BWW Recap: Of God and Gloria on THE GOOD WIFE

If Season 5 of THE GOOD WIFE had us say goodbye to the world we thought we lived in, Season 6 is the new world order - and good Gloria God, after three episodes, it just keeps getting better!

Tonight's episode plays with time and truth, bringing back the classic Good Wife memory-pop (uhhhhh - Kalinda!), and giving us some classic Alicia-invented memories, too. Gloria Steinem is tired. She's bathed in a heavenly blue light, and she's ready for Alicia to take over.

This may be the revelation our St. Alicia has been waiting for ...

How are you handling your release, Mr. Agos?

When we start the episode, Cary Agos is handling his release just fine, thank you very much. Or he would be if it weren't for the increasingly dogmatic ASA Polmar, who, after trumping up the drug charges against him, now wants to revoke Cary's bail.

Tonight, it's all because Kalinda offered Cary some after-hours care right before Trey, the wire-wearing key witness against Cary, went missing.

What Kalinda did or didn't do is often left to the imagination, but this time we know what she did do with Cary (thank you, dear memory-pops!). Later, she all but admits she warned Trey off to save his life, and then goes on to save her lover too, when she discredits Trey's cheating wife/replacement key witness against Cary.

Actually. Truthfully. It's Joy who really saves Cary in the end. Joy (the awesome Linda Lavin) is Cary's pre-trial service officer, and after interviewing all named partners of Florrick, Agos and Lockhart, she comes to believe that Cary is in fact one of the good guys.

Never mind that everyone lied to her about the rising conflict back at the firm. Joy has faith in Cary - and sometimes faith is all you need. Which brings us to ...

My seeds are very popular.

Tonight's external case of the week involves a tiny little seed created to withstand whatever nature throws at it, and the subsequent re-planting of this $400 million dollar seed by the creator's neighbor. There are metaphors galore in this one, and if I'm not mistaken, a double entendre or three, but the main purpose of this seed-stealing story is the way it gives us yet another view of how the law works in mysterious ways - in this case, the workings of God's law.

After things get too heated for their client's liking, Alicia and Dean ("Mr. ... You!") find themselves shifted from the courtroom to "Binding Christian Arbitration" - a blue-lit place where scripture is the only law that matters.

Cue some of Alicia Florrick's finest eye-rolls. Ever. There will be Julianna Margulies gifs out of this episode that will keep on giving. Alicia is an impatient, unapologetic atheist, and it's a hell of a lot of fun to watch her exasperation grow as the ever-serene arbiter Del, (Robert Sean Leonard grew up!) attempts to resolve the case with a kind of painful, yet somehow binding form of kumbaya.

Right. Good. The law.

Ultimately, Alicia has the law on her side. And Grace. The pious, yet lovely Grace, who helps her Mom use scripture to argue the case. Something about intent and sin, and bits of bible verse that both Alicia and Dean have fun yelling quoting all through the next binding session.

Until once again it all gets too much for the seed's creator. He gets a full confession from his neighbor about re-planting the magic seeds - and then he lets the case go. There was too much yelling for him, and not enough truth. Too much playing God, and not enough listening to God.

I think. I was too busy listening to the yelling, and watching for eye-rolls to really pay attention to God's plan.

Oh My God!

Speaking of. Gloria Steinem. THE Gloria Steinem. She appears, bathed in blue. And she wants Alicia to run. Women should run. Whatever you say, Ms. Steinem. We agree wholeheartedly. Alicia should run. She's amazing. Wait. That part was in Alicia's head. But she is amazing. You're amazing. Alicia should run. Women should run.

Yeah, if I met Gloria Steinem, I'd lose it just like Alicia did. Oh my god! Some things, you believe in.

Castro is a bad man.

Yep, he's a very, very, very bad man. And he went there. He took Will Gardner's name in vain. No reverence, no respect. Just a throwaway courthouse comment to Alicia about lovers getting gunned down, trying as he was to antagonize his perceived opponent.

Only, using Will to get to Alicia did something better than antagonize her. It galvanized her. Crystalized what others - from Eli to Steinem to NPR - have been suggesting for weeks. That the good wife would make a great politician. She probably would have avoided this issue until it went away, let the deliberate leaks and the premature lobbying die down, and quietly. But then Castro went there. Went for the heart, and found it hardened beyond anything he could imagine. Unaware as he was that Alicia needs an enemy. Eli knew that of course, and he's just made Castro the perfect sacrifice.

Turns out Alicia Florrick only needed one last dance with the devil. Now she's going to need a plan ...

What did you think of "Dear God"? Were you happy to see the return of the memory-pop? And is Castro just maybe the best villain THE GOOD WIFE has ever had?

Photo Credit: CBS