Suits - Recap: Making Donna Cry is Illegal
Taking into consideration the fact that the title of this week’s episode of Suits was “She’s Mine,” I’ll let you all insinuate how I felt by the show’s close. Hints: Donna cried. Harvey threw punches. Season 3 of Suits is stellar.
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As I previously stated, Episode 7 was divided down the middle, so I’ll do the same with this recap. First, Louis found himself in quite the pickle following Nigel’s (Adam Godley) early return from his business trip. Remember, Louis had promised to take impeccable care of Nigel’s cat for two weeks, only to be caught off guard and disappointed by his rival’s mere two-day absence. Louis, in truth, had bonded beyond belief with the feline, and he had no intention of losing any time he’d agreed to spend with her. Rachel (Meghan Markle) had been enlisted to help Louis in case of a “Code Red” emergency, and the two would convene privately amidst the rows of files in the copy room regarding how to, well, steal this cat. Funny enough, Nigel had equipped his pet with a tracking device, leading him straight to Louis comical scheme.
What had Louis so smitten? Rachel did her best to support Litt, even buying the pair some time with a quick “legal” stall, but she too was in the dark regarding Litt’s motives. Louis’, understandably so, finds himself bruised and battered midway through Season 3. We’ve seen Louis go through the ringer, persistently burned by Harvey (Gabriel Macht), Mike (Patrick J. Adams), and the other Pearson Darby lawyers. Seeing Harvey’s name tacked up on the wall on the episode prior only made matters worse. The straw that broke the camel’s back, Louis’ only consolation was a mouse brought to him by this cat, condolences for his pain. Rachel is, needless to say, a bit of a softie when it comes to the mushy stuff, isn’t she? With Katrina distracted by Nigel for the time being, Louis would trust no one but Rachel in a mock trial set up to decide who’d be the best parent for Nigel’s cat. Of course, the general consensus was that this idea was a ridiculous one; however, this plot was set up to clue us in to Louis’ raw emotional state in a humorous way. We’d witness a mock trial, Louis vs. Nigel, with the associates as a jury, but the end result was what would end up mattering most. By that, I’m not referring to the verdict. I'm referring to Louis' quiet final moments with Rachel.
Rachel Zane had her first case! It was a mock trial over a cat, but it was something! Louis and Rachel initially did a great job of painting Nigel as an absent father, frequently flying off and leaving his pet to fend for her own needs. Nigel, though, had a truly biased jury on his side. Remember, Louis was notorious for running the associate training program like a dictator. Things looked dark and cut to black in a snap when Nigel called in none other than good ol’ Harold to take the stand. Harold, having suffered through a few seasons’ worth of “abuse” from Louis had no problem bringing up the countless ways Litt had belittled him as an associate before he’d end up at another firm entirely. Rachel, who’d panicked to begin with, eventually brought up the fact that Harold ended up completely happy along with the laundry list of screw-ups he’d been behind while working for Louis, mistakes that Louis had covered and taken care of privately. True, Louis was beyond harsh to Harold, but everything turned out for the best. Harold’s admittance that Louis had loved his deceased cat, a cat Harold was responsible for “killing,” was the nail in the coffin. Louis had his win.
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That evening, Rachel and Louis celebrated in his office, only to end up with a surprise visit from Nigel, admitting imminent defeat and to make a settlement. In truth, he loved his cat, as Louis loved his associates. Nigel offered a trade, and with some heartfelt guidance from Rachel, Louis would take it. As a reward for winning her first case, and for reminding Louis of the importance of picking yourself up and dusting your shoulders off after tough times, Louis presented her with the Columbia acceptance letter he'd stored away like champagne waiting to be popped for their inevitable victory as a duo. The two hugged it out to close out their Episode 7 arc, creating a nice little moment of unexpected and genuine appreciation for each other.
USA "Suits"I will beat the sh*t out of you.Thanks for that line, Suits! How could I have otherwise begun the recap of the other half of Episode 7’s story arc than with Harvey’s now infamous words to Stephen (Max Beesley), who’s refusal to stop meddling in Harvey’s case gift-wrapped Cameron (Gary Cole) a key witness in the colonel. Harvey had interrupted Stephen’s piano-driven date with Donna to lay into Stephen once and for all. What had allegedly transpired was that Stephen attempted to contact this Colonel Morega first. In turn, Cameron somehow supposedly wiretapped the conversation and got in contact with the same man while offering a better bribe. Donna (Sarah Rafferty), needless to say, was caught in the middle; however, we know her to be a straight shooter, specifically one that favors the actual Harvey over a secondhand Harvey. Still, Stephen had a point in noting that the case would have been taken away from Harvey entirely had he not convinced Ava (Michelle Fairley) to stick around. How quickly Stephen spiraled into this negatively unpredictable territory!
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Still, none of this would matter had Cameron and this colonel not brought something very important, and incriminating, to the attention of Harvey’s team, which now included a concerned Jessica (Gina Torres). Jessica, furious with Harvey over the revelation he’d made regarding his deal with Darby, took back control of her firm by taking control of this case. I enjoyed Jessica tremendously this week. Fury fuels this character well! She’d need it, too. Ava forgot to mention a phone conversation she’d had on record with this man, and Cameron planned to use it against them.
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Ava, in truth, remembered nothing about the conversation except for the fact that it was most likely a mere courtesy call. What became increasingly clear was that Ava’s former number two, Nick, could have been behind the hired murderer. Had Nick done this under Ava’s nose? Would it matter if Ava should have been aware? Mike, in the cleverest move he’s played all season, visited Cameron out of the blue. The thing about Mike is that we sometimes have to be reminded of how street smart he is in addition to his general genius intelligence. Pretending to get so aggravated with Cameron, the “d*ck,” Mike slapped a file out of the crooked lawyer’s hand out of phony blind rage, giving him, and his amazing memory, a glance at the paperwork inside while he profusely “apologized” and scraped the files off the carpet. Mike had the evidence they’d need to peg Nick with the charges.
Unfortunately, all would not go according to plan. The fact that Ava was, indeed, completely in the dark regarding much of the shady business that had gone down worked against her. Nick, who’d also denied hiring a murderer, revealed in a deposition that he’d been emailing with Ava at the time, neglecting to include the information that Mike had drudged up, that he opened a Swiss bank account the day after the phone call was made to hold illegal funds, for fearing of incriminating his boss. Basically, what you need to know is that because all of the business going on at the time was corrupt or underhanded, the truth had been so dragged through the mud that there was no clear-cut argument for Harvey’s team. Even if Jessica had hoped to peg Nick, there wasn’t enough hardcore evidence to prove that someone in charge wouldn’t have been in cahoots with her right-hand man to begin with. Ignorance would not work in Ava's favor this time.
The silver lining in this portion of Episode 7, “She’s Mine,” was that Jessica and Harvey would inevitably patch things up. Needless to say, Jessica’s ruthless targeting of Nick had clearly reflected her distrust for her own former right-hand man, Harvey. In yet another nighttime rooftop conversation, the two opened up regarding their motives, admitting to letting prideful rage get in the way of their generally positive partnership. Had Harvey confessed to Jessica in order to get her to turn on Darby? Probably. Was Jessica feeling a sense of bitterness about the merger regardless? Probably. Harvey, denying a firm partnership, seemed to have won back Jessica’s trust.
Suits, I love you for this Season 3 twist. The end of Episode 7 was certainly a whopper, folks. Donna was tipped off to some fishy behavior after discovering that Stephen had, behind Harvey’s back, acquired the colonel’s deposition. The Darby “fixer” motive began to feel thin, at this point, and soon enough we’d be clued into the truth. Attempting to keep Stephen’s secret even after dumping him for good, a distraught Donna found herself consoled by a Mike, who’d witness her clearly un-Donna-like state in a quick offhand quip from our favorite ginger in passing. All Donna had to do was to tip Mike off to Stephen’s meddling, and the rest would unfold like clockwork.
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With a little digging, Mike discovered that it was none other than Stephen who’d made the call to hire the colonel to murder innocent people! Remember, Darby is very protective over Ava, the daughter of his former flame, and as it turns out, Darby’s “Harvey,” Stephen, did what he felt was necessary to secure this business deal. At least, he set things into motion by hiring his old University of Cape Town college buddy, Morega, to do the dastardly deed. Now, the Darby half of Pearson Darby was in a war to save their own skins, and Ava has become an unaware sitting duck. Donna, crying tears of embarrassment, apologized to Harvey for trusting this man. Harvey, without saying a word, stormed out of his office, burst into the bathroom, and beat the sh*t out of Stephen. Nobody makes our Donna cry.
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What did you think of Suits Season 3 Episode 7, “She’s Mine”? Did you love the chemistry between Rachel and Louis? Will Rachel choose Columbia or Stanford? Are you happy to see Harvey and Jessica back in business? Did you like watching Mike getting crafty again? What does this mean for the merger?
Thanks for reading my Recap and Review of Suits Season 3 Episode 7, “She’s Mine”!