The episode examines the effect that a soldier's death in Iraq has on his sister. We see many sides to this sensitive topic and James Spader is at his best. Perhaps the best episode of any show on TV this season.
9.8
"Superb"
I will admit to some trepidation about the subject matter of this episode before watching it. I knew from the previews that Alan Shore would bring a suit against the government on behalf of Cassie the paralegal, whose brother, a National Guardsman, was killed in Iraq. Fortunately, David E. Kelley focused on the plight of the U.S. soldiers in Iraq and of their loved ones remaining here at home. The result was a powerful and moving story that included strong views from different perspectives. It became a personal tale, that of Private Elliott and his sister Cassie. Though the suit was destined to be unsuccessful, it proved to be therapeutic for Cassie as she begins a real relationship based on love and respect with Garrett. This was a dramatic departure from their wild sexual gymnastics in the previous episode.
Alan Shore takes on the case, even though he knows that the federal government is immune to private lawsuits. He claims that the Army defrauded Private Elliott by telling him that he would face no harm in Iraq. Shore asserts that Pvt. Elliott was inadequately trained and poorly equipped to do his job. Moreover, Pvt. Elliott had fulfilled his obligation to the National Guard but the Army kept him in the service through a stop-loss order that extended his tour indefinitely.
The case opened a rift between Alan and Denny Crane. Denny demands that Alan drop the case. "I'm directing you. Drop it." "No" replies Alan. Denny is shown to be hard-headed but rational. Kelley wisely chooses to play down the caricature of Denny Crane in this episode. This is an issue that Denny feels very strongly about.
Brad Chase makes a brief appearance early on. As Garrett and Sara are discussing the lawsuit, Brad can barely contain his anger as he states that he served in Operation Desert Storm. He finds the case to be an insult to the memory of fallen U.S. soldiers. This scene has added punch because Mark Valley, the actor who plays Brad Chase, is a real-life graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He served in Operation Desert Storm in Iraq, so he likely has a keen interest in this issue personally.
Denny is so angry with Alan that he gets himself measured for a camouflage-patterned coat. He is going to dress as a hunter for the Halloween party. He and Alan had planned to go as matching pink flamingos, but now he doesn't even want to look at Alan. Alan notes that hunters shoot flamingos.
James Spader gives perhaps his angriest courtroom speech ever. He exclaims that we are a nation in denial over the situation in Iraq. "We have no strategy for getting out." He conveys the rage that Cassie feels over her brother's death. The government attorney counters with the statement that Pvt. Elliott assumed the risk of death and injury when he voluntarily chose to enroll in the military. Denny Crane is watching the proceedings.
Judge Clark Brown, who appeared on a humorous episode in Season One, says that the war is a disaster, but he adds that we ARE at war. It is the hierarchy that keeps the Army functioning and so that hierarchy must be respected and maintained. He grants the government's motion to dismiss.
Cassie thanks Alan and Garrett. Earlier in the episode, she had ended her relationship with Garrett since they now had an attorney-client relationship. Garrett respected her wishes. Now she says goodbye. He asks her why it has to be goodbye?
At the Halloween party, Denny shows up--as a flamingo! He is still upset, but he knows that his friendship with Alan shouldn't end because of the lawsuit. As a sometimes gruff and stubborn man, he is unwilling to express his feelings, but the fact that he chose to wear the pink flamingo costume tells it all. He says that he just decided to keep the costume on. It doesn't mean that he has forgiven Alan. Alan says he looks pretty in pink. "Doesn't mean I'm having sex with you."
Garrett and Cassie appear in matching white formal coat and tails. They look like a love-struck pair of teenagers. In two episodes, their relationship has moved from animalistic and spontaneous sex, to an attorney-client relationship, to an emotional courtroom trial, to a relationship based on genuine attraction and respect. I liked how Kelley managed to develop the relationship through the turmoil of Pvt. Elliott's death, Cassie's mourning, Garrett's file room blunder, the lawsuit and finally the close of the trial. Nicely done.
The intensely emotional tale of Private Elliott and Cassie was balanced by the riotous humor of the Halloween pageant case. A Christian couple and a Wiccan couple team up to sue their children's school for putting on a Halloween pageant. The Christians claim the show promotes Satanism and paganism. The Wiccans claim that the show denigrates their belief system and symbolizes the long history of discrimination inflicted upon fellow Wiccans. Needless to say, this is an uneasy truce between the Christians and the Wiccans. Denise brings in Shirley Schmidt to help on the case.
As the two couples talk about their differences in a conference room, a scuffle breaks out. Shirley puts a headlock on the Wiccan husband. I never thought I would be laughing during a Shirley Schmidt scene, but I did. I hadn't expected to see Shirley involved in physical comedy either, but there she was.
Despite the impassioned pleas of both sets of parents at trial, the judge rules against them. He advises them to lighten up. Though the Christian couple is skewered, we also see a send-up of the Wiccans, whose claims of discrimination and persecution are satirized with equal enthusiasm. Julie Bowen continues to grow into the role of Denise Bauer, making her a vital part of the ensemble cast. Candice Bergen displayed her comedic talents, a rare opportunity as Shirley is usually the efficient and cool-headed leader.
Kelley took on two hot-button issues in the episode, the war in Iraq and religion, and managed to create a compelling episode without too much preaching. He chose to focus on the personal experience of one soldier's family for the first issue. For the second issue, he chose a secular holiday that lent itself to a light-hearted treatment. Very skillful maneuvering indeed!
The episode showed that Kelley is a master at writing about sensitive topics while being entertaining at the same time. The frequent use of humor is a necessary ingredient to keep the story and speeches from becoming too strident. The traditional final scene on the balcony brings all of the drama and humor of the episode to a tidy close. Alan and Denny are still in their flamingo costumes, looking ridiculous as they smoke their cigars. Alan is melancholy and admits to Denny that the war in Iraq is a complex topic, with no easy answers. In response, Denny says "Most of the Cranes in my family are flamingos."
It is the personal stories that made this such a great episode. The war in Iraq was distilled down to Pvt. Elliott and Cassie. The lawsuit resulted in the honest and human relationship between Garrett and Cassie. The rift over the lawsuit between Alan and Denny ended with the two of them on the balcony as usual, but with a bittersweet tone, as they realized that the problems of the world can sometimes invade their comfortable, private cocoon and threaten their friendship. The episode delivered drama, politics, romance, slapstick humor, religion and the ongoing development of the camaraderie between Alan Shore and Denny Crane. As I said in the summary, perhaps the best episode of any show on TV this season. An instant classic!
