Suits: If the Shoe Fits (9x05)

The status of Mike and Harvey's friendship was left way too vague for my tastes at the end of this episode. Please, please tell me Mike will be back for the finale!

Cons:

One thing about Mike being here is that it brought to focus how much better the show was when he was there. I'm serious. The banter in that opening scene between Mike and Harvey brought Harvey's character to life in a way I haven't seen since Mike left. Nothing in the chemistry between Harvey and Donna, or Harvey and Louis, or Harvey and Samantha, can compare to it. Mike and Harvey were the heart and soul of this show, and without one half of that dynamic, the energy just drops way down. It's like a frog in a pot of boiling water, though - you don't notice how much the show has gone downhill because you're kind of lulled into not noticing it. But then bam, Mike is back, and you remember how amazing this show was, once upon a time. Heavy sigh.

Turning to some more specific notes, I got flashbacks to Mike's time in prison when I was watching the final Mike and Harvey scene in this episode. Harvey was unimpeachable in his honesty, taking the loss gracefully and telling Samantha to back down. But then Mike doesn't get what he wants, and he blames Harvey for it and says Harvey has changed and is a bad person now or something. Mike has always had this moral high ground over Harvey and some of the other characters, but it's a really bad look to have him lording it over Harvey when in fact Harvey is not to blame, and is furious with Samantha for hurting Mike. Sometimes Mike Ross can't see the forest for the trees.

I thought Sheila and Louis' plot thread was just fine, but I was bummed that Mike didn't get more time with Louis and with some of the other characters. The feud between Mike and Samantha was fine, I guess, but Mike only got brief little moments with Katrina, Donna, and Louis. I wish we could have seen more of that instead of focusing on a subplot. Also, it always rubs me the wrong way when Louis and Sheila make comments about Louis' therapist being a "Nazi" because he's German. Didn't this guy say he was Jewish? Or had Jewish family or something? I don't know. It just seems kind of insensitive and ignorant.

Pros:

Mike! Mike Mike Mike Mike Mike!!! Let's just get into this, because having him back was such a joy.

As I said, Mike only got brief moments with some of the characters, but they were all great. Katrina and Mike kept up with their inside joke and shared a hug, Louis and Mike also hugged, and Mike gifted Louis a onesie for the baby. Louis is also the one who reminds Mike to not let bad blood at work get in the way of his friendship with Harvey. That's so sweet. Donna and Mike orchestrated the surprise visit for Harvey, which was kind of adorable. I'm just picturing Mike calling Donna and setting the whole thing up so he could be casually leaning against the counter when Harvey came in. How cute is that?

The case itself was really interesting, and I did like seeing Samantha and Mike pitted against each other. Mike came to New York to go up against Harvey specifically. He wanted to test himself against his former mentor, and Samantha was just supposed to be "along for the ride." I like that this episode presents this setup, and as a viewer you can immediately understand how things can go wrong very quickly. Harvey, Mike, and Samantha are all cut from the same cloth. They're the type of people who cross lines and play dirty, and when you have these people going up against each other, when there's also personal history at stake, things can go off the rails so quickly.

Harvey, as I mentioned above, does absolutely nothing wrong here. He does his best given the circumstances, and I love him for it. I love that his first concern when Mike brings up the case is making sure that he and Mike are okay at the end of it. He makes Mike promise that there will be no hard feelings when the case is over. And then, when it appears that Mike has won, Harvey bows out gracefully and invites Mike over to hang out with him and Donna. Even when they start to yell at each other, Harvey tries so hard to play the middle, to tell Mike that he did not endorse Samantha's actions, while also not selling Samantha out. Mike is right to be upset with Samantha, but Harvey is right to shield her, the same way he would have shielded Mike if they were still on the same side.

And Harvey does go to Samantha, and yell at her, and even though he defended her from Mike, he ends up telling her that he can't trust her anymore. That's a big, huge thing to say. It's not a simple case of picking Mike over Samantha. It's about trust, and friendship. This isn't the only time that Harvey has inadvertently kinda-sorta betrayed Mike because someone else went behind his back. But Harvey is willing to take a loss, Harvey is willing to back down, in order to preserve his friendship with Mike. As he tells Samantha: Mike is family.

Also, the banter. The banter is back. Mike makes fun of Harvey for watching Survivor. Mike gives Harvey a bad time for keeping the apartment in Rick Sorkin's name, showing that Mike remembers how important their first meeting was. They share a hug. Harvey tells Mike he's been replaced, and Mike asks if Harvey remembered to check if the guy has a law degree. Harvey jokes about Mike being afraid of going to prison. They're just... adorable? Yeah. Adorable. I love them, and I want Mike to come back for the finale so bad. The last interaction they have on this show can't be one where they're yelling at each other! That would be too sad!

There was one subplot I enjoyed. Donna tries to help Katrina get over Brian, but discovers in the process that Katrina has only ever had one serious relationship in her life, and she ended it for her career. Donna realizes that Katrina doesn't need a rebound right now - she needs to learn to have a better relationship to herself, so she encourages Katrina to take one night a week to do something just for her, that's not connected to work. This is an important message, especially for a professional single woman, and I love that Donna took the time to check in on Katrina in this way. She's the best.

So that's all I've got to say. So much cuteness with Mike and Harvey. So much drama and angst. Obviously you know I could write a whole thesis statement on why Mike and Harvey are the best thing about this show, but I tried my very best to restrain myself a little bit. I really, really hope that's not the last we see of Mike. I'll admit that seeing him made me less interested in everything else going on here. Will Samantha get her job back? Will Faye take the rest of the firm down? I don't know. And do I care? Well, yeah. Maybe a little bit. But I'd care more if Mike would stick around!

9/10