‘The Good Fight’ Season 5 shines a light on what’s happening right now

Category: Television and Streaming

 

After the 2016 presidential election, Michelle King, co-creator (with Robert King) of The Good Wife, had an epiphany — What if we send Diane into an all African-American law firm? And so began Alicia Florrick’s comrade and die-hard Democrat Diane Lockhart’s (Christine Baranski) journey at Chicago’s preeminent black law firm in The Good Fight.

While the Obama administration was hardly referenced in The Good Wife, Robert and Michelle King have presented an in-your-face take on the reality of Trump-era culture in The Good Fight. The Kings are also known for creating operatic turning points to spin our central characters in new directions.

Season 5 picks up where season 4 left off. The first episode not only takes viewers through 2020 reliving the once-in-a-century pandemic, the murder of George Floyd, and the January 6 insurrection, but also provides a chance to catch up with our old friends. When Reddick, Boseman & Lockhart loses Adrian Boseman (Delroy Lindo) and Family Law rainmaker Lucca Quinn (Cush Jumbo), Liz Reddick (Audra McDonald) has to step into a leadership position. After all, it was Liz’s father who built the firm.

The office dynamics shifts. The ‘diversity hire’ turned ‘bad optics’ Diane has to defend her name partnership as well as her marriage to Kurt McVeigh (Gary Cole) who is accused of his involvement in the January 6 insurrection. The saga continues for the power couple who hold different political views. Will she be able to steer through the rough waters?

Carmen Moyo (Charmaine Bingwa), a 28-year-old first-year associate, hits the ground running from day one dealing with a high maintenance client. To Liz’s bewilderment, she manages to win two notorious criminals right away. The deadpan expression she wears might seem like heroic stoicism, but it’s also the face of deep denial of her tough and oppressed upbringing.

Marissa Gold (Sarah Steele), Diane’s assistant turned in-house investigator, is certainly moving up. She’s a promising young go-getter who desperately wants to be taken seriously. When she’s admitted to Chicago- Kent College of Law, she rejoins RBL as a first-year associate.

Hal Wackner (Mandy Patinkin) has a philosophy: Justice is only just if it’s available to everyone. He is neither a judge nor a lawyer, but offers a speedy and fair arbitration in a faux courtroom in the back of a copy store. Hal finds Marissa’s open-mindedness priceless and wants to bounce legal theories off her, but ends up retaining Diane for legal consultation. Hal’s out-of-the-box thinking and caring attract a number of likeminded investors who want to save the country. Whatever the reason, and however unorthodox their methods may seem, these people may be on to something.

I feel like I’ve been in the great tornado of life in the last several years. When the storm passes and the dust settles, I certainly hope things have landed into place beautifully…For the first time since its debut in 2017, The Good Fight gives me a glimpse of hope.

The first episode of The Good Fight Season 5 is streaming on Paramount+ (formerly CBS All Access) with a weekly release schedule for the season’s 10 episodes.

About the Author

Meg Mimura is a TV critic who actually watches shows zealously in search of thought-provoking and paradigm shifting human drama worth our precious time. She is a member of Television Critics Association. Follow her on <a https://twitter.com/MimuraMeg> Twitter. </a>

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