The second season of The Good Wife has greatly expanded the show from where it began. The two main tracks from last season, Alicia's job and Peter's release from prison, have expanded to encompass more characters and plots. Alicia's job is circled by the ongoing battle between Kalinda and Blake, Bond, the new partner, is a wrench into what Dianne imagined. Peter and Eli have greater roles, as the campaign is in full swing.
At the same time, the writers are not half-assing anything. They're determined to have everything, both a compelling case for Alica along with the people around her and constant twists for Peter's campaign. Nothing is shoved into a corner of an episode or explained with a full line. Both storylines are in the forefront.
"Cleaning House" is the best example of that, and is the most well-rounded episode of the season. While Alicia has a case forcing her to blame the victims in order to win, political winds are brewing once more. Childs is coming after Peter vis-a-vis Alica, so he uses Cary as an attack dog to force Alicia into a corner before Will declares he'll reveal something about Childs. A third candidate is also entering the race, the judge who spurned Dianne last season. But she's corrupt and Dianne manages to get her to back out. The next move--have Wendy Scott Carr, the attorney from last week's episode, enter the race. Cue Eli's reaction: "Who's Wendy Scott Carr!"
There was a bit more of the love triangle thing going at the gala and the competition between Kalinda and Blake increased about 10 steps in intensity, with Kalinda taking a baseball bat to Blake's car before tempting him sexually.
Score: 9.4/10
