In the latest episode of The Good Wife, the war between private investigators Kalinda and Blake at Lockhart, Gardner & Bond (LGB) rages on in full force, and this time the gloves are coming off. Along the way, we have the honor and privilege of looking into Kalinda’s past, which includes none other than Lili Taylor as Donna. Yeah, that Donna, who, last season, set off our Kalinda-is-queer radar when she answered the phone at Kalinda’s house. Watch out, folks, because the law just got a million times hotter.
Blake drops in on Kalinda as she’s analyzing the contraband she “procured” from his car, and by “procured” I mean she took a Louisville Slugger to both of his headlights, slashed a hole in all four tires, and sent a clear message to her arch nemesis at LGB that maybe next time he’ll think before he snoops into her past, because she’s got a lot of dirt on him. Little does she know, though, Blake has some exposing of his own to do.
Has Kalinda ever heard of the Illinois Lesbian & Gay Law Association? They just put out a ranking system on firms’ hiring of LGBT people, and their very own LGB did terribly, even though Blake knows for a fact that there are gay associates at the firm. But why, Blake wonders, in this day and age, would someone not be upfront about his or her sexual orientation?
Kalinda snidely responds, “Are you coming out?” Blake chuckles it off and warns Kalinda that “people” shouldn’t keep secrets – because it only encourages others to go looking for information. Once Blake is out of Kalinda’s office, she quickly phones a friend and says that they need to talk.
What up, Donna? Kalinda pays a visit to the Public Defender’s office and immediately interrogates her: Are you talking to somebody? An investigator named Blake? Do you know what this could do to my reputation? Donna, accustomed to Kalinda’s cruel ways retorts, “Four months, and this is what you come to talk to me about?” Kalinda feels dumb and gently asks, “How are you?” Way to go, Sharma, the regular Humanitarian of the Year.
Donna can’t be bothered right now because she has an incredibly important case to attend to – Mr. Bay, charged with indecent exposure and public masturbation. She reasons with the judge that it was cold and he was merely warming his shivering and, therefore, shaking hands. Ha! Judge Judy (or whomever) releases Mr. Bay, who then happily traipses off with his hands back in his pockets to – er – warm them up. Gee, you’re welcome.
Kalinda, who has been watching, tells Donna that she could make a lot of money if she went over to the private sector, but why would Donna leave when she meets interesting people like Mr. Bay?
Getting down to business, Donna assures Kalinda that she’s not been talking to anybody, and if that Blake character comes around, she won’t reveal her secrets – you know, that she can be heartless and insensitive, that self-preservation is her #1 concern, and how after four months, she can barely say “hello.” No way, she won’t tell him any of that. Burn.
Finally, somebody calls Kalinda out. And as much as I love her, I’m glad because she looks damn sexy all frazzled and lost.
Later, Donna meets Kalinda at, presumably, a lesbian dive bar where Kalinda can, hopefully, preserve her anonymity, just the way she likes it. Kalinda broke Donna’s heart. Kalinda didn’t do it intentionally, though, and explains, “I’m not domestic” and that’s why things didn’t work out. I can’t imagine Kalinda in an apron or being Betty Crocker either – badasses don’t do domestic.
Donna has also figured out Kalinda’s plan and knows that she just met with her to “keep her in line,” in case Blake were to ever approach her with questions. Kalinda coyly responds, “Can’t I be multi-tasking?” Oh, those lines! Who could possibly say no the dark eyes, mysterious demeanor, and genius one-liners? Apparently Donna, who says that she can’t do it again because it’s too much and she doesn’t work that way. Kalinda gently prods and says it’s just now, they’re here, and even if they’ll be somewhere else tomorrow, that’s tomorrow – why think about that?
Before we think of the implications, let’s celebrate this moment: Kalinda and Donna kiss.
Let me repeat myself: Kalinda and Donna kiss on the show and it’s glorious! So happy for my Indian homegirl. But back to reality, Donna’s the one in control now because she comes back to passionately make out with Kalinda (Hooray!!!), only to run off into the public defender sunset, leaving Kalinda alone with her shots at the bar. You know this has to infuriate control-freak Kalinda, who’s used to getting her way. But, she does love a good chase, so get on that, girl, come on!
Kalinda goes to former associate Cary to get some dirt on Blake. Turns out he’s actually represented MS-13, a.k.a. the biggest meth gang in Baltimore, and although he was arrested, Lockhart & Gardner’s newest partner, Bond, was the one who bailed him out. The plot thickens, and maybe Kalinda shouldn’t be busting the windows of Blake’s car, or there could be serious trouble in store for her.
At the party to celebrate the firm’s $45 million lawsuit victory, Blake brings a guest along, and – I told you the gloves were coming off – he brings Donna as his date. Donna must live under a rock because she thinks that Kalinda’s been doing the nasty with Alicia, which is just comical, albeit hot. That’s clearly not the point though, because this is a power-play: No, Donna will not go home with Kalinda, nor do they have a connection to one another any longer.
She turns on her heels and accepts a beer from former gang-banger Blake, leaving Kalinda, once again, dumbfounded.
People, it finally happened: Kalinda kissed a girl on the show and it wasn’t behind a damn storage garage door! I hate to see Kalinda getting her heart dragged around, but if Blake manipulating Donna to one-up Kalinda means that we’ll get to see more out of the two ladies and their complicated love life, then I say bring on the blackmail and let’s get dirty!
What did you think of last night’s episode?
