SPOILERS: "The Good Wife" Creators Write Letter to Fans about Sunday Night's Surprise

[JamesG]

"The Good Wife" Creators Pen Letter to Fans after Shocking Plot Twist
by NELLIE ANDREEVA
3/24/14


With fans still reeling from the bombshell event on "The Good Wife" tonight, the show’s creators/showrunners Michelle and Robert King have reached out to them with a letter, in which they lay down the professional and personal reasons for their creative decision.

Read it below if you have seen tonight’s episode and/or don’t mind getting spoiler-ed.

Dear Loyal Good Wife Fans,

We, like you, mourn the loss of Will Gardner. And while Will is gone, our beloved Josh Charles is very much alive and remains an integral part of our family.

"The Good Wife", at its heart, is the “Education of Alicia Florrick.” To us, there always was a tragedy at the center of Will and Alicia’s relationship: the tragedy of bad timing. And when faced with the gut punch of Josh’s decision, made over a year ago, to move on to other creative endeavors, we had a major choice to make.

We could “send him off to Seattle,” he could be disbarred, or get married, or go off to Borneo to do good works. But there was something in the passion that Will and Alicia shared that made distance a meager hurdle. The brutal honesty and reality of death speaks to the truth and tragedy of bad timing for these two characters. Will’s death propels Alicia into her newest incarnation.



Death also created a new dramatic “hub” for the show. We’re always looking for these turning points—some event midway through the season that will spin everybody’s lives in new directions.

These turning points keep the show from slipping into a numbing sameness, and keep the characters fresh: because you see how they react to a completely new status quo. Will’s death in many ways becomes a hub for the whole series, violently spinning everybody in new directions.



Finally, we chose the tragic route for Will’s send-off for personal reasons. We’ve all experienced the sudden death of a loved one in our lives. It’s terrifying how a perfectly normal and sunny day can suddenly explode with tragedy. Television, in our opinion, doesn’t deal with this enough: the irredeemability of death. Your last time with the loved one will always remain your last time.

"The Good Wife" is a show about human behavior and emotion, and death, as sad and unfair as it can be, is a part of the human experience that we want to share.



Thank you for listening…and watching and caring and inspiring us to rise to the level of your passion and intelligence. There are seven wonderful episodes to follow this season and Josh will be directing one of them. We think you will enjoy them. It’s not all tears — there is comedy too.

Michael J. Fox is back for four episodes. Dylan Baker. Dallas Roberts. Stockard Channing, as well as amazing new guest actors. And of course, Julianna does some of the best work of her life. Archie, Christine, Alan, Chris and Matt as well. Life does go on.



We’ve always taken as a guiding principle of this show that drama isn’t in the event; it’s in the aftermath of the event. We think you’ll find that true of this episode

Thank you for your devotion to the show – we are continually grateful.



With all our thanks,
Robert & Michelle King

Also, "Late Show with David Letterman" announced this morning that actor Josh Charles has been booked to guest tonight to discuss his character’s surprise death in Sunday’s episode of "The Good Wife".

It will be his first TV interview since Sunday’s episode.

http://www.deadline.com/2014/03/the-...ng-plot-twist/

[TMC]

http://www.vulture.com/2014/03/the-g...ill-death.html

Last night’s shocker, says Margaret Lyons, was "totally abrupt and unconnected to the rest of the story, not at all part of a broader web of ideas or characterizations. No one's complicit in it, no one's responsible for it ... and it doesn't advance the story so much as go back to an old one."
Read more at http://www.hitfix.com/tv-tattle#FmrzfW8LxrcrqbSV.99

[JamesG]

Josh Charles Sounds Off on "Good Wife" Death: "Everything's Going to Be OK"
Mar 24, 2014
by Kate Stanhope


For a guy who was just brutally gunned down and killed in court less than 24 hours ago, Josh Charles looked pretty happy and, well, lively when he stopped by the "Late Show with David Letterman" on Monday to talk about the death of his "Good Wife" character, Will.

"I had to get killed off to get on your show," Charles joked to Letterman during his appearance, which airs Monday night at 11:35/10:35c on CBS.





"We've known this since last year. It's been one of the greatest gigs for me in my entire career, but at the end of last year, my contract was up, and I was just ready to kind of move on," the Emmy-nominated actor said of his decision to leave the drama this season.

Charles was grateful to get a "proper goodbye to the character" and thanked the viewers for their support in the wake of Will's shocking exit.



"I was very touched by it," he said. "I just want to say to the fans that, you know, I really appreciate all of your comments. ... It's meant a lot. I get invested in characters in TV shows, too, so everything's going to be OK! I'll call your mom later."

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Josh-Cha...w-1079631.aspx

[Chocolate Moose]

Do we really think he's dead? Isn't there a chance he'll start breathing on his own/be revived?

[esl]

He could always make a guest appearance on The Walking Dead.

[Janice]

Originally Posted by esl

He could always make a guest appearance on The Walking Dead.

Now that's funny.

And I could use the laughter. I'm heartbroken over Will's death. I loved Will, even more than Alicia these days. She landed on my crap list when she stole a good amount of L&G's clients and then made Will and Diane out to be the bad guys. While writing her keynote address and reflecting on her days of re-entering the workforce, I got the feeling that it dawned on her just how much she was indebted to Will and even Diane to a degree.

I'm not sure if the show will hold my interest without Will. I hope so. I'd like to watch the entire show, start to finish. I always assumed I would; yet even before Will died, I'm been wrestling with my emotions, i.e., dealing with what Alicia did. No problem with her starting her own firm. That was great, but not at the expense of people who were very good to her.

[Chocolate Moose]

Wow ... Will is Dead dead? I did not see that coming ....

Can't imagine the show without him!!!

[TMC]

In defense of “The Good Wife” twist.
Read more at http://www.hitfix.com/tv-tattle#VdsktU6HvH55vrC6.99

[Mr. Television]

Yea I was spoiled. I'm still 3 episodes away from watching this episode. My local news had it as one of their news stories.

[LeeBlue]

The Sunday night episode left me stunned!!

I will miss having Will as part of the show. It will be very strange indeed.

And I don't see how this advances the "The Good Wife".

Maybe if Will's death had been a murder mystery for a few episodes, it would have done more for the plot.

I'll keep watching for a few episodes but then ..... ????

[Chocolate Moose]

How many more episodes are left this season ?

[TMC]

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/bas...-column-691139

"Now fans know that what they have been waiting for will never happen,” writes Delia Ephron. PLUS: The whole plot seemed very Deus Ex Machina.
Read more at http://www.hitfix.com/tv-tattle#RXcvR9HQgVXZ3pwP.99

[TMC]

http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertai...,5177548.story

Josh Charles had said that Sunday's scene moved him.
Read more at http://www.hitfix.com/tv-tattle#OJvBLG0ggdv3Ym7b.99