"Crash" is the fifth episode of the first season of The Good Wife. It was written by Ted Humphrey and directed by Gloria Muzio.
Summary[]
Alicia and Will represent three widows who are suing the freight train company their husbands worked for after a fatal accident, while Diane asks Kalinda to gather information on a lawyer who may be considered as a new partner.
Cast[]
Starring[]
Plot[]In her office, Alicia Florrick talks to Jackie on the phone, telling her that the kids' first visit at their father's prison will have to be postponed until next week. Jackie is unhappy. Next, Cary introduces a candidate for a new assistant for himself and Alicia, but Alicia is not impressed with the a cute young blonde who looks at Cary when she answers Alicia's questions. Cary tells Alicia of gossip that Jonas Stern, the senior partner of the firm, is to retire. Alicia joins settlement negotiations between Will and Patti Nyholm, an attorney representing Crossnational Freight, the train company involved in a crash that killed the three train drivers. The company blames the drivers for the disaster. However Stern, Lockhart & Gardner represent the three widows of the drivers who say the crash was caused by Crossnational overworking the drivers. Will and Nyholm trade barbs over who has the advantage in the case in court. Crossnational offers a settlement of eighty percent of the drivers' pensions for ten years. Will counters by announcing the widows will be doing an interview on Sixty Minutes this evening. Diane tells Kalinda to investigate an "old friend" Malcolm Overby but tells her not to tell anyone else. Will talks to the widows, telling them that he may not be able to win the case. Looking at the widow's deny-of-overtime documents, Alicia notices that widow's copy is different and that three names have been removed from the version given to the lawyers. Will swiftly tells Patti that she can go and take her settlement offer with her. In court, Will explains to Judge Robert Parks that removing the names of three company executives is suspicious enough to go on trial. Parks gives Will three days to prepare. Jackie visits Peter in prison, and mentions to him that Alicia is working closely with Will Gardner, causing a very serious look on her son's face. Alicia and Will aggressively interview the three company executives, who turn out to be problematic for Patti's case. However, Patti has made a discovery of her own: one of Will's and Alicia's late clients, James Underwood, was on amphetamines at the time of the train crash. After being unable to get Kalinda to help right away, Alicia informs Underwood's wife, Linda, about the drug test. The young widow assures her that her husband never did drugs. Will suspects that Diane is vetting Malcolm Overby. When he and Alicia discuss their case, one of the "hidden" Transnational executives, Sarah Conley, comes by and tells them to look for Newbury Heights. Alicia eventually discovers that the company has hidden the fact that their trains' load regulator sensors, or LRS, where responsible for an earlier near-miss in Newbury Heights, and that structural engineer Jonathan Eldredge knew about this. Cary mocks Alicia by interviewing another potential assistant, an elderly lady and heavy smoker. Alicia interviews Eldredge, and almost gets him to talk about Newbury Heights when Patti fakes pregnancy pains in order to get him out. Her young assistant apologizes to Alicia for her superiors behavior. Alicia then calls back Jackie, but her mother in law is busy -- taking the kids to see their father in jail. They are very happy to see him, and Peter is overjoyed. Kalinda still goes after Malcolm Overby, and discovers he's having an affair with Diane. Jackie tells Alicia about the kids visit to jail; Alicia is overwhelmed and angrily shouts at her mother-in-law that this is not the kind of decision she gets to make. Will and Alicia discover that Eldredge and Sarah Conley were having an affair. Alicia confronts Sarah, who tells her that Eldredge told her about the problem with the LRS system. It turns out that Sarah's youngest son is likely from Eldredge, and that her having to testify would destroy her family. Kalinda meets Overby, who quickly starts hitting on her, even giving her his number. Back at Diane's office, Kalinda informs her boss that Overby is "non-exclusive" and "in pursuit of other options". According to her, "the firm" can do better. Diane thanks her, and promises to talk to her about giving her a better contract soon. Linda Underwood brings all her medicine to Alicia. Grace overhears their conversation, and is proud of the good work her mother does. The two watch TV, and talk about Peter. Alicia tells her that she might have to hurt a family in order to protect her own client. In court, Sarah Conley is asked to testify to the night of the crash; she is forced to admit to having been with Eldredge, and it makes Alicia feel terrible about herself. The company makes a new offer, meeting just about all of Will's demands. Alicia adds the demanded apology, and everything is set. The widows are overjoyed, and Cary asks Alicia to look at one more assistant: it's Courtney, Patti's former assistant who has quit in order to come and work for Alicia. She happily accepts her. In jail, Alicia pays a surprise visit to Peter, who asks her about Will. He tells her that Will is not who he seems, and suddenly blurts out that he loves her. He reminisces about their first appartement, and how they used to be happy, and begs her not to give up on him. Background Information[]Broadcast[]
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