Suits - Season 2 Episode 9 - Recap and Review - Asterisk

Purely and unbelievably devastated. Those are my exact feelings about the passing of Grandma Ross. Never have I been so sad about losing a periphery character in one of the television programs I follow. Making matters worse, I could not even enjoy her last minutes, because the show was foreshadowing her demise from the very beginning. Let it be known, if a character is just sporadically interjected into a different environment for an innocuous reason like delivering lunch, shit is about to go down. So there I was with each successive mentioning of her name, from Mike getting her an apartment to him missing dinner with her, becoming more and more nervous. At the very end when he went to open the door supposedly to let her in, all I could do was watch through splayed fingers repeating, “No, no, no, no, no.” Even if all the hinting was not there, however, this was an inevitable development.

At the top of the season, Suits’ promos centered on the idea of civil war coming to Pearson Hardman. While that is certainly been the focus of the major plot this season so far, I should have known the show would have taken it a step further. In essence, civil war is merely internal strife resulting from two conflicting sides that cannot be rectified. In a lot of ways, that is exactly what every main character has been experiencing this season.

Harvey was always the winner due to his persona, but now keeps losing because of it. Louis was always loyal yet passed over, but can now gain the upper hand by sacrificing his values. Jessica has always been in power through her ability to control all of the pieces, but now cannot retain it due to the pieces revolting. And Mike, who was always a screw up at everything except when it came to his grandmother, finally gets his life together but drops the ball there. In other words, the only way for Mike to feel conflicted on the same level as the other characters was for him to lose her.

Now, just like all of the other characters, Mike will have a decision to make: does he fully embrace his new life, or does the passing of his grandmother make him take a step back and revaluate? Do not be mistaken; the fact that Mike is facing a parallel decision to the one Harvey just faced five years ago is no coincidence. Rachel accused him of turning into Harvey two weeks ago for a reason, and now we will see if he really has.

If I was a betting man, I think his decision will turn out differently from Harvey’s. A big part of that has to do with Rachel. When Harvey lost his father, both Donna and Zoe attempted to be there for him but there was an obvious distance in their consoling. That last scene with Mike and Rachel demonstrated that there really is a deep connection between them. I think she will be the one to keep him connected to that ordeal and life, even if Harvey and Jessica are trying to pull him back into the firm’s mess.

Regardless, it will be very interesting to see how this all plays out. As sad as I was about Grandma Ross, I have to say this episode was excellent. There was an electricity and briskness I felt like had been lacking for the better part of this season that seemed at play everywhere. Part of that had to do with Donna returning and Louis’ new sense of power, but mostly I think that everybody just freely speaking their minds and coming at each other was the main reason. It finally feels like we are getting some payoff from all the setting up that has been going on, and I am liking the results a lot.

Quick Hits:

DONNA!!!!!!!!!!!! WELCOME HOME!!!!!!!!!!!! God it was great to have her back. I never want to see her out of business attire again. Woman just owns my heart, and I am so happy she got to stick it to Harvey before agreeing to return. I believe her when she says she is not in love with him. I am sure at a certain point in her life she was, as she freely admits herself, but that moment has come and gone. Love her, love her, love her.

The writers have really done a number with Louis this season, because I am still completely on his side. The man had every right to say what he did to Harvey, Jessica and Hardman, and really then some. The truly sad thing is that he is still nothing more than a pawn in this game, he just does not know it. No matter how this all plays out, I do not see him coming out on top. Poor guy, and I really mean that.

I really cannot get into the Grandma Ross thing, because come on! How was that going to be the last we heard from her?! I just cannot right now. Such a loss, even a necessary one, will stick with me for a while.

At least one great thing came out of her death, namely, that scene with Mike and Rachel. Beautiful moment and definitely one of their best ones throughout the series. I am not going to get into how perfect they are for each other, because we have been down that road so many times. Needless to say, when Mike can finally tell Rachel the full truth about his past, I will really talk about them as a couple again.

So Jessica continues to act like an idiot towards Louis because? I am still unable to understand why she treated him so poorly this season up to this point, but really do not get her actions tonight. I am honestly going to call bullshit on the writers here, because there is just no way. Last season, Jessica made a point to acknowledge Louis and his work even when it was not necessary. Now all of a sudden she is insulting him when it matters? Yeah, no. Calling shenanigans, kids.

Fantastic episode tonight, and I so cannot wait for next week’s summer finale!