The Good Wife recap: the real Mr. Bitcoin?

Last night Lockhart/Gardner chose cash—and a large sum of it at that—over idealism when lawyer Dylan Stack waltzed into their offices. Mr. Stack, a digital information lawyer based in NYC, sought the firm’s help because he feared 18 months of jail time were on the horizon. Choosing to recognize attorney-client privilege, Stack (played by Jason Biggs) refused to reveal the name of one of his clients to the Treasury Department. And as such, the department was pressuring him to submit to questioning or spend the aforementioned 18 months in jail. Thanks to Alicia’s previous run-ins with the Treasury and Gordon Higgs (the returning Bob Balaban), Stack knew just the lawyer for the case.

Now on to this mysterious client who will henceforth be referred to as Mr. Bitcoin. Mr. Bitcoin invented a digital currency, bitcoin, which can be traded and spent online. One bitcoin is worth $3, and you can mine for it. Is it a currency or a commodity? No one knows! So like the title of the episode suggests, I’m in the market for Bitcoin for Dummies. According to the FBI, any individuals who create private coin on currency systems are in violation of the federal law. The Treasury Department was never really after Mr. Stack. They just wanted his information to take down the real Mr. Bitcoin.

The Treasury Department worried that bitcoin was being used in a digital black market by money launderers, drug dealers, and child pornographers—all of whom could get away with their wrongdoings due to the anonymity of bitcoin. Since the Treasury couldn’t find the real Mr. Bitcoin, they decided to up the pressure and arrest Mr. Stack for being Mr. Bitcoin. (Seriously, someone get me that book!) Instead of 18 months, Stack was now looking at 10 to 30 years behind bars. In another blow to their case, the judge ruled that bitcoin was, in fact, a currency and not a commodity like Alicia was arguing. Even Mad Money‘s Jim Cramer couldn’t help them! (Tell me you didn’t laugh at this: “And do you use various beeps and honking sounds on your program and sometimes clinch a knife between your teeth?”)

Lockhart/Gardner put Kalinda Sharma (St. Mary’s High) on the case, and off she went to find the real Mr. Bitcoin. Her entire investigation had me going back-and-forth on who Mr. Bitcoin really was. At first, I was convinced Mr. was really a Ms. when Kalinda found Elaine Middleton. Then, the blame was shifted to Bao Shuwei. And finally, it appeared that Mr. Stack, himself, was actually the culprit. This confusion ended up working in their favor. They firm realized they just had to prove Higgs was still looking for Mr. Bitcoin and never believed Stack was responsible. Thanks to some perfect Kalinda scheming, Alicia and Co. did just that. Mr. Stack was off the hook. In the real twist, Kalinda revealed after the trial was over that Mr. Bitcoin was not just one person, but three. Mr. Stack came up with the idea. Elaine created the manifesto. And Bao wrote the code. You can fool me, Mr. Bitcoin, but definitely not Kalinda.

NEXT: Elsbeth and Will take on Wendy Scott-Carr

Meanwhile, Will was still trying to avoid his own potential jail time. And if I didn’t make it clear last week, I will restate my love for Carrie Preston’s Elsbeth Tascioni. She set up a meeting with Will, Wendy Scott-Carr, Cary, and Dana. Wendy laid it on the line: If Will supplied her with truthful information about his knowledge of judicial criminal conduct, she’d close the investigation on him and there’d be no grand jury. Of course, Will didn’t know anything, and they managed to secure the names of the three judges who supposedly took part in this criminal conduct. (Winter, Dunaway, and Parks. Save those names for later. I’m sure they will become important as the season goes on.) The moral of the story? Wendy Scott-Carr got played. Elsbeth “Oh, look! There’s my earring!” Tascioni: 1, Wendy Scott-Carr: 0.

Not too thrilled with the way their meeting went, Wendy asked Dana to stop cultivating her relationship with Kalinda and start planting. Uh-oh. That can’t be good. And it wasn’t. Dana pressured Kalinda with a possible forged document. You know, the same document from last week’s Huntley divorce. If Kalinda didn’t give Dana what she wanted on Will, they’d go after Alicia instead.

In the process of looking for vulnerabilities in Will’s case, they found some stuff that would definitely make Mr. Gardner look bad. Specifically, the McDermott files contained some presumably damning information. At this point, we don’t know what that information is. Will told Kalinda to get rid of it, so she went straight to the enemy. Dana now has the McDermott files. I commend Kalinda for wanting to protect Alicia, but it’s unlike her to give up something so easily. So I have to wonder if she really turned over all the McDermott files or just some of them. Either way, she tipped off the enemy as to what case Will is most vulnerable on. But I’d like to think that she has a greater plan. She’s s smart lady.

Also of note, Zach was back in the picture with his girlfriend Nisa, whom I’d pretty much forgotten about. After they shared “I love you’s” Alicia, got worried that they were moving too quickly. Jackie was also back and shared a similar sentiment. That actually worked in Zach’s favor. Alicia never wants to be on the same page as her (ex?) mother-in-law, so she changed her tune and encouraged Zach and Nisa’s relationship.

And now just for fun, let’s relive this great exchange from Will and Diane:

Diane: Remember, you have the right to remain silent.

Will: Will you visit me in prison?

Diane: Every Friday.

What did you think of “Bitcoin for Dummies?” Did you think that possibly forged document from the Huntley case would return so quickly? Did Kalinda really turn over damning evidence to the enemy to protect Alicia? And what is going to happen with Will? He claims to be innocent, but things certainly aren’t looking to good for him. And do you, like me, wish you had some bitcoin for every episode of The Good Wife you enjoyed? Sound off the in the comments below.

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