The WORST episodes of The Good Wife

Every episode of The Good Wife ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of The Good Wife!

The Good Wife is a drama starring Emmy Award winner Julianna Margulies as a wife and mother who must assume full responsibility for her family and re-enter the workforce after her husband's very public sex and political corruption scandal lands him in jail.

Last Updated: 12/2/2024Network: CBSStatus: Ended
Mind's Eye
star
6.88
1151 votes

#1 - Mind's Eye

Season 6 - Episode 14 - Aired 3/8/2015

Alicia prepares for a key interview which could impact the outcome of the race for State’s Attorney. Also, Louis Canning pressures Florrick/Agos/Lockhart to agree on a settlement in his wrongful eviction case against the firm.

Directors: Robert King
Watch Now:Apple TV
End
star
7.23
1585 votes

#2 - End

Season 7 - Episode 22 - Aired 5/8/2016

The series reaches its dramatic conclusion.

Directors: Robert King
Watch Now:Apple TV
Dark Money
star
7.24
996 votes

#3 - Dark Money

Season 6 - Episode 13 - Aired 3/1/2015

Colin Sweeney accuses a television producer of basing an unflattering character and show on his life, Diane and Cary must prove that they are capable of handling his case as Alicia focuses on the race for State’s Attorney. Also, Alicia competes against Frank Prady for a major campaign donation.

Directors: Keith Eisner
Writer: Keith Eisner
Watch Now:Apple TV
Loser Edit
star
7.33
1060 votes

#4 - Loser Edit

Season 6 - Episode 18 - Aired 4/5/2015

Still reeling from the cyber-hack at her law firm, Alicia is ambushed with questions about her leaked emails during a television interview. Meanwhile, Diane takes on a case that pits her sympathies towards gay marriage against the rights of religious freedom. Also, an investigator starts looking into the evidence Diane used to get Cary out of prison...

Directors: Brooke Kennedy
Watch Now:Apple TV
Stripped
star
7.34
2317 votes

#5 - Stripped

Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/29/2009

After the State's Attorney refuses to pursue criminal charges, Alicia becomes second chair on a civil suit involving the rape of a prostitute at a bachelor party who may have been hired and abused by her own husband.

Watch Now:Apple TV
Bad
star
7.35
1898 votes

#6 - Bad

Season 1 - Episode 13 - Aired 2/2/2010

Tensions are high as Peter's appeal begins while Alicia has to defend a wealthy client who doesn't seem that innocent, even after he's found not guilty of murdering his wife. Diane takes precautions when a prisoner she put in jail is to be released from prison.

Directors: Alex Zakrzewski
Writer: Ted Humphrey
Watch Now:Apple TV
The Debate
star
7.35
997 votes

#7 - The Debate

Season 6 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/11/2015

Alicia and Frank Prady square off in a crucial debate in the race for State’s Attorney. Peter and the city of Chicago prepare for a potential riot.

Directors: Jim McKay (II)
Watch Now:Apple TV
Crash
star
7.36
1991 votes

#8 - Crash

Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/20/2009

Alicia and Will have only 72 hours to find the smoking gun that proves the train company, and not the three engineers, is responsible for the crash, thus securing the widows their pensions the company is holding back. Jackie and Alicia clash over taking the children to visit their father in prison.

Directors: Gloria Muzio
Writer: Ted Humphrey
Watch Now:Apple TV
Home
star
7.36
2315 votes

#9 - Home

Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/6/2009

The son of Alicia's former friends is charged with felony murder, and Alicia decides to defend him, despite the fact that they ostracized her ever since the scandal.

Directors: Scott Ellis
Writer: Dee Johnson
Watch Now:Apple TV
Painkiller
star
7.37
1910 votes

#10 - Painkiller

Season 1 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/12/2010

Alicia and the kids have to deal with some really bad news and then she has to give Peter some information that will make him furious. Alicia has to represent the doctor who prescribed the medication to a high school quarterback that appear to die from the painkiller overdose.

Directors: Steve Shill
Watch Now:Apple TV
Bad Girls
star
7.39
2052 votes

#11 - Bad Girls

Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/16/2010

Alicia is on the road to successfully arguing that her teenaged pop star client is innocent of a DUI, until Cary drops a bombshell that could ruin the starlet's career and life. Peter's campaign hits a snag when the Democratic Committee tells him to drop out of the race.

Directors: Jim McKay (II)
Watch Now:Apple TV
Tracks
star
7.40
1229 votes

#12 - Tracks

Season 7 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/17/2016

Alicia and Cary join forces to defend a former client facing a multi-million dollar lawsuit over ownership rights to his new music. Also, Alicia’s neighbors are unhappy that her law firm is operating out of her apartment and threaten to evict her.

Watch Now:Apple TV
Fleas
star
7.41
1980 votes

#13 - Fleas

Season 1 - Episode 16 - Aired 3/9/2010

Peter strategizes on how to handle his retrial and the next steps in his public rehabilitation. Alicia and Will defend an attorney charged with murder.

Writer: Amanda Segel
Watch Now:Apple TV
Iowa
star
7.42
1270 votes

#14 - Iowa

Season 7 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/10/2016

Tensions run high as the entire Florrick family is crammed into Peter's campaign bus with Eli and Ruth on their way to the Iowa Caucuses. Once there, Peter attempts a high-risk political stunt to gain votes for his presidential bid.

Directors: Matt Shakman
Watch Now:Apple TV
Fixed
star
7.45
2153 votes

#15 - Fixed

Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/13/2009

Alicia stumbles onto something that indicates possible jury tampering on her firm's class action law suit against a pharmaceutical company. Peter's legal team continues their work for his upcoming appeal, and Alicia keeps butting heads with Peter's attorney.

Directors: Dan Minahan
Watch Now:Apple TV
Infamy
star
7.45
1856 votes

#16 - Infamy

Season 1 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/5/2010

Alicia learns more about Peter's fall from grace and removal from office when she represents Glenn Child's wife in her divorce appeal. Will, Emily, and opposing counsel, get cozy during a death suit against a caustic TV commentator.

Directors: Nelson McCormick
Watch Now:Apple TV
Wrongful Termination
star
7.46
2125 votes

#17 - Wrongful Termination

Season 2 - Episode 19 - Aired 4/5/2011

Louis returns to face off against Alicia once again when the firm represents families of workers who committed suicide due to miserable working conditions. Cary finds out shocking information about Kalinda.

Directors: Phil Abraham
Writer: Ted Humphrey
Watch Now:Apple TV
Mock
star
7.47
2226 votes

#18 - Mock

Season 1 - Episode 20 - Aired 5/4/2010

The police are quickly at the door when Peter's electronic monitor sounds after he chases Alicia out of the apartment. As a result, Grace and Zach scramble to figure out a way to keep him from being arrested.

Directors: Rod Holcomb
Watch Now:Apple TV
Don't Fail
star
7.48
1026 votes

#19 - Don't Fail

Season 6 - Episode 21 - Aired 5/3/2015

When a former client calls Alicia after being charged with murder tied to a case from 2009, Alicia reviews the old case, prompting memories of her early days as a lawyer.

Directors: Nelson McCormick
Watch Now:Apple TV
On Tap
star
7.48
2179 votes

#20 - On Tap

Season 2 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/23/2010

When the government accuses an alderman of taking a campaign bribe from a Muslim extremist group, the team reviews hours of wiretap evidence to mount its defense. Alicia is startled to discover that some of the tapes pertain to her.

Directors: Roxann Dawson
Writer: Leonard Dick
Watch Now:Apple TV
Lifeguard
star
7.48
1976 votes

#21 - Lifeguard

Season 1 - Episode 10 - Aired 12/15/2009

When a judge overturns a simple plea deal that Alicia arranged, she looks into his motivation. Diane is made an offer she can't refuse.

Directors: Paris Barclay
Writer: Tom Smuts
Watch Now:Apple TV
Bang
star
7.48
1914 votes

#22 - Bang

Season 1 - Episode 15 - Aired 3/2/2010

Peter gets accustomed to life at home and works on a comeback strategy with his political team, including Eli Gold. Alicia and Diane wrestle with spousal privilege laws in a murder case that hinges on their ability to get a wife to testify against her husband.

Directors: Rob Holcomb
Watch Now:Apple TV
Lies
star
7.49
1249 votes

#23 - Lies

Season 7 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/8/2015

Alicia and Lucca defend a former technology firm employee who was fired after failing a polygraph test. Eli wants to leak information that would damage Peter's campaign---but could also impact Alicia.

Watch Now:Apple TV
The Deep Web
star
7.49
1399 votes

#24 - The Deep Web

Season 5 - Episode 20 - Aired 5/4/2014

When Alicia has a chance encounter with a charming entrepreneur during jury duty, she begins to consider options outside her marriage and seeks the advice of her mother. Meanwhile, Diane's friends come to her for legal advice when their son is accused of selling drugs on the Internet.

Directors: Brooke Kennedy
Watch Now:Apple TV
Open Source
star
7.50
1047 votes

#25 - Open Source

Season 6 - Episode 15 - Aired 3/15/2015

When Frank Prady decides to go after Governor Florrick as a campaign tactic, Alicia is faced with the decision of whether or not to attack Peter’s record as well. Also, when Florrick/Agos/Lockhart take on the case of a man paralyzed by a malfunctioning gun created on a 3D printer, they call on Kurt McVeigh to testify as an expert witness, which leads to a rift between Diane and her husband.

Writer: Craig Turk
Watch Now:Apple TV