Suits: Cairo (9x04)

This episode felt a little bit "after school special" to me. It was about respect in relationships, and all of the characters kept talking about it in this kind of simplistic and unrealistic way. That's not to say I hated everything in the episode, but it just wasn't my favorite.

Cons:

The biggest problem for me was embodied in the moment when Harvey, Louis, Samantha, and Alex all did their dramatic slow-motion walk into Faye's office. They found a way to stop her from taking away Donna's vote, which is something she wanted to do because of the conflict of interest between Donna and Harvey. So they're all marching towards her office, they go in there, and as a united front, explain to her that Donna will be keeping her vote, because they've waived the conflict, and she can't stop them. This is all very nice and everything, but during the scene I was distracted by the fact that Donna wasn't there. If Donna gets a vote, if Donna is a part of the leadership of the firm, why does she sit back and let other people save her? Why doesn't she even get a say at all? It felt very counter-intuitive to me, like it went against the message, to have Donna be absent for this pivotal scene.

Donna and Harvey's romance just feels so... performative to me. I'm trying to give it a fair shake. I'm trying to get to a place where I can think it's cute, and leave it at that. But honestly, I'm still feeling pretty underwhelmed. Donna is upset about potentially losing her vote, but instead of telling Harvey about it, she blows up at him about his strained relationship with her father. I know she was covering up for something else, but I still felt like Donna was being really unfair in this instance. After all, Harvey hadn't done anything wrong. Her dad was the one who was hesitant. Why is it only Harvey's job to fix it?

I also refuse to believe that Harvey is that stupid. He offers Donna's dad money to help with his business venture. He seems to think this is a gesture of goodwill, but obviously Donna's father is deeply offended and feels disrespected. I thought Harvey was supposed to be this master at reading people? This was a dumb move, even for him. The second he mentioned the deal, I cringed, knowing it wouldn't be going his way.

And the dialogue is just so on-the-nose. Harvey makes a mistake, then has to learn his lesson and then has to tell us his lesson like he's giving a report at school. It's all very trite. That moment at the end where Harvey tells Donna they're going to be together forever was supposed to romantic, but for me it felt just as performative as the rest of their relationship. The actors are not doing a bad job at all, and they do have some degree of chemistry, but it's all just too... scripted.

For the most part I enjoy Alex and Samantha's friendship, and how Alex and Rosalie are welcoming Samantha into their family. But again, the theme of the episode just felt too blunt. I've never been a huge fan of the flashback stuff on Suits either, especially when, like in this episode, the flashbacks tell us something we already knew. Everything about Alex's story, how he was blackmailed and made to look complicit in a murder and cover-up, was old information. We were reminded of it on the "previously on." And other than the parts about Alex lying to his wife, there is absolutely nothing new in these flashback scenes. Or at least nothing new that matters.

Pros:

I feel like that was a very negative "Cons" section. It's not like I despise this episode or anything. There were plenty of things to enjoy.

For example, I still think Faye is a really interesting villain. Obviously there are a lot of things at play here, but she's not wrong to bring up the conflict of interest. She's not wrong to ask these people to work within a code of conduct. And she's not wrong that their attitude has been awful from day one. Of course, in this case I'm not 100% on her side, because I think Donna deserves her vote along with everyone else. But Faye isn't entirely wrong to be worried. Although I think it's stupid that she stole Gretchen from Louis (because that's not how secretaries in law firms work!) I like that Faye decides to give her back, admitting defeat in this one instance. I think she's probably gearing up to continue her fight against the name partners, but for now, she must concede the battle.

As I said, I love the continued theme of Alex and Rosalie welcoming Samantha into their family. They invite her over for board games, they make her feel at home with them and their kids. On the flip side, Samantha shows her loyalty and respect for them by doing what she can to get Alex out of a sticky situation. It was so cute that Alex and Rosalie were basically fighting over who was going to take a risk for whom. Samantha stepped in and made the play herself, because she could keep a level head about it. It looks like Alex is off the hook for now!

The cheesy dialogue and somewhat clumsy themes in this episode were definitely a problem, but the one place that the cheesiness worked for me was when Harvey was talking with his mom. It was such a satisfying character moment for Harvey when he patched things up with her, and now for him to call and tell her about Donna, and introduce these two women over the phone, is just so sweet and adorable. Harvey learned to be vulnerable and loving with the women in his life, and it's one of the most nuanced and satisfying character growth plot threads I've ever seen on TV. No joke.

Katrina and Louis' friendship is tested slightly, but once again we see evidence of Louis' maturity. He asks Katrina to do something risky and shady, and tries to pressure her because of their relationship. Katrina decides ultimately not to do it, and puts Louis in his place for asking her in the first place. I feel like the old Louis would not have backed down. He would have pushed and pushed and made things so much worse. But instead, he calms down, and he apologizes. I love Katrina for standing her ground, and Louis for respecting her choice!

Not much to say in the Mike Ross corner this week. His name was mentioned a few times in the context of throwing blame around for Jessica's disbarment, but that was about it. But next week? MIKE IS BACK AND I AM LIVING FOR IT! I can't wait to check back in, after I see the episode!

7/10