Oh boy. I did not see that coming. This is intense. I'm dying to find out what's next! The really cool thing about this episode is that there were four different story lines going on, and somehow things didn't feel crowded at all. I'm going to start with my few complaints, and then get straight in to looking at each plot thread.
Cons:
No Rachel/Mike. Obviously, you all know I'm here for the Harvey and Mike material. But I'm a little twitchy about the fact that Harvey has gone to see Mike several times already, and Rachel hasn't even gotten a phone call. I hope that changes next week. I want to keep rooting for Mike and Rachel as a couple, but when their relationship is barely even given lip service, that becomes a little difficult.
Louis' plot thread was pretty good in a lot of ways, but it bothered me a little bit that it involved him screwing up again. I wish we could see some plot threads where Louis actually pulls out a win, without first ridiculing him. It's a small thing, but I'm wary of the continuing "Louis is a screw-up" pattern becoming a problem again.
Pros:
Rachel's plot was really amazing, despite my slight annoyance that she hasn't given her fiance a call in prison. She is in a debate class at law school, and gets into it with another student when her debating opponent, Naomi, throws Mike in Rachel's face right in front of everyone. Rachel's professor offers her an Innocence Project case (getting an innocent man off of death row), which will require her to drop the debate class, but Rachel is afraid that if she takes it, she'll look weak in front of her classmates. Some helpful advice from Jessica leads Rachel to discover some personal dirt on Naomi, and Naomi forfeits the debate to protect her secret. Rachel then drops the class to work on the Innocence Project with her professor, having maintained the higher ground.
I'm really happy to finally see Rachel at school. I think that was a big missing chunk in previous seasons, and it rounds out her character and makes me understand how good she really is. Among the senior partners at PSL, Rachel is always going to be a small fish in a big pond, but in school, she's fierce, and I totally get why her professor singled her out for special consideration. Also, the scene between Rachel and Jessica gives me life. Jessica points out that she goes through these types of power struggles every day. She knows how to handle people. Rachel is a softer, younger version of Jessica. I think she'll manage to do what Jessica hasn't done yet - balance a successful career with a happy personal life. That is, once Mike gets out of prison.
Louis' plot thread centered around the new tenants leasing part of PSL's space. Louis scares away multiple potential leasers because he doesn't want to give up the bull pen, but Donna helps to convince him he needs to lease to somebody who doesn't need that space. Louis leases the space to some stock market traders, but they end up being douches, particularly their boss, who eats Louis' bran bars and throws away his precious prune juice. Louis doesn't seem inclined to give him a second chance, even after the guy apologizes, and he presents him with an eviction notice. Later, Harvey asks the guy for help, offering to get Louis off his back and offer him use of the bull pen in exchange.
I mentioned that I wasn't too fond of certain aspects of this plot thread, because it can be a little exhausting to see Louis screw up over and over again. But I actually liked the comic relief that this plot thread offered. Stu, the guy that goes head-to-head with Louis, was hilarious. The ultimate douche, but still clearly an intelligent guy. I think the biggest "oh snap" moment with him was that earlier, Louis boasted to Stu that he never should have gone up against a Harvard educated lawyer. Stu, much later, reveals that he's actually a Yale-educated lawyer. Ooooops.
I also liked Donna's role in this episode. Instead of swooping in to save Louis, she was rightfully pissed off to find out that he'd gone ahead and found somebody to lease the space without consulting her. Donna wants it made clear to everybody that she is just as much a part of this firm as the rest of them. When you're down to a handful of people, everybody is essential. Donna got to spend the rest of the episode laughing at Louis for screwing things up for himself. Hey, as long as the new renters follow the rules, Louis will have to deal with them!
Harvey's plot thread this week involved bringing in new clients for PSL. Jessica has a prospect, but Harvey rejects him as being too corrupt and slimy. Jessica challenges him to find another big client, and Harvey goes to Nathan, a guy who might not be as corrupt as the first guy, but who is certainly just as big of an asshole. Harvey has to help Nathan out to prove his worth as a lawyer, which Harvey does. However, he misses their dinner because he had to deal with Mike (I'll get there in a second) and almost blows the whole thing. With some help from Louis' new trader enemy Stu, Harvey buys a piece of Nathan's company and strong-arms him into accepting him as his attorney. Now that everything is out in the open, they can move forward on solid footing.
While this is going on, Harvey is continually pestering Sean Cahill to get Frank away from Mike. Turns out, Cahill can't do it because Frank is a government informant. Harvey rushes off to tell Mike, thus missing his dinner with Nathan, and Mike despairs: if Frank is an informant, there's no way he's going to be transferred out. Mike has been dealing with Frank's escalating behavior. Frank beats up on Kevin to get to Mike, and Julius, the counselor, doesn't appear to have any power to help, unless Mike makes a formal complaint. Mike refuses to do that, because he knows that would just make things worse. Turns out, Harvey has one more trick up his sleeve for Mike to try: Mike tells Frank that he's eligible for parole in six weeks, because his attorney missed something when he was being put away. Unless Frank values revenge on Harvey more than his own freedom, Frank's best bet will be to lay low and get out of prison sooner rather than later.
Okay. So what I loved about Harvey in this episode is that we see how much he's being pulled in two directions. Last week, we mostly just got Harvey worrying about Mike, and then he stepped in at the end to join the firm's plot thread. This week, he's got too many balls up in the air. All the while he's trying to find a new client, he can't stop thinking and worrying about Mike, and when he finds out that Frank is an informant, he risks losing the only lead for a new client he has by rushing to Mike to tell him what's going on. No matter how important Harvey's dedication to the firm, his worry for Mike is more powerful.
I also liked the somewhat hypocritical yet totally Harvey Specter stance that he takes, wherein he refuses to get into business with somebody who he suspects of being shady. Uh... Harvey? Look who's talking? But at the same time, even the most critical viewer of this show will admit that Harvey's own unethical behavior was usually motivated by purer considerations than money and power. Sure, Harvey likes his prestige and his wealth, but when he crossed lines to protect Mike, he was doing just that: protecting Mike. Harvey respects loyalty, and he doesn't respect people who cross boundaries merely for the sake of personal advancement. Nathan was a fun character, too. Dickish enough to go toe-to-toe with Harvey Specter and come out on top. At least, at first.
Over on Mike's side of things, I appreciate the fact that we're not wasting any time in turning the heat up. I wasn't expecting Frank to take a swing at Kevin the way he did... Mike ends up finding him seriously injured in the bathroom. Kevin and Mike can't go to the hospital, because that will require a formal complaint. Kevin warns Mike that his last roommate tried to complain about some bullies, and he ended up in a coma for his trouble. While Frank continues to be more and more brutal, you've also got the developing relationships between Mike and Kevin, and Mike and Julius. Mike values loyalty just as much as Harvey does, and the friendship between Kevin and Mike is really nice and very believable. I also like the fact that there's still a twinge of uncertainty. After all, at this point we really have no idea what Kevin is in for, and if we can really trust him. My money is on yes, but still. And Julius' relationship with Mike is progressing just as I expected - I don't think the two of them are ever going to be best friends, but Julius respects Mike's panic about Frank, and manages to land Kevin a job working in the kitchens along with Mike. That way, the two of them can stick together, and neither will be left alone long enough for Frank and his followers to attack again. Julius' hands are tied because Frank is an informant, but that doesn't mean he's not on Mike's side.
And... yeah. Let's finish up by talking about this informant business, shall we? Mike uses the fact that Frank is an informant to try and threaten him. He lets Frank know, quietly, that he knows Frank is a snitch... and that perhaps his best bet will be to take this new information about his upcoming parole, and just coast on out of prison in a timely fashion. It was one of the more bad-ass Mike Ross moments, to see him walking right up to a guy who had just tried to shank him a few days before, and basically threaten to get him killed by the other prisoners. And then the twist comes - Sean Cahill has some exiting news for Harvey and Jessica. Mike might be able to get out early if only he turns into an informant himself. Who is he supposed to inform on? Kevin.
This episode did such a good job of equating government informant with Frank Gallow, a guy who we all definitely hate. Also, the friendship between Mike and Kevin has grown in a very natural and believable way. They were even quoting movies together by the end. I know Mike Ross. He won't turn on Kevin, at least not lightly. I'm curious to see if we're going to find out what exactly Kevin did, and who exactly he has information on. It could really alter Mike's decision. At the end of the day, unless Kevin did something truly atrocious, Mike is never going to want to turn on him. In choosing not to stab Kevin in the back, he will be depriving Rachel of years of their lives together. But if he does inform, he will be hurting Kevin, and he will also be aligning himself with the actions of one Frank Gallow.
I also know Harvey Specter. And as much as he values loyalty, and will understand where Mike is coming from... he's going to do everything in his power to make sure that Mike takes the deal. This should be interesting.
8/10
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