"Bang" is the fifteenth episode of the first season of The Good Wife and the fifteenth episode overall. It has aired by CBS on February 9, 2010. It was written by Courtney Kemp Agboh and directed by Rod Holcomb.
Summary[]
Peter returns home and discovers the secret photos that his children have been keeping from Alicia. At Alicia's firm, Will removes her from a case involving a bodyguard accused of killing his boss, a dishonest financial planner.
Cast[]
Starring[]
Special Guest Star[] |
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Co-Starring[]
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Plot[]
Peter returns home to an emotional reunion with the children, while Alicia looks on. He is allowed to return home under house arrest while his appeal is considered and must wear an ankle monitor and cannot leave the apartment or communicate with the outside world. Alicia, however, is uncomfortable about Peter's return.
Zach shows Peter incriminating photos he had been hiding from his mother, which were doctored to show Peter being unfaithful. Zach intercepted the photos when they were anonymously delivered to the Florrick residence. Zach also shows Peter a photo he secretly took of a man bugging the Florrick apartment entranceway. Peter hires hardened and blunt political operative Eli Gold (Alan Cumming) to assist in the appeal. Gold recognizes the man as a federal investigator and informs Peter he is under investigation by the FBI. Peter reveals to Alicia that Zach hid the photos from her to spare her feelings.
Because of Peter's imprisonment Alicia, a lawyer herself, is working as a junior associate at a law firm. Alicia serves as second chair for senior partner Diane Lockhart in a murder trial. Their client, Brad Broussard, is charged with shooting Miles Wagner. Wagner was an unpopular mutual fund manager who defrauded Broussard and many other out of their life savings by assisting in Bernard Madoff's investment scandal. Broussard was found covered in blood next to Wagner's body but insists on his innocence. Diane consults ballistics expert Kurt McVeigh, a mustachioed country man with a strict principle that he will not work if the client is guilty. Kurt testifies that Wagner was shot inside a car despite being found on the floor. Wagner's partner, Martin Knox, had a strong financial motive to kill Wagner. Knox's wife, Rachel, strongly dislikes her husband and is willing to implicate him but is bound by spousal privilege laws. Alicia discovers a conspiracy tactic that will allow Rachel to testify, and Broussard is vindicated and set free. Kalinda visits FBI agent Lana Davenport, inquiring about the investigation into Peter. Davenport asks Kalinda to feed her information about Peter, but Kalinda declines.
Background Information[]
Production[]
The writers based the episode on the Ponzi scheme orchestrated by Bernard Madoff, who was sentenced to prison in 2009 after pleading guilty to defrauding thousands of clients out of billions of dollars with an investor fraud scheme. The anger expressed by onlookers at the Miles Wagner trial in The Good Wife reflected the passionate emotions the real-life Madoff scandal envoked. "Bang" featured guest appearances by actors Alan Cumming and Gary Cole. Some commentators suggested Cummings' character, Eli Gold, was based on White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. Both are political operatives from Chicago noted for bullying tactics and their use of foul language.
If The Good Wife had not been successful and the first season was not renewed beyond its first 13 episodes, creators Robert and Michelle King planned to end their final episode with a scene in which Peter returns home and greets his emotionally conflicted wife; because the season was continued, it ultimately became the opening scene of "Bang". Robert King said he considered using it as a final scene because, "You would never have wanted to end it where it would be such a conclusion that everyone's satisfied, because that’s not Alicia’s life. Alicia's life is filled with questions." Chris Noth said now that Peter is back home, much of the rest of the season will focus on whether Alicia can forgive his past infidelity, adding, "I don't know if they'll be able to recover or not. That's part of the ongoing drama."
Broadcast[]
- This episode first aired in on March 2, 2010.
- On its first airing this episode attracted 13.29 million viewers.
Deleted Scenes[]
References[]
Goofs, Bloopers & Continuity Errors[]
Quotes[]
" I love you both" Alicia Florrick
"Hey dad" Zach Florrick
" nothing on the green card we are still looking for the daughter but she out of the country"Alicia Florrick
" I think we have to start talking about a deal" Diane Lockhart
"and when did he return" Diane Lockhart
"How could they hide it from me" Alicia Florrick
"We will" Peter Florrick
References[]