Photo by: Shane Mahood/USA Network
SUITS’ eighth season, from beginning to end, has been about finding unexpected delights buried under otherwise messy plots. While Katherine Heigl’s Samantha Wheeler was originally a thorn in our sides, often over-promoted and given more screen time than long-beloved characters, she somehow became one of the best-written and best-played characters of the series. In fact, her backstory turned out to be a SUITS 8B highlight. Even as the series’ billionth “whose name is on the wall” rehash was all too bland, and a longtime favorite became nearly unrecognizable thanks to her selfish and inexplicable actions, the actors’ execution was so good as to make the unbearable almost enjoyable.
That brings us to “Harvey,” the season finale, in which viewers were again asked to dig to the bottom of their platter of refuse in order to get to the sizzling dessert underneath. After an hour of television filled with violations of the standard “show, don’t tell” rule and far-too-obvious foreshadowing of an outcome that should have been guaranteed, yet still caused a bit of anxiety until it became indisputable, the eighth season of SUITS is over. But did it actually go out with a bang? It will probably depend on who you ask and whether or not that person values an overall arc over a single (overdue) outcome; or maybe it will just depend on proving, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that any of this was necessary in order for the characters to move forward.
On past regrets and unintended consequences. Consistency, thy name is “The Samantha Wheeler Story.” SUITS has always done an excellent job of building characters through flashbacks, and the look into Robert Zane and Samantha Wheeler’s past was no different. Once upon a time, Zane was on top of the world, having just acquired his own firm with Sam’s help; but then he had to sit, helpless on the other end of the phone, as he heard her being attacked.
In one particularly powerful scene — because, yes, this series is capable of delivering those! — Robert visited Sam in the hospital, where both characters expressed their guilt over what had happened. He blamed himself for keeping her so late at night; she blamed herself for letting her guard down. And then they both agreed upon the correct conclusion: “This isn’t on you. This is on the piece of shit who did this to you.” As Robert prepared to leave the hospital, he promised Sam he’d do “whatever it takes” to make this guy pay — just as Sam did for Louis in the present day.
Sam wanted to take matters into her own hands; but Papa Zane made her promise to “turn him over to the DA and let them do what they do” instead. But much like what, years later, would happen to Louis Litt, the system did not work for Samantha Wheeler.
Cameron Dennis, Harvey’s former boss (and slimeball), happened to be the DA on Sam’s case; and when he called Robert, it was to deliver terrible news. Sam’s attacker would go free because his friend gave him a fake alibi. It fell to Robert to tell Sam what had happened; and her pain and righteous anger were beautifully written and portrayed. For bonus content, that pain wasn’t just over being denied justice in this case: As it turned out, one of Sam’s former foster parents used to hit her, which was why she had learned self-defense in the first place.
Funny how all the training in the world can’t save a woman from being targeted on the street. But that’s none of my business.
It was after Sam’s breakdown that Robert decided it was time to get justice for her by any means necessary; and the rest, as they say, is history.
Almost.
For years, Robert kept an awful secret from Sam. Her attacker was killed in prison (good?); and Robert saw only one way to make up for what he had done: end his career and protect everyone else at the firm in the process. But that brings us to the other side of the story.
Thanks, Donna. The biggest source of drama going into SUITS’ season finale came from Donna’s lack of faith in Harvey. As “Harvey” began, Donna was finally starting to show some of the care for her firm that she’d been known to have for well over a decade, yet had recently forgotten. Suddenly, after weeks of watching her put a new relationship above everything she’d worked for, SUITS viewers saw a Donna who wasn’t in the mood for a night out — and who had to explain to her boyfriend that, thanks to looking out for him, she was also in jeopardy.
Thomas expressed the world’s lowest amount of sympathy but defended his decision to put out a press release, all while Donna was left wondering why she’d done something so stupid in the first place. Or maybe we’re projecting over here. Either way.
On the other side of town, Harvey stopped by Louis’ place to bring him up to speed. As is usually the case when it comes to the Donna-Harvey relationship, Louis spoke for many of us watching at home: “No. Tell me again that Donna put her relationship above us, and now Daniel [F-ing] Hardman is suing my firm?” His outrage expressed, all Louis had left to do was listen to Harvey’s plan, which involved trying to get Hardman, of all people, to behave fairly.
Once upon a time, Robert Zane, Jessica Pearson, and Daniel Hardman were all great friends, intent on starting a firm together. We know how that turned out — or didn’t — but Harvey’s idea was to use Robert to remind Hardman of his human side, all while Harvey and Louis worked on appeasing Lowe. As a surprise to no one, that was easier said than done.
Harvey and Louis’ attempt at bringing Lowe twice the money he’d lost was met with your typical SUITS lawyer-to-lawyer showdown. The lawsuit was never about money. It was about making Harvey Specter pay in the worst way possible: Hardman and Lowe pledged that they’d never stop until Harvey lost his license. But Louis wasn’t going to let that happen — and neither was Robert.
Back at the firm, Donna was waiting for Harvey as she usually would; but unlike usual, Harvey didn’t care to slow his pace for her as they walked the halls of What’s My Firm’s Name Again. It would take more than suddenly behaving like herself for Donna to be back in Harvey’s good graces; and when she asked what Team Darvey was going to do about Hardman’s attack on them, Harvey made it clear that there was no team: “We aren’t going to do anything. Louis and I are handling this.”
(Chef’s kiss.) Gourmet angst.
But one thing will always remain true about Harvey Specter: No matter how angry he is with her, he will not see Donna Paulsen suffer any major consequences. The second Donna suggested sacrificing herself, Harvey visibly softened and offered her reassurances that he and Louis would take care of things.
Unlike Harvey, Thomas didn’t care what happened to Donna — at least not enough to put her above his business. As an old friend and Kessler’s longtime lawyer, Louis paid the man a visit. But even when Louis explained,“Simon was a bigger client, and Harvey should have sided with him. But he tried to protect you anyway. And if you don’t cover for him, all it’s going to do is take down a good man who I care about,” Thomas refused to help. Later, when Harvey spoke to Kessler — specifically about protecting Donna — he was met with the same cold reception.
So, truly, if Donna Paulsen saw this guy as her once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, then either she’s the worst judge of character of all time (which is completely inconsistent with her previous characterization), or she just really likes terrible things. Maybe she was hoping that her mother-daughter trip to Paris would include a bumpy flight, food poisoning, and a robbery or two? I mean, Thomas was supposed to be a stand-in for that, right?
Everything makes so much sense! Or not.
Even without knowing how heartlessly Thomas had responded to both Harvey and Louis, Donna spent much of the SUITS finale questioning her own actions. At one point, she even told Alex Williams — who is apparently a better confidante than Gretchen, Katrina, or even Louis these days? — just how unsure of herself she had become: “You know, the worst part is, I don’t even know why I did it anymore.”
Leave it to Alex to explain the character’s motivations in one of the worst violations of the “show, don’t tell” rule ever. He told Donna a story about his wife, Rosalie, giving up on him — thus making him realize that he “didn’t like being on the other side of the glass.” But Donna, supposedly the smartest character on SUITS, still didn’t understand what Alex’s story had to do with anything, even after he’d thrown the “I was afraid of committing” line in there. So, Alex explained some more: “She did it so she could move on,” and the scene ended with Donna sporting a contemplative, shocked, epiphany-incoming type of look.
Because, at the end of eight seasons, Donna needs a man to explain her feelings to her. And viewers need, an episode after a major violation, for that man to explain Donna’s motivations to us. Great SUITS writing, that. Perhaps some viewers were magically able to predict that this would turn out to be what made Donna betray the entire firm; but then the writing would still have been bad, as Alex’s explanation in this finale would have been a waste of precious airtime. Better yet, “Donna is pushing Harvey away so she can move on” could have been a plot that was handled several seasons earlier — wait…what about that time, after “Intent” she left Harvey’s desk, only to come back? — and without the added wrinkle of Donna also screwing herself over in the process.
So, regardless of what the facts may be, the opinion stands: Donna’s SUITS season 8 arc was about as poorly-written as it could be. Too many out-of-character actions were taken in the pursuit of what could have been legitimate development; and even the big reveal, if one can even call it that, was at the wrong time, between the wrong characters, and over-told without any semblance of really showing much at all. SUITS isn’t a deep conspiracy series that should require its viewers to pick it apart with a microscope and make leaps of faith or logic, just to remain satisfied. Even series with deeper stories shouldn’t require such “why is my favorite character acting like she’s been bodysnatched” effort.
Back to the plot.
While Alex was mansplaining Donna’s own motivations to her, Harvey was watching his world fall apart and behaving accordingly. Robert’s attempt at getting his “old friend,” Daniel Hardman, to come to a fair deal was going disastrously. Hardman wanted to be name partner, and if he couldn’t have the privilege at Firm Whomst, he was willing to accept a similar deal at Rand Kaldor. (You know, formerly of Rand Kaldor Zane.) But neither Rand nor Kaldor would bite — unless Zane retired.
As Robert was scrambling to come to some kind of agreement with Daniel, Harvey and Louis found a way to cut Simon Lowe out of his company; and they thought that meant they had finally secured a victory.
Not so much.
Hardman thought this latest development meant that Robert was dealing with him in bad faith, so the firm’s (Donna-less) victory party quickly turned to the scene of Harvey’s despair.
If much of the SUITS finale’s “A” story was more of an F, both the writing and the execution in Harvey’s reaction to learning that all hope was likely lost were both somewhere higher than an A++. It’s as if, after a season of everyone but the actors giving 0%, Macht took his usual 100% and turned it into 10000000000000%. His scene partners, in expressing their respective characters’ shock at seeing the normally-confident Specter finally at a loss, were pretty off the charts, as well.
And of course, from the rage to the heartbreak, the fire to the listlessness, Donna Paulsen secretly heard it all. Hm.
When the worst of it was over, and Harvey was finally left alone, Sam came by to offer him one last shot at keeping his license: He could admit that Donna was the one who actually broke privilege and save himself by hurting her. But Harvey could never do that, no matter how (justly) angry he was. And unlike Donna, Harvey didn’t need a “because you love her” comment. He just needed Sam’s, and his own, quiet knowledge and acceptance of what everyone has known for somewhere in the ballpark of 15 years (I’m guessing — nobody knows how SUITS time works at this point, not even its creator).
This left Harvey with no choice but to attend his Ethics Board hearing; and as usually happens in SUITS finales, events took an unexpected turn. Once again, Mr. Specter escaped going down for something Donna he had done. This time, Robert Zane saved Harvey, by stepping in and claiming responsibility for the broken privilege. He knew it would mean forfeiting his license, but it also meant finally finding a way to deal with his guilt over what he and Samantha had done all those years ago. (We love it when two seemingly-distinct plotlines come together!)
To be clear: Even when asked to protect Donna, Thomas Kessler failed to be a hero. It was Robert Zane who, in yet another season-ender, saved everyone. Then again, maybe we should be fair to Donna’s latest ex. Perhaps Thomas was a little bit bitter, having suddenly been clued in to the fact that there was something not-quite-professional between Donna and Harvey. Other people notice within about five seconds of seeing them in the same room together, but it took…this for Mr. Honesty Above Pretending To Care to wake up. Ok.
The aftermath. The firm’s victory party was cut short by a few things: First of all, Samantha wasn’t exactly in a partying mood, seeing as how she was losing her mentor and friend. She was afraid to be alone at the firm, but Robert assured Sam that she wouldn’t be alone, especially since she and Harvey were “peas in a pod.” In one last, pathetic attempt at misdirection, Robert even seemed to hint that “one day,” there might be something there.
We’ve learned nothing, obviously. Just leave it at the heartbreaking goodbye hug instead of ruining all the good things for the sake of…I don’t even know what.
Harvey really wanted to celebrate the win; but first, he had to know why Robert saved him. Once Alex gave him a somewhat cryptic explanation, and Robert told him to “stop moping,” Harvey was back to looking for friends to share in the momentous occasion. Hist first attempt at a hot date involved inviting Robert to finally share that post-Machel-nuptials burger, but Robert needed to go home to his wife. (RIP, Rarvey.) Alex turned down the rebound date to spend time with his own wife, as well.
Sam was the only other person left alone in the office that night, so Harvey had a deep talk with her about lost mentors and the nature of love. Sam recognized that Robert loved her, and “it’s not easy to find someone like that in this world.” Lonely Harvey agreed.
Then, as Sam wondered aloud would happen when she had “a big victory, or a terrible loss, and the only person [she wants] to tell isn’t there anymore,” Harvey became noticeably agitated. Because nothing says, “motivate Harvey after eons of baggage-induced inaction” like hearing the same thing, in three different ways, from three different characters — rather than figuring it out on his own.
Off he (finally) went to Donna’s apartment to (after 84 years long, long years) do something; and Donna, finally good at reading people again, opened the door to the knowledge of exactly what Harvey was there for. Was the scene hot? Um, absolutely. Does it beat the Mike-Rachel copy room scene? Uh, yeah. But was it what SUITS viewers deserved, after all this time?
That’s kind of difficult to say. Throw this in after Jessica left, after Harvey made amends with his mother, or after any of the countless other times the firm was in jeopardy, and that would have been a much easier question to answer. The inevitable Darvey consummation will forever be tainted by poor timing and lackluster final build-up; so in that sense, there really isn’t much justice here. As a viewer who has rooted for these two characters for eight seasons, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t moved — and probably screaming a fair amount. But as someone who has to break down stories like this? The rave review the actors’ hard work could (and should) have had just isn’t possible.
So many thoughts, so little time.
- Samantha Wheeler blaming herself for her attack was so realistic. It’s something that plenty of victims do; but it’s particularly resonant for women, who are taught from a young age how to protect themselves from men — rather than anyone teaching men how not to hurt women. “If anything, I should’ve kept my guard up.” Ah, yes. Stay in well-lit areas. Be hyper-vigilant. Don’t wear the wrong thing. Don’t say the wrong thing. Don’t…do anything at all because you’re wrong no matter what you do.
- “I’m talking about Daniel Hardman. Mark my words: We’ll come to some accommodation, and then you and Ellen Rand can kiss my black ass.” This didn’t exactly work out, but I loved this line anyway.
- “Just leave me alone, all of you. I need time to think.” Harvey Specter and I continue to be of one mind for all things SUITS 8B.
- “You did it because you love him.” “Love him? We just started seeing each other.” (And yet you were willing to risk everything to “save” the “him” to which you thought Alex was referring. Ok ok.) “I’m not talking about Thomas.” (I might have screamed, regardless of the above comments on the poor writing that led to this scene even existing.)
- “He said he wasn’t too happy about Donna making him look shit with his own client.” “Can’t blame the man for that.” “No, you can’t.” Pretty much!
- “Look: Someone attacks you, they attack me.” Family.
- “He’s going to lose everything because of me.” Welcome back, Donna.
- “You told me that if we did it this way, there would be justice. Where is the justice? If that son of a bitch gets off, do you know what that makes me? A victim. I am not a victim, Robert!” Ok but Heigl was really good as a someone who hasn’t been given justice here.
- “Why couldn’t Donna just wait for you?” Literally everyone wants to know.
- “I don’t care if, one day, they get me on any of the other shit that I’ve done, but to go down for this? To go down to him?” Me at the way Darvey finally happened, to be honest.
- Remember that time when Katherine Heigl saved a whole season of SUITS?
- What about that time when Gabriel Macht saved an otherwise unbearable finale plot with his portrayal of Harvey Specter’s every emotion — especially during that meltdown?
- “She said she didn’t care if she was summoned or not, she couldn’t watch.” Same.
- “Maybe this place is rubbing off on me. You are all. Crazy…But maybe that’s what I love about it here.” Samantha Wheeler is the SUITS fandom.
- “Leaders never betray their partners.” Tell that to your COO.
- “I don’t know who he is, Thomas. I just know that he’s somebody who I can’t figure out how to cut out of me. But I want to. And I have wanted to. And apparently, I tried to when I told you what was going on. But the truth is, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to.” Remember when this one chunk of dialogue, and its delivery by Sarah Rafferty, vanquished the demon in Donna’s body and brought the queen back home to us? Also: Instead of the scene with Alex, this would have sufficed — and been far better as a standalone — for explaining what Donna did in “Stalking Horse.”
- The only thing hotter than Harvey Specter screaming about a motherf*cker and throwing a glass is Harvey Specter doing absolutely everything he did at Donna’s apartment.
- Speaking of: That look in Sarah Rafferty’s eyes, as Donna looked over her shoulder and escorted Harvey to her bedroom, was downright indecent. How did they get that past USA’s censors?
- …but giving me my favorite dessert at the bottom of a pile of dung is still giving me that pile of dung.
- “Isn’t it enough that I saved your sorry ass? And by the way, most people get a gold watch; I get a goddamned burger.” SUITS, note your own advice. In your final season, we’d prefer gold watches, not shitburgers. Please and thank you.
SUITS will return to USA this summer for its ninth and final season.
