Week 3 & 4 were pretty light on the juicy lawyer-mom stereotypes, and are therefore fodder for just one post. Again, relying on our abbreviations*

Week 3:

Tank top under the suit! Episode 3 opens with a classic multi-tasking scene. Breakfast. Phone call. Kids off to school. And all in the working girl's favorite outfit. We've had plenty of discussion about this before on this site and the verdict is definitely in on the tank top- suit jacket combo. Nice to see wardrobe department agrees!

The truth about billable hours: the office gets a talking-to re: billable hours. "A first year's primary job is to clock billable hours." And guess what? Hot Shot's leading the class with 225 clocked in last month. Yea for young, single, gunners with no outside responsibilities! Adding insult to injury is the call from TGW's son (actually turns out to be the teenage son of her ex-bestie) pulling her away from Will and any chance of billing anything ("I'll make up the time.").

Failing to take credit (feminine modesty/crappy business development): Even when TGW miraculously gets a client for the firm she doesn't take the responsibility and opportunity for development inherent in leading the case. She's offered it and turns it down (because of personal discomfort).  In contrast, Hot Shot (who happily take over when she takes a pass) takes complete credit for negotiating a plea bargain and then wrapping up the case. This is where it starts people. 

Mixed-Gender Mentoring: Hot Shot shows up early and stays late looking for some support from Will. Instead he gets some nasty passive agressive feedback: "You know what's great about Alicia? She’s a natural. She doesn’t have to try so hard." The episode ends with Hot Shot finding encouragement not from Will but from Power Suit, reversing the audience's and Hot Shot's pre-existing assumptions about gender-based mentorship. 

So that's week 3. Week 4 didn't have much for this commentary with the exception of this gem from TGW's incarcerated husband:

"Are you having fun – that’s the most important thing." This struck me as a very male sentiment. TGW is struggling to succeed at her job while raising two teenagers. At no time does "fun" appear to be her primary motivation. Every once in a while TGW gets lucky and has some fun despite herself, but it's rare. 

*Abbreviations:

• The Good Wife = TGW
• Her Boss = Will
• Her Scary "Mentor" =  Power Suit
• Super Comptetitive Associate Played by the Former Logan Huntzberger = Hot Shot