Suits: Rocky 8 (8x11)

There are still some things to enjoy about this show, although I'll admit I heard the news that Season Nine will be its last with a great sense of relief.

Cons:

I understand that this show is never going to be realistic to the way an actual law firm runs, but there are just some things that stick out to me as being really funny, unintentionally, about the way Louis is supposed to act as managing partner. At the firm I work at, the position is something passed between partners, and it's certainly a position of honor, but it's more like being the person who sets the message. Here, it's like Louis is supposed to be a babysitter and interfere with the specific clients that Harvey and Robert choose to take. That's... not what Louis' job should be. It makes no sense at all. And Donna trying to push him into taking more responsibility fell really flat for me. It's been only a couple of days, and already Donna is telling him he's a failure because Harvey and Robert are taking on a difficult case? Sheesh.

Also, I know this ultimately isn't a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but Zane Specter Litt Wheeler Williams is a mouthful and it's still dumb that people can just fight to get their name on the wall. What happens in a couple of years when Katrina wants that honor? It's getting silly.

Pros:

Harvey and Robert's case has to do with someone throwing a boxing match. I liked all the ups and downs, and how Louis steps in and comes up with a solution that gets their client mostly off the hook, and also humiliates their rival, as revenge for what he did to Jessica. I like it when we can get a solid win, but this win was complex. Harvey finds out the truth, but almost lets a struggling boxer take the fall, when the guy was just trying to do what's best for his family. His client gets what he wants, for the most part, but still has to take a small hit, and while the humiliation does come through, it doesn't change the fact that Jessica has been disbarred in New York.

Robert and Harvey's banter is pretty fun. They do a lot of back-and-forth about the Rocky movies, and it's nice to see Harvey being his normal goofy self. They're even going to go back to Harvey's place to watch Creed together. Adorable!

It seems we're starting a romance subplot for Donna. She really hits it off with one of the firm's clients. I don't want to make any final rulings on this as of yet, but so far I really like the chemistry between the two of them. I think I want a Harvey/Donna endgame... but I honestly don't feel all that invested in it, and Donna deserves some less complicated happiness at the end of the day.

Katrina is my favorite character on this show now. I love that she ends up getting tangled in Alex and Sam's feuding, but by the end of the episode, she's managed to find compromises that appease everyone for the most part. She owes Sam a favor, but Alex owes her a favor, and Katrina has decided what kind of a lawyer she wants to be. Obviously we got the comment at the start of the episode with Sam and Alex talking about their struggles being minorities and getting to a position of power, and that's an important narrative that should be talked about. But where I'm seeing the biggest example of overcoming adversity is in Katrina. She's a woman who is strong and who isn't afraid to kick some ass, but you can see that she's fighting against a lot of insecurity and pressure from the patriarchy. I love seeing her succeed.

I also want to talk about how great this episode is with its female characters in general. There's conflict between Donna, Katrina, and Sam, but by the end of the episode they're all giving each other compliments and then going out for drinks along with Gretchen. Scenes like these really remind me how rare it still is to see a show with multiple female characters who are allowed to have complicated relationships with one another, and here we add in that the main driving force of the story was about these women's careers. That needs to become more of the norm, but for now, I still really appreciate a story like this when I see it.

In the joke corner for this week, I thought Louis' talk to Harvey about being a wild stallion was absolutely hilarious. I think it might just be the actor's delivery, but I will never get sick of Louis being unintentionally really dirty and inappropriate with his choice of words. I also liked Donna's new potential beau. He was really charming and goofy and seemed like just the right match for her in the comedy department.

Mike got one itty bitty mention this week, but I wouldn't be me if I didn't comment on it. Robert points out that Harvey is being a hypocrite for hating on this boxer for throwing a match, when Harvey himself threw a case in the past. Harvey says: "that was to get Mike out of prison," and Robert replies that the boxer is doing the same thing for his family. This implies that Mike is Harvey's family, which of course is something we all know, but I just love it when the show brings it up so casually. Hey, now that we know Season Nine is the last one, do you think Mike will come back for an episode or two? Pretty please?

Okay - that's all for now!

8/10