Suits: Heartburn (3x14)

Alright. So, from what I can tell from fan reactions to this episode, people had lots of feelings about Louis and Sheila, and all that. But in all honesty? Louis was a jerk in this episode. Not only to Rachel, but to Sheila as well, or so I thought. That's not to say that I don't feel for him at all… and I'm certainly glad that he's okay after his health scare. But I’m not feeling very inclined to say "aww poor baby" right now. Let’s take a look.

So, Louis has a massive heart attack during a closing argument in court. He’s going to be okay, but everyone is very worried about him. Louis, inspired by his near-death experience, decides to propose to Sheila. Once he's feeling better, he comes back to the office and asks Harvey to be his best man. However, all of this bliss is short lived, as Louis tells Sheila that he won't move to Boston for her, even though Harvard is her life. Louis explains to Sheila that his family is at Pearson Specter, and he can't leave his family. Sheila concedes, saying that she's willing to give up Harvard for Louis. However, they then discover a larger problem: Sheila doesn't want kids. She'll never want kids. This is a deal-breaker for Louis, it seems, and we leave the couple in heartbreak.

Meanwhile, Rachel has to start paying for law school. Although the timing is poor, she knows she needs to ask Jessica for money, as per the arrangement Rachel had previously made with Louis. However, Jessica knows nothing about it. Apparently, since the agreement was verbal, it won't hold up. Rachel goes to Louis and asks him about it, using hypothetical phrasing, and Louis says that Rachel's "friend" doesn't have a prayer of getting that contract to stick. Rachel is hurt, but she decides she needs to do something proactive. She goes to Jessica with a new contract (written this time) and says she wants an advance on the money she'll earn working for Pearson Specter, and that she'll work part time for the firm as an associate. Jessica says she won't break precedence again, since she's already breaking the Harvard rule. However, Rachel gleefully uses Harvey as Exhibit A… Jessica paid Harvey's way through law school! Jessica concedes.

Mike and Harvey have an interesting and rather gloomy plot thread. Basically, Mike is getting disgruntled about his inability to get any attention for his hard work, but it's more than just that – he's always afraid that he'll be caught, and that his entire life will be ruined. He wants to go legit. Harvey tells him the only way to do that would be to go to some town in the middle of nowhere and never play in the big leagues again. Mike knows he can't do that.

Mike helps a disgruntled employee of their client's to find a loophole in his non-compete, but on Harvey's insistence he then finds a way to stop this employee from leaving his job. It's a classic case of Mike's morals warring with his desire to do his job well. In the end, a solution is reached that pleases everyone, but then an interesting new development occurs: this man offers Mike a job. Not as a lawyer, but as an investment banker. Mike could ostensibly do this job, go legit, and still be working with a lot of the stuff that he loves. Thus far, he hasn't made up his mind.

So. Let's start with my complaints, shall we?

I'll get to all the good stuff about Louis in this episode, because it was there. Really. The only problem is, I'm really pissed at him about Rachel. Seriously. Was he really being that terrible to her when he made that deal? And if Rachel came clean now, would Louis feel bad? Would he offer to pay for Rachel's law school after all? I know Louis has only recently stopped being such a douche, but I still don't quite understand how we're supposed to let this go. It's awesome that Rachel got what she wanted anyway, but are we not going to address how horrible Louis was to her in the past?

And on that note, why wouldn't Rachel ask her family for help with the money? When she was all worried about paying the bills, I found myself confused. I thought her family was loaded! Maybe I'm forgetting some part where Rachel discussed how her father would never pay for anything? Or something? God, I don't know. Could someone help me out if I'm missing something?

And then there's Louis with Sheila. Now, I'm not going to say Louis was an out-and-out asshole to her, because he wasn't. And she's certainly not entirely blameless or anything, but here's the deal: I think the show wants us to root for them as a couple. And after this episode, how am I supposed to do that? Their conversations after the proposal showed a fundamental problem in communication. If Louis was serious enough about their relationship for a proposal, it seems awfully unlikely that they never discussed the future, including the possibility of children. And if they hadn't discussed their future, then it definitely seems like Louis' proposal was nothing more than a knee-jerk reaction to his near-death experience. And that's not fair to Sheila.

You know what's also not fair to Sheila? Louis' insistence that she'll learn to want kids, and learn to love them if theyrre hers. You know something? If Sheila says she doesn't want kids, then that's that. You can't coerce someone to want something that they just simply do not want. I was really irked at Louis for that.

But let's hold off on the abuse of Louis and of the episode. Because over-all, I really enjoyed this episode, and I thought it was interesting, and complex, and emotional. Let's talk about that.

First off, Rachel is awesome! I loved the way that she worked her way around Louis' treachery to get what she wanted. Her conversations with Jessica were fantastic. It's true that she's negotiating with people of more skill and experience than herself. She hasn't even gone to law school yet. And what I love about this show is that Rachel isn't as good as Jessica. Not yet, anyway. But still, when she really wanted something, she proved she was clever enough to get it. My favorite little bit here was the fact that Rachel used Harvey to make her case. Harvey just seemed bemused and a little bit impressed by Rachel's gall. Harvey and Rachel don't get a lot of screen-time together, but they are very clearly the two most important people in Mike's life, so I hope we can get a bit more of the two of them in the future. It was a lot of fun, here.

The acting. All around, fantastic. Donna crying at Louis' bedside. Harvey's frightened demeanor when Louis was hugging him. Louis and Sheila in tears as they tried to work out their relationship. Gosh, that sort of hurt. Like I said above, they obviously didn't communicate enough for a proper relationship, but at the same time, it was sad to see them suffering like that.

And as you knew I would, I'm going to talk about the Harvey and Mike stuff. Mike’s desire to "go legit," as he says, makes a lot of sense. A lot of heartbreaking sense. But Harvey's right. There's really no way for Mike to do it, is there? That'’s why I am so, so, looking forward to the moment when Mike tells Harvey about the job offer. Harvey will know intellectually that it will be better for Mike, and indeed better for the safety of the whole firm if Mike leaves, but at the same time he's not going to want to lose Mike. I'm sure it's going to be wonderfully bromance-y, in that repressed way that Harvey and Mike always are.

Some other little moments to praise: Rachel’s tearful insistence that Mike is never allowed to have a heart attack. That was just too sweet. Scottie was conspicuous once again only by her absence, but I still feel her presence in a way. I don't necessarily love her character, but I love what she means for Harvey's character growth, and I actually want her back so that we can learn more about her. And then there's Jessica and Harvey… Jessica tells Harvey about her conversation with Mike, and you can tell that Harvey takes it into account when he next speaks to Mike. When the douche-y client treats Mike like a lackey, and with no real respect, Harvey doesn't do much to step in. It's their client, after all. But he does check in with Mike afterwards. Mike is upset, and struggling to figure out what his future means. Harvey gets that, or at least he tries to.

All of this has made me think even harder about what the endgame is. How do you end a show like this? Well, first of all, I hope it doesn't end for many years to come. But is this situation really sustainable forever? And when things finally fall down around Mike, what does that mean for him? For Harvey? For the firm? For the show? This episode really did force me to ask myself these questions. I'm very excited to get some answers.

I'd like to make one more comment… even though I felt like the show wants me to feel differently about Louis and Sheila than I do, I don't necessarily think that the stuff about them in this episode is poorly written or even bad in any way. I hope, moving forward, that we can take a closer look at Louis' actions in regards to Rachel and Sheila. I hope he can realize that while he has changed for the better, he still needs to learn how to care for the people around him, and not put people down to get ahead.

There! This was a bit wordy, but Suits is surprisingly one of those shows that I'm always really excited to discuss in detail. It asks some big questions, and is full of detailed, rich, diverse characters. I can't wait for the next one.

8/10