter asks an invasive question, it’s Eli who screams at the reporter and hangs up on her.
Cary unhelpfully asks Kalinda, “Why didn’t you just tell Alicia [you’d slept with Peter?]” If only it were that simple, Cary. What’s taunting her going to do to help? And then he takes it a step further: “Or is that why you became friends with her in the first place?” OUCH, Cary. What are you trying to accomplish here? Are you just trying to make Kalinda feel bad about herself? Do you think you’re helping by raising the important questions?
Canning offers Alicia a job at his firm, saying she needs to leave L/G. Hmmm.
Will seems to be taking Stern’s death pretty hard—it makes him realize how alone he feels. He asks Tammy not to go to London, and I’m left with the sense that Will doesn’t care about Tammy half as much as he cares about not winding up alone.
Overall: I don’t mind this episode, but I don’t particularly like it, either. The most notable thing about it, on rewatch, is how eerie it is to watch Will talk about life and death. Okay, no. The most notable thing about it is the talking lion speaker phone. But after that, it’s the life/death talk, and I’m not going to praise this episode for dealing with themes the writers decided, three seasons later, to return to.
Grade: B- (overall); B- (case)
