Top 10 Recurring Characters on The Good Wife

So I noticed that for a show I love particularly for its female characters, this list has a large proportion of men. Huh. I do love main characters like Diane and Kalinda and newbies like Robyn and judges like the “in my opinion judge” and the military judge and antagonists like Patti Nyholm and Nancy Crozier and Wendy Scott-Carr, and my favourite scenes are usually between female characters (e.g. Celeste Serrano and Alicia in the bar, Alicia and her daughter Grace discussing religion, Jackie and Veronica sniping at each other at their kids’ Thanksgiving dinner), but somehow none of them sprang to mind as clearly for this list. Thoughts?

1. David Lee (Zach Grenier) — David Lee, the firm’s divorce attorney, is a gift of a character to audience members. He has virtues: he’ll tell Alicia the truth when no one else will, he cares about his family, and he has a dry sense of humour. But none of those attributes makes up for the fact that he uses people. Whereas Alicia has ideas about the intrinsic value of every human being and the other lawyers in her firm at least apply a utilitarian calculus, David Lee is frankly amoral. And because of that, he’s the scariest character at the firm. Unlike even Kalinda, there is nothing he places above himself and his own goals. When he’s on the protagonists’ side, it’s easy to feel affectionate toward him; when he’s against them, it’s a breath of hellfire.

2. Elsbeth Tascioni (Carrie Preston) — This ditzy yet sharp-as-a-knife lawyer who’s represented Peter, Will, and Eli over the seasons is a wonderful comic creation. Tastes may vary, but I find she perfectly walks the borderline between silly archetype and human being. One minute, she’s failing a police psych test by second-guessing what she’s supposed to say to every question, the next she’s winning a court case in five seconds flat. I know people like this. Also: “Dinner?” “No.” “May I ask why?” *smiles*  “No.” You go, girl!

3. Colin Sweeney (Dylan Baker)Ladykiller (acquitted!) millionaire Colin Sweeney is The Good Wife‘s Hannibal Lecter Lite, and that’s okay, because Hannibal Lecter is kind of over the top anyhow. Colin Sweeney is creepy but still understandable, and his affection for Alicia is one of the most interesting aspects of his character. He likes her because she’s willing to treat him as a human being and thus inherently deserving of moral consideration — even though it’s that same ethical sensitivity that simultaneously makes Alicia appalled at who he is and what he does.

4. Kurt McVeigh (Gary Cole) — When are you coming back, Kurt McVeigh??? Diane Lockhart’s on-again-off-again love interest Kurt, a ballistics expert who never testifies for a defendant he believes is guilty, is her complete opposite in many ways: he’s staunchly Republican, he supports Sarah Palin, and he prefers an independent life outside the big city. But he matches her in strength of personal conviction, in intelligence, and in willingness to face reality head-on. Watching him and Diane wrestle with their similar personalities and opposite beliefs is on-screen gold.

5. Louis Canning (Michael J. Fox) — Although I agree with many fans that Canning is getting overused lately, it’s still a treat to watch Michael J. Fox play the firm’s nemesis. You can tell he’s well written because: did you ever think you wouldn’t feel guilty laughing at a lawyer with tardive dyskinesia played by an actor with Parkinson’s for purposely emphasizing his physical limitations whenever he’s losing a case? No? Meet Canning. Not only is he amusing, but he’s also consistently allowed to beat the protagonists — even when we think our guys have won, we get the reveal that shows it’s Canning who really came out on top. It’s also fascinating to watch his mix of “Satan at work, angel at home”: he’ll lie like a cheap rug about taboo topics like dead best friends to throw off his opponents’ game, but he also has a sweet wife and family whom he loves, he genuinely admires Alicia, and he’s willing to drop everything to help find Alicia’s missing daughter.

6. Mike Kresteva (Matthew Perry) – We haven’t seen much of Not Chandler Bing yet, but he’s shaping up to be one of the most powerful antagonists we’ve seen so far. The Republican gubernatorial candidate with a cancer-patient son has shown he’s a smiling, damned villain, willing to lie boldly and without remorse when he knows it’s his word against Alicia’s. That’s our protagonist’s Kryptonite: Alicia’s most powerful attribute is her reputation for being an ethical, compassionate, honest person, and if he robs her of that, she’ll be floundering.

7. Jeffrey Agos (John Shea) – Part of The Good Wife‘s excellent storytelling is its exploration of the relationships between parents and children, and Alicia’s rival’s dad is such a well drawn character. He takes his son’s charm and cunning one step too far. So many stories where parents are the villain paint them as Snow White’s wicked stepmother, but Jeffrey is just a believable, successful guy who’s way too into himself to be a good dad. Jeffrey’s self-centred ambition showcases Cary’s selfless side by contrast and helps us understand how he got to be the way he did.

8. Peter Florrick (Chris Noth) — I love how the more we see of Peter, Alicia’s estranged husband, the easier it is to understand why they were together in the first place. He seems like the kind of guy you can trust to have your back. It’s difficult to remember that he started this whole thing by betraying his family and his office, because now he seems like he wants to do good, even if he seldom follows through. The scene in which his subordinate, Geneva Pine, patiently explains to him why his hiring practices are racist (and how we, the audience, are complicit) is one of the best moments of the season — and despite his 100% agreement and shame, we still haven’t seen him change how he actually works.

9. Cary Agos (Matt Czuchry) — Alicia’s rival from the beginning, Cary’s journey from what could have been one-dimensional Draco Malfoy to weird collegial-and-or-parental-but-not has been riveting. It’s so nice to watch when Cary and Alicia are on the same side… and so interesting to see how each negotiates their relationship when they’re not. They genuinely care about each other, but circumstances constantly force them to be rivals. I love how Matt Czuchry plays what could be 100% smarm with moments of vulnerability, humanity, and humour.

10. Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies) — There are very few stories I like about which I could say the protagonist is genuinely my favourite character on the show. But Alicia Florrick totally is and totally deserves it. She deserves it for being a whole woman, who cares about her kids and enjoys sex and doesn’t believe in G-d and tries to do what’s right and hates to be the bad guy and is blind to her own privilege and wants people to like her. Her struggles interest me passionately — not just the episode-by-episode struggles of “how’s she going to win this court case?” but the larger ones that clearly develop over the run of the show: how do you cope with the billion different things the world expects of women? To what extent are you justified in exercising your privilege? How do you deal with lack of privilege and privilege sometimes at the same time but for different aspects of your identity? How can you do good in a world that pits good against competing good instead of good against evil?  Can you stop yourself from becoming corrupt? Should anyone want to? What does it mean to be good?

3 Replies to “Top 10 Recurring Characters on The Good Wife”

  1. So many fantastic actors on that list! Makes me want to see the show. However to be honest I probably only will watch it if MJ Fox is in it for the entire run.

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