In the first half of season three, Suits was all about power. Harvey’s quest to usurp Jessica’s throne took the show down a deep rabbit hole of deception and double crosses that threatened to take the entire show down with it. Somewhere along the way, though, the show course corrected, turning Harvey and Jessica into allies again and ultimately giving Harvey exactly what he’s always wanted: His name on the masthead and a place as Jessica’s equal partner. Now, in these final six episodes of the season, it looks like the new question is going to be what Harvey will do now that he has everything he’s ever wanted? How does Harvey Specter live a happy, settled life?
A big part of this exploration is obviously going to come by finally exploring what Harvey is like in a committed relationship. Scottie is back and she and Harvey appear to be in a place where they are ready to finally turn their relationship from a “sometimes” thing to an “all the time” thing. Harvey sealed the deal in the last episode before the break, offering Scottie a job at Pearson Specter, but she now learns he offered it before talking to Jessica. To the show’s credit, this committed Harvey is still ready at a moment’s notice to play fast and loose with things to get what he wants, except now that he’s dealing with a romantic partner things don’t work out as smoothly as they have for him in the past.
The dealings of Scottie’s integration into Pearson Specter are somewhat cleverly integrated into the plot much like a case of the week, except instead of winning a case for a client’s the stakes are personal. They’re probably the most personal for Jessica, who only sees death and destruction for the firm if Scottie comes on and then she and Harvey break up. It goes through several (generally inconsequential, plot-wise) layers of deception on Harvey’s part until Scottie gets fed up over Harvey scheming behind her back in order to manipulate her into taking a job at the firm. The mechanics of the story aren’t necessarily fascinating, but the emotional place they take Harvey and Scottie at the end—a place of honesty—is certainly a new, more vulnerable place for Harvey to be. Whether or not his pairing with Scottie draws sparks depends on your take on the actors’ chemistry together, but having Scottie involved to give Harvey some desperately needed shading seems like a win for the show.
Mike is also dancing in an emotional minefield in this episode, dealing with lingering feelings over his parents’ deaths. When Pearson Specter defends a client against someone represented by the lawyer who negotiated the settlement for his parents (who we met in a previous episode), Mike goes on a vendetta to get the case dismissed. His actions lay bare a deep-seated hole somewhere in his soul, a hole Mike was attempting to fill by going to law school and learning how to help people so they didn’t end up in the same situation that his grandmother did when she took the lousy settlement. In the end, though, what Mike ends up learning is that things are more than black and white, lawyers are more than simply “good and bad,” and Mike has to decide exactly what kind of lawyer he wants to become.
Mike was fairly maddening to watch throughout the case, bordering on hypocritical as he worked his hardest to prevent a family from receiving a settlement for losing a loved one, just like his grandmother lost the settlement she deserved. It’s only when his world is shattered by learning the real facts behind the settlement—that his father had a few drinks on the night of the accident, and that’s why his grandmother accepted a measly deal—that he becomes recognizable again. Mike’s demons are perhaps the most explored demons of anyone on the show, but revisiting his past one more time works fairly well here, even if it isn’t groundbreaking territory. What will be interesting is seeing exactly how this informs Mike’s handling of cases and clients from now on.
And then there’s the elephant in the room. The last episode of the first half of season three ended with Louis searching for Mike’s file in Sheila’s filing cabinets and not finding anything, so this is obviously going to be a big thread for the end of the season. Although the premise is one of the least interesting things about the show, it’s been a long enough time since something major has happened in regards to Mike’s big secret so it almost feels like it’s time to be addressed again. Perhaps the smartest decision was to have Louis spearhead the inquiry, as every moment with Rick Hoffman is basically delightful. His cat-and-mouse game with Donna was especially fun. (The less said about his scenes with Rachael Harris, the better.) Less fun was how Louis figured out there was still something shady going on. I went to a lowly state school, but do professors at Harvard really give out an A+ for any class? Why would anyone put an A+ on a fake transcript, as that is just asking for trouble? I’m not even allowed to give out an A+ on this site! It’s all just a bit too silly.
Still, the final shot of Louis in the episode as he is considering exactly what he is seeing has promise. If it means getting more Louis time, well, then I’m all for this story, despite its myriad of issues.
Stray observations:
- Michael Phelps! I guess that’s still a thing.
- There wasn’t nearly enough Harvey and Mike interaction in this episode. Their exchanges are some of the best parts of the show and that repartee was missing here.
- Mike and Rachel are finally moving into that gorgeous apartment he bought for his grandmother. It hurt me to think of that place sitting empty.