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The fifth season finale of The Good Fight was like a runaway train, with situations escalating and increasingly going completely out of control, from the surprise arrival of TSR Laurie to the surprise arrest of Oscar Rivi that culminates in … an insurrection in the unlikeliest of places. (Although perhaps we should have seen that coming.)
Things begin quietly enough as Kurt and Diane are preparing to leave for a well-deserved vacation. If the phone rings, Diane insists that Kurt just say no because she knows it’ll be the NRA calling for him. The phone rings. It’s for her. Liz drops the bomb that STR Laurie is on the way and they have no business plan in place to show them that they are in fact working in harmony. Diane has to postpone their trip for a couple of hours but she makes it to the office only to learn the corporate suits’ flight was delayed so they have a few more hours to figure out what to do. Diane still doesn’t want to be pushed out, so her only solution is to split the firm in two — Diane hires white associates and Liz hires Black associates. If they can’t agree on their female-driven firm because of the racial politics at the office then this is the only solution. But this is just the beginning of the turmoil as both women are pulled in opposite directions that are somehow headed to the same destination.
Carmen is frantically trying to locate Oscar Rivi because he’s being purposely shifted around to different precincts after accosting Judge Wackner over the missing boy. Liz has to go to court to prove Rivi has a signed agreement with the dairy farmers, or the whole deal will fall through because of a provision that states if Rivi goes to jail, the deal is over. But Carmen and Liz hit upon the idea that the lawyers for the dairy farm are the ones engineering Rivi’s arrest because if he’s out of the picture they can forge a new deal with his Number 2. Rivi says he has no Number 2, but Carmen reminds him that he does — his wife, and it appears that she is also mixed up in this plot to have him imprisoned so she can benefit from the deal without him. Rivi refuses to believe it, but they convince him to call her and tell her she has to sign a post-nuptial that will protect the deal, and if she refuses she will lose everything. She refuses, which tears out Oscar’s heart because … Carmen and Liz were right about Isabel.
Meanwhile, Marissa is torn between two courts — Wackner’s and Vinetta Clark’s. At Wakner’s court, there is a case in which a man claims to have a document showing that Illinois was always meant to be split into two, an upper and lower Illinois, and that Springfield has no right to tax the people of Lower Illinois. Marissa calls out the man’s Latin bullshit — thanks Google Translate — and tells the court that unless they see the actual document then Wackner cannot make a decision. Wackner agrees and orders the man to produce the document. Marissa then has to run across town to Clark’s court to try and get Matteo released, but she only makes things worse when Matteo is adamant that he did not have any drugs on him … but he had a gun, which wasn’t his, that he threw away. And there had been two murders in the neighborhood, so now Matteo’s charges are being switched from drug distribution to murder. Marissa has no choice but to get Diane to Vinetta’s court to undo the mess. Diane needs to change from her vacation dress to a business suit, but discovers she has Kurt’s garment bag and tries to call him but they cross paths as she enters one elevator and he exits the other.
When Liz left the office, she also crossed paths with STR Laurie, whose flight was not delayed, so they are shown into the conference room while the assistants try to track down Liz and Diane. While they wait, two of the men find Kurt in Diane’s office watching the PGA Tour and they bond over golf. But Diane isn’t having the best time with Vinetta. She is allowed to see Matteo and she tries to coach him on what to say. Jay reminds Diane that Vinetta is very religious so if she can get Matteo to talk about Jesus telling him to take the gun away from his friend to prevent something bad from happening, that would help in getting him released. And it seems to work. Except … Vinetta has baby monitors set up in the basement and she heard Diane’s entire conversation, which resulted in Diane being held for contempt. She calls Liz to tell her she’s not going to make the meeting with STR Laurie, and she calls Kurt to say their vacation is going to be delayed even further.
With Carmen in court with Oscar, Isabel is on the stand being questioned about a possible threat to her life if she didn’t sign the paperwork to give her husband full control of the dairy/marijuana deal. The prosecutor is basically testifying for her that she’s terrified of him, and he makes sure to position himself between the couple so she can’t see her husband. But a defiant Isabel testifies that she is not afraid of her husband and that he loves him very much and she will gladly sign the papers. And with that, Oscar is a free man.
Kurt shows up at Vinetta’s and tells Diane he managed to secure a conjugal visit. She can’t believe the whole absurd situation. Vinetta even printed out a picture of Lake Como, where they were to vacation, and Kurt smuggled in a bottle of wine. Diane also has some of Oscar Rivi’s gummies tucked away so if they can’t go on vacation at least they can get drunk and stoned in the cell. But even stoned, Kurt makes a point that Diane needs to make a decision about the firm. Does she stay and take a back seat, or does she leave and look for a new firm because she can certainly do just that without any problem.
Back at Wackner’s court, the ‘fragile’ document has been produced, encased in glass, but Wackner has a knowledge of paper and fibers, and he can tell just by looking at the document that it is a forgery. This seems to seal the fate of the case but it doesn’t because Wackner still feels there are merits to consider about individuality. Feeling she’s about to lose control of the situation, Marissa calls David Cord to the stand and gets some very interesting testimony, stating that he’s funding this court to get the results from Wackner that he wants, and if he doesn’t get them, he’ll just ignore the decision and find another judge to bankroll who will agree with him. That’s his same view on government. Individuals can do what they want regardless of any laws the government has set forth. Marissa thinks this is a slam dunk because it reveals that Wackner is only seen as a puppet, but he tells her he needs time to think about his decision.
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Coming out of his ‘chambers’, Wackner rules against the case of splitting Illinois in two which complete sets off the anti-government yahoos that have been sitting in the courtroom expecting a win. In a terrifyingly swift moment, the courtroom attendees stage their own insurrection with images that are unsettlingly familiar, forcing Wackner and Marissa to take shelter in his office/storage room … and the dead bolt falls off the door. Trying to keep themselves barricaded while the crowd destroys the courtroom, things look dire for them as the power goes out. David Cord, however, is able to walk out of the room without incident. When the crowd is finally dispersed, there’s nothing left except packing peanuts all over the floor. Seeing the mess, Wackner puts on an apron and picks up a broom to start cleaning, revealing that all this time he’s just a ten-year employee of the copy shop. Marissa says she’ll stop by to visit once in a while and he tells her she’ll get her copies 50% off.
Diane and Kurt are still in the cell when they hear the police enter the house. Fearful that they’re about to be shot, they put their hands up and learn that the police are actually there to rescue them, learning that David Cord called the police because Vinetta ‘stole their IP’, meaning Diane’s client Wackner. Vinetta is no judge and now she’s in a head of trouble. And presumably, Rivi got Matteo back as well. After a change of clothes, Diane is back at the office with Liz. They know they missed STR Laurie, but Diane says at least Kurt kept them entertained. And then Diane gives Liz her decision — she doesn’t think splitting the firm between them will do any good, so she will resign from her named partnership and step back into an equity partnership, with she and Liz working together on overseeing her clients. Diane also wants Liz to bring in Allegra as the new named partner and she can even have Diane’s office while Diane moves downstairs. She said Liza can deal with Allegra. It’s a deal and Diane and Kurt finally get to leave for their vacation.
On the way out of the office, Kurt mentions that when they get back he’s going to take the two men from STR Laurie on a hunting trip. Diane is surprised that he bonded so quickly with them. He says that now that he has an in with them, maybe that could help her. He asks if she wants to come along on the hunting trip and she says she wouldn’t miss it.
So what does next season hold? Will the firm now be renamed Reddick and Durado? Can Liz and Diane work together, or will she use Kurt’s newfound friendship with her bosses to her advantage? And what of the impact of ‘Wackner’s Rules’? As the episode closes, a woman is watching what is assumed to be the final episode of the show as the courtroom is destroyed, and she’s a bit appalled by the violence. Turning off the TV, it’s revealed she has a neighbor in a cage in her kitchen, held there because he let his dog do his business on someone’s lawn. Then we see more and more neighborhood ‘courts’ that have sprung up across the country, leaving us with a very chilling and frightening vision of a future where citizens begin taking the law into their own hands. In theory, it makes sense but for a society, it’s an idea that could plunge us into pure anarchy. But as The Good Fight seems to reset every season, hopefully these homegrown ‘people’s courts’ will have been dismantled before the start of Season 6.
What did you think of this episode? Give us your thoughts in the comments section below.
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