'The Good Wife' Creators Explain Shocking Twist

If you're a fan of The Good Wife, you likely already know about the craziness that went down on last night's episode, but you might still be searching for answers. Showrunners/creators Michele and Robert King knew this would be the case so they posted a letter on Facebook explaining The Good Wife 's decision to kill off Will Gardner. The letter sounds like the way someone would describe a break up or a dog dying or any number of other real life tragic events. This is appropriate because a major character is gone forever, but might leave fans thinking, "This isn't a breakup/family pet death, it's a TV show!"

The Kings had a lot of reasons behind their decision. Let's take a look.

The "We'll Always Be a Family"

We, like you, mourn the loss of Will Gardner. And while Will is gone, our beloved Josh Charles is very much alive and remains an integral part of our family.

The "It was Bad Timing"

To us, there always was a tragedy at the center of Will and Alicia’s relationship: the tragedy of bad timing.

The "It's Not You, It's Me."

In this case, "you" is the fans and "me" is the producers, actors, etc.

When faced with the gut punch of Josh’s decision, made over a year ago, to move on to other creative endeavors, we had a major choice to make.

The "You know that time we said the dog went to a farm... well he was really dead."

We could “send him off to Seattle,” he could be disbarred, or get married, or go off to Borneo to do good works.

The "The Breakup Will Be Good for Both of Us"

We’re always looking for these turning points—some event midway through the season that will spin everybody’s lives in new directions. These turning points keep the show from slipping into a numbing sameness, and keep the characters fresh: because you see how they react to a completely new status quo.

The "Good Things Can Come from Bad Places"

There are seven wonderful episodes to follow this season and Josh will be directing one of them. We think you will enjoy them. It’s not all tears — there is comedy too. Michael J. Fox is back for four episodes. Dylan Baker. Dallas Roberts. Stockard Channing, as well as amazing new guest actors. And of course, Julianna does some of the best work of her life. Archie, Christine, Alan, Chris and Matt as well. Life does go on.

While the Kings' letter may read like a list of excuses, they are good excuses and the decision to kill off Will seems to make a lot of sense from the show's perspective. As for whether or not fans will understand this, that's another story.

Images: CBS