Photo by: Shane Mahood/USA Network
In the SUITS series finale, the family at the firm once known as Pearson Hardman executed one last con in an attempt to rid themselves of Faye Richardson. All key players risked everything for everyone else because that’s what families do—they stand up for their loved ones, even if it means possibly losing it all. Once the Faye matter was settled—for better for worse—the extended Paulsen-Specter family came together to do that other thing that families do: celebrate each other’s most joyful life moments. And while it may be time to say goodbye, SUITS left Harvey Specter’s found family (and ours) in a good enough place to know that, somewhere out there in another world, they’re thriving. Sure, life may throw them some curveballs—we all know it will never be easy—but to borrow a promise from the new Mrs. and Mr. Donna Paulsen, no matter where they are, they’ll always be family.
One last con. The SUITS series finale picked up where “Thunder Away” ended: with Harvey Specter alone and in the dark, with what seemed like “no weapons, no friends, no hope” for freeing himself from the demon known as Faye Richardson. After finishing his lonely drink, Harvey was on his way home, only to receive another round of Fayepocalypse threats. Now, he had to prove she’d had cause to fire Sam; otherwise, it was his turn to take the stand.
At least Harvey wasn’t alone for long—Donna had waited up. She was hoping she’d finally get to see her boyfriend smile for one of the first precious few times after his mother’s death; but instead, Harvey came home as miserable as ever. When Donna heard what Harvey had done to destroy his timeout with Mike, she was ready to play the role of his conscience; but Harvey wasn’t having it. He was all set to storm off to bed angry, when Donna interrupted him with a much better idea: “I’m saying that we should go in there and earn you the best night’s sleep you have ever had.”
Uh, yes, please.
In court the next day, it appeared as if The Best Closer in the City had done it again. The Paulsen-Specter Family Firm was so convinced after Harvey’s brutal questioning of Mike, in fact, that Alex Williams even visited a very-upset Katrina Bennett to tell her they’d won; she could expect her job soon. But Katrina wasn’t so sure she wanted to go back to the firm, seeing as how she hadn’t heard from a single former coworker since getting fired, much less received an apology from Harvey.
Victory continued to be anything but sweet, when Faye raised the stakes yet again, telling Harvey she didn’t believe he’d done enough. Now, he’d have to take the stand, no matter what. He could come willingly, or she could cross-examine him as a hostile witness. Either way, the celebration ended before it even had the chance to begin.
Defeated, Harvey finally told Mike about the deal. He also shared his decision to perjure himself in an attempt to save everyone else, but Mike reminded Harvey that going before the Bar for such things would definitely cost him his license (not to mention, probably send him to jail). If Harvey fell on his sword after everything they’d been through, then what was the point? “You did it for me. That’s the end of it.”
But Mike had already learned enough from Harvey that all they needed to do was take the gun pointed at Harvey’s head and point it right back at Faye.
With Batman and Robin back on the case, they came up with one last con. The entire firm—including the ones who’d been fired and that precious fraudigal son who had already moved on—would set Faye up. It was a huge risk for all involved, so it was just another day at the SUITS family office.
Before putting the plan into action, the last three members of Pearson Hardman took a moment to make me cry sure all their ducks were in order. They recognized what was at stake, and Harvey wanted to make sure his two life partners were certain they wanted to continue. Louis gave the go-ahead; and Donna was like, “ok but I’ve wanted this bitch gone since she got here” (or something to that effect).
Once Louis had recruited Gretchen, and Alex had brought in the most valuable player (Katrina), Harvey again discussed the risks with Donna. Just in case they failed, he also mentioned that he had an “ace in the hole.”
From there, everything happened pretty quickly. Katrina came to Faye, vowing to take the stand—and testify that Faye had done all sorts of terrible things—if she really went through with making Harvey appear as a witness. Immediately, Faye hunted Harvey down and accused him of putting Katrina up to perjuring herself; she also demanded that he make Katrina’s testimony go away. Harvey fought back with his own ultimatum: She would sign a legally-binding document about the latest deal, thus preventing her from raising the stakes even one more time, or they were done.
It was that key moment that was meant to entrap Faye. After a staged brawl at the Paulsen-Specter Family Firm, Gretchen swapped one statement with another, thus tricking Faye into signing a document that said she’d ordered Harvey into witness-tampering.
Even with her beasty hooves clutched in Harvey’s demon-slaying trap, Faye refused to stop coming for the firm. That only left Harvey with one option: the ace in the hole, which he’d previously only shared with his compass (Donna, obviously). He asked the rest of the family to leave him to deal with Faye alone; and his quiet “It’s ok, Louis. I’ve got it” was enough to get everyone worried about what he might be up to.
As it should have. We all know what Harvey is willing to do for the people he loves. See also: that slow-motion running sequence on his way to offer himself up as sacrificial lamb when Mike was on the chopping block. Harvey was too late to save Mike from a prison sentence, but he was right on time to save the firm’s soul in “One Last Con.”
Harvey gave Faye what she had wanted all along—just not the way that she wanted it. The SUITS series finale would later reveal that Harvey had promised to leave his firm; but when he returned from his one-on-one with Faye, all he’d show his loved ones was that cocky mask we’ve all come to know and love. “What do you mean, what did I do? I’m the best closer in the city. I closed her.” There was even a joke about surrendering Boardwalk and Park Place in there. Sure, Harv. Like a demon even knows how to play Monopoly.
(Side note: “I closed her” was absolutely a thing from the pilot; only that time, Harvey was talking about hooking up with a random. God, how far he’s come.)
Donna, knowing what Harvey had done because she’d discussed it with him ahead of time, also realized Harvey wasn’t ready to talk about it yet. As Donna does, she read the room and found a way to get the subject changed: “Faye’s gone because we risked everything for each other. It’s what we’ve always done. And we do it for one reason: We love each other. And if that doesn’t deserve drinks, I don’t know what does.” With that, Donna grabbed her man’s arm and led the family out to finally celebrate the Faye-monster’s extinction.
…but Louis lagged behind to take care of one last detail before his wedding. Anything to give him the opportunity to talk about how his friends are “the best kind.”
And make me cry over that, too.
Not the dream wedding, but certainly the wedding of our dreams. With Faye finally “closed” by The Best Closer in the City™, it was time to attend the most dreaded wedding of all time: Louis Litt’s.
Poor Louis. It’s really not his fault that nobody wanted to see him marry Sheila Sazs; it was Sheila’s and the SUITS writers’. This relationship was always something that just felt icky and not-at-all worthy of Louis, much less viewers’ time; so the constant question of why it was such a big part of the series’ final season was totally valid.
The answer, of course, was that it was a setup. Anything to try to distract viewers from what was really coming in the SUITS series finale.
As Louis’ chosen officiant, his (now-former) therapist Dr. Stan Lipschitz, waxed poetic about perfect couples, it was Donna and Harvey—not Sheila and Louis—who were the camera’s focus. And rightfully so: “Sometimes, you meet two people who were so perfectly made for each other, it’s hard to envision one without they other. Each one complements the other such that they are as important to each other as air and water are to life.”
That’s Darvey. It took them 84 years to realize it, but it’s been pretty obvious since their first on-screen interaction (and just about every single one since.)
So, it was only fitting that, as Dr. Lipschitz began to state that there were “no two people more perfect for each other than…” Sheila had to interrupt him before he could actually say that it was herself and Louis. Because it wasn’t them—it was, forever, Darvey.
Oh, and Sheila’s water had just broken. So, it was time to rush the wedding along (thank God).
What a wonderful throwback to the good ol’ days of television, when weddings were almost always interrupted by some big, dramatic twist and pregnant women definitely had their babies in finales. If you’re detecting sarcasm here, stop. I’m serious. I miss this tropey, predictable nonsense.
Later, as Sheila was rushed to the hospital—because on television, unlike in real life, labor is always a quick affair—to begin what turned out to be a life-threatening turn at giving birth, the Litt wedding reception was kind of…dull. Mike noticed that no one was dancing; as Donna pointed out, no one had anything to celebrate. And then it happened: Sporting the most sincere, open, in-love look of all time, Harvey Specter asked Donna Paulsen if she wanted to give Darvey shippers the wedding guests something to celebrate. Donna, who has always known everything about everyone except when it came to her own love life, was caught by surprise. Then, Harvey made his intentions even more clear: “I’m saying I love you, and whether I knew it or not, I knew that I wanted to marry you from the second I met you.”
So, through happy tears, Donna laid out all the practical reasons why she and Harvey should wait—she didn’t have a dress, their families weren’t present, they weren’t getting a made-for-tv movie just for their marriage—only to, after Harvey gave an impassioned speech about not wanting to waste anymore time, accept.
Because of course she did. There was no way SUITS was ending on a wedding other than Darvey’s—not if the series finale was going to be a proper goodbye. The icing on the cake? Harvey announced that he and his future wife would write their own vows; and with that, Mike Ross was finally in a mood to trade zingers: “I’d offer to officiate, but I don’t have a license. And I just don’t think we want to open up that can of worms again.” (At least he hugged his parents before they officially became husband and wife; there’s that.)
In a beautifully edited series of moments, Louis Litt faced possibly losing the love of his life and/or his unborn child, while Darvey’s vows, through voiceover, provided the narration: “Love is a terrifying thing. It’s not safe. Because when you love someone, you have to face the fact that you could lose them.” (Talk about a lightbulb moment for why I’ve always identified with Harvey Specter and particularly enjoyed his journey, even when he was being a little shit.)
When the vows were said, and Harvey officially became Mr. Donna Paulsen, Robert Zane announced that there was more happy news: Both Sheila and the baby were fine; and much more importantly, (because he’s the one we actually care about) Louis Litt was ready for his happy ending.
This is what love is about, folks: Supporting each other through the good and the bad. It came as no surprise that Donna immediately wanted to go visit Louis after hearing his news; and it was equally unsurprising that Harvey wanted to dance with his wife first. As with many aspects of the SUITS story, particularly Darvey’s, they saved the best for last.
Back at the hospital, Louis was introduced to his daughter for the first time; Louis being the guy who has always worn his heart on his sleeve, he threw himself into the doctor’s arms for a huge hug. All he had to do was wait a few moments for his family to show up, though. Yes, that’s right: The SUITS series finale even showed a very smitten Harvey watching his wife hold their Louis’ baby for the first time.
But it was time for the end to, in true series finale fashion, become bittersweet: When Louis, ever supportive of his family, was nothing but happy that Darvey had hijacked his wedding party, they delivered the big news: They were moving to Seattle to be with Mike and Rachel. Louis was crushed (same): “You said you would always be there. You said you would never leave,” but Donna assured him that he would be ok without her and her husband (ok but what about me?). She went on to tell Louis that he didn’t need them physically by his side anymore for him to flourish (no, really, but what about me?); but “no matter where we are, we’ll always be your family.” Louis asked if she promised, but Harvey quietly promised for her.
Time for yet another family group hug. And yes, I was crying right along with Louis, even begging Darvey to stay despite knowing the end of SUITS was a done deal.
One last time. The next day, the family went back to work. Samantha Wheeler, now triumphantly-restored to her former position as Female!Harvey, had her feet up on Robert Zane’s (and Faye Bitchardson’s—take that!) old desk during a phone call with Zane. Louis came to ask her to stay by his side as his new Harvey, but she wasn’t having it: “I can’t be your Harvey, Louis; but I can be your Samantha.” Just to prove she was as good as Harvey at this whole negotiating thing, Sam said she had some conditions before she was Louis’ anybody: No more name changes for at least five years—but only after one very important final addition.
It wouldn’t be a SUITS finale without getting that guy who puts the names on the wall back to work, after all. The winner of the latest name partner honor? Katrina Bennett, for putting her career on the line in order to help everyone with that one last con, even after Harvey had treated her so poorly. Wheeler made sure Bennett was the exception to her new “no name changes” rule because sisters look out for each other; and it was way, way overdue.
While SUITS: THE NEXT GENERATION (we wish) was busy celebrating the firm’s newest name, Harvey Specter took a trip back to the bullpen, where it all began. As Harvey reminded us, Jessica Pearson had done the same thing before she left for good, too. But the time for looking back was short: Harvey’s new boss was waiting to “interview” him in his office.
The job interview in question, for those of us Suitors who have been here since the beginning, might have been a bit familiar. Harvey may not have had Mike’s super memory of the legal handbook, but he remembered what was actually important: the interview that changed his life. Now, with Mike on the other side, it was about to change his life again. He also didn’t bring a briefcase full of weed, but Mike let it slide—Harvey knew about the coffee cart guy, after all.
When Donna came to collect Harvey and head home, he asked her to go on without him because he needed a few more moments. Then, with one last look at his mom’s painting, Harvey took a moment to remember it all. With that, the SUITS series finale wound itself down via a montage of some of the biggest moments. It was a walk down Harvey Specter’s version of memory lane, and it was perfect. So, too, was watching the elevator doors close on Donna and Louis, as she grabbed her friend’s hand in consolation one last time.
Harvey’s final drink of whiskey before exiting the firm forever was just as alone as the closing moment of the previous episode.
Or, well.
He wasn’t alone at all. Harvey had a wife and a future waiting for him; and that, as far as I’m concerned was what made the SUITS series finale the best possible goodbye. We’re leaving our look at this family in a good place; but it’s not the end. It doesn’t feel like it (aside from all the sobbing), at least: Life goes on, and there’s more to come. We just won’t get to see it. That’s how the best series finales always go—hopeful and with all the major stories wrapped up, yet not so closed-book that it ever really feels over.
Final feelings.
- For the record, if Harvey had shown up at Louis’ wedding in ass-less chaps, I wouldn’t have been mad about it.
- “What is it now, Faye? Do you want me to shoot my brother?” Drag her, baby.
- “Don’t get any ideas about us doing this any time soon.” “Now’s not the time, Harvey.” “What better time is there?” Harvey was really planning to take over Louis’ wedding all along; Lucy Litt deciding to make her arrival into the world just made it easier for him. Prove me wrong.
- “One more thing. We’re all that’s left of Pearson Hardman, and if this turns out to be the end, I want you both to know there’s no one I’d rather have by my side than you.” Same, Louis. Same. My emotions got Litt Up.
- And then he used a similar line on Sam, soooooooo…I’m really not ok.
- “I mean, the only time I’ve been to a wedding that got cut short, you went to prison…Nothing?! Come on. That is some A-plus material right there. [taps glass] Is this thing on?” Was Donna a little tipsy, or.
- Harvey: “You’re supposed to pull your punches.” Sam: “I did. I can’t help it if you’re as weak jawed as Mike.” Mike: “Whoa! You’re taking shots at me now?” Sam: “It’s what Harvey would do.” Harvey: “She’s right. I would.” Me, wearing my 99-sizes-too-large WWHD shirt: Actually light me on fire already, why don’t you? I am going to miss my family.
- Gabriel Macht and Sarah Rafferty have made the Darvey love story, in so short a time, into utter perfection. Then again, they were doing that all along—even when Donna and Harvey weren’t together for all of those years. How fitting that, as part of their final performance as the on-screen couple, they would get to act the characters’ barely-constrained joy. Much better than all those years of stifled angst and poorly-concealed love. Regardless, their talent was unquestionable throughout the series’ run—whether as part of the Darvey dynamic or in any number of other situations; and the SUITS series finale was no exception. If anything, it was the best example of what Rafferty and Macht can do, as they took viewers through one last, incredible journey.
- I’m not trying to leave the rest of this cast out here. Donna and Harvey were just something extra, and it was always down to those two. What a privilege to take an in-depth look at every detail of SUITS for these past years, to get to pick apart performances that were awe-inducing from everyone, all the time.
- Donna? Caught off-guard, grinning like an idiot, and holding back tears at the prospect of a Darvey wedding? She was me.
- “You know what? I am hostile, but you’re every bit as vindictive as I said you are.” “And you pretend to be Robin Hood, when you’re really just a snake oil salesman.” No, really. Why isn’t Faye dead?
- Someone please confirm that both Sarah Rafferty and Gabriel Macht have had some dance training. Because, like, there’s no way they haven’t and looked that good during Darvey’s first dance as husband and wife (!!!!).
- I’m so glad I was wrong about Louis naming his kid after Lily. No need to riot in the streets, after all. Darvey gets to give their child that honor, one day.
- Sheila and Louis also failed to break a glass. So much for Jewish traditions! Does a broken water count, or???
- “You make me laugh, you make me cry. You make me crazy. But most of all, Harvey, you make me happy.” Donna is me, talking to this series. And also? Rafferty’s delivery on the “crazy” line.
- “Without you, I’m empty.” Also me at SUITS. “I can never go back to the way I was before.” (Again, me at SUITS.)
- “I love you, Harvey Specter.” “I love you, Donna Paulsen.” I am the living embodiment of Fire Elmo, Harvey Specter and Donna Paulsen.
- “I thought you were better than the rest of them.” “And you think you’re better than everyone.” Faye Richardson found dead. Suspect: Katrina Bennett. Weapon: Scalding. Hot. Tea.
- “You know, I never told you how many times I thought about us being together over the years. It was usually on nights like tonight, when I didn’t know if things were going to turn out ok, but I knew. It doesn’t matter if it’s Faye, or Tanner, or Hardman, or Goliath. Whoever it is is, no one stands a chance against Harvey Specter. And that’s the sexiest thing in the world.” She’s right. And that, too, is the sexiest thing in the world.
- “I came here to tell you that I never stopped trusting you.” Knife to the heart? Yep.
- A funeral in one episode; two weddings and a birth in another. What a way to highlight the main things that bring a lot of families together.
- Also, I guess The™ Donna Paulsen had Darvey fantasies like the rest of us? Where’s her AO3 account?
- “Dedicated to the SUITS family.” That planet-wide flood you’re all drowning in? Sorry about that. It came from my eyeballs.
