Wow. Wow. Wow. No. Not okay. This is... not good. This was quite a stellar summer finale, but I am so, so, angry that I have to wait to see what happens next. First of all, the promo for this episode was enormously misleading. I thought Mike was going to betray everyone in some surprising twist, and I had no idea how they were going to pull that off. Instead, we got something quite different. Let's start with the plot.
Louis has left the firm, and is struggling to find somewhere else to work, since he's not allowed to bring clients with him from Pearson Specter. He asks Harvey for help, but Jessica won't give Louis clients. Harvey gets Louis a job offer, but Louis won't take it, since it's in Cincinnati. Harvey then tries to get Louis a job in Boston, so he can be with Sheila (at Donna's suggestion). When Louis goes to try and get back together with Sheila, it doesn't work, and Louis doesn't take the job in Boston, either. Mike now tries his own hand at helping Louis, by going to Robert Zane and asking him to hire Louis. Robert agrees to meet with Louis, but then says that Louis needs to show he has balls by stealing a client from Pearson Specter and breaking his contract.
Meanwhile, Mike has been working to try and help Harvey retain a client, Versalife. Katrina tells Louis about the client, and Louis goes to poach them. Jessica thinks that Mike told Louis about Versalife, but Harvey doesn't believe it, and goes immediately to talk to Mike, who confirms that he said nothing. Even so, Louis now has Versalife. Harvey is pissed, and tells Louis that he's done having compassion for him and trying to help him. Mike has a way to get Versalife back, but it involves a bit of awkwardness, since he and Harvey have to go and talk to Walter Gillis. Gillis doesn't exactly forgive Mike, but he does agree to buy a division of Versalife, to give him a new purpose in life. Thus, Pearson Specter retains the client, and Louis has nobody to bring to Robert Zane.
Jessica tells Mike that even though she thinks of him as a risk, he keeps pulling off impressive acts and is an asset to the firm overall. Harvey and Mike go out to dinner to celebrate keeping Versalife, but not before Harvey goes to Robert Zane and asks him to take Louis even without a client. Zane doesn't seem interested, but at least Harvey and Mike both know that they did what they could for him. Jessica learns that Katrina is the one who told Louis about Versalife, and gives Katrina the option to quit with dignity. She does so.
And then comes the twist. Louis realizes that Mike didn't recognize a key from Louis' office, even though it was something Mike should have received as a member of an elite Harvard club. Upon further digging, Louis puts together the truth: Mike did not go to Harvard. He confronts Donna, and his suspicions are confirmed.
Louis goes to Jessica, and forces her to admit that she's a liar and a hypocrite. Jessica does, but she refuses to apologize. Louis says that he wants Jessica in handcuffs, but Jessica knows that Louis wants something else. Louis asks for it: "Pearson Specter Litt."
And thus ends this section of the season, leaving us on that horrifying cliffhanger as we move forward into months of nothingness. Noooo.
Complaints?
A few, I guess. The only thing that felt a little unbalanced to me is that Rachel was hardly in this episode whatsoever. When we do have plots focused on Mike and Rachel's relationship, they're subplots. When we focus on the "real" plot, the one driving the story, Rachel is completely sidelined. You know, she works for Harvey too! Shouldn't she have some sort of a job to do? Maybe she could have offered to visit Louis? Nothing? And believe me, I'm not complaining about the Mike and Harvey dinner scene, but Mike says he's going out to celebrate, and he does so with his boss instead of his girlfriend. Hmm.
And there was no Jeff Malone. Which, frankly, I'm thrilled about, because I hate him. But even so, it felt a little odd to drop his character like a hot potato.
Also, while I loved the banter between Mike and Harvey in the restaurant, I have to bring up the fact that the word "pussy" needs to be retired as an insult. Now. When Harvey says Mike should order a cosmo, and that he's a "nice pussy," all I'm thinking is "pussy" = feminine = weak = should be mocked. I try not to read in to every little thing, but in a show like Suits, with such strong and interesting female characters, I tend to notice when there are micro-instances of sexism. So that was badly done by the writers, I felt.
But let's be honest, this was a kick ass hour of television overall. And we should talk about the good stuff!
First of all, the plot was nice and simple. This episode was more about the emotions of the characters and the way these wheels turn in their relationships. It didn't need a complex plot, and it didn't have one. We don't know much about Versalife, or the other two firms that were merging, or any of the specifics. We basically just know that Pearson Specter is in danger of losing it, and Louis grabs it out from under their noses.
I love that Jessica stands her ground with Louis. He broke the law, and he deserved to be fired for that. Jessica did him a favor by covering up the truth, and she's willing to give him a glowing recommendation. She made her decision, though, and she won't let Louis take clients. In the end, when it all comes back around on her, you can see that she has to stick with her principles, however messed up they are. Jessica is a hypocrite. She couldn't forgive Louis for willfully breaking the law, when she's been doing just that ever since she found out about Mike.
Harvey and Mike have a number of lovely moments. Firstly, I like that Mike gets chastised by Harvey just a bit in this episode, and we see Mike scrambling to get something done for Harvey. I think it's important to maintain that working dynamic between them, where Mike truly is Harvey's subordinate. When Jessica accuses Mike of spilling secrets to Louis, Harvey immediately defends him, and doesn't really believe it for a second. Despite the promo leading me to believe that Mike did something awful, I really liked the subversion of the trope in this episode. Rather than let misunderstanding fester between them and lead to more problems, Harvey immediately goes and talks to Mike about it, and Mike tells him what's going on. From there, they can move forward.
The scene with Walter Gillis was really powerful. First of all, you have Harvey's continued defense of Mike. He wants Gillis to understand that Mike isn't the kind of jerk who would use Gillis' son against him. Harvey is the one who did that. Also, it was a strong moment for Mike's character when he said he would regret hurting Gillis for the rest of his life. We've sort of lost the innocent, do-gooder Mike from the earlier days of this show, but we see his sense of honor and his desire to help people still shine through.
The dinner scene was pretty great, barring the "pussy" thing that I mentioned earlier. The lines about Harvey's repeated jokes were particularly stellar. I also just love the sense of ease and comfort they have with one another. It's the witty banter scenes that show us how much these two characters genuinely enjoy being around one another.
I must say, I felt real sympathy for Katrina in this episode. Her loyalty to Louis may be confusing, as I don't know that he's ever really earned it, but it was sweet and sad to see her go down with him. Jessica also proved herself compassionate as she let Katrina go. Katrina was doing for Louis what Harvey would do for Jessica, or Mike would do for Harvey. The last scene with her, as she starts tearing up in her office, was actually quite emotionally poignant.
And now we must move to the focus of this episode - Louis. Rick Hoffman. Holy God. This guy needs an Emmy, stat. So, after last week's heartfelt goodbye letter, Louis is understandably going to try and get a new job. But when Jessica won't help him by giving him clients, he immediately becomes antagonistic. Louis is like a little kid in some ways - ruled by his emotions and very changeable. He also feels entitled to certain things, and thinks that because he really loved Pearson Specter, he should be rewarded for his dedication, no matter how many mistakes he made.
As the episode continues, we can see him become more and more desperate, and more determined to get what he wants by whatever means necessary. He refuses to accept Harvey's help, thinking that Harvey only pities him, and is willing to break out of the contract that he himself wrote, all for the chance of working in New York. He is so determined to remain at the top of the field that he won't even consider working somewhere else, where he would probably be a huge asset to a new firm and still be able to make tons of money. Louis is prideful and wants what he wants.
And then comes the twist. Rick Hoffman's acting in the two final scenes, with Donna and Jessica, is absolutely astounding. Gina Torres and Sarah Rafferty are also incredible. I was genuinely startled when Louis yelled at Donna to sit down, and the tears in Donna's eyes were heart-wrenching to see. Obviously the delivery of his lines to Jessica is spot-on... he gets really intense and yells, and yet there's more than simply anger here. He's deeply hurt, to the bone, by what he's learned. The final line of the episode packs exactly the right punch, and leaves me desperate for what comes next.
So... yes. This was a fantastic episode. The utter randomness of it all... just a stupid key, and Mike's secret is blown. I wondered how Louis was finally going to find out, and I certainly wasn't expecting it to happen here. This whole season did a good job of distracting me from that particular underlying plot, so when Louis found out, I was shocked. I can't stand the wait! I want more!
9/10
First of all, the plot was nice and simple. This episode was more about the emotions of the characters and the way these wheels turn in their relationships. It didn't need a complex plot, and it didn't have one. We don't know much about Versalife, or the other two firms that were merging, or any of the specifics. We basically just know that Pearson Specter is in danger of losing it, and Louis grabs it out from under their noses.
I love that Jessica stands her ground with Louis. He broke the law, and he deserved to be fired for that. Jessica did him a favor by covering up the truth, and she's willing to give him a glowing recommendation. She made her decision, though, and she won't let Louis take clients. In the end, when it all comes back around on her, you can see that she has to stick with her principles, however messed up they are. Jessica is a hypocrite. She couldn't forgive Louis for willfully breaking the law, when she's been doing just that ever since she found out about Mike.
Harvey and Mike have a number of lovely moments. Firstly, I like that Mike gets chastised by Harvey just a bit in this episode, and we see Mike scrambling to get something done for Harvey. I think it's important to maintain that working dynamic between them, where Mike truly is Harvey's subordinate. When Jessica accuses Mike of spilling secrets to Louis, Harvey immediately defends him, and doesn't really believe it for a second. Despite the promo leading me to believe that Mike did something awful, I really liked the subversion of the trope in this episode. Rather than let misunderstanding fester between them and lead to more problems, Harvey immediately goes and talks to Mike about it, and Mike tells him what's going on. From there, they can move forward.
The scene with Walter Gillis was really powerful. First of all, you have Harvey's continued defense of Mike. He wants Gillis to understand that Mike isn't the kind of jerk who would use Gillis' son against him. Harvey is the one who did that. Also, it was a strong moment for Mike's character when he said he would regret hurting Gillis for the rest of his life. We've sort of lost the innocent, do-gooder Mike from the earlier days of this show, but we see his sense of honor and his desire to help people still shine through.
The dinner scene was pretty great, barring the "pussy" thing that I mentioned earlier. The lines about Harvey's repeated jokes were particularly stellar. I also just love the sense of ease and comfort they have with one another. It's the witty banter scenes that show us how much these two characters genuinely enjoy being around one another.
I must say, I felt real sympathy for Katrina in this episode. Her loyalty to Louis may be confusing, as I don't know that he's ever really earned it, but it was sweet and sad to see her go down with him. Jessica also proved herself compassionate as she let Katrina go. Katrina was doing for Louis what Harvey would do for Jessica, or Mike would do for Harvey. The last scene with her, as she starts tearing up in her office, was actually quite emotionally poignant.
And now we must move to the focus of this episode - Louis. Rick Hoffman. Holy God. This guy needs an Emmy, stat. So, after last week's heartfelt goodbye letter, Louis is understandably going to try and get a new job. But when Jessica won't help him by giving him clients, he immediately becomes antagonistic. Louis is like a little kid in some ways - ruled by his emotions and very changeable. He also feels entitled to certain things, and thinks that because he really loved Pearson Specter, he should be rewarded for his dedication, no matter how many mistakes he made.
As the episode continues, we can see him become more and more desperate, and more determined to get what he wants by whatever means necessary. He refuses to accept Harvey's help, thinking that Harvey only pities him, and is willing to break out of the contract that he himself wrote, all for the chance of working in New York. He is so determined to remain at the top of the field that he won't even consider working somewhere else, where he would probably be a huge asset to a new firm and still be able to make tons of money. Louis is prideful and wants what he wants.
And then comes the twist. Rick Hoffman's acting in the two final scenes, with Donna and Jessica, is absolutely astounding. Gina Torres and Sarah Rafferty are also incredible. I was genuinely startled when Louis yelled at Donna to sit down, and the tears in Donna's eyes were heart-wrenching to see. Obviously the delivery of his lines to Jessica is spot-on... he gets really intense and yells, and yet there's more than simply anger here. He's deeply hurt, to the bone, by what he's learned. The final line of the episode packs exactly the right punch, and leaves me desperate for what comes next.
So... yes. This was a fantastic episode. The utter randomness of it all... just a stupid key, and Mike's secret is blown. I wondered how Louis was finally going to find out, and I certainly wasn't expecting it to happen here. This whole season did a good job of distracting me from that particular underlying plot, so when Louis found out, I was shocked. I can't stand the wait! I want more!
9/10
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