What would life be like if Donald Trump wasn’t president of the United States?
It’s a question many have asked, wondering what would have happened if Hillary Clinton had been elected over Trump in 2016.
While there’s no way to know for sure, The Good Fight Season 4 Episode 1 tackles one of this century’s biggest “what ifs” in a thrilling and flawless season opener.
It’s rather poetic that the first season of the episode is Diane watching Hillary being inaugurated.
This, of course, mirrors the first scene of The Good Fight Season 1 Episode 1 when Diane watched in horror as Trump is inaugurated.
My guess is the Kings have been itching to revisit this moment, as the pilot’s original first scene — Diane gleefully watching Hillary be sworn in — was based on the supposition Hillary would win the election.
After the 2016 election, the husband and wife decided to rewrite the scene to reflect history accurately.
Therefore, viewers were treated to a disgusted Diane watching a man who represents everything she had spent her life fighting against being inaugurated.
However, in this alternate reality, the Kings get to explore how things would have played out how Hillary been elected.
At first glance, things seem great.
Liz: Are you all right Diane?
Diane: Liz, I have never been better. Don’t you know that cancer is cured?
Adrian: Yes, but the administration’s not telling us how or when.
Liz: Lucca is worried about you. Should we be?
Diane: Oh no, no, no. I just had this weird dream.
Liz: Lucca said Trump was president. How’d that go?
Diane: Oh my god, he kept calling Nazis very fine people, and he aided a senate campaign for a child molester, and he put children in cages.
Adrian: Why?
Diane: Immigration policy, and uh anti-Semitism and racism were on the rise.
Liz: And where were the Obamas during all of this?
Diane: They had an overall deal at Netflix.
Though many of Diane’s colleagues think she’s losing her mind, the name partner couldn’t care less as she’s basking in the glow of Hillary’s presidency.
And under Hillary’s leadership, more good news abounds.
The Supreme Court doesn’t count alleged rapist Brett Kavanaugh as one of its nine justices, cancer has been cured, and the rainforest has been saved.
Heck, even Trump TV isn’t doing great, as its hours have been cut.
Sure, there are some scandals surrounding Hillary, such as her emails and Benghazi, but in Diane’s world — also known as the real world — these controversies are old news.
It all seems too good to be true, and unfortunately, it is.
Just as Diane thinks life can’t get any better, things start to hit the fan, kicking off with the news that Harvey Weinstein is her newest client.
Yes, in a crazy twist, the former film producer is still running around Hollywood making movies as opposed to serving 23 years in prison after being found guilty of first-degree sexual assault and third-degree rape.
Diane: What?
Marissa: Your new client, it’s Harvey Weinstein.
Diane: The producer?
Marissa: Yes.
Diane: How is he our client?
Marissa: You argued David Boies wasn’t serving him well.
Diane: I argued? What about his issues?
Marissa: The anger issues?
Diane: No, the rape ones.
Marissa: I didn’t know there were rape issues.
It seems impossible that such a significant series of events over the past few years could never have happened simply because of who’s in the Oval Office, and yet, when you think about, it starts to make some sense.
When Trump was elected president, people weren’t just upset, they were outraged, taking to the streets en masse to protest his presidency.
Among those protesters were women — hundreds of thousands of women — who would not stand idly by and be silenced any longer.
And thus the modern feminist movement was reignited, spurring the creation of the Me Too movement after the New York Times published its horrifying expose on Harvey Weinstein’s long history of sexual misconduct.
Yet without Trump being elected, none of that might have happened.
While many have called Hillary corrupt, crooked, and a liar, few would describe their feelings toward the former First Lady as hate.
The same, though, cannot be said for Trump.
So with Hillary as president, women wouldn’t have been called to action to such a way.
As Marissa explained to Diane, women held parades when Hillary was elected and were happy, but didn’t experience the same level of emotion.
Therefore, they had no reason to rebel against the system, as things seemed to be going their way.
Diane: No one has accused Weinstein of rape yet?
Marissa: No.
Diane: Or of masturbating into plants?
Marissa: What, no, ew. Why was he masturbating into plants?
Diane: I… I don’t remember. A few of them were.
Marissa: What was going on in your world?
Diane: So no one has come forward yet, right, here in…
Marissa: Reality? No, not that I know of. Who else was masturbating into plants?
Diane: I don’t remember. There were so many men with issues.
It’s an interesting exploration on human action and reaction, as many of us only react when something bad has happened.
For the most part, humans are complacent when things are going our way, with old adages, like ‘don’t rock the boat’ and ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ reinforcing this behavior.
And why would we go searching for trouble when things are good?
We risk upending our entire lives, all in the name of something that may not even be there or can destroy us.
It’s just easier to go with the flow.
After all, there’s a reason why they say, ‘Ignorance is bliss.’
And that is the approach those at Reddick, Boseman, & Lockhart take, not feeling the need to look any further, even when a grenade is staring them in the face.
For them, it’s simple: They’re hurting for business and having Harvey Weinstein as a client helps them become whole again.
Adrian: Did you call Weinstein’s person a pimp?
Diane: Yes I did.
Liz: Why?
Diane: Because she’s a pimp.
Liz: A pimp, as in…
Diane: She procures sex for Weinstein.
Sure, there are a few sexual misconduct allegations against him, but they can just waive that off as women being petty.
He is a famous film producer after all, and these women are most likely desperate for attention or mad they’re no longer in the spotlight, right?
These characters have that mentality because in this alternate world, the Me Too movement hasn’t been popularized, meaning many male politicians and entertainers haven’t been held accountable for their actions.
Diane, though, has experienced a very different version of events, and she takes it upon herself to singlehandedly start, or rather restart, the Me Too movement.
But people aren’t interested in listening to what she has to say, because again, why would they go looking for trouble when the problems aren’t right in front of them?
And even worse, when there are some rumblings about impropriety, the characters in the alternate reality just ignore it.
Sure, Weinstein may be a little handsy, but he’s good on women’s causes, so does it matter if a few women have accused him of sexual harassment or sexual assault?
Reporter: What does Women United for Change mean in this day and age?
Diane: It means we have a long way to go.
Reporter: Really, a long way to what?
Diane: Telling our stories — the secretary forced to date her boss, a comedienne forced to watch a more powerful one masturbate. Those stories, we all have them.
Reporter: OK, I… uh….
Diane: Tarana Burke is an African American activist who works to improve the lives of young women at risk. She coined the phrase “Me Too” in 2006, and it is time to bring that back by sharing our stories online and attaching her hashtag, #MeToo. It shouldn’t matter that Donald Trump isn’t our president. These abuses are still going on.
The point is that he can do more for women as a supporter than a convicted sex offender, so let’s just frame him in the best light.
After all, it’s all about getting Hillary re-elected, Zoe Redgraves, Hillary’s press secretary tells Diane.
Afterward, they can sort all of this out.
The problem is there’s never going to be a good time to blow the whistle on someone as influential as Weinstein.
So in this alternate reality, it would most likely never happen.
It’s a horrifying thought, one that makes Diane reconsider if life would be better with Hillary as president.
It’s also at that point that Diane begins to wonder where her husband is and starts to realize things don’t exactly make sense.
How did she change her clothes for the gala if she never went home? Why does her door need fixing in the first place? And most importantly, where is Kurt?
Diane: Justice is an equation.
Lucca: What kind of equation.
Diane: Justice equals the law times the zeitgeist. The law on its own doesn’t stand up. You need to mood of the times on your side.
It’s also around this time — or at least it was for me — when that light goes on, and we remember The Good Fight Season 3 Episode 10 ended with a huge cliffhanger: Diane and Kurt happily in bed, having no idea a SWAT team is getting ready to enter their bedroom.
It’s an understandable oversight, especially since the third season’s finale aired almost 11 months ago, but once you remember that, it’s hard not to metaphorically yell at yourself for forgetting such an important detail.
However, once you put the last piece of the puzzle together, everything becomes more masterful.
It then becomes apparent that the season opener isn’t just a standalone installment born from the Kings’ desire to rewrite history.
Rather it’s a continuation of The Good Fight Season 3 Episode 10 compellingly and creatively.
Lesser showrunners who have simply shown the immediate aftermath of that cliffhanger, but the Kings found a way to do that while simultaneously providing a complex and impeccable hour of television.
It’s no easy feat, but the Kings make it look effortless.
Some stray thoughts:
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Is anyone else curious if Harvey Weinstein’s lawyers will be suing The Good Fight writers or the Kings for defamation and slander? I’ve often wondered how the show has not yet been sued by the Trump administration, as I can hardly believe some of the things CBS allows the show to air.
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Even though this episode featured series issues, I still found myself in stitches whenever Diane tried to explain the real world to these characters in the alternate reality. My favorite lines have to be able the Obamas having an overall deal at Netflix and about the masturbation into plants.
So what did you think The Good Fight Fanatics?
Were you as enthralled as me by the season premiere?
What would a Hillary presidency look like in this universe in your opinion?
What was your favorite moment?
Hit the comments below to let me know what you thought. If missed the season premiere, remember you can watch The Good Fight online at TV Fanatic.
Jessica Lerner is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.