Suits - Recap: You Just Got Litt Up!

Suits Season 3 Episode 9, “Bad Faith,” certainly made one thing clear. There was no way this episode was not going to be titled “Bad Faith” after how many times the phrase was tossed around by nearly everyone involved in the dissolution of this merger. Last week, Jessica (Gina Torres), Harvey (Gabriel Macht), and Mike (Patrick J. Adams) seemed to have toppled Darby, barring him from practicing law in the U.S. as a partner and sending him to trial against his own favorite Stephen Huntley. Unfortunately, shooing Darby from the doorstep was one thing. Divvying up the assets in this "divorce" would be a whole new game of chess, and this time, everyone is playing... even Louis (Rick Hoffman). Here is the Recap and Review of Season 3 Episode 9 of Suits, “Bad Faith”!

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Episode 9 certainly began on a high note. Mike and Rachel (Meghan Markle) followed up a night’s worth of sex with, well, what was probably sex. Mike needed coconut water to recover, as we’d later come to learn. Meanwhile, Harvey treated his confidant, Donna (Sarah Rafferty), to an Hermes shopping spree. Let’s face it; while everyone fighting for the freedom of Ava Hessington had at one time or another been burned, it was Donna who’d truly been put through the ringer. She deserved the opportunity to help Harvey pick out a new handbag or two! As these perfectly positive moments unfolded, Louis attempted to work off of Jessica’s current victorious, and probably nicer, state by offering up his unbiased expertise in the dissolution with Darby. Jessica and Harvey had, of course, developed a personal seething rage for Darby and all parties involved with this mess. Louis, on the other hand, could handle the situation “cool as a cucumber.” Harvey scoffed at the mere concept of bringing Louis in on the procedure, but in the end, Jessica would manage to convince him otherwise… with a twist.

Harvey, who’d apparently maintained his position as firm partner, had continued to treat Louis as an "equal," when in reality, the relationship had begun to take a turn for the inappropriate. Harvey, recognizing the lack of respect he maintained for Litt from his higher-up position as partner, decided to allow Louis to play “quarterback” under Jessica’s advisement, so long as he was able to do the real work behind the scenes. Louis was instructed to play fair, which initially came as a shock; however, learning that Harvey would work on picking off clients in the field and under the radar while he held off signing the dissolution until the client lists could be finalized, Louis became invigorated. Finally, Litt would play a pivotal part in one of Jessica and Harvey’s super schemes.

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Unfortunately, both Louis and Harvey would find themselves blindsided by pretty able opponents. Outside of Samsung, Harvey ran into Scottie (Abigail Spencer), who’d been, you guessed it, offered her name on the door if she could smother the fire set in her firm’s house. Meaning, the final terms of the dissolution would make or break her career. Harvey, unwilling to budge, would be caught off guard by an unexpected curve ball. Louis headed into the meeting, Katrina (Amanda Schull) by his side to keep him reeled in; however, he did not expect to see none other than Nigel (Adam Godley) sitting behind the table in the conference room. The mere mention of his prized feline sent Louis into a tizzy that caused him to completely and utterly lose his cool… and to lose sight of the one unconditional task truly ordered by Jessica. Alerted via text, Scottie strutted away with her win, while Harvey was left with nothing to bring to the table in his battle for Samsung. Louis had truly blown it, and the terms were signed.

Louis’ mistake had seemed to tip the scales insurmountably in the opponents’ favor, yet Jessica was not one to give up without a fight. There had to be some sort of loophole in the agreement that would allow their firm to sap enough revenue from the final deal. Mike, always a step ahead, showed up just as Jessica began to explain her plan to entice clients who still owed them money to pay up early with incentives. Mike would go on to suggest Folsom Foods (I’m sure you remember that massive case from Season 2. Although, that’s not what’s truly important). Folsom Foods is a client of Rachel’s father, Robert Zane (Wendell Pierce), and Mike, obviously, had quite an in with him.

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Mike and Rachel, meanwhile, had a big decision on their plate. Mike, tired of Rachel’s increasingly incessant criticisms like, say, which side of the sink he leaves his empty coffee cup on, confessed to feeling like a guest in her apartment. Remember, Rachel refuses to use his due to memories of girlfriends past. Mike, ready to take a logical if not a bit rash next step in their relationship, invited Rachel to move in with him. Of course, the location would need to change, and thus, we were treated to a great romantic scene between the two in his grandma’s old apartment, the place he’d always envisioned building a life with Rachel.

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So much of Suits seems to center on the inability of men to read women. Women work in the field of law, too, of course, and thus, we always have drama. Harvey is unwilling to get vulnerable, as we’d come to witness later, and Mike’s naivety among his absolute brilliance often lands him in hot water with Rachel. Sideswiping Rachel’s father on the golf course and inevitably using his personal relationship with the man’s daughter, Mike impressed Zane by coming in with a quick one-two punch. Robert Zane would never have agreed to send a check over sooner than he had to, even one with a pay cut, if only to stick it to Harvey Specter. Bringing Rachel up meant that all bets were off. That evening, Harvey would congratulate Mike on his skills, while Rachel would find herself humiliated after learning of the news from her father in the midst of explaining her near decision to shack up with Mike to her mother.

Immediately, Rachel headed over to Mike’s apartment, infuriated by his abuse of the comfort of their intimate relationship. Suddenly, it seemed that “some time” to think had swelled to and “indefinite amount of time.” Still, in all of his cluelessness, Mike didn’t seem to truly grasp why playing Robert Zane's daughter’s happiness against him was a somewhat shameless move, even if Robert ended up approving of his courage. Would this new added revenue even matter when it came to the final dissolution? That evening, Mike would speak to Rachel in her office, assuring her that she’d have all the time in the world to make her decision. Rachel then dropped the biggest bomb she could… She got into Stanford Law.

Harvey found himself, yet again, caught off guard by Scottie. This time, the key he’d given her to his apartment would bite him in the ass. Scottie, learning of the newly acquired yet fair-game revenue, came to Harvey asking for mercy. She’d agreed to help him early on in the season when this Hessington Oil situation first began. Now, she came to Harvey with one last plea for an I.O.U. Would Harvey find it in his heart to file the final terms without including the Folsom Foods profit?

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Jessica, learning of Harvey’s seemingly blatant mistake, questioned his motives. Harvey, it seemed, did indeed trust Scottie to make good on her promise to someday pay them back. In addition, Harvey used Jessica’s own advice, to start making generous decisions as firm partners, against her, not that she'd mind. Both Jessica and Harvey, in the end, seemed to settle on closing the book without a true attack on Darby. Panicked, Donna would later head into Harvey’s office with bad news. Hessington Oil had fired them as a client. Harvey, needless to say, felt incredibly duped and betrayed by Scottie. Donna begged him to simply pick up the phone and act like a person rather than a lawyer. Meaning, talk to Scottie and honestly ask for the truth; however, that isn’t how Harvey Specter naturally operates.

Luckily for Harvey, Louis, absolutely humiliated and shattered by his showing, found himself inspired by a pep talk from Katrina right around the time Mike had begun hounding Robert Zane for the Folsom Foods money. Katrina’s simple gesture, a gifted mug with “You Just Got Litt Up!” engraved across its side, seemed to be enough to encourage Louis to right his wrong. Louis headed straight to the offices of Tony Giannopoulos, the major shareholder in Hessington Oil and a one-time enemy to Pearson Darby. There, he ran into the same representative he did during the firm’s first set of meetings backing Ava’s position as head of the company. This time, Louis, catching the man by surprise, brought examples of his powerful means of reallocating money to safe and sound investments and accounts. I mean, he even managed to swipe back the Ferrari the man lost in his divorce to his wife! Louis is, indeed, a master manipulator when it comes to cash. Still, the fact that Louis was a “nobody” to Giannopoulos in the world of law and business seemed to crush his plan to convince him to support their cause.

Before I conclude this recap and review, I just want to point out that Suits really does take advantage of the cartoonish qualities of Louis Litt when they need to, don’t they? If you read any of the reviews for other the shows I cover, you know I sometimes refer to characters as “skeleton keys.” Meaning, they’re keys to opening up cans of worms that normally wouldn’t be opened. Example: Would a real lawyer ever really blow an entire dissolution over an unopened postcard sent to a cat? Of course not. Would a real lawyer ever have the magical powers Louis has to, say, steal back someone’s Ferrari effortlessly? I’m not sure. Maybe? In the end, Louis brings in the entertainment and this show would be a lot less fun and interesting without Rick Hoffman’s character on board. Also, I have no problem with the fact that his infinite secret abilities speed up the law processes we witness as viewers. Suits is way more fun when it's fast!

In the end, one last pep talk from Katrina would be enough to entice Louis to trust Harvey, a firm partner, with his game plan. Would Harvey give Louis credit for coming up with a strategy to win their battle if Litt couldn’t execute the win himself? Above and beyond, Harvey seemed to learn his lesson regarding respect, thanking Louis for his incredible game plan and, furthermore, inviting him back to the offices of Tony Giannopoulos to support Harvey in their finale move. Surprisingly enough, Louis’ “badass” skills combined with Harvey’s power and notoriety were enough to score exactly what they needed. If you think about it, a man who burns money like it's nothing and revels in nothing more than conquering would be impressed by the powers of people as cunning as Harvey and Louis. I certainly am, and I just write the reviews!

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That night, Scottie would storm into Harvey’s office, enraged and hurt by his betrayal. Having granted her what seemed like mercy, Scottie was beyond burned by Harvey’s decision to make a final power play. Harvey, refusing to believe Scottie’s innocence, ended up having to eat crow. Jessica made her presence known with an all-new lawsuit. Ava Hessington is suing all of them for malpractice. Yikes!

What did you think of Suits Season 3 Episode 9, “Bad Faith”? Will Rachel end up choosing Stanford over Mike? Does Ava Hessington have a right to sue everyone involved considering all of the crooked business she’s done and the snowball effects of her actions? Were you happy to see Louis come out on top and, finally, to witness a genuine emotional moment between Louis and Harvey?

Thanks for reading my Recap and Review of Suits Season 3 Episode 9, “Bad Faith”!