Episode Report Card Jacob Clifton: A+ | 1 USERS: A+ YOU GRADE IT Nice Between Women
By Jacob Clifton | Season 3 | Episode 18 | Aired on 03.18.2012
OTOH
The original attorney for the snowplow company that started this mess, my man Costabile, has been pressured offscreen into giving Lockhart & Associates the original $5M settlement without further ado. Just like that, it's over. I mean, not really, because now there's multiple class actions in play that'll still put Alicia and FMT up against Canning in the future, but it's a win. Sandwiched, of course, right between the two scenes about Alicia's finances and job.
EQUITY PARTNERS
David Lee, verbatim: "No! No no no no! No bonus!"
Case For: "She just won."
Case Against: "She just got handed a settlement without even walking into the courtroom."
Case For: "Which we wouldn't have gotten but for her performance..."
Case Against: "Uh, I think you mean Will's performance. I don't give a shit about the fact that our client won his settlement, I just want to fight about Alicia!"
Actually, it's interesting, because Eli and Julius are both very vocal in their support of keeping Alicia around. Julius because he only gets to be on the show when he's on one of her cases, and Eli because without her he wouldn't really have a reason to be at the firm. I mean, there are story reasons where it makes sense, and Julius also understands that devaluing her win is really devaluing his own today, but it's neat to hear so many of those blustery, whiny male voices these meetings always cacophonate into being in her support -- and Will staying quiet.
This, more than anything, seems to signal a shift in Alicia's fortunes, which I think is part of a greater wave of building up to the end of the season, when it seems like Alicia will actually end up with some independent power or capital she can use next year. Doesn't it feel that way to you? That all this experimenting and loneliness and grey behavior might actually increase her value? And thus increase the stakes, so when she makes her mistakes they'll be even scarier? I just feel like that's the obvious way this needs to go. Not saying that's what this is about -- this is about Alicia's blackmail actually working the above-board way it's supposed to, about Diane actually being forced to think about Alicia's value, but still.
Equity Partners: "We all know what this is about and what all of our agendas are, so why keep going. Let's just vote."
Diane: "Actually? No. I'm invoking my managing partner prerogative. That means, Eli, that I can overrule you and act unilaterally under certain circumstances which, by keeping them vague, don't create extra show mythology. She's getting a bonus."