Suits: Turn (6x04)

Rarely have I been so torn about an episode of this show. Generally I think a certain episode or plot development is either so-so or fantastic. This week, there were some things I really loved, but a few things that I flat-out hated. Let's dive in.

Cons:

So, my two big complaints about this episode both center around Mike's story line. In short, Harvey tells Mike that he has to inform on Kevin and then he can get out, and Mike says no. Harvey wants to tell Rachel to get Rachel to change Mike's mind, but Donna says no - if Rachel finds out that Mike turned down a deal like this, she'll be heartbroken. So then Harvey arranges with Cahill and the warden to drug Mike, pretend it was Frank Gallow, get him out of prison for a short period of time so he can talk him in to taking the deal. He's supposed to go to Cahill, but instead Harvey takes Mike to Rachel. They spend a few hours together, and Mike tells Rachel about the deal, and agrees to take it.

Okay. Where to even start? This whole keeping Rachel in the dark thing is driving me crazy. There's this moment where Donna says that if Harvey tells Rachel what's going on, Rachel will leave Mike. That's... insane. Rachel knows all about Mike's loyalty. If they could get through Mike's decision to go to prison to protect Harvey, Louis, and Jessica, then surely they could get through this too. Then, later, Harvey has Mike lie to Rachel about how he got out of prison for six hours, which is just gross. I get that we're supposed to think everybody cares about Rachel and wants what's best for her... but that's not what I get from this at all. The fact that Harvey has gone to see Mike multiple times, and that we only just now got a phone call between Mike and Rachel in the fourth episode is really annoying. I feel like everybody else is treating her like a child that needs to be coddled and protected. She deserves to have all the information. It sucks that Harvey and Cahill are the only two people in this whole episode who think Rachel deserves to hear the truth. Also, and I hate saying this, but Rachel is just a stronger character without Mike around. Her life is finally moving forward in a way it hasn't been able to in such a long time. There's this sick little part of me that doesn't want Mike to be free, because it'll give Rachel a chance to get her life onto stronger footing without him around to drag her down. Sorry, not sorry. I love Mike, but Rachel might deserve better.

And then, even more egregious - Harvey has Mike drugged?! Are you serious? I'll talk in a minute about how much Harvey's worry for Mike warms my heart. I get that he's freaking out here, and he's willing to go to extremes to get Mike out of prison. But drugged? For one thing, that's freakin' dangerous. Like what if Mike had fallen and hit his head, or what if he'd been by himself when the drugs took effect and nobody had found him, or what if, even worse, Frank had found him while he was unconscious and vulnerable? And Cahill actually went for this? I cannot think of a plan where more things could have gone wrong, with such a flimsy justification. Is Cahill really that desperate to have an informant, that he would go along with some insane plan to break Mike out of prison just so that he could talk with him face-to-face? Harvey spins some bullshit about how Mike needs to hear directly from Cahill about what Kevin's father-in-law did that would justify Mike helping to put him away... but why would Cahill buy that? Why couldn't Harvey just tell Mike the details to convince him? It was all part of Harvey's plan to get Mike to Rachel, but why would Cahill not see that?

I know I'm going on and on about this. But seriously. Mike said it best: "You drugged me?! Are you insane? You broke me out of prison?!"

Pros:

The most annoying thing about the flaws in this episode is that they really twisted my opinion of what is still a quite interesting plot thread. For one thing, I love how everybody on the outside is so worried about Mike. Jessica has a moment early on where she tells Harvey about a problem with the traders, and Harvey wants to help solve it. Jessica steps in and says that she can handle it - Harvey just needs to take care of Mike. Donna, too, shows concern for Mike and looks close to tears when Harvey tells her how much Mike being in danger is killing him. And even though it doesn't justify the whole drugging thing, Harvey's worry for Mike is a palpable thing in this episode. He starts off full of overconfident bluster, marching down to the prison to get Mike out of there. But when Mike doesn't take the deal, Harvey starts to unravel. He has this speech to Donna that he delivers with tears in his eyes and a choked up voice, where he says he can't stand around and do nothing knowing there's a way to get Mike out of there and away from danger.

Also, Kevin and Mike's relationship is still really nicely done. There's this strange hint in the air about Kevin, since we still don't know what he did. We don't know what his father-in-law did either, and it's going to be Mike's job to find out. I love the fact that we basically have divided loyalties here. You have Harvey on one side, telling Mike to turn his back on Kevin and get free. And then you've got Kevin, who might very well be a dangerous guy, but who seems like a good person to us right now. As much as Harvey and Rachel matter to Mike, he's not willing to turn on Kevin. Still, when Mike collapses, and Kevin is there to call for help, Mike's last words before losing consciousness are "call Harvey." Mike's later decision to betray Kevin is not one he is taking lightly, and nor should the audience. I'm really excited to find out more about what exactly Kevin is in for...

Rachel's death row subplot continues to reinforce the fact that Rachel is a more interesting character when Mike is not around. She meets with a guy on death row, and immediately gets to work uncovering malpractice in his case. Her professor at first thinks that she is being naive in thinking that this guy is innocent after only talking to him once... but Rachel quickly shuts him down when she presents all of the evidence she has pulled. Rachel's legal badassery is awesome, and I love the fact that her professor is duly impressed. I also love that this plot thread deals with Rachel finding her own path in life, separate from Mike. Rachel confesses to Donna that she hasn't been thinking about Mike every second since she got this case. She's been too busy working on the Innocence Project. She feels guilty that Mike hasn't been in her thoughts, but Donna tells her this is a good thing. Pining for Mike constantly isn't healthy for her. Later, Rachel and Mike talk on the phone, and Rachel says that she's been imagining that she and Mike were working on the Innocence Project together. It's a way for Rachel to work on her own stuff and keep Mike in her thoughts, without constantly worrying about him. This is a good development. Like I mentioned earlier, I almost don't want Mike to get out of prison just yet. Rachel seems to be doing alright on her own!

Stu continues to be a surprising delight. This week, his continual tormenting of Louis sends Louis in search of an architect to redesign the space so the traders and lawyers don't have to cross paths. More on that later. Jessica finds out that Stu sold the stock he had bought in the last episode on Harvey's behalf, and this is causing problems for their new client. Jessica tries to get Stu to buy the stock back, but Stu is stubborn, asking Jessica out instead of doing what she says. Later, Jessica messes with Stu and causes another one of his stocks to decrease in value. Stu buys back the stock and asks for Jessica as his new lawyer. Jessica says yes, but only if Stu will stop tormenting Louis.

There was a surprising amount of flirtatious energy between Stu and Jessica on both sides. Stu asking Jessica out didn't surprise me, but Jessica being somewhat receptive to it was a bit of a shock. But the thing is, for all that Stu seems a little slimy to me, he also seems like a genuinely smart guy who might actually be able to keep up with Jessica Pearson. Jessica totally destroying him was awesome, of course, but I actually wouldn't be opposed to something developing between these two. An unlikely pair? Definitely. Impossible? I don't think so!

The architect that Louis finds is a woman named Tara, who seems to be perfect for Louis in every way. Jessica tells Louis not to hire her to redesign the firm, because she knows that Louis will be a nightmare if he's trying to woo this woman while the offices are being remodeled. Louis tells Tara that the plan won't be going through, but he does offer her a job renovating his summer home, which he says he wants to turn into a satellite office.

This plot thread could have really grossed me out. After all, Louis' track record with women isn't exactly stellar. When Tara first showed up and Louis was all smitten, I thought we were in for another plot thread of Louis being inappropriate and aggressive towards a woman he finds attractive. But instead, his initial comedic reaction to Tara was tempered, and the two of them actually had many great conversations. Louis complimented Tara on her professional attitude, and on her understanding of his needs as a client. It was actually a very respectful exchange, and when the episode ended I walked away thinking that I wouldn't mind seeing more of Tara in the future.

So... there you have it. Harvey drugging Mike has got to be one of the stupidest things this show has ever done. But the plot surrounding that decision is actually quite solid, in my opinion. I'm excited to escalate this whole prison plot line and figure out where we're going to stand in another few weeks, but I've got to mark this episode down for one big plot decision that just did not fly with me.

7/10