Will's first call, a few minutes earlier, was to tell Alicia that he wanted to be with her. Alicia's response was that she got the romance, but if she was to jeopardize her family, she needed a plan. In the premiere of the second season last night, Alicia doesn't get to answer the second call - one of Eli Gold's guys takes the phone from Alicia, and she joins Peter on stage. Will, seeing the two on television, leaves voice-mail - it's best that Alicia forget what he just told her, their relationship will be strictly professional from now on. But, then, a few beats later, he reconsiders and calls back with a different message: he loves her, they can make this work, if she agrees then they should get together and work out a plan, if not, he won't bother her about this again.
But Alicia never gets to hear that second message, because Eli erases it. This is a good move, narrative-wise, because it allows the new season to start off as if the end of the last season didn't happen. (But, technically, wouldn't Alicia have seen a second missed call indicated on her cell phone? And my wife doubts that Alicia would have let anyone take her phone, even under these pressured circumstances.) But keeping the lid on Alicia and Will for now does make for exciting possibilities in the near and later future of this series.
Meanwhile, the most powerful scene in the episode - and I'd guess on all of television last night - comes after Peter sees Alicia stand up to a judge in a courtroom, and risk a contempt citation in defense of the Fifth Amendment. Peter is turned on by Alicia's daring and power, and later, at home, he walks into the steamy bathroom where Alicia has just finished her shower and dressed. She's happy enough to see him, but demurs and says she has to study up for a case. Peter says that's ok, he'll take of everything, which he does, with about as explicit oral sex as we've seen indicated on prime time network television without actually seeing it. This is a significant reversal of usual male-female power-sex roles, because Peter is doing this a little more for Alicia's pleasure than his, to in effect reward her for her brave courtroom performance.
Other good touches on the last night's show are additions of Scott Porter (Jason from Friday Night Lights!) and Michael Ealy (Sleeper Cell, FlashForward) to the cast, and indeed to Alicia's law firm. But Julianna Margulies as Alicia remains the towering figure in the show, continuing to deliver an awesome performance in every episode.
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9 comments:
Josh?!?
You mean Will, right?
Ha -yes, I meant Will the character, not Josh the fine actor who plays Will.
I'm correcting that in the blog post right now - thanks for pointing it out.
"This is a significant reversal of usual male-female power-sex roles, but because Peter is doing this a little more for Alicia's pleasure than his(...)."
Don't kid yourself. It was for HIS pleasure only. Peter, selfish as always, was actually FORCING himself on Alicia, after she'd protested twice. He didn't care whether she wanted it or not. How is that different from rape? How does this show her POWER? He simply did whatever he wanted, like he always does, and she submitted.
That repulsive scene made my skin crawl. Aside from the hypocrisy of suggesting CL so explicitly (when was the last time a U.S. TV show showed a BJ anywhere near as provocatively?) -- her sleazy whorehound husband might have infected her with one of the diseases he picked up from one of his many hookers. (The places that tongue has been....)
Alicia should have kicked him out of the apartment she's paying for long ago. It's almost as if she feels she doesn't deserve a really nice guy like Will, so she stands by a scumbag like Peter while he betrays and humiliates her. Pathetic? Yes! Power? Hardly.....
You're entitled to your opinion, of course. But Alicia wasn't shy about saying no to Peter in the first season, and could've done the same in this situation.
Alicia loves both Will and Peter, and they both love her - in very different ways, but that's the deep motivation I see on the show.
"they both love her - in very different ways",
Understatement of the year. Let's look more closely at that, shall we? Will is an available and attractive bachelor, who loves Alicia to the point that he's been on a sexual sabbatical from other women for some time now, according to the tattooed lawyer who was hoping to get him into bed. Will is offering Alicia pure romantic love.
PETER, on the other hand is a lying, cheating married man who only wants to have her beside him in his campaign appearances, because it looks better. But otherwise, he cares so little about her that he has willfully betrayed her, by his own admission, no fewer than EIGHTEEN TIMES with Amber Madison alone, with suggestions there have been other women too, possibly even Kalinda. Ditch him already.
What Peter feels for Alicia looks to me more like "property rights" and self-interest than love. And if Alicia rejects nice-guy Will and settles for slimy Peter, then she's asking for all the heartache that lies ahead for her.
So you see no improvement in Peter in the first season? I recall near the end of the season a scene in which Peter said no to a woman who was coming on to him.
The "improvement" in Peter in the first season was solely and directly because he was CAUGHT cheating on Alicia, and his political career was in ruins. Even then, though, he still thought he'd get out of prison and everything would be "back to normal". As if!
What's "normal" for him is that he'll cheat whenever he wants to. Amber Madison was not just a brief moment of weakness. He had sex with her eighteen different times, and it's been implied there were others too. A leopard doesn't change its spots.
And he turned down the waitress mostly (I suspect) because she did it when his wife and kids were right there at the table. (She took the rejection very graciously, I thought.) He's very sanctimoniously protective of his family -- unless they're not around, and then he'll willingly betray them. He's done it MANY times.
Woah Anonymous - Try to remember this is a television show.
I think you are over simplifying the whole situation actually.
Is Peter a cheater and selfish guy - Yup. But no one is forcing Alicia to stay with him - That was her choice.
Is Will some perfect alternative - Highly doubtful. It's been made pretty clear that he is also a player, ambitious selfish type guy. Maybe not to the level that Peter is but still Will's not a saint.
I agree with Mr. Levison's point - That Alicia loves both Will and Peter, and they both love her - in very different ways, but that's the deep motivation I see on the show.
I also found him extremely polite and graceful in his replies to you - Something which you certainly didn't return.
When did I ever say Will was a saint? I don't recall doing that. But it sure is exasperating to see people say, "Well yeah, Peter might have cheated a few times -- but I'm sure Will isn't perfect either!"
Hello? Never mind your unsubstantiated suspicions and focus on what Peter himself has admitted, under oath in court. Is everyone really that blind to the evidence? (Please mention it, if you're ever called for jury duty.)
And you seem to be implying that I was rude to "Mr. Levison". I was no such thing. I simply stated my case as I see it, in clear and unequivocal terms.
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