Suits Season 1 Episode 6 Recap/Review

            Heading into its sixth episode, Suits has now clearly established the narrative each hour will normally follow. A simple case will suddenly become complex, with Mike and Harvey combining their respective skills to save the day. All the while, jokes will be had, a couple of plot twists will pop up, relationships will be become more fleshed out, and the ramifications about Mike and Harvey’s lie further explored. This type of serialization has its advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, it makes for easy summer television, where people can pop in out throughout the season without feeling lost. Also, because the plot and storytelling are not the biggest component, the show’s humor and the relationships between the characters must take center stage. In other words, those details tend to be more thought out and developed compared to shows that focus heavily on season long arcs. It should not be a surprise that this is where Suits is heading, since the show is on USA. On the other hand, sometimes these types of shows can become too simplistic and predictably, ultimately making them stale. If every week is comparable to the one before and after it, where is the originality? Why should someone, like me, become invested in the show?

            Now, I am not saying Suits has become stale already, or that Trick of the Trade was not a good hour of television. In fact, I quite enjoyed tonight’s episode. I laughed constantly, and enjoyed the deepening and growing relationships between the characters. All I am saying is that there was a few times where I wish the writers had taken the episode in a different direction. For instance, at the start of the hour I thought we were going to see a much more morally ambiguous case. Here we had Harvey and Mike screwing over some poor girl, because it was the best interest of their client. Now I know the idea that a couple high-powered lawyers in New York City might crush the little guy in order to help their clients might seem foreign to some, but I think following that path would have made the plot more interesting.

            Look, I do not need Harvey and Mike to all of a sudden be heartless assholes. I would like, however, if they were not shining white knights all of the time. This is especially true in the case of Harvey. As I talked about last time, Mike is clearly driven by compassion, and it is to be expected that he would look for the good in everyone. Harvey, though, is a senior partner at a major law firm. He did not get there by the kindness of his heart or winning smile. Well, not entirely for the second reason. He is a shark, plain and simple. And yes, he tends to put the screws to the “bad guys”, which makes him the much more likeable. It would be nice, though, to see Harvey sometimes take out the “good guy”; if only to make him a more compelling character and diversify the storytelling. Also, watching Mike having to deal with the fact that his mentor is not as close to perfect as one person can be would be interesting to witness. Like I said, I do not need the boys to go all Lewis, I would actually hate it, but I would like them to take a step in the direction of Jessica from time to time. Do not be afraid to get them a little dirty show, you would be surprise what it would do creatively!

           

            Go-eth thee to the quick hits:

            I will say at least the show is developing the characters and their relationships in different ways, which is fantastic. For instance, Mike almost did not use his freaky brain superpowers at all this episode. Instead, he relied on his intuition, charisma, and ability to throw down shots to succeed. That last line really reads more like a personal goal of many of the kids I went to school with, just saying. Anyways, I did enjoy that social skills and common sense were more his tools this episode, because it shows he has skills outside of the ones he was born with. In other words, the kid can learn and grow, which is always nice to see.

            Too bad he sucks at lying. I wonder how that bomb at the end of the episode, with Rachel partly figuring out his secret, will blow up. Mike really needs to get a better poker face. Also, I have liked Rachel a lot so far, but I resisted the urge to yell, “Girl, please!” when she got all uppity about Mike possible cheating for her. That reaction might have been appropriate IF SHE DID NOT JUST TRY AND GET HIM TO CHEAT FOR HER! Moreover, it was only because of Mike that she did not go through with it. I just cannot with this one. Hopefully next week she will calm the hell down, cause I do not want to hate her. I will though, for the sake of Mike Ross’ honor.

            At least Jessica continues to be fabulous. She is constantly working to ensure the firm’s success, even trying to smooth over Harvey and Lewis’ relationship. Totally pointless adventure, but it is important she tries. I also like that she recognizes Lewis’ strengths. I would not be able to stand her if she was a total Harvey fan girl. Finally, she wins the night with, “And now it’s funny because I’m quoting Top Gun and get out of my office.” I die every time with her.

            Can we also just quickly comment on how nobody is ever honest on this show? Ever. Not even the throwaway and one-off characters. I mean et tu, Bradley? Clearly, homely there was rejected by the cute girl at some point.

            Even though I would like Harvey to be a little less perfect morally, and really he pretty much always is, that does not mean I want to see him stop tearing down trifling pieces. Tonight he was just taking names and kicking asses left and right. Mike, Allison's dad from Teen Wolf, the corrupt lawyer, both his clients, and even Jessica a little bit. That has to be a record even for him. Also, he is hot. Nothing really to add there just felt I have not mentioned it in a while. Nothing but high-class here folks!

            -Mike needs to be high or drunk more often. No filter Mike equals awesome Mike. His line in that scene about the one random bro’s sister had me rolling. Especially, his follow up line when the other random bro tried to steal it. Basically, I take the best lines each episode and use them the following week to convince people I am funny. Seeing as not a lot of people in my life watch Suits, I could not tell you why, it works. Your homework this week is to incorporate, “I could pull it off. I have soft features.” into a daily conversation.

            -It was not just the throwaway lines this week that were fantastic, however, it was also the throwaway scenes. Lewis ripping random first-year? Awesome. The Rocky impressions? Priceless. All the Top Gun references? Hilarious, even if the movie is just meh. Yeah I said it!

            Finally, did anybody else get lost when they were discussing all of the businessy stuff? I really could not grasp it, which is sad because I know it was not that hard. That is what two liberal arts degrees get you kids! A lack of business knowledge, a job as a nanny in Germany, and a blog read by the tens!

So do you agree with me that the show needs to diversify its narrative techniques a little? Is Jessica not becoming your new idol of sass and one-liners? Where in the hell was Grandma Ross and Donna this week?! I am pretty sure “fuck” is the only curse word left that the show has to cover, will it do it?