Suits has perhaps pulled off a really slick trick just as the mid season lull is starting to kick in. In this episode, we see Louis at his funniest and yet he is not the sideshow. Rather, he is the A-story and the episode still seems to carry as much gravitas as any other, or even more so.
The episode starts off with Louis happy that his relationship with Harvey is repaired. So happy that he is hell-bent on escorting one of the ladies of the firm on their “virginal” mudding session. It is shamelessly hilarious. However, on a more serious note, he still wants to rewind the damage he has done, so, characteristically, he attempts to do some “underhanded shit” (Jessica has a wonderful way with words) – pretending to sign a big client and split the earnings with Soloff so that he will withdraw the vote that cut Harvey’s pay. And characteristically… he fails. In that failure however we kind of get a taste of the quality antagonist that Soloff might shape up to be. He not only deftly sees through Louis’s ploy, he manipulates him completely, eventually locking the vote for 12 months. Fortunately, Jessica comes in like a deus ex machina and resolves the situation, but this is the first face-off between the two and we get the sense that this is where the main battle will eventually be fought. Pearson v Soloff looks like it may be a dramatic one.
On the Harvey front, a ghost from the past comes back to taunt him. In the same cinematic and narrative ambition that has somewhat characterised this season thus far, his plot line is told in a non-linear fashion. The ghost from the past is Travis Tanner (evil-Harvey from previous seasons). Harvey sees him in bed with Donna. This is a dream however, resulting from his anxiety about his current case in which he is up against Tanner. But now “apparently” Tanner has turned good. All evidence points to that, but Harvey still does not believe him and his hatred for Travis drives him to extremes. However, the important thing here is that Mike sees the extremes he is driven to. In the previous episode, Mike witnessed Harvey have a panic attack. As a result, he now doubts Harvey’s state of mind and judgement. Eventually, by convincing Travis to cut himself out of the case, he gets Harvey to ultimately make the right decision, but the question still stands – can Mike trust Harvey in the state he is in? As a result of the dream though, Harvey is again seeing his therapist, who psychoanalyses him based on both the dream and the case that preceded it. She eventually interprets his dream – that it was not Donna he saw, but his mother. And on that bombshell, we cut to black.
Solidly in mid season now, the main plot arches and character dynamics are starting to take shape. The trust between Harvey and Mike isn’t as solid as it could be. Soloff is poising himself to soon be in the perfect position to face off against Jessica. Louis’s lack of wit and scruples means that, although he is in a good place with Harvey Donna and Jessica now, we do not know how long that would last. The crux of Harvey’s psychological problems has now been pointed out as not Donna, but rather, his mother – a point that was made in a previous review. And all this is achieved with little lull in the charming comedy that makes the show loved by loads.
Fortunately, the show has moved away from Mike and Rachel’s nuptials.