If it weren't for Kalinda's awful husband Nick — (Remember the whole ice cream cone debacle? *shudder*) — I would say that Johnny Elfman is the most universally disliked Good Wife character in the history of the series. And luckily, not now seems that Johnny might be leaving The Good Wife (yes!!). Of course, any character who is inserted into an established ensemble cast so late in the game is going to have to stand up to severe fan scrutiny. (Hello, Nikki & Paolo. Goodbye, Nikki & Paolo.) But poor Steven Pasquale never stood a chance, as his campaign manager entered the scene and immediately disrupted the show's sweetly budding romance between Alicia Florrick and Finn Polmar.
There was no forgiving Johnny for cutting this promising relationship off at the knees — and it certainly didn't help that he was always such a gosh darn wet blanket. The character's main defining trait was his persistent pessimism, so it was baffling to imagine what fiery Alicia Florrick ever saw in the greasy-haired man. While it's been great to see a portrayal of a successful, career-driven, middle-aged woman embracing her sexuality, it was frustrating to see Alicia do that (literal) embracing with Johnny rather than the character she'd already spent the better part of a season bonding with.
So when Johnny was offered a job in Los Angeles, many viewers likely rejoiced to see him accept the position and seemingly leave Chicago at the end of the most recent episode, "Red Meat." He even left Alicia's victory party without saying goodbye. ("Handsome men are weak." Truer words were never spoken, Marissa Gold...)
But is Johnny Elfman really leaving The Good Wife? Did the writers finally realize their mistake and ship the campaign manager off to whatever parallel universe Kalinda's husband disappeared to? Or is this just a temporary roadblock in the "Jalicia" romance?
Fortunately, if CBS's press releases are to be believed, we really have seen the last of Johnny — at least for now. Even though Alicia's campaign for States' Attorney is at an end after her victory over Frank Prady last week, her "body woman" Marissa (Sarah Steele) is still listed in the press release for this Sunday's episode; and both Marissa and Alicia's ad man Josh Mariner (David Krumholtz) are credited for the following week's episode as well... And yet, Steven Pasquale's name is nowhere in sight.
After that, there's only four episodes left in the season. I suppose it's possible that the character could reappear before Season 6 wraps on May 10 — according to E! News, Johnny's fate "depends on scheduling" — but it's difficult to think where else this storyline could go. The character has already served his purpose: He helped Alicia realize that it was OK to move on after Will's death and explore her attraction to other men.
I don't think even Johnny Elfman's few fans would ever conceive that he and Alicia were "endgame." And he certainly doesn't need to get embroiled in the still-seething drama between Alicia and Peter Florrick. At this point, I think it's best for everyone — the character and the viewers — for Johnny to simply cut and run.
Images: Jeff Neumann/CBS (2)
