Suits Season 1 Episode 9 Recap/Review

            Where will Mike and Harvey draw the line when it comes to ethical dilemmas? When Suits first premiered, that was one of the questions I was most interested in the series exploring. For a lot of shows, it is easy to have their main characters see moral quandaries as black and white and never doubt those determinations. Suits, however, cannot do that, because Mike and Harvey’s entire relationship is founded on a lie. If they were to take such a binary view on everything else after their deception, it would come off as highly hypocritical. At the same time, they have to have some type of moral system and values. Otherwise, their characters would be totally unrelatable to the audience. Most importantly, whatever decisions Mike and Harvey make have to be consistent with their personalities, or the writers just come off as picking whatever works best for the story. Tonight, I felt like Suits did all of that with Undecided.

            Both Mike and Harvey struggled with their moral dilemmas, but their ultimate decisions were in line with what we know about them so far. Mike clearly felt for Jimmy, and obviously understood what it was like to take a shortcut in the hopes of getting ahead. At the same time, he could not comprehend knowingly hurting somebody in order to come out on top. Mike will deceive, but he will not take somebody else down to facilitate his success. Harvey is all for deception, especially if it helps his clients, but will not sacrifice his honor. He will push things to their limits, and bluff without even giving it a second thought, but he will ultimately stay true to himself.

Of course there can be long discussions about whether or not these choices and values are the correct ones, but it does not change the fact they are consistent with who these boys have shown themselves to be so far. In other words, credit has to be given to the show, because it has found a satisfying way to make Mike and Harvey moral and not hypocritical at the same time. I do hope sometimes, however, the boys will cross those self imposed lines. As it stands, they are complex, but also perfect. Real people make mistakes, they sacrifice their values and beliefs at times in order to gain different things. Mike and Harvey have not done that yet, but I look forward to how they handle it when they do.

Quick hits baby:

-I am officially back on Team Rachel. Jenny/Penny/Blond Chick has not been around for a little bit now, and Rachel came roaring back tonight kids. Not only did I love her taking Louis down (more on that in a second), I absolutely sided with her when she decided to leave the firm. She was being mistreated, and I am glad to see she took the initiative to improve her situation better. Yes, Mike helped save the day, but Rachel did not wait around to be rescued. As for her confrontation with Louis, I was cheering up a storm when that happened. She held all of the cards and, most importantly, knew it. Good for her not being intimidated and playing ball with the big boys. As long as she does not go all crazy again, consider me permanently on her team.

-DONNA!!!! Seriously, she just makes me devolve into a screaming, hysterical fanboy. She is just so amazing. Of course, I love her for her one-liners. Also, I appreciate how smart and experienced she is. She knew Louis would not betray the firm, and had the sense to make sure Mike understood it too. Furthermore, that blue dress looked fantastic on her tonight. Funny, smart, and beautiful? God, even I would marry her.

-Loved James Bond as the random movie reference tonight. I wonder how many takes it took for Macht to say Pussy Galore without cracking up. I bet over ten.

-Man, Harvey was getting owned left and right tonight. Once again, though, he proved it is not about who gets the most punches in, but who delivers the final blow. Harvey is the best due to his ability to finish everything, not his overall talent. Clearly, that is what he sees in Mike. Sure the kid is smart, but it is his ability to end it that makes Harvey believe in him.

-WHERE IS GRANDMA ROSS SHOW?! I am done with these shenanigans. She better be back before the season is over, you hear me?!

-Can we also see more of Harold? It is nice to see Louis punch a first-year around, especially when it is not Mike.

-I also would like to see Jessica bring down the hammer at some point. I think it would be terrifying and awe inspiring at the same time. Harvey is a sniper, Louis is a tank, but Jessica would just be a nuke. Total decimation.

            -Tonight’s banter was some of the best the show has ever had. I always appreciate how smart it is too. The way in which everybody just slings around the bon mots at each other is  terrific. Really makes you want to live in that world, you know?