Paramount Plus
Let’s Talk About ‘The End of Democracy’:
- Diane and Kurt drive to the funeral of Frank Landau, but Kurt is obviously annoyed knowing he’s going to be the lone Republican in a room of Democrats.
- Liz, Ri’Chard and Julius are driving together, in a bit of a panic about possibly losing the ChumHum account.
- Marissa is attending with her Krav Maga instructor, whom Carmen suggests to guests that he’s Marissa’s fiance.
- Jay introduces Carmen to his new friends, who quickly press her into action.
- Diane loses all hope when a news report reveals the Supreme Court is considering overturning gay marriage.
- Neil Gross has a proposition for Diane that he believes will save the country, but it will come at a cost for Diane.
- Ben-Baruch offers the DNC $300 million in dark money … with a specific condition attached.
- Marissa and Zev make a surprising decision.
- The ride home is fraught with tension for Diane and Kurt.
- The episode was directed by Elspeth Tascioni herself, Carrie Preston.
The penultimate episode of The Good Fight was a chilling one. I’ve always been amazed by how closely each episode relates to things going on politically at the time the episode is released. Episodes produced weeks ago just have their finger on the pulse, like this week in which there is a reference to a billionaire buying a social media company. That’s been in the news for some time, but how crazy is it that the episode airs just a few days after the actual takeover happened? What was chilling though was something the episode shows us that hasn’t happened yet, and it’s this one thing — that has been whispered about so it is more than likely to happen — that is the impetus for the episode and probably the finale.
Most of the episode is set at the memorial service for Frank Landau, the DNC guy who was mistaken for Eli Gold and shot in the head. Diane will be one of those delivering a eulogy, but practicing her speech in the car with Kurt is making them both uncomfortable. Diane knows Kurt doesn’t even want to be at the service, the lone Republican in the room, but if he’s got two weeks back home in Chicago, he’s going to spend them with his wife even if it does mean he has to attend some liberal memorial service. And while Diane is dealing with Kurt, Liz, Ri’Chard and Julius are in a panic because Neil Gross seems to be putting out feelers to other law firms and with everything else going on, they cannot afford to lose ChumHum as Reddick & Ri’Chard are on the cusp of becoming the world’s largest Black law firm. Marissa is also there, feeling awkward because her father is the reason Landau is dead and she thinks everyone is staring at her (they aren’t), and Carmen only makes things more awkward when she introduces Zev as Marissa’s fiance. Luckily Carmen doesn’t have to deal with that for too long because Jay pulls her away to meet his new friends, whisking them away to the base of operations.
Carmen is quickly briefed on what’s going on and Jay’s involvement as he tries to convince her this is something they need to do for their people. They have the guy that Jay and the team brought in with the fertilizer bomb, but they need information from him. They’ve got him in a cell at their sound stage prison, and he is allowed to make his call to his lawyer. Except it’s not a real phone, all they need is the lawyer’s name and once they have that Carmen is pressed into service to speak for the lawyer as his assistant. The prisoner isn’t happy about not speaking to his lawyer, but Carmen assures him she will help get him released so he doesn’t have to spend the weekend in jail (because he decided to get himself arrested on a Friday). The only problem is this guy is part of a White Supremacist group and the second he sees Carmen he clams up. But she kicks it into high gear and says if he doesn’t want to speak to her, he can enjoy his weekend in the jail. She leaves, knowing he’ll call her back and he does. But he’s still reluctant to talk to her and he flat out says it’s because she’s Black. And why would she want to help him of all people. ‘Money,’ says Carmen. She’d sell her own grandmother down the river for the right amount. She’s represented people like Oscar Rivi for the money. She doesn’t care who he is because she’s getting paid by the group he works with. And he spills all the beans to her. They actually connect and with all of the information he gives about the group and the bomb, she secures his ‘release’. Carmen is originally told the people who are held there are taken to a place where they can live in peace, they have jobs, etc. But after they get what they want from the guy, Carmen learns where their prisoners go is … Antarctica, to a special facility they had built there and this guy will have a window so that all he can see for miles is white.
Things aren’t going quite as well at the memorial. One speaker after another barely gives Frank a mention. They either deliver political speeches or run down a list of their accomplishments like a resumé, clearly auditioning to fill Landau’s shoes in the DNC. Diane has had enough and needs a drink but the bar is closed during the service. The TV is on, however, and she sees a shocking news report about a leaked document from the Supreme Court. Obviously a reference to the actual leaked document that signaled the overturning of Roe, this fictional (hopefully) leaked document signals the court will next overturn gay marriage (and it’s no secret the court is actively flirting with this as several states begin to enact their own anti-LGBTQ laws just as they did with abortion in order to make it an issue that would have to go before the Supreme Court). Diane is beside herself and the bartender gives her a drink, saying they opened the bar early. After she knocks back a few, it’s her turn to deliver her remarks and as she trudges to the stage, she keeps things short and decidedly not sweet: ‘He we all are, every Democrat that tried to do something. We came to bury Frank Landau, not to praise him and it looks like we’re going to bury the Democratic party instead. Because let’s face it folks, we’re fucked.’
Not the eulogy anyone expected and as Diane enjoys another cocktail outside, she hears a voice from someone who appreciated the 40 words she spoke, Neil Gross (he admits he has a tendency to count words) who is supposed to be out of the country. They talk about the state of the country and of the Democratic party, and Diane goes off on one of her hopeful tangents about fixing things but she stops herself because she knows it’s all a fantasy. But Neil says they should do it, make all of her ideas a reality. She’s just going to go home with her NRA husband and hydrate so she doesn’t have a hangover in the morning, but Neil says he’s worth $680 billion. He hasn’t bought rockets, or Twitter, he wants to do something important with his money. He wants to buy the Democratic party.
While he’s pitching his ideas to Diane in the Great Room, she texts Liz and tell her to gather everyone and meet her there. Liz and Ri’Chard are surprised to see Neil since they’ve been dealing with his underlings all day attempting to secure his business with the firm. Neil lays out his plans to them and says he wants to speak to the DNC reps now. Ri’Chard says they can set up a meeting — no, this can’t wait — and Liz doesn’t think it’s the right time or place. Ri’Chard thinks it’s better to be well-prepared because Johnny Elfman is not Frank Landau, you have to win him over. Gross says if he says no then he’ll just reveal all the data he has because he owns the largest internet search engine in the world. He knows everyone’s search history, all of their dirty little secrets. It’s certainly a move the Republicans would make but they don’t want to be the Republicans. Neil said it’s time to behave like the Republicans or democracy is doomed. They agree to get Elfman in the room to talk with Gross.
What they don’t know is that Marissa is with Elfman in another room, doing Carmen the favor of introducing him to Ben-Baruch since Carmen is indisposed. Ben-Baruch said in Hebrew that he doesn’t want the B-Team, but is surprised when Marissa tells him she’s not the B-Team. But how can she get him in to see Elfman? She’s Eli Gold’s daughter, that’s how and it was as simple as that to get Ben-Baruch an audience with Elfman. What Ben-Baruch wanted was to give the DNC $300 million for a dark money PAC. On the condition that the DNC pulls some strings and gets a hard drive retrieved from a landfill. His wife threw it away in a fit of anger and he needs it back because there are millions in crypto currency on it. Elfman says they will have to go through the proper channels and it could take a while. For $300 million, Ben-Baruch expects it to be done now, but Elfman says no deal. As Ben-Baruch turns to leave, Marissa tries to stop him but his security guy grabs her and pushes her away, which sets off Zev who punches the guy in the face. Ben-Baruch whips out his gun and aims it at Zev, but Zev’s Krav Maga skills are no match and he takes the gun and removes the clip. Marissa grabs Zev and they quickly exit the building and get to the car. In all the exhilaration, Zev says they should get married.
Paramount Plus
Elfman is now meeting with Neil Gross and is completely unwilling to take his offer to buy the Democratic party seriously. Elfman doesn’t think any of them are taking the situation the country is facing seriously. Have they written anything down? Do they even know which districts they can win or lose? It’s a no for him. As Elfman hobbles away (he’s on crutches with a boot on one foot) Neil says he’s buying Fox News. That gets his interest, and Neil says the current worth of the network is $21 billion, so he can become a majority shareholder with $15 billion. Okay, but the Republicans will just find another outlet, and Neil says they will if you just turned Fox News Democrat overnight. Ri’Chard says the plan would be to curb the excesses of Fox and turn it more reliably conservative instead of radical. Elfman thinks the nuts will just flee someplace else. Liz and Diane chip in that Neil is pledging a massive influx of cash into the DNC, twelve years worth, three presidential cycles, and he’s heavily investing in Puerto Rico, which Elfman calls ‘the 51st state’. Neil says of course, a Democratic one. And how will Gross work with the Biden administration? He won’t. Biden served them well in 2020 but the brand is tired. They need someone fresh because the stakes are too high. Elfman thinks he knows where this is going, Gross thinking he’s the next Bloomberg, a man with too much money who thinks he’s the answer to everything. He tells Neil to start his own political party. As he hobbles away again, Neil says he knows about Elfman’s brother’s mistress, which stops him in his tracks. He asks what Gross is talking about, and Neil says Elfman is the king of oppo research so he knows exactly what Neil is talking about. Does he know what Republican candidate killed a classmate in 1986? Do you know what Supreme Court justice has a child porn problem? Neil does. Elfman says the Democratic party does not play this game, and Neil says of course they do but if they don’t they need to start. He knows all this because he owns ChumHum, and with 2.1 billion users he willing to use all of their secrets and biases for the right cause. Elfman then threatens to call some people at the Department of Justice, and Neil says to go for it because he’s sure Merrick Garland will hop right on it. He says the Trump years have turned everything on its head, but the Democratic party is still sitting around like they’re sipping toddies with Tip O’Neill. He’s had it with Elfman and leaves the room, telling Diane they need to talk.
Outside Neil tells her he needs her … to run the Democratic party. His back-up plan is a hostile takeover. Kick Elf-guy out and put her in. Diane doesn’t know what to say but Neil says it doesn’t matter because she will eventually say yes. And then … she needs to talk to her husband. She needs to keep him in line. Or divorce him. The interests of the party supersedes any family concerns. Tell him she can’t see another school shooting without shooting herself, tell him his work at the NRA disgusts her. He wants her to step in for Elfman, but she has to deal with her husband first. Neil sees Elfman and the others waiting outside, but Elfman’s answer is no, he doesn’t trust Neil. They can’t just run him, there’s a seniority system, Biden, Kamala … and Neil says they’ll all lose. Elfman says it’s better than some tech billionaire, and Neil assurs him that he is not talking about himself. He has a candidate, one who is sounding out both parties, he’s dropped everything and he’s on his way there right now. Who? Dwayne Johnson. The Rock. Everyone’s jaws are on the floor. Can he be serious? Like a fucking heart attack. Upon this Rock, he’ll build his party.
A car pulls up and Elfman agrees to meet with the man inside. But he has to go to the car. On crutches. Neil tells Diane she has some thinking to do and he walks away. Liz sits with Diane and asks what that was about, and Diane tells her Neil’s plan for her to run the DNC. Liz asks if that’s something she wants to do, and Diane isn’t sure but they need a radical change. Neil has the resources to make it happen and despite everything Diane still wants to believe in this country. Liz says she’s be sad to see Diane go, but Diane says she doesn’t need her, except as a drinking partner. Besides, she has Ri’Chard, and Liz admits he’s turning out to be a better partner than she imagined. Maybe they can become the largest firm in the world. Diane says if she’s running the DNC they’ll always have her business. Liz says this is either the stupidest night of their lives, and Diane finishes, ‘or the best’. Diane is actually feeling hope but there’s one problem — Kurt. Liz says that’s awkward, and Diane says in more way than she can imagine. And then Elfman emerges from the car, his boot is off, and he tosses his crutches in the bushes. He looks like he’s had an epiphany, telling the lawyers and Neil that he thinks he can see a way of making this work. The Rock has some fascinating and inspired ideas. But what about his ankle? The Rock just laid his hands on it. Neil says they have to take care of one more thing — they have to accommodate The Rock’s shooting schedule. First he has to tell the Republican party no, and then he’s signed on to do Scorpion King 6, but of course the presidency would be in first position.
Paramount Plus
With that settled, back in Chicago Jay and Carmen are running into the courthouse where Marissa, Zev and Julius are waiting — they are the witnesses to Marissa and Zev’s marriage! But things are bit more bleak on the ride home for Diane. She gets an email alert thanking Mr. and Mrs. McVeigh for their contribution to the RNC. Kurt says it’s just a form letter. She reads it and tells him they’re sending them two MAGA hats. Kurt says, ‘Don’t say I never gave you anything.’ Read the room, Kurt, read the room. Diane looks like she’s about to explode but quietly tells him that this isn’t working. They have nothing in common, every time they talk it’s a political minefield. Not for him, he says, and she says then he’s a better person. He tries to tell her that he hasn’t changed, but she counters with the fact that his party has moved so far right. She lies awake at night, not being able to believe the things he believes in. He says they’ve always stayed away from that kind of stuff, but she can’t anymore. Earlier she had gotten a text from Lyle about attending the opera and Kurt asked if she was seeing someone. She said not in the way he thinks, it’s just people who think the way she thinks about politics, literature, music, she’s tired of shutting off that part of herself. Kurt tells her to not make this about politics but she says it is about politics. It’s about beliefs, and she believes theirs are seriously not aligned. Kurt asks is there’s no room for love? Diane at first says she doesn’t know but then says there’s always room for love but right now that feels so inconsequential. So what then? She tells him he’ll go to DC for his convention and she’ll stay in Chicago and that’s it. They barely live together now, let’s just continue. Kurt pulls over and Diane asks what he’s doing. Kurt tells her he’s getting an Uber, goodbye.
What did you think of this episode? Give us your thoughts in the comments section below.
New episodes of The Good Fight stream Thursdays on Paramount Plus. Use Hotchka’s affiliate link to subscribe and try it for free!
Share this post
