The penultimate episode of Suits has aired and it attacked me in ways I would never wish upon my enemy. From Samantha’s (Katherine Heigl) team up with Mike (Patrick J. Adams) to Harvey’s (Gabriel Macht) heart-wrenching eulogy, there was so much packed into this episode that I’m still in awe.
Harvey’s Eulogy
We start with Harvey’s sad yet beautiful eulogy. Describing how his mother has always been by his side, even when he didn’t think she was there—I may have shed a tear or two. The cracking of his voice and his long pauses made my heart sink a thousand times deeper than I thought was possible. Even Donna (Sarah Rafferty) says it herself at the funeral reception: it was “beautiful” and she’s sure his mother “would’ve loved it.” To be honest, I think it might have been one of the best Harvey and Lily scenes on the show. I know Lily isn’t technically there, but between Harvey staring longingly at a painting and this episode’s eulogy, I think the best parts of Harvey (and Suits as a whole) come out when he’s trying to cope with the fact that he’s lost so much time to his anger. Just like in life, you can’t get back that lost time.
I think, even though I didn’t exactly like Lily’s death (with the poor timing of it all), that was the message that the writers were trying to get at. The message that time will be lost due to anger, due to pain, due to anything that stands in the way of our happiness. Instead of mulling over that lost time, do something about it—fix it. Harvey is unfortunately in this position because he could not get over his anger. It took Donna’s advice to help Harvey get over himself, to take action and repair the bridge. Sometimes, that’s life. However, instead of emulating Harvey’s years and years of anger and self-loathing, maybe we can reconcile our differences. We don’t have to be like Harvey.
(At the end of the day, Harvey deserves better and there’s no denying that, but I’ll have to admit, if you don’t want to be a suave lawyer with a beautiful girlfriend/future wife…you’ll have to do some re-evaluating about your own life.)
The Firm Fights Back
In order to help Harvey cope with the loss of his mother, Donna makes a plan to get rid of Faye Richardson (Denise Crosby) for good. Recruiting the help of Mike and Sam, the firm prepares to fight against the Wicked Witch of the Bar. After the funeral, the two file a wrongful termination suit against the special master. Unfortunately, as Faye is always able to outsmart the firm, she forces Harvey and Louis (Rick Hoffman) onto her side with the threat of Sam’s disbarment.
Richardson promises that if they clear her name, she will leave the firm; however, the two men cannot use any underhanded tricks which includes telling Mike and/or purposely throwing the case. Frustrated and seeing no other way to go, the lawyers reluctantly take her deal.
Obviously, to the surprise of Mike and Samantha, they fight against their friends and former co-workers. They never hear the truth throughout the episode, and what hurts the most is Louis’ and Harvey’s attack on Samantha.
Dismantling her character, the two name partners reference her previous antics at the firm, including her assault on Louis’ mugger and her hostility towards Faye from day one. Watching Samantha’s confidence fall and shatter as two men who she considers family tear her down was exhausting. Later, Louis is confronted by Katrina (Amanda Schull) about his hostility, and when Louis does not apologize for his cruelty, she takes matters into her own hands. The chain of events which transpire, despite giving Sam and Mike the upper hand, lead to her downfall. She gets fired for colluding with the other side, along with being belittled by an angry, irrational Harvey.
I loved this story line. From seeing a new lead character to one of the original five interact with each other (Sam and Mike) to the powerful energy which each actor gives off while channeling his or her inner lawyer had me spiraling. I hated seeing my favorite characters, Mike and Harvey, pitted against each other, but it was worth it—almost. Just like Darvey really needs a vacation now, Katrina deserves one too.
Grandma’s Ring
Even though it was a two second clip, Harvey’s grandmother’s wedding ring is worth mentioning because if that’s not foreshadowing, then I don’t know what is.
We barely got any Darvey this episode. Of course, fans across Twitter are losing their minds because there was a freakin’ Shouis proposal, but Darvey can’t even get their lips to touch after Harvey’s mom dies. (A tad bit insensitive, but honestly? I get where they’re coming from.) They better be satisfied now because I gasped incredibly loud.
Suits is known for its predictability—and I have to admit, I knew something like this was coming, but holy smokes. It still feels absolutely surreal. It’s tacky to do it right after a death…incredibly cliche, but I’ve gotten on this ship and I’m not leaving. A Darvey proposal! Don’t you know what this means? Harvey and Donna will be MARRIED! If I don’t get my Darvey proposal in the season finale, I might just cry.
The Marvey Bromance
Marvey, the brotherly romance of Mike and Harvey. It’s just not the same when they’re pitted against each other; however, as the episode comes to a close, Donna, as always, comes to the rescue. Convincing Mike that, although she can’t tell him what’s going on at the firm, he needs to put aside his anger for one night to spend time with Harvey as his friend. And of course, they do.
Mike and Harvey sit for drinks at a classy bar as they remember the good times, tugging at my heartstrings. Batman and Robin talk about fooling the entire world and it’s just so damn nostalgic, and I have to admit, I teared up a lot more than I should have. Although I was already shaken up by Katrina’s firing, I tried desperately to forget it for one second. With Imagine Dragons’ heavy pop rock music in the background, you knew something was going to go down. It was too good to be true. Toto, we aren’t in Kansas anymore.
The episode ends with Harvey subpoenaing Mike, and well, I’m livid that I couldn’t get more than two minutes of my boys just drinking like I so desperately want them to.
Closing Notes
Usually I go heavy on the analysis, talking about the meaning of a scene, but there was far too much for me to say for the episode. The chaos and the small, tender moments needed to be talked about today. As the penultimate episode closed with the credits rolling, all I could manage to think was “God, this is really the end of Suits.” It’s a bittersweet time, but knowing that this was the quality of the “pre-finale,” I have confidence knowing that when it’s the last time for us to suit up, it’s going to be great.
SUIT UP WITH ME ONE LAST TIME NEXT WEDNESDAY. The Suits finale premieres on September 25th at 9/8c.
