wrong, or that it wasn't even truly that great to begin with. An episode like 'End' solidified a lot of those arguments." The New York Times opined that season seven "never sparkled or caught fire the way the series did in its best seasons, when it was broadcast television's leading argument for continued relevance in the peak-TV era. The weekly legal cases — the show was resolutely procedural almost to the end — were still intelligently devised and briskly dispatched, but they felt familiar and not very urgent, and more than ever seemed to be lecturing viewers about current events", which was further "pummeled by cast defections and bad decisions". The finale episode of The Good Wife, "End", generated a divided reaction among viewers and critics, with many praising it as a fitting ending to a complex character with others who argued of its ambiguity and absence of a conclusion – particularly with Alicia's love life. The finale drew controversy in its last scene when Diane Lockhart slaps Alicia Florrick for having betrayed her in court to save Peter from jail. Alicia is then left alone in a hallway before walking away to a future of uncertainty regarding her relationship with Jason, her career, and political life. Vanity Fair noting "As Breaking Bad famously tracked the evolution of Walter White 'from Mr. Chips to Scarface,' The Good Wife followed Alicia as she evolved into Peter. The Kings claim the show was 'moving in the direction where there wasn't much difference between who Alicia was and who her husband was.' Is Alicia a villain or an anti-hero? It's hard to quite see her that way after all the good she's done for so many seasons. But the inclusion of Will Gardner in the finale momentarily humanizes Alicia while also highlighting the idea that Alicia's transformation into Peter has been a longtime coming," and claiming that "the show's incredible finale belongs to an earlier age of television." Emily Nussbaum of The New Yorker said "it was an ending that commanded respect". The ensemble cast of The Good Wife had been praised as "one of the best casts in television, and it was supplemented with an awe-inspiring array of guest stars — one way for the Kings to flaunt the advantages of a network budget. Half the cast of The Wire passed through its halls, as did more Broadway stars than there are