Suits: P.S.L. (6x10)

After an entire summer centered around Mike being in prison, this week Mr. Ross takes a back seat. I actually found it rather refreshing!

Cons:

Okay, to nobody's surprise, I'm going to complain about Louis and Tara. Guess what? She's pregnant with her ex-boyfriend's baby. Louis insists that he wants to be with Tara and raise the child, but Tara thinks that they both need more time to think it over. In the end, Louis shows up and proposes to Tara, and she says yes. Okay... so I'm going to talk in a bit about how the final few minutes of this episode were gorgeous and awesome for a lot of reasons. But I still can't get over the fact that Louis and Tara just met, and Louis is still so annoying, and I don't get how either one of them could possibly think this is a good idea. I miss Sheila. I guess I just feel like there were a lot of ways to build out Louis' character and try to set up a good romance. I just didn't buy the way they ended up doing it.

Stu is leaving?! Okay, I'm of two minds about this. I actually liked the scenes with Stu and Donna, and then Stu and Louis. Turns out, Stu and his company have the opportunity for some free real estate because Sutter's company owed them money. They can't turn their backs on that, but it means backing out of their lease and leaving Louis, and PSL, in a rut. While there's nothing wrong in theory about this little plot thread, it does make me wonder... why waste a character like Stu? Why remove him from the story when things were just starting to get interesting with him? It reminds me of the show's treatment of Julius, Mike's prison counselor. So much potential, and then pretty much no follow-through. It's a bummer!

One last thing - this episode is very Jessica-centric, which I'm happy about, but there was one thing that annoyed me. There were these flashbacks showing a young Jessica, where her parents are getting separated because he's a workaholic. Later, she tells her father, who's a doctor, that she got into Harvard Law and her dad is all disappointed that she's not going to become a doctor, and will instead become a "power hungry bottom feeder." It appears that Jessica's father has what I like to call "John Winchester Syndrome," a strange disease wherein your progeny accomplishes something amazing and difficult, and your reaction is to tell them they are betraying the family. It doesn't make any sense, and it seems too simplistic. I can understand a parent's subconscious hurt when their child strays from the path they wanted for them, but throwing insults at your daughter, telling her she's going to become unprincipled and immoral because she got into Harvard Law?! That seems ridiculous to me.

Pros:

I will say one thing for Louis' plot. Donna is still acting a bit like a relationship counselor, which annoys me, but at least she puts Louis in his place. When he says that he would never go back on his word to Tara, Donna shuts him down: "That's not true and you know it. You make impulsive decisions and you go back on them all the time." At least somebody knows what's up!

I also want to talk briefly about Mike and Harvey, even though I usually save that for the end. The episode starts with Harvey giddily taking Mike out for a drink, ordering him every scotch in the place so that Mike has his choice, and then offering him a job at PSL as a consultant, making the same money he made as a junior partner. Mike says he has to think about it. The episode ends with Mike telling Rachel about the offer, and Mike not knowing what to do.

Okay. For the sake of creative and daring storytelling, I hope that Mike doesn't take the job, but on a personal squee level, it's so adorable to me that Harvey offers it to him. He even tells Mike that he misses working with him, and Mike returns the sentiment. I think about how far these two have come as friends, and it makes me super emotional. Also, there's this hilarious little thread that brings them together - Mike quotes A Few Good Men when coming up with a plan to help Jessica and Rachel with Leonard Bailey. Later, in a totally different and unrelated scene, Harvey also quotes A Few Good Men. Stu is the only one to pick up on it, and Harvey delightedly says "Finally, somebody gets me!" The movie quote thing has always been one of my favorite parts of the Harvey/Mike bromance. It's super precious to me that they were connected by the same movie even though they didn't spend much of the episode together.

This week was all about Jessica Pearson, the Woman, the Myth, the Legend. We got to bring Leonard Bailey's case to the forefront, and it was awesome. Jessica, despite knowing that her firm is in trouble, (see below) focuses most of her attention on Leonard's case, determined to pull out a win. Rachel gets to question Bailey on the stand and hear his story, but the prosecution then puts the victim's father on the stand, turning the jury's sympathies the other way. Rachel and Mike try going to the victim's father, because they figure out that he sent Maria Gomez away so that she couldn't testify on Leonard's behalf. Mike and Rachel try and convince Jessica to put this man on the stand and get him to confess to obstructing justice.

Meanwhile, the firm is on the verge of collapse. PSL's oldest client, Jim Reynolds, is threatening to jump ship due to rumors that Harvey tanked Sutter's case to get Mike out. Jessica is so busy with Bailey's case that she leaves it to Harvey to convince him to stay, which ends up being a bad move. The client needed to see that Jessica was making them a priority. Harvey goes to Sutter and threatens to pull some legal mumbo-jumbo and get his house repossessed while he's in prison, unless Sutter repairs PSL's reputation and refutes the rumors he started.

These two plot lines converge when Jessica is forced to make a choice. Jim Reynolds' company moves up its board meeting. If Jessica is not in attendance, the board is going to fire Jim and fire PSL. If Jessica leaves, however, she'll be leaving the important cross-examination in Rachel's hands. Informed by the memory of her father's disappointment, Jessica decides to stay and try and save Leonard Bailey's life, leaving Harvey and Louis to do what they can to keep Jim Reynolds' business, and thus save the firm itself. Jessica succeeds in her cross-examination, and Leonard Bailey is exonerated and gets to go free!

But... the firm is in trouble. Robert Zane shows up with a surprising offer to merge firms, thus saving what's left of Jessica's career, but Jessica declines. Harvey and Louis manage to pull a rabbit out of their hat: Stu. His plot actually has a good resolution, even if it feels like a waste to get rid of him so soon. See, he buys out a large number of shares from Jim Reynolds' company and strong-arms his way onto the board to stop the usurpers from firing Jim and PSL. The firm saved, everything seems great. Until Jessica announces that she's stepping down. She goes to Jeff and asks him if she can come to Chicago. The two share a kiss. Harvey, though upset that Jessica is leaving, tells Donna that he'll be okay. Donna comes to stand next to him in his office, and the two hold hands.

Soooo much to unpack about all of this.

First off, Jessica. It's funny, because in some ways this plot thread should annoy me. A powerful black woman, head of her law firm, leaves to go be with a man? Ugh. But for some reason, the buildup and the execution of this are just what the doctor ordered. Jessica stepping down isn't a sign that she's rejecting her power and her feminist icon status. She's just genuinely doing what she wants to do, and it's a beautiful thing. I can even set aside my dislike for Jeff Malone and be happy that Jessica is finally getting what she wants. The scene at the end with Harvey, Louis, Jessica, and Donna actually got me a bit choked up. They all toast to Pearson Specter Litt, and the great firm they were able to hold on to, at least for a while.

Rachel gets to question Leonard Bailey on the stand, which was awesome. This has been her passion project all season, and I adored the fact that for once, Mike took a backseat and was her emotional support, offering ideas and helping Rachel come up with her next move. Rachel was the one to bring it home, right alongside Jessica. It was such a stellar moment of revelation for Rachel's character when Leonard Bailey gets to go free, and the two share a hug. I think we all needed that moment of success for her.

Donna had the most insightful and maybe the most powerful little speech of the episode when she comes in to Jessica's office in time to hear Jessica is stepping down. Louis is livid at first, but Donna points something out. They all promised to give their all to saving PSL, but they didn't. Jessica and Rachel devoted their time to saving Leonard Bailey. Donna and Harvey worked on getting Mike out. And Louis got swept up in a new romance. It doesn't mean that the firm isn't important to them all. It just means that it didn't end up being the focus of their lives. And maybe that's a good thing! I loved this little summation of the season. It could have been a bit on the nose, but I actually feel like it helped me wrap my head around this season's themes. The plot threads that have been plaguing us all season have been laid to rest - Mike is out of prison, Sutter is going away. Kevin is out of prison, Gallow is staying put. Jessica has found inner peace in her decision to choose happiness over her career. Rachel has come into her own as a lawyer-to-be, and her fiance has been returned to her. Harvey has saved his best friend, and along with Louis has saved his firm. Everything got tied up with a bow, while at the same time things are getting ready to shoot off in a new direction.

As far as I'm concerned, that's about all you can ask for in a mid-season finale! We close on a parallel between three romances - Louis and Tara, Jessica and Jeff, and... Harvey and Donna. I'm not sure if that couple is even supposed to be romantic, but it was a very sweet moment regardless. Donna and Harvey take hands, reaffirming their love and connection. Here's hoping that Donna can blossom in her own right when we get more of this show in the winter, the way that Rachel did this summer. I'm glad there's more to explore with these characters, but I'm going to miss the hell out of Jessica Pearson!

8.5/10