We all get by with a little help from our friends.
In Elsbeth Tascioni's case, her friends just happen to be three of Chicago's best lawyers.
It's great to see Carrie Preston back as the quirky, nutty, totally endearing Elsbeth. And the fact that Alicia, then Will, and even Diane drop everything over a weekend to help her with a case speaks volumes about her skill as a lawyer.
[Related: Preston talks to us about 'True Blood,' 'Good Wife,' and 'Person of Interest']
Sporting news
Alicia is having a sexy daydream (about whom?) -- while making pancakes! -- when Elsbeth calls to help her with a case … because she's behind bars! She's representing Anna, an elite runner who got shafted out of endorsement money from Erobos, but she got arrested when she chased down the CEO after a university speech. And unfortunately, this took place in suburban Skokie and it's the weekend -- so she might be stuck there for a while.
Alicia calls up Will to jump in on the contract case while she tries to get Elsbeth out of jail. Turns out Erobos voided the deal because Anna was banned from an upcoming race for doping. Anna denies the charge, so now it has to go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Elsbeth warns Will that CAS is not like regular court, which is clear from the moment the three-judge panel and the opposing counsel start speaking in French. Will objects -- though head judge Villapique notes, "There are no objections here; this is not 'Law & Order'" -- and after conferring, they grudgingly agree to hold the hearing in English.
Will argues that Anna passed her most recent drug test, but apparently there was "ghosting" of some substance in her blood sample, which got a group of runners called the Notorious Six banned as well. Plus, a witness testifies that she saw Anna receive a bottle of pills from one of the Notorious Six at the London Olympics.
As the panel keeps going back to speaking French, an exasperated Will phones Diane for help. But she wants a hot stone massage (who doesn't?). "It's Elsbeth Tascioni," he says.
Diane sits up. "Where?"
And by the way, Diane's speaking fluent French might be the sexiest thing that's ever happened on this show.
Minority report
In a race of a different kind, Eli is incensed to learn that Maddie Hayward is targeting Peter for racial bias in the state's attorney's office. "Boy wonder" Jordan thinks they should just let the issue wither away.
A troubled Peter decides to see if he is biased and receives a comeuppance in a sit-down with Geneva, who points out that he fired five African Americans and promoted two Caucasians. "It's about who you listen to; that's the key," she says, noting that he also isn't speaking at an upcoming minority rights coalition event, while Maddie is.
At the event, Maddie wants to talk debate terms, and when Jordan tries to negotiate with her, Eli gets territorial.
Meanwhile, Peter gets booed at his speech and slumps into the campaign bus … to find Alicia there! Does she want to get dinner? Chat about their days? Nope, she wants to get naked! Those sexy daydreams over pancakes got her revved up, it seems!
When Eli knocks at the door, Peter shouts, "I need a minute!"
"Just a minute?" Alicia asks, eyebrow half-cocked. We are liking seductress Alicia!
After that, it's wham, bam, thank you … sir. Alicia immediately starts getting dressed, and Peter looks as if he's feeling kind of used. Poor guy (if you can call a guy who just got jumped by his hot wife that).
Speaking of poor guys, Peter's booed speech has gone viral, though a frantic Eli tries to argue that it just proves Peter is willing to stand up to special interest groups. Jordan sighs and reiterates that they should've ignored the whole thing.
Peter tells Eli to go easy on Jordan because they "need him." Not good news for Eli's ego.
Something to talk about
Aside from having marital relations with her husband, Alicia's doing everything she can to get Elsbeth out on bond, but to do that, she needs to get her transferred to Chicago for a weekend hearing.
Unfortunately, Elsbeth is required to undergo a psych evaluation before getting transferred. Uh-oh -- as much as we love her kooky charm, Elsbeth can come across as a bit batty. Alicia wisely counsels her not to talk … so much.
During the exam, Elsbeth starts out OK, but then she starts laughing hysterically. You can just see the puzzled shrink's thought bubble: "Crazy!" But instead, it's Elsbeth having a light bulb moment: Will and Diane need to knock out one of the three pillars of doping -- the chain of custody of Anna's sample.
They attempt to do just that, and they prove the chain of custody was broken, but head judge Villapique rules against them. Now what?
On advice from Peter, Alicia decides to argue that Elsbeth's arrest was a constitutional violation because the campus police overstepped their jurisdiction. This gets her transferred to Chicago, but the judge isn't buying it. Still, he lets her go on bond. The mad genius is free!
She runs (literally) across the track to the hearing. After breathlessly introducing herself, she brings in a new witness -- a cyclist who also got banned for doping without any evidence. His appeal was also denied.
Villapique was the one who persuaded another judge to side with him against the cyclist. And it turns out that the person who ended up winning because of the cyclist's absence … was French. Villapique has been engaging in some nationalistic fixing! Mon dieu!
At the Lockhart Gardner offices, Elsbeth and team toast their win. Alicia sees Eli lurking in the hall.
He's being investigated, he might lose his job, and he can't hire the firm to represent him. He needs a lawyer.
And he wants Elsbeth Tascioni.
Elsbeth and Eli? Bring. It. On.
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"The Good Wife" airs Sundays at 9 PM on CBS.