Suits: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner (4x02)

Yayyyy things are getting so exciting. I am just so in love with the way the conflict is developing this season. Before I give a plot summary, I'll start off by saying this: I feel like this episode was very, very, similar in most respects to last week's. We're still pushing the conflict between Mike and Harvey, but keeping things balanced on the knife's edge between friendly competition and out-and-out hostility. I'm glad we're staying in this little pocket of potential energy. It's really fascinating.

Mike gets a judge to put a freeze on Logan Sanders' ability to go after Gillis' company. Harvey and Sanders try to buy Mike off, but when Mike learns that Logan plans to sell the company for parts, he refuses the great offer. Harvey gets an important board member to flip to their side, and Mike's boss tells him to get the 30 million that Harvey earlier offered, or he'll be fired. When Mike tries to do so, Harvey tells him the deal's off the table. However, Mike manages to take the step that Harvey didn't think he would, by convincing Gillis to put up the same amount of money that Harvey got another guy to, thus crushing Gillis' dream for the company, but keeping them in the running.

Louis starts working with Jeff Malone. He is at first heartbroken that Malone gets the corner office, thinking that Jessica has just effectively told him he'll never be made name partner. With some coaxing from Katrina, Louis decides to cooperate with Malone, to an extent, and the two of them tackle a client together, coming to have a tenuous trust in one another. Donna tells Jessica that Louis knew about the SEC before she and Harvey did, and suggests that she find a way to give Louis some of his dignity back. Jessica offers Louis the corner office, instead of Malone.

Malone continues to insist that he and Jessica will still be seeing each other, while Jessica tries to keep their relationship professional. Rachel and Mike set some ground rules about privacy, considering they're working on the same case, opposite one another. Although Rachel questions Mike's decision to turn down Harvey and Logan's offer, thinking that it might be because of her, the couple still manage to keep things good between them as the case progresses.

So, I began this review by saying that this episode was very similar to last week's. Oddly, that goes for my complaints, although I actually think this episode is a slight improvement on the last.

Katrina. Still pretty much useless as Louis' cheerleader and nothing more. She's annoying, to boot.

Mike's new secretary person was only in the episode briefly, as she basically told Mike to man up and do what needed to be done. While this is a promising sign of a potentially strong character, I couldn't help but compare her to Donna, Jessica, and Rachel, and find her lacking in comparison. She's like Donna-lite, and who wants that? Still, maybe she'll grow to have a more substantial role to play as things move forward. I shouldn't judge too soon.

The love-triangle element that I complained about last week is still sort of bothersome. Especially because Logan seems like such a douche bag. Wouldn't it be more interesting if all three participants in the triangle were sympathetic characters? That way there could be some real tension instead of the sort of contrived thing they've got going on now. Like I said last week, the professional conflict between Rachel and Mike is more than enough to be getting on with.

But... again, like last week, this episode was generally very strong!

Louis was much more fun to watch this week, even if Katrina still annoys me. I was so happy for him when he got that corner office. It was especially sweet that he hugged Jessica. Louis doesn't actually need much, but he does need some reminding that he's valuable. Hopefully this sign from Jessica isn't a fluke, and we can abandon the stale plot lines of Louis feeling under-appreciated.

Jessica is just so... yum. Gina Torres is one of the most striking people I've ever seen. She just dominates the screen and captivates me every second I see her. The sexual tension between Jessica and Malone is delightful, and I'm excited to see where it goes, although I was more interested in Malone and Louis' interactions this week. Jessica got to call Harvey "white boy," which was a delightful little treat.

Donna is such a wonderful character in most respects, but sometimes I worry that she exists solely to help Harvey. I was happy to see her have some interactions with Louis and Jessica here, instead of being focused only on Harvey's problems. More than anyone in the office, she knows what's going on and always tries to do what's best for everyone.

Rachel is asserting herself with Harvey. I had no idea how much I wanted to see these two work together until now. The two people Mike is closest to in this world, and now they're united against him. Delicious. Also, I like the way they're showing us Mike and Rachel's relationship. They have a very solid, loving foundation, but we're starting to see some cracks, here and there. It's all a very nice buildup.

Okay, Harvey. You're breaking my heart here. Do you see what's going on right now? Harvey hates fighting Mike. Even though it's supposed to be professional, Harvey is killing himself trying to avoid hurting Mike during all of this. You can tell that he wants more than anything to help Mike on his side of things, but he can't do that. There's the moment where he thinks he has Mike beat, but Jessica assumes things must be going poorly for them, because Harvey looks so upset about what's going to happen. I adore the fact that Jessica sees Harvey looking sad, and automatically assumes he must be thinking about Mike.

Then there's the not-so-subtle pride Harvey is feeling for Mike's work. At the end, when Mike comes back with a vengeance, ready to take Harvey on in the next round, we see Harvey smile, just slightly, proud of his protégé. At the same time, you have Mike, trying to prove that he can stand on his own two feet. And yet, when he takes the next step, he comes straight to Harvey's office to thank him, in person, for not giving him the easy way out. In fact, the two of them seem incapable of having a conversation on the phone, did you notice that? They certainly like to take a lot of unnecessary trips to each other's offices to chat...

I MEAN FOR REAL, HOW ADORABLE IS THAT?!

I'll try to reign in my enthusiasm, but actually though. These two are killing me. I think I'll leave it there for the moment. I'm pretty happy with how things are going so far this season!

8.5/10