Suits: Peas in a Pod (8x14)

This is one of those episodes that didn't totally fail, but just felt kind of bland.

Cons:

Scottie has always been an interesting character, but this return for her felt kind of pointless. She was a prop so that we could have some interesting interactions between Sam and Harvey, and push the Donna/Harvey question further once more. I wanted more with her. I don't think she and Harvey made for a good couple, but still. I think the character deserved better.

There were plenty of story lines and character beats in this episode that were just fine, and I'll talk about some good stuff in a minute, but a lot of this stuff felt watered down and predictable. Louis' therapist is in trouble, Louis considers crossing a line, he doesn't cross a line, and at the end of the episode we're back to status quo. Scottie potentially stirs stuff up in regards to Harvey and Donna, but then Thomas conveniently comes out of the elevator just as Harvey was maybe going to say something, and nothing progresses. Both Sam and Alex had cases where they had to make compromises, and while I think it's good to go for something in between an all-out lose and an all-out win sometimes, I'd be lying if I said it didn't occasionally make for lackluster conclusions.

Pros:

I did like the fact that Louis and his therapist Lipschitz have an interesting bond, and it was fun to have him around in this episode. I like that Louis is still frenetic, still a bit over the top, but he and Stan do have an understanding, and they do have boundaries, even if sometimes they have to renegotiate them. It was great when Louis went to the guy suing Lipschitz and appealed to him as a fellow patient. That was a real moment of humanity and strength for the character.

Katrina continues to be my new favorite on this show. I like that she found a way to help Samantha, and then went even further and helped her to see the right thing to do, even though Sam wasn't thrilled about it at first. She didn't have a lot of screen time here, but she had enough to assert herself as a real force, and one not to be reckoned with.

At the start of this season, they tried to play up that Harvey and Samantha would have an interesting dynamic, but for most of the season they really haven't been at the forefront. It was interesting to get to know a bit more about their dynamic through the intermediary of Scottie as a conflict. Harvey initially was put into a position where he had to choose which of the two women he would support. But then, he basically asks Samantha to help him out by going easy on Scottie. It was an interesting, and humble, way for Harvey to get out of his predicament and help save Scottie's career. And I like Harvey and Samantha going out for drinks after work. I don't think there's anything romantic or sexual there, but it's cool to see Harvey reaching out for company instead of wallowing in loneliness, and I like Samantha softening up a bit and being friendly with her colleagues as well.

I also liked this plot thread because sometimes our core cast can be a bit hypocritical about rooting out wrongdoing, when they've done just as bad themselves. Here, we see that Scottie helped to cover up fraud, but she did it to protect people's jobs. Harvey, and eventually Samantha, are both willing to help her get out of a tricky situation, because they realize that sometimes people cross lines for the right reasons, and deserve another chance. Katrina and Donna both interfere to try and make Harvey and Samantha do the right thing by Scottie, which I also thought was fun.

Alex and Gretchen got to have a really intriguing plot thread that brought up Gretchen's dead husband, and Alex's own conflicting feelings of loyalty to his client, and compassion for a grieving widower. Both of these actors really got to stretch their muscles with some good comedy and compelling drama. I like that we're going back to Gretchen's mistake and showing that she wants to make it right with Alex, while also showing how Gretchen can be a real asset to Alex's practice. I felt really bad for everyone involved in the case - the guy who made the machines really didn't think he'd done anything wrong, and even though he turned out to be kind of a jerk, I like that he wasn't a straight up corrupt villain from the jump.

Mike only got one mention this week, but it was Donna dropping his name to remind Harvey that Scottie always came through when it was Harvey or Mike on the line. I think Donna knows the power of invoking Harvey's gratitude on Mike's behalf. Or, alternatively, I'm desperate and starving for Mike Ross content so I'll take whatever crumbs are thrown my way. Or maybe both. Leave me alone.

7.5/10