‘The Good Wife’ season 7, episode 21 review: Peter Florrick’s trial, a plea deal, and a cliffhanger verdict

For much of the season on “The Good Wife,” we have effectively been building up to this moment in one way or another: The trial of Peter Florrick. The Governor was warned this would happen in the event that he lost the Democratic nomination, and now, it’s happened.

For much of Sunday’s episode “Verdict,” we saw Peter and by association Alicia do everything that he could in order to figure out if the had an escape plan. Things started off badly for him, which happens when you have a past that is as decorated as his has been (and we don’t mean that in a good way). Diane and Kurt’s relationship was challenged as a result of testimony, and at the same time Cary Agos was in the crosshairs.

Eventually, Peter himself determined that maybe his best move was for him to take the stand himself, even though he knew that his own past indiscretions would get brought up the moment he took the stand. The big question that he was going to face is whether or not he would come up with a retort to Connor Fox’s accusations, and he did. Peter offered a mea culpa for his past failures while on the stand, and cited going to prison as a reason why he worked harder and when was his “most honorable.”

Eventually, Connor offered a plea for two years, and this is something that Peter was, in the end, willing to take. Yet, he didn’t even have a chance to, since the jury came back in practically record time with a verdict. Cue cliffhanger.

Ultimately, you really should consider this as the cast of “The Good Wife” making their Emmy case one last time before the finale. There were excellent performances abound by Julianna Margulies and Chris Noth, and a few romantic touches as Jason was pressed to finally admit to some of his feelings. Also, structural problems hampered Diane’s renovations for the firm. It was probably the dullest part of the episode, but it had its moments of dark comedy since nothing ever goes right for these people. Grade: A-.