Family is… well, complicated. You love your family, after all. And your love isn’t conditioned to what they do or how they behave. You just love them. Even when they’re being stupid, even when they’re deliberately obtuse. Even when they make mistakes. That’s the whole point of family, after all. Unconditional love.
The uninitiated might think this is a show about the law. But, it really isn’t. It’s a show about family, about the bonds you make with people you work with, about the people you choose to be part of your life, and about what you would do for those people. That’s what it’s always been about, ever since Harvey made that fateful choice to hire a smart guy without a law degree to be his associate, or even before that, when it was just Harvey and Donna.
Family.
Samantha is part of that family, and that means that, as much as I disagree with what she did last week, and as much as she might have screwed over another member of the family, you don’t just abandon your family. You don’t throw them to the wolves. And you really, really don’t just sit there and do nothing when Faye fires them.
The question is: what are you willing to do for your family? Is the answer really everything? And, should it be?
Funnily enough, this is a recurring theme in this show. Because these people have crossed lines for each other before, absurd lines. The line Harvey is meaning to cross this episode, however, isn’t one that would bring personal consequences, but consequences to someone else, someone outside the circle.
An innocent, if you will.
When it’s about him, we know Harvey will do it – and the same applies to every member of the firm with the ever-changing name. They sure love to fall on the sword for one another, like that’s the only way to show love. But, as Donna proves this episode, that isn’t really the only path ahead.
It never has been.
Harvey does the right thing this episode, not because Donna tells him to, or because Louis agrees with her, Harvey does the right thing because this is who Harvey Specter is now. He’s no longer the cocky guy who pretends not to care about anyone, the one we met back in the “Pilot.” He’s grown, and the people around him have grown. The firm has grown, about as much as the name has changed.
Life is about that. About moving forward. About getting better. It’s about that for Louis, Alex, Katrina, Donna, Harvey, and yes, Samantha. Which is why it’s important for her to recognize, as she does at the end, that she was the one that screwed up, and the blame for all of this doesn’t lay at Harvey’s feet, even if he likes to hog all the blame.
She made a decision, a selfish one. She wanted to win. But the thing about Samantha is that she didn’t want to win just because she likes winning, though she does, she wanted to win because she doesn’t know any other way to be worthy. She wanted to win because that’s the only way she thinks others will love her.
And that’s why that conversation at the end with Harvey, that road-trip they’re taking next week, is so important. Samantha has been way behind the other characters in the personal growth box for a while. Time for her to realize that she is more than her accomplishments. Time for her to accept herself for who she is, not what she can do.
Time for her to grow as much as Harvey Specter has done.
It’s the only way for Suits to truly go out on top.
Things I think I think:
- Who wears their pretty clothes at “home”?
- CASUAL, DONNA.
- GO CASUAL.
- And yes, I know she’s at Harvey’s, but at this point, come on? You know she’s got clothes there.
- Robert sees right through Samantha, hahaha.
- Mad Harvey is my least favorite Harvey. He doesn’t really think things through.
- I ALSO can’t believe Louis has seen any Terminator movie. Can we get proof of this?
- Last time I heard “Whatever it Takes” it was Avengers: Endgame, AND THAT SHIT DIDN’T END WELL.
- So we’re all forgetting that Samantha actually did something wrong and she screwed over Mike?
- We are?
- I mean, I know Patrick was only back for one episode, but really? Is that how we’re leaving it?
- Fine, I guess we are. Could we at least get a call to Mike to clear the air before the show is over. It’s not too much to ask, is it?
- Considering what Robert did for Harvey and Donna it’s hard to be mad at him, but I can probably still manage it if he keeps talking to Harvey like that.
- “That doesn’t mean I’m gonna let Faye come after my family.”
- Brian playing on Katrina’s emotions is LOW.
- “I don’t care what you think we can do, I’m not gonna go after another woman under false pretense.”
- GO DONNA.
- She’s the only one that makes sense.
- Also, back the fuck down Alex.
- Donna seeing right through everyone is my aesthetic.
- “There’s no way he’s marrying you.”
- Take offense, Louis. Take offense.
- I don’t know if I should be proud of Faye, or I should fear her.
- Fine, I actually liked Susan this time.
- “If you’re picturing Faye’s face on that bag, you’re not the only one.”
- GRETCHEN’S CONDITION.
- OMG
- GRETCHEN’S CONDITION.
- OMG
- Oh, Katrina, baby. If you were someone else I’d think you were drunk.
- “If you’re looking to reenact Top Gun, I’m all for it.”
- WAIT
- WHAT SCENE?
- I HAVEN’T WATCHED TOP GUN IN AGES.
- Oh, I googled it.
- ROLE-PLAY.
- Donna is always the one person who’s willing to tell Harvey when he’s crossing a line.
- Also, she’s the one person he always listens to, even if he sometimes doesn’t agree.
- He listens.
- George is an asshole, but I don’t really like Faye, so I don’t know if I feel bad.
- Samantha’s casual outfit is A+
- And Katrina’s court outfit!
- She does everything with such poise and calmness.
- Faye DOES have a point, Samantha crossed a line for basically no reason. Just to win a case. To be right. It was selfish.
- The Louis and Harvey friendship has come so far.
- Katrina did the right thing by treating this case like any other case.
- Harvey having second thoughts …GROWTH.
- So much growth.
- This is all about your guilt, Harvey. Please recognize that.
- Bye, Brian.
- You and Katrina are never, ever getting back together.
- “If there’s one thing that I love about you, it’s your sense of loyalty.”
- LOVE
- ABOUT
- YOU
- I can’t even focus on the rest.
- Because, LOVE ABOUT YOU.
- LOVE
- LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE
- I mean, we knew she loved him, but still ….
- LOVE
- The PAINTING.
- “It’s not the man I want you to be, and I know it’s not the man you want to be.”
- I CRY.
- TEARS.
- “No matter what you might think of us, there are some lines we won’t cross.”
- Big-ass message to Faye.
- And, for a woman like her, I’d say this probably means something in a way nothing else they’ve done before has.
- So yay, roadtrip!
Agree? Disagree? What did you think of “Whatever it Takes”? Share with us in the comments below!
Suits airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on USA Network.