This was a hard episode of Suits to watch, and an even harder one to review. There was, of course, the tension of a very well executed story-line, as “Prisoner’s dilemma” brought us back to Mike’s time in jail, and Harvey’s actions during that time – the only thing that made sense if you wanted to get Harvey in trouble, especially if you consider that most of the lines Harvey has crossed in his life have had to do with the people he loves.
And then, there was that gut-wrenching ending.
Look, I’m not gonna say I love it, because I see it as what it is, a plot point meant to push Harvey somewhere he was already leaning towards, but somewhere that is so far beyond his comfort zone that it was unlikely he would make the leap himself without some sort of push. It couldn’t – shouldn’t – the show has determined, be just about Donna. It had to be about this man deciding he wanted to be someone else, to do something else. And sometimes life hits you so fucking hard you can’t help but swerve.
This is one of those moments.
Now, as much as this is fictional, I’m also not gonna say they should have given us any warning. This didn’t need setup, we didn’t need to be prepared, the same way Harvey just …couldn’t, never was going to be. Life doesn’t give you any warnings either, and it absolutely sucks, trust me, I know, I’ve been in Harvey’s shoes and lost a parent in a devastating, quick, unpredictable way. But that’s just …well, life.
It’s a gut punch, and it’s super hard, and this is when that family that Harvey has built around him is gonna do him good, because in moments like this, when you feel like you can’t even take another step because of the pain, you need someone to push you forward. You need someone to remind you should go on, and that you can go on.
But Harvey’s not alone, and he isn’t the man he was all those years ago (twelve or twenty or fifty-seven, who knows, the show certainly doesn’t, so why am I gonna try to make sense of it?), he’s a man who can let himself feel this, with all that entails, a man who can let himself be comforted, and also, a man who can survive, as hard as that is.
And I’m proud of Harvey, as much as I wish I didn’t have to be here, talking about this. But hey, I have very few chances to continue doing this, so for now, let us enjoy that I get to talk about Esther, Darvey and how it all leads back to Mike, one way or another.
ALL ROADS LEAD BACK TO MIKE
Considering we’re living in Darvey land, where everything is sunshine and there’s character growth, it’s sometimes hard to remember that this show did indeed start with a man and his smart ass protégé, but it did. And Harvey did a hell of a lot in those who knows how many years not just because he was trying to cover that first insane mistake, but because he cared about Mike.
So, I always thought, even with Mike gone, if Harvey was gonna get in trouble for something, it had to be …well, Mike related. Nothing else made sense, and nothing else would have had the same gravitas. Can you imagine if the show had tried to pull the whole “he didn’t go to jail for anything he did with Mike, but now he will for some stupid reason?”
Nah, we’re all better than that story-line.
Which is why I’m glad we got what we got, a man (or two) with a grudge, and a story-line that, really, could have always used even more closure. Even if we couldn’t have Mike around, because, eh, he’s mad at Harvey or something?
Pssst, it made no sense that no one even called Mike, just saying.
There are just two more episodes of Suits. Two. It hurts just to think about it, but the reality is that the only way for this season, for his journey into the man Harvey is now, makes sense, is if we remember – truly remember, all he did to get to the man he is today, the one he doesn’t regret.
SHE’S NOT GONNA COME FORWARD
Color me shocked at the fact that I was so emotionally invested in a story-line involving Louis, Esther, Samantha and Katrina. But despite the fact that I cringed when I saw where they were taking it, at the end of the episode, I was glad they went there.
Mostly because it was real. The show felt like it was stumbling in Louis’s hands, because that’s pretty much how most men stumble when faced with a situation like this one. And the show felt like it was finding a level of protectiveness, respect and comfort in Samantha, and especially Katrina, that I don’t think any of us saw coming.
It’s easy to say that’s because women band together, and we do, but the fact is we cannot, when faced with story-lines such as these, forget why women band together in the first place, and why they should continue to support each other.
Because no one else will ever really understand. And because, even if it hasn’t happened to you, you can probably identify one, or five instances, where it could have. That’s life as a woman, sadly. And it’s hard to envision a world where we change that if we don’t all support each other, and most importantly, believe each other.
WHO THEY ARE
I don’t really have much more to say about what happened at the end, but I do want to take a moment to examine the Darvey dynamics in this episode, and what the cataclysmic events of “Prisoner’s dilemma” mean for the future of not just Harvey and Donna as individuals, but Darvey as the entity we’ve been, in many ways, following this season.
The truth is, this episode established, more than ever before, that Harvey and Donna are a unit. And since this season has focused so much on Harvey’s growth, it’s kinda amazing to see how much that growth has meant to his relationship with Donna – especially considering that you could make the point in earlier seasons that Harvey and Donna were already really, really close.
Because these two have always been, in many ways, each other’s person, the safe port in a storm and all of that, romance or no romance, and though there was an unconditional acceptance, love and respect, there was never the belief that this meant they could monopolize the good or the bad for each other. That they had the right to.
No longer. Donna gets the bad news about Lily, and Donna delivers them herself, alone, secure in the knowledge that Harvey is going to need her in that moment, and the best thing she can do is just …be Donna, and be there for him.
Just as she was Donna the entire episode – the woman who knows Harvey better than anyone, the woman who trusts Harvey more than anyone, and the woman who will never, ever leave him.
As for Harvey, he’s gonna need a lot in the days and weeks to come, he’s gonna need support, he’s gonna need love, and more importantly, he’s gonna need certainty. Donna is all those things in his life. She always has been. And if Harvey has anything to say about it, she will always, always will.
Things I think I think:
- Harvey getting some wine! Wink, wink.
- With only two more episodes to go after this one, you know who I trust? NO ONE.
- I have never wanted to hug Esther, but I do now.
- We all love Louis, but this is quintessential he doesn’t get it.
- And I wish all men understood that, even as allies and support, their job in cases like this is to freaking listen. No, you don’t really get it. You never will. Period.
- I love that they’re tackling this, and I love that she’s asking for what she wants.
- Donna sees right through you, Harvey. Don’t even try it.
- Also, not worry Donna? Like she hasn’t spent 12 (or who knows how many years, the show doesn’t, so why should I?) years worrying about your ass.
- I love Katrina. Have I said that?
- Let’s be honest, I’m super glad this all goes back to Mike, because nothing else made sense.
- But, eh, why is no one, you know, calling Mike?
- Oh, THIS GUY? He’s an asshole. I know it, because this actor has been playing an asshole for years on NCISLA, so now every time I see him I think, asshole.
- Sorry.
- Fuck you, Louis. Sincerely, me.
- She has every right to be angry at you.
- Katrina explaining life to Louis is a nice touch. Life for women, at least.
- Donna sticking up for Harvey is a whole ass mood.
- I am Harvey’s anger, and Harvey’s anger is me.
- Donna’s sixth sense for trouble is one of the best things about Donna. She knows Harvey so well.
- “I’m good with who I am.”
- That’s pretty much the season, right there. That, plus growth. They’re not mutually exclusive.
- Faye, you are literally THE WORST.
- Katrina, my babyyyyy.
- “Rules aren’t right or wrong.”
- We can get philosophical about this, but I get Harvey’s point.
- GOOD, DONNA. CALL OUT FAYE. She deserves it.
- It’s like Harvey always ends up getting the short end of the stick, I swear.
- Sam + Katrina is the dream team that I didn’t know I needed of this case.
- Alex to the rescue!
- Katrina’s conversation with Esther had me tearing up, I’m not gonna lie.
- HAAAAA HARVEY BRINGING UP DONNA.
- Oh, Esther. I’m so proud and amazed by you.
- I kinda awwwed at Louis and Sheila. Just a little.
- Wait, what’s going on?
- Oh, no.
- No.
- Fuck.
- No.
Agree? Disagree? What did you think of “Prisoner’s Dilemma”? Share with us in the comments below!
Suits airs Wednesdays at 9/9c on USA Network.
