"The Last Call" is the sixteenth episode of the fifth season of the American legal drama television series ''

The Good Wife ''The Good Wife'' is an American legal and political drama television series that aired on CBS from September 22, 2009, to May 8, 2016. It focuses on Alicia Florrick, the wife of the Cook County State's Attorney, who returns to her career in l ...

''. It originally aired on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

in the United States on March 30, 2014. The episode deals with the aftermath of Will Gardner being killed in the previous episode. It also concerns his former client and killer, Jeffrey Grant, and what motivated his behavior. The episode was written by Robert King and

Michelle King Michelle King (née Stern; born 1958) is an American television writer and producer. She is married to Robert King, who is also her writing partner. The couple created the legal drama series ''The Good Wife'', which earned them a Writers Guil ...

, and directed by

Jim McKay James Kenneth McManus (September 24, 1921 – June 7, 2008), better known professionally as Jim McKay, was an American television sports journalist. McKay was best known for hosting ABC's '' Wide World of Sports'' (1961–1998). His introd ...

. It marked the second in a string of guest appearances by

Matthew Goode Matthew William Goode (born 3 April 1978) is a British actor. Goode made his screen debut in 2002 with ABC's TV film feature '' Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister''. His breakthrough role was in the romantic comedy ''Chasing Liberty'' (2004), f ...

as Finn Polmar, a character who went on to have a flirtatious friendship with Alicia.

Plot

The episode concerns events in the wake of Will's death; Alicia grieves over him, distancing herself from her husband Peter in the process. She finds a voicemail that Will left her; due to an interruption, though, it said nothing substantial. Trying to determine what Will wanted to say, Alicia interviews the presiding judge who witnessed the shooting, and talks to ASA Finn Polmar, who was also shot, and Polmar's assistant. Ultimately, she arrives at a dead end, and is left to guess. Kalinda tries to understand why Will's client, Jeffrey Grant, went on a shooting spree. Diane breaks the news of Will's death to the partners at her firm, while David Lee tries to keep Will's top clients from leaving. Forced to do a deposition without Alicia, Cary takes out his anger on opposing counsel.

Reception

''The Last Call'' was met with critical acclaim from critics. Breia Brissey of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular ...

'' said it "managed to deliver a heartfelt, appropriate, and even funny-at-times episode". Sonia Saraiya of '' The A.V. Club'' gave it an A− saying "So while 'The Last Call' is an incredibly sad hour, it's also a triumphant one—and at times, even funny." The episode received a Writers Guild of America Award for Episodic Drama.The 2015 WGA Awards - Writers Guild of America, West

References

External links

"The Last Call"
at CBS.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Last Call, The 2014 American television episodes The Good Wife episodes Television episodes about death