Despite its general lack of The Good Wife cameos, Elsbeth can answer one of Alicia’s biggest mysteries without requiring her appearance. Elsbeth’s cast of characters have certainly carved out their own identity since the series began. But many fans have lingering questions about The Good Wife that remain unanswered going into Elsbeth season 3.
Although the last season wrapped up at least one plotline vaguely related to Tascioni’s time in The Good Wife, that wrapped up well before the Elsbeth season 2 finale. Otherwise, Elsbeth Tascioni’s life in Chicago is hardly referenced outside of her relationship with Teddy. But with just one guest star, that could change in a heartbeat.
The Good Wife Never Confirms Whether Alicia And Jason Wind Up Together (But It Was Supposed To)
A Simple Scheduling Issue Changed The Good Wife’s Finale
Of all The Good Wife cameos in Elsbeth that fans might want to see, Alicia naturally ranks somewhere near the top. This is partly because even The Good Fight fails to provide an answer regarding whether Jason and Alicia wind up together. But according to series creators Robert and Michelle King, things were meant to unfold differently. As Variety reports:
“Robert King admitted that they worried about whether the ‘Good Wife’ finale was clear enough on Alicia’s fate. At the last minute they tried to bring [Jeffrey Dean] Morgan back to shoot a quick scene that would have made the status of the Alicia-Jason relationship crystal clear. But Morgan couldn’t get out of work on ‘Walking Dead’ in Atlanta. And in hindsight King predicts that a shot of Alicia falling into the arms of (Jason) would have been ‘too much of a cop-out.’”
It’s obviously a lot harder to send a couple walking into the sunset when one of them is busy bludgeoning a fan-favorite zombie survivor to death several states over, so The Good Wife’s ending left some fans wondering if Alicia would remain by Peter’s side. And even though the Kings’ talk with Variety provides answers, that question hasn’t gone away.
Fandoms sometimes adhere to the rule that nothing’s true until it’s happened in the source material, regardless of what the creator says. This isn’t a hard-set rule among all fandoms, but the existence of multiple spinoffs means that The Good Wife can clear up misunderstandings at any time. In fact, one spinoff could’ve cleared the air even before Elsbeth.
Alicia Florrick Can Appear In Elsbeth Any Time Thanks To The Good Fight Season 6
Eli Gold Confirms That Alicia And Elsbeth Live In The Same City
Fans of The Good Wife may have been disappointed when Eli Gold appeared in The Good Fight to confirm that Alicia’s moved to New York and Peter’s back in jail, where he’ll likely remain for quite some time. Peter’s fate felt like a reaction to Chris Noth’s real-life sexual misconduct scandal, but Alicia’s was a bit harder to fully conceptualize.
There’s no problem with Alicia starting a firm in New York, but Eli’s update doesn’t make it clear whether Alicia stayed with Jason after leaving Chicago. She clearly isn’t sticking around for Peter anymore, but whether she wound up with one of The Good Wife’s best characters instead remains a mystery that Alicia’s actor likely won’t be the one to solve.
CBS Bringing Back Julianna Margulies To Play Alicia In Elsbeth Is Sadly Unlikely
She’s At Least Less Problematic Than Peter Florrick’s Chris Noth
Anyone wondering why the focus here isn’t on Alicia appearing in Elsbeth herself may have missed a couple of unfortunate details about her actor, Julianna Margulies. Although it’s reportedly unrelated, Margulies recently left her other project, The Morning Show, after a bit of public controversy regarding her statements about Israel. As Variety reported on the story:
“In November [of 2023], while discussing the war in Gaza, Margulies made derogatory comments about Black and LGBTQ people, including that lesbian critics of Israel ‘offended [her] as a lesbian’ since she played one on ‘The Morning Show.’ She subsequently apologized for her remarks.”
The controversy arose when Margulies referred to a subset of a podcast’s listeners as “even lower than the Jews” because “A, you’re Black, and B, you’re gay.” The point it sounds like she’s making isn’t ostensibly the point she’s trying to make, but intentions don’t change that it’s uncommon for actors to be cast after sparking controversies of this nature.
Additionally, it’s not clear Elsbeth could afford Margulies. It’s been reported many times that Alicia didn’t appear in The Good Fight because Margulies wanted her guest star pay to match her pay as a series regular. Elsbeth spends a lot on guest talent, but a deal like that leaves open the possibility they could wrangle a bigger star for less.
Jason Crouse Would Make An Even Better Elsbeth Season 3 Guest Than Alicia
The Actor Has A Large Following Outside Of The Good Wife Franchise
Even after it seemed like the second season was bringing Elsbeth more closely into The Good Wife’s world, the Elsbeth season 2 finale’s guest stars only featured a Good Wife cameo in the form of a familiar actor playing a newer character. But there’s still plenty of opportunity for Jason to appear in Elsbeth in Alicia’s unfortunate absence.
First of all, it doesn’t matter if Jason and Alicia wound up together. Jason can appear to clarify that point either way since it’s easier for Jason to become a private investigator in New York than for Alicia or anyone else to pass the bar in multiple states. There’s still licensing involved, but the considerations are much broader.
More importantly, Jeffrey Dean Morgan is a more widely appealing guest star than Julianna Margulies would have been. Because of his work on various franchises such as Grey’s Anatomy, The Boys, and The Walking Dead, Morgan’s known to plenty of viewers who might not even have a stake in knowing how The Good Wife ends.
This means that he can come in as a private investigator and have enjoyable scenes with Tascioni on that level alone, while Elsbeth merely uses his appearance to answer any lingering The Good Wife questions with time left over. All in all, it’s both the most finance-friendly and audience-pleasing way to resolve the problem.
