Suits: Pecking Order (8x02)

Okay, I enjoyed this perfectly fine. Still missing Mike, but what else is new?

Cons:

I'm... not sure what to make of parts of Louis' story this week. I didn't mind the stuff with Sheila, but then there's the ending, when Louis barges in, yells at Harvey and Robert, and gets an engraved clock as an apology/olive branch. Sometimes with Louis I can never tell what he'll think of things. Is this enough to appease him, or is this whole thing about being a third wheel going to be a continuing theme throughout the season? If the latter, I'm not sure how to feel about that. The fact is, Louis is the third wheel. The show has positioned itself that way. So every time Louis demands a seat at the table, he comes across as some idiot full of impotent rage. Not sure how to rectify this, or if it's even possible to fix at this point.

Pros:

Sheila and Louis are a lot of fun, though. They're just weird enough to make you slightly uncomfortable, but it never goes too far. I also like the fact that Louis is genuinely okay with not being managing partner, but he wants the respect of being treated like an equal. This makes sense to me. Harvey respects Robert and is totally comfortable with his decision, but Louis is right - Harvey and Robert didn't really think of Louis as a possibility, and that's not right. He certainly made his point with the screaming at the end!

Louis' therapist is a fun character, and seeing Sheila meet him for the first time was a real treat. Not sure where this falls on the ethical scale, but I can't imagine this is okay! I like that Sheila was upset that Louis was settling for less than what he deserved, but it wasn't about his power in the straight-forward sense. Although Louis can have a problem taking things to extremes, in this case he came clean quickly and practiced good communication with the woman he loves. That's the way to go about it! Not sure what I think of Sheila deciding to have a baby, but I suppose if she really did change her mind... people are allowed to do that!

Now on to Harvey and Sam. There's no way Samantha is going to be able to replace Mike in terms of good banter and fun scenes, but I do think that the dynamic between Harvey and Sam has something to offer. A lot of people have been pointing out in reviews that Sam is basically the character that Harvey was back in Season One, a cocksure senior partner who pushes the limit and gets results. Donna and the gang are right to question Samantha's loyalties, as it's pretty clear she's in Robert's corner. But what's so fascinating about this is that Sam's loyalty to Robert doesn't have to be a bad thing for Harvey. Harvey and Robert could really make a good team, and that means that Sam can be an asset to Harvey, the same way that Mike was mostly an asset to Jessica, whenever Harvey and Jessica were a united front. It's a complex situation, but it doesn't need to be an antagonistic one.

I liked the sneaking around and investigating done by Donna, Gretchen (I missed her last week!) and Katrina. They didn't get a ton of screen time, but I thought this was a good setup for a team-up that we could see continue into the season. Katrina is awesome, and Gretchen is awesome. I loved the scene where Donna asks Gretchen for her help, because for once it showed Donna being a little silly and dorky, and Gretchen have the high ground in terms of witty banter. That's rare, and it does a lot to humanize Donna to have her be in the position to ask favors every once in a while.

The case itself gave me Mike and Harvey feels, because of course it did. I'll wring any little bit of Mike-content I can out of each and every episode, and that's just the way it's going to be. Harvey is approached by a client that used to be Mike's, and Harvey wants to do everything he can to help this guy, Max, out of a jam with his partner. Harvey invokes Mike's name on a couple of different occasions in order to get the client to trust him, and although it's never explicitly stated, I think it's pretty clear that Harvey has an emotional stake in this particular client because he doesn't want to let Mike down. It's adorable, okay? I'm extrapolating wildly based on no real textual evidence but that's my right at this point.

That's all I'll say at this point. Next week looks pretty intense, and I'm excited to see how it plays out. I miss Mike so much. Rachel too, but to a lesser extent. Really it's that darn Harvey/Mike banter that I'm missing out on, and Ms. Samantha Wheeler isn't going to be able to fill this hole in my heart.

8/10