This week on SUITS, Harvey Specter started a war with the firm’s landlord, David Fox, because he threatened Donna last season refused to fairly pay Anna Reid, a janitor. While Harvey was busy risking the firm’s very existence, lower-ranked lawyers were trying to prove their worth for their promised promotions. Alex Williams continued his bid to get his name on the wall by courting Gavin Andrews, while Samantha Wheeler set her sights on an even bigger client; and Katrina Bennett took on Louis’ task to prove her worth as a manager so Robert Zane would support her bid for senior partner.
The New Mike. SUITS season 8 introduced Samantha Wheeler as a bad carbon copy of Harvey Specter, leading to the question of why the series needed Female!Harvey when Original!Harvey was still around. The latest episode, “Promises, Promises” cemented the answer that some viewers might have already guessed: Harvey is now venturing into Mike Ross’ territory.
When Harvey and Robert finally had their post-wedding date (but for in-office drinks, rather than burgers), the firm’s former managing partner finally admitted that he’d promised Alex Williams the same promotion that Zane had already guaranteed to Samantha Wheeler. After Robert gave Harvey the advice to just “kick that can down the road” and wait to see what happened (we love avoidance behavior!), Harvey took a trip to the men’s room in hopes of making room for more booze. Rather than relief for his bladder, Mr. Specter found himself a crying cleaning lady and SUITS’ latest moral dilemma.
Harvey was so shaken by the woman’s tears — we later learned that her name was Anna — that he parted with his fancy pocket square, offered to use a different restroom, and even expressed his interest in knowing what was wrong.
Original!Harvey would never.
The next day, Anna returned Harvey’s handkerchief and explained that her mother had to have an operation. She couldn’t afford her mom’s medical treatment because she didn’t make much money and wasn’t even paid what she was owed. Because Anna had the meaningless title of “Facilities Manager,” she wasn’t eligible for overtime pay that she’d otherwise more than earned.
Anna asked Harvey to speak to her boss, which he knew was going to get complicated since said boss was the firm’s sleaze of a landlord, David Fox. Of course, even when Donna was like, “hey, Harvey. Don’t do the thing,” he…did the thing. So, after promising Robert Zane that he’d only talk to the landlord for “two minutes” and then drop the issue if he didn’t get what he wanted, Harvey instead threatened Mr. Fox with a lawsuit.
Raise your hand if you’re surprised by Harvey Specter, either old or new, making a bad situation worse when he doesn’t get his way. No? Exactly.
Scum that he is, Fox started messing with the building by refusing to allow things like elevators and toilets to be repaired in a timely manner. Donna tried to talk some sense into Harvey when the toilets were clogged, but when he wasn’t able to speak with anyone he knew at Mike’s old clinic, he went right back to representing Anna himself. All Harvey seemed to be able to accomplish, though, was getting Anna fired — and upsetting everyone at the firm — Donna included.
At one point, he even said that he didn’t care what David Fox was doing to the firm; he only cared what was being done to Anna, a virtual stranger. Meanwhile, if Harvey really cared that much, he could’ve donated some of his riches, seeing as how he’s loaded. But that’s none of my business.
Following a confrontation in his office, Harvey disobeyed direct orders from Robert Zane to “end it. And end it today.” Luckily, Donna was able to meet him in the copy room, explain that he just missed Mike, and give him all the inspiration he needed to become his own Mike and save the day. Harvey didn’t call Mike to ask how to save himself as Donna suggested, though, because Harvey would “rather call him and tell him a story with a happy ending” than beg his recently departed son for help.
Or. Well.
Harvey saved the day by giving Donna carte blanche to be our true savior, which is exactly what I she deserved. Either way, the final solution was that Harvey Specter would have to offer free legal services to David Fox for a year, so I guess Harvey will get another chance to “knock his teeth out” for being mean to his wife COO in SUITS’ seventh season.
Let’s do this.
Name Partner Blahblah. While Harvey was just barely avoiding eviction, the Alex Williams/Samantha Wheeler competition continued its tedious journey. SUITS’ latest development in that area involved Samantha undermining Alex’s attempt to recruit Gavin Andrews’ as a client by going after a much bigger fish: Delta Airlines.
As the two characters bickered about whether Sam’s chosen target had anything to do with stabbing Alex in the back — it obviously did — Alex found himself in the unenviable position of being set up, by his brand new client, to launder money. It turned out that, much like Sam, Gavin was good at spinning a fake tale about his background; the Renoir that he supposedly wanted back so badly because it had emotional significance was really just a means for him to make a massive (and illegal) profit.
Off Alex went to demand to know why Samantha hadn’t warned him, which was not at all factual. Insert more bickering, followed by Sam’s one good line of the episode: “You made your bed. Don’t come crying to me because the sheets are dirty.” After that, ZSL’s most problematic new senior partner — and the only one SUITS viewers have to meet — threw Alex a bone. Rather than wave a magic wand to fix things, she gave Alex just enough of a hint to allow him to find a solution to his problem.
It’s almost as if Samantha Wheeler likes feeling in control of everyone around her, and she doesn’t have a clue what “teamwork” is all about.
The shaky new alliance (of sorts) was shattered the second Ms. Wheeler told Alex about Robert Zane’s promise to make her name partner. Now, we could assume that Sam was simply being open and honest with Alex so he could continue to trust her; but let’s be real. This is obviously a way to sow seeds of discontent between Alex and Harvey.
This is SUITS. We love to drop big quotes about how family doesn’t stab family in the back before…having family stab family in the back. Besides, if the series’ writers want to continue force-feeding viewers, to the point of explicitly writing it into dialogue, that there’s more to Samantha Wheeler than meets the eye — no, really, “You’re more than meets the eye” was an actual line — having her do the completely honest and open thing just isn’t going to fit the narrative.
So, let’s just continue dragging along until SUITS season 8 either does something new with this rivalry or sees it to its predictable conclusion, I guess.
New Bffs! Name partner wasn’t the only promotion up for grabs in “Promises, Promises.” Once upon a time, Louis Litt told Katrina Bennett that, in exchange for returning to the firm, she’d be the youngest senior partner in [Insert Firm Name] history. So, as Robert Zane was busy nursing his post-Harvey-date hangover, Louis explained the promise to his new boss and admitted that he wanted to honor it.
Robert knew that Katrina was a great lawyer, but he wasn’t so sure that she was great at managing people. Cue Louis’ “brilliant idea” to have Katrina manage Craig from Degrassi Brian Altman, whom she’d nearly fired.
Katrina was busy on a case, so she gave Brian all of five seconds to get caught up before seemingly blowing off a client meeting. Brian’s lack of preparation showed, and John Bigelow — the client — stormed off, saying not to call him until a competent lawyer (Katrina) was available. Half a second later, said competent lawyer showed up in some dark shades. It turned out Katrina had missed the meeting because she was hiding out in the bathroom, waiting for a migraine to become manageable.
Katrina’s headaches were stress-related and hadn’t really been a factor since high school, but her recent angst over having to fire a group of associates had triggered a return. As it turned out, ZSL’s stereotypical career-driven ice queen actually had a soul.
(Dear SUITS: We’re loving this slow unfolding of what used to be, at best, a one-note character. Keep it up.)
Once Brian knew why he’d been dumped, he took the fall with Louis in order to help Katrina hide her problem. Later, Katrina worked through her pain in order to make sure that Brian would never have to be in that kind of situation again, causing the associate to say she was the exactly the type of person he wanted managing him. Brian offered to help in any way he could, so the pair worked together as a (new dream) team to find a way to win Bigelow’s case.
Just before wrapping up the work, Katrina told Brian that her best friend in high school had studied by flashlight with her. When asked if she was still in touch with her former study partner, Katrina said that she wasn’t, “but I feel like I am after tonight.”
Me? Weepy? You bet.
The next day, Katrina stepped back to let Brian prove himself to Bigelow; and she made the risky, yet mature, decision to come clean to Louis. And it was in that moment that Louis decided to tell Robert Zane she’d “make one hell of a senior partner.”
Amanda Schull and Jake Epstein had a touching dynamic in this latest SUITS episode, and I can’t wait to see what comes of this new friendship. I would also like to lobby for this to be the central focus of the series’ eighth season going forward, rather than whatever’s happening with the name partner non-competition. These characters, in just two episodes of major interaction, have seamlessly worked their way into the SUITS “family” dynamic. So, they need to be more central to the story.
What do I have to do to make sure this happens? I’ll do whatever it takes. (Get it?)
Goodies.
- Robert knows that Harvey has “plenty of friends to have drinks with, most of them prettier than [him].” Considering Jessica and Mike are gone, and those were Harvey’s other pretty friends, our wayward firm’s managing partner was clearly referring to Donna. Conclusion: Zane’s a Darvey shipper.
- “One of them could get hit by a bus before we have to make that call.” Robert Zane is savage, y’all. Also: Please let that “one of them” be Sam.
- “And when it comes to taking care of people we love, pride has no place.” One of the most beautiful lines on a series that usually prides itself on having the most creative uses of the word “shit.” (For the record, we love both sides of SUITS here.)
- “…something, something, Specter Litt.” The only time I’ve ever related to David Fox.
- “Donna has a way of getting what she wants.” Ok, so why aren’t y’all in bed.
- Give me more of Pathetic!Harvey begging Donna to explain his own mind to him any day. You do this so well, SUITS. Also, “You didn’t walk out of that clinic because Nathan and Oliver weren’t there; you walked out because Mike wasn’t there” about broke my heart. Especially with all of the heart-eyes and flirty chat from the copy room doorway thrown in there for good measure. (While we’re at it, let’s never forget the significance of the copy room to Mike Ross and Rachel Zane.)
- Donna is really owning the role of COO in SUITS season 8. A sledgehammer indeed.
- Meanwhile, someone needs to tell David Fox that Time’s Up because ew. No, you don’t even get to imply that your one condition of closing a business deal is a date. Begone.
- “I’ll do you one better: Send it down in the morning. I’ve got better things to do with my time.” A. Queen.
- “Because we’re never going to trust each other if you think I’m trying to get ahead of you. I’m not. Because I already am.” Narrator: It was not, in fact, a done deal that Samantha Wheeler was ahead.
- “I get it: You’re the It Girl. Well, you know who I am? I’m the Litt Man.” I need this on a coffee cup.
- Meanwhile, why would Alex ask Louis to deal with his Samantha problem? Aren’t Alex and Harvey supposed to have history? And why, for the love of
DonnaGod, was Samantha’s thinly-veiled threat to Louis played as if she was aiming for seductive or whatever? No. Just no. - “I don’t know how you did things before, but around here? We don’t stab each other in the back.” Alex has no idea how this firm has operated for the past 84 years. Amazing. Like, there’s a limit on how much the knife twists, I guess? But it definitely happens.
- ”Out late last night, yo?” Louis, sweetie, no.
Watch the next all-new episode of SUITS on Wednesday, August 8 at 9/8c on USA.
