The Good Wife wrapped an acclaimed seven-season run last night with the series finale, “End.” Like a number of final episodes, it bore the weight of expectations and the responsibility of concluding a lengthy narrative — and on both counts, “End” was met with mixed reviews. An ambiguous final scene between Alicia (Julianna Margulies) and Diane (Christine Baranski) left some critics wanting more, while others felt it offered a fitting farewell for one of television’s most satisfyingly complex shows.
Show creators Robert and Michelle King have discussed the episode in the press, and even provided their thoughts on a happier alternate ending in which Alicia finds love with sexy P.I. Jason Crouse (Jeffrey Dean Morgan).
Here’s a sampling from the reviews for this somewhat befuddling finale to one of the decade’s best network dramas:
[CAUTION: SPOILERS AHEAD]
Eliana Dockterman, Time:
Fresh. The most stunning moment of the episode was, of course, the slap, which will likely go down in television history as one of the most daring endings to a show ever.
Maureen Ryan, Variety:
Fresh. A lot of what transpired before that final scene was good, solid Good Wife trial-based storytelling. There were reversals and surprises and ups and downs; there was a jovially eccentric judge and this show’s version of stunt casting (real-life superstar lawyer David Boies).
Michael Slezak, TV Line:
Rotten. I’ve got to admit to some shock — and more than a little disappointment — with the concluding chapter of one of my favorite network dramas of all time.
Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times:
Rotten. It was all most unfortunate, given the dramatic nuance and exquisite control that marked most of The Good Wife’s impressive seven-season run.
Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya, AV Club:
Rotten. The Good Wife doesn’t come to its pointedly anticlimactic, cynical ending in a way that’s particularly well developed or grounded.
Mark Perigard, Boston Herald:
Fresh. Just hand Julianna Margulies another Emmy. Her delivery, her presence… was just brilliant.
Henry Goldblatt, Entertainment Weekly:
Fresh. To the cast and creators, thanks for the good — make that great — run.
Brian Moylan, The Guardian:
Fresh. In the end, Alicia was just Alicia — a brilliant, flawed and complex woman we have loved watching for seven years.
Ken Tucker, Yahoo TV:
Fresh. It was an episode in keeping with the complex nature of this generally excellent series.
Samantha Highfill, Entertainment Weekly:
Fresh. How you perceive the ending probably has a lot to do with what you think comes next for Alicia.
Matthew Gilbert, Boston Globe:
Rotten. There wasn’t much to love about the series finale of The Good Wife. The episode wanly rolled around the billiard table like a poorly shot ball, failing even to approach a pocket.
Rob Owen, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
Fresh. I liked the symmetry to the pilot but hated to see Alicia hurt Diane, and am left to wonder how that will affect Alicia’s standing at the firm.
Noel Kirkpatrick, TV.com:
Rotten. “End” was a thoroughly and deeply unsatisfying way for The Good Wife to take its final bow, a bit of bizarre nonsense that apparently left Alicia completely alone in the world with nothing but her public face of a woman who can survive whatever life throws at her.
Amy Amatangelo, Paste Magazine:
Fresh. It was so great to see Josh Charles again!
Frazier Moore, Associated Press:
Fresh. Walking down a deserted hallway stoic and in solitude, she seemed an indefinable blend of crushed and defiant, clearly a woman whose life would proceed in ways the audience will never be privy to, beyond the bounds of the series.”
Alan Sepinwall, Hitfix:
Rotten. “End” felt like a proper conclusion to The Good Wife, even if that meant it was less satisfying than it could have been.
Kevin Fallon, The Daily Beast:
Fresh. What the slap showed us was how Alicia had changed, detached from that title and all its meaning.
Mike Hale, New York Times:
Fresh. The mixed-bag ending was in keeping with the final season, which was smooth, enjoyable and at times quite moving. But it never sparkled or caught fire the way the series did in its best seasons, when it was broadcast television’s leading argument for continued relevance in the peak-TV era.
Christine Orlando, TV Fanatic:
Rotten. What the hell was that? How could such a wonderful show with such an overall fantastic final episode end up being so completely unsatisfying?
Luke Gelineau, TV Equals:
Rotten.This was definitely a great series that I would recommend to anybody. I’m going to be sad to see it go, even though I wish it went in a slightly better fashion.
Sam Adams, Rolling Stone:
Fresh.“End” suggested that, in finally divorcing herself from Peter, Alicia ran the risk of becoming him, but it also left her free.
Brian Lowry, CNN.com:
Rotten. While the episode felt true to the program’s roots, ultimately, The Good Wife‘s finish — and indeed, the entire final season — didn’t match its highs along the way. That doesn’t mar the program’s legacy. It’s just that given all the time the show spent in courtrooms over its seven seasons, it’s not unreasonable to desire a more definitive verdict.
Willa Paskin, Slate:
Fresh. In the finale, the Kings paid out the premise of the show, completely: that political wife, standing on stage, beside the husband who has besmirched her—we know her, and we know her better than she knows herself.
