The Good Wife: What Is Alicia Thinking?

The good wife is standing by her man once again.

Peter (Chris Noth) officially announced his run for governor of Illinois on Sunday's episode of The Good Wife, and he had a surprising weapon in his arsenal — Alicia (Julianna Margulies). The two have been estranged and keeping separate residences for the entire season, but when it mattered the most — at least politically — Alicia returned to his side. But why? The series started with a then-unknown Mrs. Florrick standing by her man -- that is before she slapped him -- and then she took his side one more time when he announced his bid to win back the State's Attorney office. The first time, she was naive and lost. The second time, she was still lost perhaps mixed with feelings of guilt over her growing feelings for Will (Josh Charles). But why now? Is this another step back towards her old life or is she simply finally learning how to play the game? We took a few guesses as to what is fueling the Florricks' united front.

The Good Wife: Who's back? Who's sick? And who wants to keep Peter from running?

1. To get back at Mike by helping Peter beat him. Oh my gosh, he lied! Can you believe it? Yes, Alicia came off a little bit green in her encounters with Matthew Perry's conniving lawyer, but Mike also seems to have a particularly harsh, and unexplained, vendetta against Alicia. Did he always intend to run for governor? Or did he simply wake up one day and decide to ruin her life because she upstaged him at the blue ribbon panel? Either way, we don't entirely blame Alicia for wanting to squish this poker-faced liar like a bug no matter what it takes. But would she also really agree to stand by Peter's side in front of the whole world after everything just to slight a man she hardly knows?

2. She really wants to beat Jackie. Alicia wants to make sure the other Mrs. Florrick (Mary Beith Peil) knows who really holds the power when it comes to Peter before Jackie puts a down payment on a summer house. As soon as Jackie got sick, Peter apologized for his behavior in defense of Alicia. But in standing alongside Peter at his press conference, she's reminding him and Jackie who the press and the public are really concerned about. Do the voters care if a candidate is a momma's boy? No. Do voters care if a philandering husband has been forgiven by his wife? Oh yeah.

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3. She (secretly) loves the power. Alicia would never dare to admit it, but we saw the smile sneak across her face the minute Eli mentioned that Peter might snag the DNC keynote. And she wasn't afraid to ask him to use his state's attorney title to boost the kids' chances at getting back into private school. Not to mention the times Peter's clout has come in handy for her career (see: when he got the state insurance commissioner to visit Patti Nyholm's office, when she used Eli to help her beat Cary in the firm bake-off). His political office will always complicate her rising legal career, but if it's going to be a little messy, why not just help Peter go all the way? Plus, Mrs. Governor has a ring to it, no?

4. She genuinely wants to try again with Peter. Alicia's recent trip down memory lane made her fall back in love with her old Highland Park McMansion, but did it also make her fall back in love with Peter? Sure, they had tough times in the house -- as The Good Wife so eloquently portrayed -- but the same episode featured many flashbacks to Peter and Alicia's happier moments, something which viewers had so rarely seen before. When Alicia broke up with Will, it was mainly because of her commitment to her kids. But it was also made abundantly clear that she did not feel for him what he felt for her. Is that because Will simply was the wrong guy or because she still feels Peter may be the right guy? That remains to be seen.

Watch a clip from Sunday's episode:

Why do you think Alicia stood by Peter again? What do you think of Sunday's episode? Sound off with your theories and comments below!