Suits: Intent (4x15)

Harvey said "I love you" to Donna. I don't even know how to process this right now. My brain has exploded. This episode was... well, it was pretty much unlike anything I've ever seen before on this show. It pushed Harvey's character into a whole new light, and it caused me to rethink a lot of what I thought I knew about him. Let's dive in.

Harvey asks Donna what happened with Liberty Rail. Donna lies and says that she didn't break any laws. Harvey demands that Mike drop the case so that Liberty Rail will back off of Donna. Mike agrees to do so, which makes his client furious, since the money he was supposed to get was going to turn his life around. Unfortunately for Harvey and Donna, Evan Smith won't back off of Donna.

Harvey tells Mike to go after Liberty Rail anyway, since they have to come up with a new tack to save Donna. Harvey is upset that Donna lied to him, since the truth is much harder for Harvey to fight against. Mike helps Harvey realize that the other side has a very thin case for felony fraud, because there's no way to prove damages unless Liberty Rail admits that the documents that Donna took are damaging to them in some way.

Mike's client takes a payoff from Liberty Rail and won't work with Mike anymore, so he and Rachel have to find someone new to sue Liberty Rail and get this thing taken care of. They find the man who was conducting the train. This man can't remember the accident, but he's convinced that it was all his fault. Mike and Rachel convince him to do the right thing and come forward.

Harvey is too cocky with the DA, which convinces the man (who has a personal grudge against Harvey) to bring Donna up on charges of intent. However, Mike and Harvey finally deliver the fatal blow when they threaten to expose Evan Smith's payoff of the original plaintiff. Donna is saved.

Donna and Harvey have drinks at Donna's apartment. Harvey apologizes for snapping at Donna, and Donna apologizes for doubting Harvey. Harvey says he doesn't care if anybody else doubts him, but with Donna it's different. When she presses for a reason why, Harvey says "you know I love you, Donna." He then leaves a very stunned Donna in her apartment.

While all of this is going on, Jessica is stuck trying to figure out what to do about Jeff Malone. Can she deal with him still working at the firm? She goes to lunch with her sister for some advice, and realizes that she needs to let her guard down. She goes to Jeff and tells him that she loves him. Jeff can't make it work, though. He realizes that he can't work for the firm if their relationship has fallen apart, and he can't learn to trust her again. He resigns his position.

Complaints?

Ugh I hate Jeff so much. I'm glad he's out of the show, but I'm really annoyed by how he treated Jessica. I feel like this whole plot thread was all catered towards him and his feelings. Jessica has some serious problems with trust and communication. That's obviously true. But Jeff was pushy, and controlling, and uncompromising, and just generally an annoying person. If Jeff had been someone with whom I could sympathize, then this whole long arc with his character could have been really good, and could have given us more insight into Jessica's character. As it is, I'm just glad to see the back of him. Jessica can do so much better.

This isn't a critical complaint so much as it is a whiny note from an obsessed fan of Harvey/Mike. This whole episode was centered around the fact that Harvey loves Donna - that Donna is an exception for Harvey. I'm thrilled about that, really. But previous to this moment, we've been establishing Mike as Harvey's exception. Not in a romantic sense, necessarily (*sigh* if only...) but in a sense of deep and abiding friendship. In this episode, Mike specifically asked Harvey why risking Donna for a case was any different from all the times Harvey has risked Mike, and Harvey said that Donna was different for him. But if you think about it... past events don't really support that. Harvey has put his own career on the line time and again for Mike's sake, and he didn't save Donna from getting fired before, when he did save Mike from that same fate.

But let's go on to the awesomeness that was this episode. I'm so, so glad we got this chance to delve in to Harvey's mind a little bit. I'm nervous as all hell for next week's episode, especially since it's the end of the season, but it seems to me that we're setting up some pretty intriguing stuff here. Harvey kind of lost it in this episode. He was desperate, and scared, and consequently he slipped up and nearly cost Donna five years of her life, and her entire career.

Even though I complained about the lack of Harvey/Mike, I still think it's important to note that Mike was the one to help Harvey pull through. Even in the depths of his panic, Mike's suggestions got through, and that's how the case was ultimately solved. Also, it was really important to Harvey that Mike wasn't complicit in Donna's crimes - I think it made things significantly easier on Harvey to hear Mike assure him that he had no idea that Donna had broken the law.

I'm not entirely sure if Tricia Helfer was used to her full potential here, but she is a striking presence nonetheless. I particularly liked the way she was hitting Harvey where it hurt - noting that Harvey clearly cared for Donna, maybe even slept with her once in a while. The look on Harvey's face was pretty chilling. Harvey wanted this woman taken down, by whatever means necessary. Don't mess with Donna, or Harvey will destroy you.

Louis had an interesting little thread in this episode as well. He was really worried about Donna when he found out what was going on, and he was extremely relieved to find out that things were going to be okay. He even gave Donna a big hug, and offered to take over the case when he worried that Harvey wasn't going to get the job done. It seems that Louis is done with all of his anger, and is ready to forgive everybody for their lies once and for all. Even if I still haven't forgiven Louis for hurting Mike, I'm glad to see that we're done with all this inter-office feuding for the time being.

Despite my rant about Jeff Malone above, I did enjoy seeing more of Jessica's personal life. We got to meet her sister! Yay! I hope that now that Jeff is out of the picture, we don't drop this personal plot thread for Jessica. I love Gina Torres with all my heart, and I'd love more of her on this show.

Rachel sort of took a back seat here, and I know I've complained about this in the past. She needs her own story, damn it! But for what we got of her here, I really liked it. In the same way that Mike helped Harvey figure out what to do, Rachel was there for Mike. She's the one who cracked the Liberty Rail case, and she went with Mike to help him get the conductor to be their client. I hope we can see her take on her own case next season, but I did like seeing her skills come into play here.

The meat of this episode, of course, was in the Donna/Harvey relationship. I think the most powerful scene was when Donna suggested that maybe Louis should take over her case, because Donna was worried that Harvey might be too concerned with sticking it to the DA to really help her. Harvey tells Donna that the thought of her going to prison makes him want to drop to his knees. That's a pretty dramatic statement coming from cool-as-a-cucumber Harvey Specter, and it really highlighted how much Harvey loves her. Then there's that scene in Donna's apartment. They're both a little bit awkward. As comfortable as they are with each other in the work space, once they're talking about personal stuff, it gets weird. I think it's because they both know what could happen if they let themselves have what they wanted. Work is safe. It makes sense. The personal stuff is messy. But Harvey, for all that he was trying to keep his distance and be a professional to get Donna out of this case, finally comes through for her in the end. He tells her the words that she's probably been waiting to hear for years now: "I love you, Donna."

I have no idea what's going to happen from here. Why did that promo make it look like the firm was going to be shut down or something? Is someone getting fired? Is Harvey okay? Ahhh! I always hate it when this show is off the air, but I'm also really stoked for the Season Four finale. See you then!

8/10