‘The Good Wife’ Faked? Archie Panjabi Doesn’t Deny Reports That The Final Alicia-Kalinda Scene Was Faked

by Olivia Truffaut-WongMay 28, 2015, 5:44 pmNews, News Feed >

Archie Panjabi appears to have confirmed that the final Kalinda and Alicia scene in The Good Wife was faked.

‘Good Wife’ Faked? Archie Panjabi And Julianna Margulies Didn’t Film Their Last Scene Together

Panjabi starred in The Good Wife as the resourceful private investigator Kalinda Sharma for six seasons opposite Julianna Margulies, who plays lawyer Alicia Florrick. For many seasons, Kalinda and Alicia were thick as thieves, forming an on-screen friendship fans loved to watch. During this last season, fans realized that Panjabi and Margulies had not shared the screen for two seasons.

After Panjabi announced she would be leaving the show after the sixth season, fans demanded to have one final scene between Kalinda and Alicia, and, in May’s season finale “Wanna Partner?” they got their wish – almost.

Soon after the episode aired, fans noticed certain inconsistencies in the scene. The lighting appears strange in their two-shots (in which both characters appear), and, more often than not, the two don’t actually appear in the same frame at the same time. The actresses, fans surmised, must have filmed the scene separately. The news was confirmed, with reports saying that they used body doubles to shoot single shots and that the two-shot was, in fact, manipulated to make it appear as if the two women were together.

Panjabi, Margulies and the show’s creators have all kept quiet about the specifics regarding the scene in question, but Panjabi did recently comment on the story. At the premiere of Panjabi’s new film, San Andreas, the actress did not deny reports that she and Margulies shot the scene separately.

“All I can say is this: the decision making process is not something I’m privy to. I’m just grateful to the powers that be that they made the decision to cast me,” she told E! News.

Panjabi answered similarly when asked whether the scene was shot using body doubles, saying, “You know, I can’t answer that. It’s not fair for me to answer those decisions. As much as I want to. But those decisions are made by producers. I’m not privy to those decisions. All I do know is I’m very grateful to the Kings for making the decision to cast me.”

Panjabi’s revelation raises another question: why would the two actresses be kept apart? Panjabi’s comment that the decision to film the scene separately would have been “made by producers” has been interpreted as a subtle hint that Margulies did not want to be on set with Panjabi – Margulies is also a producer on the show, and, so, has more behind-the-scenes power. Though there have been no confirmed stories of a feud between the actresses, many fans and critics are unanimous in their belief that the actresses must have had extreme tension, or at least disliked each other enough that producers thought best to keep them apart, even in Panjabi’s final episode.

Article by Olivia Truffaut-Wong

Olivia Truffaut-Wong was born and raised in Berkeley, California, where she developed her love of all things entertainment. After moving to New York City to earn her degree in Film Studies, she stayed on the East Coast to follow her passion and become an entertainment writer. She lives on a diet of television, movies and food.