Suits: Borrowed Time (6x08)

Very solid episode, with some real forward motion. I'm very happy about most things, but there were a few things I was not so happy about as well.

Cons:

Louis and Tara's subplot might have been okay, but I still don't buy the idea that Tara would even go for Louis in the first place, so it's hard to get invested. Basically, the two of them go out again, despite Louis not being comfortable that Tara has another man in her life. Louis then immediately tells Tara that he doesn't want to share her, and Tara tells Louis to take her home. The next day, Tara says that her boyfriend is coming into town, and she hasn't made up her mind if she wants to break up with him or not. My problems with this are as follows: 1) I don't believe Tara would be interested in Louis. 2) This had the potential to be interesting if we had already seen Tara and Louis' relationship blossom into something more serious. Then, when Tara finds out her boyfriend is going to be in town, it could be a real dilemma about what she's going to do. As it was presented, it just made Tara seem like a bad person for leading them both on. 3) An alternate route would have been interesting as well - what if Louis actually tried to adapt to being in a poly-amorous relationship? There could have been some real exploration of this slightly unconventional dating scenario, and potential for some real growth out of Louis' character, but that was cut off at the pass, as Louis can't even start their second date without declaring that he won't share Tara with anyone. What a waste.

Then there's the other romance of the evening... Jessica Pearson and Jeff Malone. Ugh. Anybody who has read my reviews knows of my distaste for Jeff, but let's set that aside and just focus on what this episode gave us. Basically, Jessica and Jeff run into each other, and they go out to dinner. Jeff says he wants to take things slow, and Jessica then finds out that he's in the process of interviewing for a job in Chicago. Jessica has to remain dedicated to her firm, and Jeff has to go back to Chicago. It looks like there won't be any second chance for these two. (Unless Jessica decides to give up PSL and move to Chicago, which, given Gina Torres is leaving the show after this season, isn't impossible). See, my issue is this: if I were a casual viewer with a short attention span, I might have forgotten entirely about Jeff. And this brief little moment isn't enough for me to remember what they had, and why Jessica would be looking at him so longingly. I'll talk in the "pros" section about Jessica's characterization, because I do like where the show is taking her this season. But I just don't think Jeff is a good enough catalyst for a deeper exploration of Jessica's character.

Although I was generally happy with the main plot this week, and I'm happy about Mike getting out of prison, I still get this uncomfortable feeling that the prison story-line has been completely wasted in terms of Mike's characterization. When Mike finds out that his deal has fallen through, he acts very ungrateful and demanding towards Harvey. Mike has no way of knowing that Harvey has been close to tears multiple times during the past few weeks, doing everything in his power to save Mike, but even so... shouldn't Mike be a little more grateful for all Harvey is attempting to do? Also, Mike and Kevin's friendship has been a high point of the season for me, but it doesn't change the fact that Mike hasn't really grown or learned much through his experiences in prison. I keep waiting for things to click together, but they just haven't.

Pros:

In subplot news, Jessica and Rachel manage to delay Leonard Bailey's execution date by an additional thirty days by getting Bailey's aunt, the woman who raised him, to sign a form saying she's sick and unable to travel to be with him when he dies. However, it turns out that Leonard's aunt doesn't believe in his innocence, and while she did sign the paper she still wants nothing to do with him. Leonard is upset that Jessica didn't even bother to go with Rachel to meet with his aunt. He accuses her of being unfeeling towards him. The clock continues to tick, and Rachel thinks she might have come up with a way to save Leonard.

I like exploring Jessica's character in this way. She is doing what she can for Leonard Bailey, but it's true enough that she doesn't seem to have a personal connection to his case, the way that Rachel does. That doesn't mean she's not doing everything she can, but it does mean that Jessica is forced to confront within herself the constant accusations from others that she's cold and unfeeling. It is this that sends her seeking comfort in Jeff's company. I hate Jeff, but I love Jessica, and I like that she allows herself to be vulnerable sometimes. There was a really sweet moment where Rachel goes to Jessica and offers her support after Leonard Bailey chews her out. She's returning the favor, since Jessica was there for Rachel after Rachel got yelled at by the victim's father. Any excuse to further develop the relationship between Jessica and Rachel is alright with me!

The main plot is what has me really excited this week, even though I am a bit annoyed about Mike. I'll keep it short: now that Mike's deal is off the table, Jessica encourages Harvey to try and win his case for Sutter. Instead, Harvey deals Cahill a blow by discrediting his key witness, and then says that Mike can help them get Jill, Sutter's daughter, to cut a deal, but that Mike's deal has to be back on the table as well. Mike tells Kevin that he has been informing on him, which of course makes Kevin furious. He beats up on Mike and gets sent to solitary. Mike goes to Frank Gallow, promising that Harvey has finally taken steps to get him out on parole. But first, Gallow has to pull some strings and get Kevin out of solitary. Gallow does that, and Mike and Kevin reconcile, knowing that they are on the same side: if they can put Sutter away and save Jill, that will consequently fulfill Mike's side of the deal and he'll get out, too. Harvey goes to Sutter and tries to convince him to take a deal to save his daughter, but Sutter says no. This conversation was recorded by Harvey and played so that Jill can hear: she now knows that her father isn't willing to sacrifice himself for her, and so she is no longer willing to take a bullet for him. She takes a deal, and Cahill puts Mike's deal back on the table. It looks like Sutter is going down, and Mike is getting out!

There's a lot of delicious stuff to unpack here.

First of all, Donna. Although she did have a brief annoying moment of continuing to be Louis' relationship coach, she also got to be helpful in a real way. Mike calls her and asks her to help convince Jill to turn on her father. Donna shows up and tells Jill that she too had a father who was a criminal, and she too was almost roped in to participating in illegal activities. Donna is the one to convince Jill to go see Kevin in prison and keep an open mind about turning on Sutter. I was really happy that she was finally able to play a vital role. It's also nice to bring up one of the few moments that Donna's personal life got to have a focus. More of that in the future, please!

Mike and Kevin's relationship is awesome. Mike comes clean, and Kevin is furious, obviously, but you can see that Mike really does care about Kevin. When Kevin is being dragged off to solitary, Mike is scared and angry, trying to turn the blame on himself and spare Kevin. This was a pretty powerful moment, especially since Mike's face is bloodied from Kevin's fists. The fact that Kevin and Mike are able to emerge from this episode actually on good footing with each other is kind of a miracle. It's a sign of their shared affection for one another - Mike is getting out of prison and Kevin is not, but Mike was instrumental in saving Jill from imprisonment as well. I'm sad for Kevin, but happy for Mike. Kevin's reactions have felt so realistic and reasonable through this whole series of events. He's been angry and resilient to Mike's offers of help, but that made sense. Now that all the cards are on the table, he's willing to set aside hurt feelings and understand where Mike was coming from.

Harvey and Cahill's relationship hits a bump, which was upsetting for me to watch. Their odd friendship has been another surprising highlight of the season so far. I loved the moment when Cahill realized that Harvey wasn't actually trying to win the case for Sutter, despite all appearances: he was still focused on only one thing - getting Mike's deal back. It was a lovely moment, and it lead to one of my favorite scenes in the episode. Cahill comes to the prison to meet with Mike, and Mike presents him with a signed promise from Jill Miller that she will turn on her father. I love the fact that Cahill and Mike actually have a history. They've both crossed lines, they are both loyal to their people, and they're both just trying to do their best. Cahill really didn't want to back out on Mike's deal, and he seems happy, all things considered, to have a chance to help Mike out in exchange for putting Sutter away. I thought that was nice.

Gallow is still in the mix, although I've got to say that he's less and less threatening every episode. Still, I'm glad that the threat from Gallow hasn't been totally neutralized. If Mike and Harvey can't get him out of prison soon, Gallow is going to be out for Mike once again. There's this sense that he could snap at any minute. So, while he's not threatening at the moment, he could become threatening again very soon. I'm looking forward to that moment. I do love that he helps Kevin get out of solitary, although I'm not quite sure how he's managed to obtain so much power.

There wasn't a lot of Mike and Harvey material this week, but I do have one or two things to say. I loved the moment when Mike came clean to Kevin about everything. Kevin doesn't understand why Mike would trust Harvey to help Kevin out. He says "he doesn't give a shit about me," and Mike replies: "Maybe not, but he does give a shit about me." I liked this moment because Mike's ungrateful attitude and general ungracious behavior towards Harvey has been getting on my nerves, but this proves to me that Mike at least understands that Harvey's motivations are totally personal, and totally focused on saving Mike and nothing else. I think Mike is going to be sufficiently grateful to Harvey once he relaxes a bit and actually gets out of prison. I also love Harvey's continuing dedication and single-mindedness. Jessica makes a good point when she says that Harvey might as well win the case if Mike isn't getting out, but Harvey doesn't even consider it. He just turns to trying to find a way to get Mike's deal back at any cost.

Oh, and on the bad-ass alert: the coolest moment of this entire episode was when Sutter realized that Harvey played him. Harvey didn't break any rules by playing the recording of Sutter to Kevin, since Kevin is also Harvey's client. Harvey basically just shrugs his shoulders and says that Jill just happened to be there to hear it. I mean, hey, Sutter was the one who had Harvey representing Kevin, right? It clicks for Sutter in that moment: Harvey was the one who suggested he represent Kevin in the first place! I love it.

Mike and Rachel get to close out the hour with a quick phone call. Mike tells Rachel he's coming home, and the two profess their love. I've been really enjoying Rachel's independence this season, and I hope that even when/if Mike comes back, she can continue to have her own plots that aren't subsumed by Mike. Still, I'm happy for the both of them, and I think their reunion will be nice to see.

That's all I've got here. I wish I could be as locked in to the Louis/Tara thing as I am to the main plot, but it's never going to happen. The presence of that subplot, mixed with Jeff Malone's TOTALLY UNWANTED reappearance makes it hard for me to rate this episode with top marks. But since the main plot was probably the strongest it's been all season, this is a tough one to grade.

8/10