While Cary Agos may be tasting freedom for the time being, he’s still very much under the thumb of the judicial system. He reports to his mandatory court ordered pre-trial service officer Joy (played by the legendary Linda Lavin) where he has to give accounts of his post bail whereabouts and employment situation. As she asks him questions, Cary flashes back to fighting with Alicia, surprisingly intimate sex with Kalinda, and meetings with his clients where he has to inform them of his status. He tells Joy that everything is fine, even as the ground beneath his feet is increasingly shaky. Before Cary departs for court, Joy hands him a piece of advice: “You can’t live life the way you used to.”
Since Cary cannot actually argue before a court, Dean and Alicia take on his case of two farmers who are fighting over a GMO seed. Mr. Pratt’s company has created this multimillion-dollar seed, and his longtime friend and neighbor Mr. Keller is accused of somehow using the seeds and not paying. The court battle is particularly contentious, something that is displeasing to the gentle dispositions of both Pratt and Keller. Diane pulls Cary out of the courtroom, where he’s observing, to give him a piece of good advice. Trey, the informant who was the crux of the State’s case against him, has disappeared. No witness means that the case will likely be thrown out. Cary breathes a small and hopeful sigh of relief, and flashes back to his evening with Kalinda. She tells him that night that his problem with the informant will probably “take care of itself.”
Back at the courts, Cary watches Pratt and Keller walk out mid-trial and meet in the hallway. They’ve decided that they want to move the case to arbitration because the tone of the proceedings goes against their values. The case then moves to Binding Christian Arbitration, where Del Paul (guest star Robert Sean Leonard) leads the proceedings. Alicia and Dean are out of their element, while the opposing attorney Schmitt, has quickly figured out how to work the system. Trust wins out over hearsay, and Bible verses are sprinkled in to give weight to points. God’s law is taken into account, so Florrick Agos better learn how to adapt, and quick.
In Chicago court, Diane tries to get Cary’s case thrown out, but Finn Polmar is busy trying to get Cary’s bail revoked. He accuses Cary of intimidating the witness Trey, by using Kalinda to deliver his threats. The judge sides with Finn, and orders a new look into Cary’s actions. Cary isn’t even sure himself what went on between Kalinda and Trey.
Alicia meets with Cary’s pre-trial officer Joy, because he listed her as his employer on the forms. Joy questions Alicia about Cary at work, and Alicia flashes back to arguing with him about the new lawyers who have defected from Lockhart Gardner. However, she tells Joy that all is good in Florrick Agos-land. She then flashes back to her earlier confrontation with Diane, Dean and Cary regarding her non-existent campaign for State’s Attorney. She assures them that it’s simply a rumor. Then she spies James Castro lurking about. Alicia tells Joy that Castro came by to make a few threats against Cary and herself. Joy tries to stop her, saying it’s not relevant to the case but Alicia continues. Castro makes sure that Alicia knows that having a convicted criminal as a friend and partner won’t look good for her campaign. She records the whole thing on her phone, but Castro simply slithers out without much concern. Speaking of campaigns, Joy congratulates a very surprised Alicia on her new campaign, which she heard all about on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Alicia bursts into Eli’s office to yell at him about the story, but Eli pretends like this isn’t all part of his master plan. She insists that Eli clear it all up and tell the media that she’s not running. He suggests that she speak with Steve Inskeep from Morning Edition the next day at a fundraiser they are both attending.
When Alicia walks into the Christian Arbitration, everyone is abuzz with news of her campaign. You know, the one she isn’t running. She and Cary talk and he’s figured out some ways to make the arbitration work in their favor. The witness whose previous testimony was tossed out because of hearsay? It’s in now because of trust. The witness’s testimony is damaging to Keller, because it implies that he was somehow obtaining the seeds without buying them. The arbitrator Del then turns to Keller and simply asks him to tell the truth. The farmer admits that he replants seeds and some of them could have been Mr. Pratt’s. His lawyer argues that Keller didn’t intend to replant Pratt’s seed. Normally intent is irrelevant in this type of case, but in Christian Arbitration, it matters.
Knowing that she could use some specialty advice in matters of God and the bible, Alicia turns to her daughter grace. Grace helps her find some bibles verses that may help her case, including one that tosses the whole intent argument out the window. Grace cautions against picking and choosing verses, saying that it’s the bible as a whole that truly matters. Alicia who is often befuddled by her daughter’s passion for Christian teaching, really sits and listens to Grace speak about her interpretation of bible. Grace is a smart cookie and points out that the bible is full of stories that emphasize teachings, but they are not all meant to be taken literally. “It can still be true even if it’s not accurate,” Grace tells her mother.
Alicia uses her new bible know-how to raise some important points in the arbitration. Dean turns out to know a lot about the Bible as well, and counters Keller’s attorney at every verse.
Finn Polmar has brought a detective to the stand, who has photo evidence of Kalinda meeting with the informant, Trey. The detective speculates that Kalinda was working on Cary’s behalf, but Diane objects. Finn argues that Cary has broken the rules of his bail by second handedly contacting a witness. Finn then brings Trey’s wife to the stand to testify about his state of mind. She tells the court that her husband was scared and was warned by “some Indian woman” that he had a target on his back. Outside of the courtroom, Diane suggests that Kalinda find a way to impeach the wife’s testimony. Cary confronts Kalinda as well, and asks if she threatened Trey. She did not, but she did warn him that Bishop was going to kill him.
Dean and Alicia have a conversation about his religious past. He was going to be a priest, but was inspired by Atticus Finch and went another route. When they step into the Florrick Agos office, Alicia is immediately met by two gentlemen, looking to join her campaign. She kindly tells them that she doesn’t have one but one of the men insists that Peter send him to see her. Later that night, Alicia arrives at the fundraiser where she bumps into Gloria Steinem, and totally fangirls out. Gloria encourages her to run. Alicia tells her that she’s too overwhelmed to run for office, but Gloria counters with “show me the woman who isn’t overwhelmed.” Gloria asks her to consider if she would do a good job. It’s a simple as that sometimes. Alicia can barely contain the grin that rises to her face.
When Gloria Steinem tells you to do something, it’s hard to ignore. Alicia can’t help but fantasize about Steinem giving her more pep talks , while sitting in arbitration. It’s pretty hilarious to see the oh so level headed Alicia Florrick, daydreaming. After some soul searching, The arbitrator Del has been swayed by Alicia’s tactics. He allows arguments to continue. Alicia and Dean bring in an expert who finds that a vast majority of the seeds in Keller’s fields are indeed Pratt’s. Pratt and Keller decide to talk to each other directly, and Keller admits that he has been replanting the seeds. Pratt has a monopoly over the seeds, and in turn, everything that is anything to farmers. “When you control the food, you control the people,” Keller tells Pratt. The magnitude of his statement, really affects Pratt. As the lawyers continue to argue, Pratt and Keller work it out on their own.
When Diane cross-examines Trey’s wife, she shows the court video of her kissing another man. Diane insinuates that the wife wanted her husband out of the picture, and perhaps it was not Kalinda who threatened Trey. It’s enough to cast reasonable doubt and the judge order Cary to stay close by, as he will rule the next day.
Dean and Alicia celebrate their sort of win with glasses of red wine. They won’t be getting any money from Keller, but at least all’s well that ends well. Eli shows up to let Alicia know that Peter will be endorsing a State’s Attorney tomorrow. If it’s not Alicia, it will be Castro. Alicia knows this is just one of Eli’s tactics, but she can’t help but be influenced by it. The last thing she wants is Castro to win. Is that enough to push her to run?
Diane meets with Joy to discuss Cary’s case. She lies about the increasing tension at the firm, citing that everything is a-ok. In court, Joy speaks out on her findings about whether Cary should have bail rescinded. While she considers him a flight risk, she also thinks he’s a stand up guy with a great support system. Cary remains a free man.
Alicia confronts Castro outside of the courtroom, where he threatens to lock Cary up for fifteen years, effectively ruining any chance she’d have of a winning campaign. He thinks Alicia is running for SA to get Cary exonerated, and keep Bishop away from jail. He obviously doesn’t know Alicia very well. When he brings up Will’s death, and their romantic relationship, she quietly contains her rage. She slowly approaches Castro and asks him, “anything else?” Castro has plenty to say, but says he’ll save it for the campaign. She walks away from him and right into Eli’s office. “If I ran….what’s the plan?” State’s Attorney Alicia Florrick does have a nice ring to it.
