Suits: Know When to Fold 'Em (3x15)

Thank you Lord. Thank you for the bromantic wonderfulness that I just witnessed. I'm... so happy. So very, very, happy. Gah. I'll try and get an objective rendering of the plot written down before I start squealing over how awesome it all is.

Starting with the subplot. Louis is heartbroken over his breakup with Sheila, and refuses to come in to work. He tells Katrina to cover for him. This becomes a problem when Jessica needs Louis' help. Charles Van Dyke, previous partner at the firm, shows up, making an out of the blue request to see the books. Jessica needs to find a way to stop Van Dyke from doing that. Katrina goes to Rachel for help, and the two of them come up with a plan to give to Jessica, passing off their work as Louis'. Jessica brings this solution to Van Dyke, but it doesn't work, because Van Dyke finds an obscure part of the bylaws that makes Jessica's solution unusable. Jessica goes to Katrina, furious, and figures out that it was her, not Louis, who came up with this answer. She fires Katrina.

Rachel goes to Jessica and tells her the truth: she and Katrina were both trying to cover for Louis. Rachel tells Jessica that she doesn't think she or Katrina should be fired just for being loyal. Jessica goes to Louis and says that while she understands he's going through a hard time, he really needs to help save the firm right now. Louis comes up with a solution, but it's going to be tricky to pull off in the time they have left. At court the next morning, Jessica has to stall for time with Van Dyke, while waiting for Louis to turn up. Jessica tells Van Dyke that she knows he only hired her because of diversity. She was disgusted about being nothing more than an "asterisk" in Van Dyke's mind, because she was a black woman. Because of that, she worked extra hard to prove him wrong, meaning that she oddly has him to thank for her success. Louis shows up with the solution, and Van Dyke is dealt with.

Now for the other plot thread. Harvey apologizes to Scottie, and things seem better between them. Mike tells Rachel about the job offer, and Rachel encourages him to talk to Harvey about it. Before he can get the chance, however, Harvey and Mike have work to do. A man named James Quelling shows up and tries to sue one of their clients. The claim is apparently "bullshit," but unfortunately Quelling knows what he's doing - whether or not he can make the case stick, he brought it up at a time that will be bad for their client's stock prices. Harvey realizes that Quelling is a gambling man, and decides to go play a game of cards with him. He tells Mike to come with him, but Mike tells Harvey that he has to meet Jonathan, the man who offered him the job.

Harvey, upon learning that Mike is considering leaving, immediately acts completely detached, and like it doesn't affect him at all. He tells Mike that taking the job would probably be a smart move. However, he's in such a bad mood because of this news that he snaps at Scottie. Donna tells Harvey to talk to Scottie about his feelings, and so he does. He tells Scottie that Mike is considering leaving, and he doesn't want him to. Scottie suggests that Harvey tell Mike that. Mike talks with Rachel about the job offer, and then tells Donna that he plans on taking the job. Donna is upset, and tells Mike that Harvey needs him.

Things get even more complicated when Quelling proves to be a more formidable opponent than they first thought. He looks in to Mike and Harvey's previously questionable actions, and threatens to report them to the bar. Even though Harvey knows they didn't do anything technically wrong, he also knows that if anyone brings up the name Mike Ross to the bar, they're screwed. He tells Mike to get back in contact with the hacker who faked Mike's Harvard records, Lola, in order to get his name in the bar. Mike tells Harvey that it won't matter, because he's accepting the job offer. Harvey doesn't know how to deal with this.

Mike figures out a way to stop Quelling, by showing how Quelling is breaking the law and getting funding from illegal places. He brings the proof by to Harvey's place, and Harvey tells Mike that he should go get Quelling himself, as his goodbye present. Mike leaves, sadly, while Harvey closes the door. Harvey snaps at Scottie again, because he can't tell her the full truth of what's bothering him about Mike. Harvey tells Donna that he wants to tell Scottie the truth, but Donna says that he can't. Mike comes back in and says that he got Lola to put his name into the bar. He says he made a mistake, and he wants to stay.

Do I have any problems with this episode? Not any big ones. On a smaller scale, I could talk about a few things I didn't love... I thought that Jessica's speech to Van Dyke was mostly wonderful, but I hardcore rolled my eyes when she said "you woke the dragon." Please.

When Donna was yelling at Mike, I wish that Mike would have explained the fact that if he gets caught, Harvey probably will too. I feel like that's too often ignored. They really are in this together. Mike leaving would have been protecting Harvey as much as it would have been protecting himself. That's one element that would have added even further complexity to this juicy issue.

I don't mind that Scottie and Harvey are always fighting, but when they're supposed to be not fighting, I don't see much chemistry between them. It's hard for me to feel invested in them when I don't even know if they're a good couple under normal circumstances.

But. Those are just teeny tiny little details in comparison with everything else. And I loved everything else.

First of all, Katrina and Rachel working together, and yet failing. Again, this points to one of the things I love most about this show - it's okay that not everybody is a superhero all the time. It would be unrealistic for Rachel and Katrina to do as well as Louis would have. It just goes to show that different people have different strengths. Also, what with how things have gone down between Rachel and Katrina in the past, it was sort of nice to see them mend some fences. (Even if I still don't quite like Katrina).

Jessica and Louis! I love the way that Jessica got Louis to go back to work. She basically tells him that someone is trying to get into Pearson Specter's pants, and Louis has to stop it. Go, Louis, go!

And then Jessica's speech to Van Dyke. Usually, the issue of race and gender is a subtle underplay on this show rather than a loud plot point. I love that it never becomes the focal point, but every once in a while it's such a satisfying experience to see a strong black woman at the top of her field kicking some major ass. I loved Jessica in that moment.

Saving the best for last... Harvey and Mike!

I don't even know where to start. This was a goldmine of awesomeness. When Mike first tells Harvey about the job offer, you can tell that Mike is really vulnerable. He wants to hear that Harvey wants him to stay. Instead, Harvey tells him to take the job. Right away. Like it means nothing to him. And you can just see how hurt Mike is by that.

And then we see that it's affecting Harvey more than he would ever want to let on. When he snapped at Scottie, and then finally confided in her that Mike was what was upsetting him... so sweet.

I think my favorite two quotes are as follows: Donna, talking about Harvey needing to get his act together. If he doesn't shape up... "You're not going to have an associate or a girlfriend to get back to work from." Doesn't this imply that Donna and Harvey both don't consider Mike as part of work? He's not just Harvey's associate. In fact, he's mainly Harvey's friend, and that's how Harvey thinks of him.

The other is when Scottie asks if she can come to the poker game. Harvey says it's a work thing, and Scottie replies "you bring Mike to work things." It seems like maybe there's a bit of jealousy on Scottie's part due to the closeness of Harvey and Mike's relationship? And I don't mean that she thinks there's anything romantic going on. If only. But seriously - Harvey confides in Mike about work things more so than anyone else, as makes sense, given that Mike is Harvey's associate.

It's interesting how Harvey uses anger as a defense mechanism against the hurt of Mike leaving. When Mike finally admits he's going, Harvey is too proud to ask Mike to stay. Instead, he just focuses on the case instead of dealing with how he's really feeling. The saddest moment for me was when Mike came to Harvey's apartment and gave him a solution for the case. Usually, Mike and Harvey just barge right in to each other's homes, but in this case they had their conversation across the threshold. That was a very good directorial decision. It showed the emotional distance between them with actual physical space. Both literally and metaphorically, Harvey doesn't let Mike in. And the sad little look on his face as he tells Mike to go be a lawyer one last time! Aww! Poor baby!

The ending was quite interesting... I like the way we're not sure how Harvey is going to react. As Donna said, Mike leaving isn't a good thing, but in some ways it's a relief, because they don't have to keep hiding all the time. But now that Mike wants to come back, what does that mean? Where do they go from here? Next week's promo looks pretty extreme. I'm not entirely sure how Mike is getting out of this one!

8.5/10