Alicia receives some much needed help from her mother when she comes to visit while she and Cary try a case against the NSA.
Recap:
The fourth years have stopped using the company phones to contact each other, and David doesn’t see this as a good sign.
Two casually dressed fellows are tracking the firm’s calls.
Alicia and Cary hand out burner phones to their fellow associates, and Alicia has just been put on the Chumhum case, as Gross is worried about Cary. They’re supposed to be taking him on as their client once they depart from Lockhart/Gardner, but something’s up.
Jump with me to read more.
Mr. Gross has been presented with a gag order, preventing him from denying that all of his users’ information has been sent over to the NSA. One of the lawyers suggests suing the NSA for prior restraint and getting other social media sites on board.
Alicia answers her burner phone in front of David Lee and her mother, Veronica (Stockard Channing). Hopefully, he won’t notice. And it’s not good news. They need an additional $140,000 to secure the offices. The bank wanted to speak to their current employers, and since they’re waiting for bonuses…no can do.
The two listeners are instructed to keep listening in on the firm’s and Alicia’s phone calls to see if anyone does anything remotely illegal.
The Chief Justice comes to see Peter to complain about Diane’s nomination; he wants her to explain why she backed her scheming partner. He also gifted an engraved gavel to Peter, and it’s missing from the gift room. An intern stole it and put it up for sale on eBay. Classy.
Kalinda is tired of playing both sides and wants to know when Cary and company are leaving.
Judge Kluger throws out Alicia and Cary’s prior restraint suit, prompting the two to add selective enforcement to it. Their witness, Patrick Edelstein, owner of Sleuthway, was too served a gag order and publicly discussed the goings on without penalty.
Eli sets up a meeting with the seller of the gavel, and it turns out to be Becca, Zach’s skeevy ex-girlfriend. She wants $800 for it.
The two listeners find a potential conversation from two years ago, but their bosses want something more recent. (Catch the Bazinga tee?)
Lawyers for the NSA request a SCIF, Sensitive Compartment Information Facility, to continue their case, and since Alicia and Cary don’t have any security clearance, the judge must listen to their testimony alone.
Eli wants Diane to be interviewed and appease the Chief Justice by trashing Will’s past.
Cary calls Alicia to thank her for the check for $140,000, only Alicia doesn’t have that kind of cash.
Veronica overheard her conversation and wanted to help with the funding. She’s got a new man in her life, Michael Barnwright, and wants Alicia to meet him over dinner.
It turns out Zach isn’t speaking to Becca anymore. It’s Grace who probably let the tiny evil woman into the house. They’re besties.
Diane does the interview and winds up defending Will. Not exactly what Eli had in mind…
Now that the judge has thrown out selective enforcement, Alicia and Cary try suing the NSA for interference with economic gain. Apparently, they’ve cost him $3 billion dollars. Wow.
Veronica’s date is a no-show, so she and Alicia share margaritas and one hug.
Mr. Gross is on the stand and is asked to provide the date during which he thinks his “loss” began. He states that it started on June 10 with the Edward Snowden leak. The NSA puts Mr. Fishbein on the stand. He and a few others boycotted Chumhum, starting on June 10, because Gross allowed Holocaust deniers to use the site.
Kalinda finds out that Gross met with North Koreans, and it’s entirely possible that this is the reason the NSA is going after him. But according to Gross, those he met with were freedom fighters.
David Lee calls Alicia to ask about the check, and Alicia does her best to pretend she has no idea what he’s talking about. After hanging up with him, she calls Mom to let her know that David cannot know the check is for Alicia.
Listeners have tracked 12 calls to the Florrick home from a Somalian sympathizer. (It’s Nisa calling Zach.)
Back in court, Alicia and Cary request their own SCIF. They’re seeking monetary damages in the amount of $14,000, a far cry from the $3 billion previously requested.
Veronica tells David to leave well enough alone and let her invest in some office space.
Judge Kluger finds for Gross in the amount of $14,000, along with a request for, ironically, a gag order, for the amount paid.
This allows Gross to inflate the matter to his supporters. Nice.
Our listeners use the 12 calls from the Somalian sympathizer to widen the scope of their eavesdropping; they’re now allowed to tap into the future governor’s calls.
Peter tells the Chief Justice where he can put his concerns, and Eli calls Diane to tell her that she doesn’t have to redo the interview, but it’s too late. I wonder what nasty things she said about Will…
Review:
Loved this episode! It’s nice to see Stockard Channing back, and now she’s invested in Florrick & Agos! She and David Lee need more scenes together. We’ve never watched him care about anything other than lining his pockets, and it seems like he truly cares for her.
I’m not quite sure I understood the monitoring of the phone calls part of the story. Hoping we get some clarification next week.
And my absolute favorite part of the episode: Becca and Eli bickering. I don’t particularly care for Becca, but watching Eli squash her is going to be fun.
– Lindsay
