Suits: Blowback (5x11)

WHAT EVEN IS THIS NONSENSE. I'm so happy you guys. I'm so happy. Harvey and Mike. Just. Wow. Okay. Let's dive in and forestall the ecstatic flailing for a bit.

Cons:

Mostly this episode is just about the fact that Mike has been arrested, and dealing with the fallout from that. There were a few moments that felt a little bit too rushed, or too overdramatic, though. The main one was that Rachel admits to Mike that she had a brief moment of consideration about the idea of turning on Harvey and Jessica, if it would keep Mike safe. Mike blows up at her, believing that she's going to leave him if he ends up in jail. I can see the idea of Mike thinking Rachel will leave him being something that the show could explore moving forward, but it all happened so quickly and dramatically. Does Mike really have so little faith in their relationship?

Similarly, Louis and Jessica had a moment that didn't sit right with me. Jack Soloff is back on the attack, and Louis says that if they make him, Louis, managing partner, it will deflect the threat from Jessica. Jessica immediately accuses Louis of making a power grab. So, like, okay. I can get why it would be hard to trust Louis after all the crap he's pulled, but he wouldn't make a blatant bid for power like that. It lacked the nuance I usually expect from the conflicts in this show.

Pros:

But even though some of the drama was a bit heavy-handed, it was springing from a place of real tension and expertly handled threat. I really felt what all of these characters were going through, and it made for a very strong opening to the back half of the season.

First, there's Jessica and Louis. I just complained about Jessica's automatic blaming of Louis, but I actually liked the way a lot of their subplot played out. Essentially, what with the complexities of Mike being arrested, Harvey working from home so Forstman will think he's officially resigned, and everybody scrambling to pick up the pieces, Jack Soloff smells blood in the water. He wants to use the firm's weakened position to strike again at Jessica. Instead of just rehashing old crap with Jack, the show uses this opportunity to focus on Jessica and Louis. Jessica realizes that Louis is a team player, even though she had her moment of doubt at first. Louis gives up Donna so that she can help Harvey and Mike (I'll get there in a second) and it makes Jessica realize that Louis is a good person. They have this amazing conversation at the end where Louis says that Jessica was right to doubt him. Even though his intentions were good, once he was managing partner he would have let the power get to his head. He says that he's no Frodo. He couldn't have resisted. Jessica says that Louis is more like Samwise Gamgee. Jessica says she's read The Lord of the Rings three times, because it's about power. Louis says he's always considered it to be about friendship. Isn't that just such an amazing way to summarize these two characters, and their bond as friends and colleagues? I loved it.

Donna, during all of this, is determined to help Mike and Harvey in whatever way she can. Louis tries to stop her, worried that she'll get dragged in to it and end up in trouble as well. In the end, however, Louis fires Donna so that she can go back to working with Harvey. This simple act of kindness encapsulates how much Louis cares for Donna, but also how much he knows Harvey needs her, and how much he knows the two of them care for each other.

Harvey and Donna don't get a lot of screen time together, but what they do get is really effective. Donna goes to Harvey's place and learns that he stepped down to get Forstman to back off. She asks about Mike, and learns that the prosecutor is trying to keep him without bail. Donna, who has already spoken to a distraught Rachel, begs Harvey to do whatever it takes to get Mike out of there. In the end, Donna shows up at Harvey's place and announces that she's not working for Louis anymore. Harvey asks her, in a sweet soft voice that just kills me, if she's coming back to him. When Donna replies in the affirmative, Harvey is back to business, saying that he'll see Donna in the office the next day. He's not going to hide out at home anymore, not now that they have a way to get Forstman and Jack Soloff off of their back. (In short, Mike threatens to tell the prosecutor that Jack knew that Mike was a fraud. Jack consequently agrees to back off of Jessica). Essentially, this episode takes the opportunity to close the door on the first half of the season, bringing Donna back into the fold so that we can focus not on Harvey's ongoing abandonment issues, but instead on the more immediate concern of Mike's situation.

Rachel is a hot mess during this whole episode. She is so distressed over Mike's situation, and it really solidifies her love and devotion to him. When she realizes that Mike is in trouble, and that Harvey can't necessarily represent him because it makes him look guilty as well, she calls in her father. Robert is the first, but not the last, person in this episode to suggest that Mike turn on Harvey. Mike steadfastly refuses to do so, and Robert tells Mike that he can't and won't help him. He also warns him to stay away from Rachel. When Robert talks to his daughter, he's disappointed to find that she intends to stand by Mike's side, and says that he can't help her. This is a delicious setup, sure to provide much more drama in the future. I liked Robert's reaction to the truth, because for once it was honest, direct, righteous anger over Mike breaking the law. Robert's reaction is totally fair and right, even though we as the audience are caught up in the intricacies of all these personal relationships much more heavily.

Mike and Rachel's relationship gets tested here a bit, and while I mentioned above that I thought there was a little too much melodrama going on, I still like what this is setting up. Rachel loves Mike, but that's not necessarily enough to hold them together. As scared as Mike is of losing her, will a time come when he feels it's in her best interest to let him go? She might be able to save herself from all of this mess, even if it's too late for him (and probably for Harvey too, if we're being honest).

The case against Mike has a lot of interesting players involved. The prosecuting attorney, Anita Gibbs, has so far revealed herself to be very ruthless. She'll do whatever it takes to win, as Harvey and Mike discover when she uses  Mike's resignation letter to try and prove that Harvey and Mike were conspiring together. Luckily, Mike had prepared for this kind of double cross, and he had memorized the serial number on a camera recording the fact that Gibbs wouldn't let him see his attorney when he was first brought in. This causes Gibbs to back off in the short run, and Harvey is able to stay on as Mike's attorney. However, we now know that Anita Gibbs will play a dirty game. There are also the suspects in Mike and Harvey's own little investigation: who ratted Mike out? Why is he suspect in the first place? This week, we eliminated the obviously innocent, such as Rachel, Harvey, Louis, Jessica, and Donna, and knocked out a few other contenders. Harvey goes to ask Scottie, and Mike goes to ask Trevor. Both insist that they didn't turn on Mike, but both are cagey about what they will do if the prosecution asks them for their testimony. Will they lie for Mike? We'll have to wait and see!

Of course I've saved Mike and Harvey for last, because oh my God this was a treasure trove of awesomeness. Essentially, this episode emphasized what we all already knew: Mike and Harvey are totally loyal to each other, and they trust each other completely. When Robert suggests that Mike turn on Harvey, we all knew he wasn't going to be cool with that idea. But later, when Rachel admits it crossed her mind, Mike doesn't merely dismiss it, he yells at Rachel, calling the very thought of betraying Harvey "disgusting."

Then, on Harvey's side, you've got the protective streak. He's desperate to see Mike and get him out of holding, even though rushing to his side might not be doing him any favors. Mike doesn't care about getting out, as long as he doesn't drag everybody else (read: Harvey) down with him. I loved the part where Harvey goes to talk to Scottie. It does not go well. From Scottie's perspective, Harvey hasn't spoken to her since they broke up - something that Scottie blames Mike for, by the way - and now Harvey turns up once again to discuss Mike Ross. The relationship between these two men was the number one cited reason for Harvey and Scottie not staying together. That's some next-level bromance, I tell ya.

I think my favorite underrated moment of the night was when Harvey comes over to Mike and Rachel's place to start talking over their next move, and he picks up on some tension between them. When Rachel talks about how Mike was offered a deal to turn on Harvey, Harvey merely remarks that he was also offered a deal to turn on Jessica. He doesn't for one second get worried or ask Mike if he considered it. In some ways, Harvey doubting Mike's loyalty would have made for more angst and drama, and I usually love that kind of stuff. But here, the fact that it didn't even cross Harvey's mind to be nervous just makes my heart sing. They are so, so solid with one another. They are in this together from beginning to end.

I'll stop there so I don't gush for too long. I loved every second of Harvey and Mike on screen together, as is typical, and I got a lot of material to freak out over, so I'm very happy. This episode had a few heavy-handed moments, but for the most part it succeeded very well in setting up the conflicts that will carry us through the rest of the season. I genuinely don't know how this is going to go down, but I'll be excited to see what they do with it. Off-the-cuff prediction: Maybe Mike does get convicted and go to jail, and next season is a time jump, where he's being let off after only a year or two. It's probably not what they'll do, but it would be something else, wouldn't it?

9/10