It's a flashback episode of Suits! What a great episode, guys. We come to understand a bit more about Mike and his past and deal with Mike and Rachel in the present, but really who cares about either of them because um, Harvey and Donna!! We got a great glimpse of what they were like before their Pearson Hardman days and it was a delight. In present day, the murder trial inches along. In other words, nothing happens.
We open with Donna and Louis in the elevator. Donna says that Louis looks happy, and he lists some very Louis-like reasons for his happiness, including his cat sleeping in bed with him, finding new hairs on his head, and his sister breaking her foot. Hee. They exit the elevator and immediately see the new Pearson Darby Specter sign. The name’s a bit of a mouthful now, don’t you think? Donna’s face registers a mixture of shock and devastation that Harvey didn’t tell her, while Louis seems unable to process it and slowly backs back into the elevator, saying, “I need a day.” Heh. Say bye to Louis, because that’s the last we see of him this episode (at least in present day).
Donna immediately heads into Harvey’s office and starts randomly talking, leading him to conclude that she saw the sign. Donna sardonically congratulates him on his dream, but Harvey indifferently replies that he doesn’t have dreams, only goals, and that now it’s on to the next one. Donna doesn’t buy his lack of enthusiasm and asks why he didn’t tell her. Harvey says that he shouldn’t have had to, and that she should have known, had her focus not been elsewhere lately. Harvey? I know Donna is amazing and everything, but I don’t think psychic abilities fall within her capabilities, so shut up. Donna correctly deduces that this is about his anger over Stephen (I just realized I’ve been spelling his name wrong in all my previous recaps –sorry guys!) but Harvey continues to live in denial city and says that it’s not about Stephen, and that she should have known because she knows everything.
This directly segues us into our first flashback of the episode: 10 years ago when Harvey was working in the D.A’s office for Cameron Dennis. Harvey looks the same, albeit younger, and I don’t know how they managed to do that, except movie magic I guess. Donna has bangs, which are a bit unflattering. Donna correctly guesses the amount of coffee Harvey consumed that day, and when he is surprised at her skills she says, “It’s what I do. I read, I analyze, I fix.” So she’s a combination of Sherlock Holmes and Olivia Pope? And I’m not kidding about the Sherlock thing by the way –when Harvey calls bullshit, she promptly deduces multiple facts about him in a very Holmes-esque manner. It’s quite impressive. Harvey thinks this means she’s into him, but Donna denies it. They flirt a bit more before Donna sashays away.
We cut to Flashback Mike, who is still in college and sharing his apartment with his asshole friend, Trevor. We see the beginnings of Trevor’s descent into drug dealing and also see what a genius Mike was; he got a 100 on a Calculus midterm and also got into Harvard! Mike is thrilled and he and Trevor decide to go out to celebrate.
Present day. Mike finds Harvey and lets him know that Cameron Dennis managed to find another witness, which means Ava’s murder trial is nowhere near finished.
Rachel’s apartment. She’s packing to go visit Stanford, and she and Mike are semi-fighting about the whole thing. I’m confused, weren’t they fine with each other at the end of last week’s episode? Did I miss something? Whatever, I remembered I don’t care. Mike wishes her a good trip with the most sincerity he can muster (a.k.a not very much).
Flashback. Mike is at a party and flirting with a girl, when Trevor interrupts and tells him to join in a game of poker, since it’s obvious Mike will win. By the way, Mike somehow looks ten times older than he does in present day. They did so well with Harvey, what happened here? Anyhow, Mike agrees to play to get revenge on some kid who was a jerk to him freshman year.
We continue in flashback mode at the D.A’s office. Cameron Dennis tells Harvey that he just got 25 years imprisonment for the defendants on a case they were working on, and Harvey tries to high five him, which CD rejects. Their dynamic is exactly like Harvey and Mike’s today. Aw, Harvey looks so young and naïve and fresh-faced in this scene. It really shows what a great actor Gabriel Macht is –in essence, he’s still Harvey, but a very different, much more innocent version. CD offers him a promotion to head litigator at the office, even though Harvey is supposed to go back to Jessica. Harvey considers it.
Back at the party, Mike is winning at poker and not afraid to rub it in his competitors’ faces.
D.A’s office. Harvey celebrates the promotion offer with Donna. Since it’s such a big deal, she suggests that they should have some sort of ritual. Harvey sketches his very, very dirty idea that we sadly don’t see. Donna: “What would we even do it with?” Harvey: “Whipped cream?” This will be relevant later. Harvey moves his face close to hers and revisits their earlier discussion about being, um, more than friends. Though he tries his best to convince her (and she agrees she’s thought about it), she remains steadfast in the line between her professional and personal life. Bertha, one of the other secretaries, interrupts this swoon-worthy conversation and gives Harvey a file pertaining to the murder case CD had earlier said he won. Bertha is sassy and I love her and I wish she existed in present day. She could replace Norma for Louis! It’s not like we ever see her, anyway.
Poker game. Mike calculates that he has about a 99 percent chance of winning, so Trevor bets $500 on his behalf, which he got from selling weed. Unfortunately, the guy he’s playing against is a dick and cheats, causing Mike to lose all his money, along with Trevor’s.
Present day at the office. Harvey is admiring the Pearson Darby Specter sign when Stephen comes up and congratulates him. Stephen says that he knows about the new witness Cameron Dennis has and offers any sort of help. Harvey blows him off and Stephen walks away, only to be replaced by Mike, who has figured out whom the witness is. Harvey and Mike both gaze at the sign, which segues us…
...back into a flashback with Jessica. The sign that now says Pearson Darby Specter used to say Gordon Schmidt Van Dyke. Harvey comes to see Jessica and tells her about CD’s offer for head litigator. Jessica tells him that she has an offer of her own, and lets him know that she and Hardman plan to take GSVD down. Harvey asks if it’s respectable or honorable to take them down when they don’t see it coming, but Jessica answers, “Harvey. We’re lawyers. We’re not in the honor business.” Valid point, but it’s nice to see a time when Harvey wasn’t jaded by the lines of morality lawyers are forced to cross.
Mike’s apartment. Trevor tells him that he needs the money that they lost back, because he hadn’t paid for the weed yet. He says he needs a $1000 by Monday or Omar (head drug dealer) will beat him up. To get the money, Trevor asks Mike to sell the questions and answers to the Calculus test he just took, since Mike has that convenient photogenic memory. Mike looks frustrated.
D.A’s office. Donna enters and shows Harvey some paperwork for the case they’re working on. Apparently Harvey wants to put in a toxicology report that was missing earlier, making it seem as if it was always there. When Donna points out that this is wrong, Harvey cuts her off and acts like a complete asshole, snapping that Donna is beneath him. Shut up, Harvey. Donna stalks out.
Present day. Harvey and Mike meet with Cameron Dennis. They confront him about the witness, and CD says that the witness will confess on the stand that Ava authorized the murders. However, he offers a deal instead –an agreement to 10 years with parole.
Once again back to flashbacks. Trevor just successfully sold the test to a student. Why are we getting a flashback with Trevor but no Jenny? I guess she’s too busy being evil on Pretty Little Liars. Anyway, Trevor confesses that the money to the head drug dealer was actually due the day before, and Mike insists on coming with him to see Omar.
D.A’s office. CD confronts Harvey about the toxicology report. He’s angry that Harvey included it at all, and says that he buried it for a reason. Harvey is surprised at this complete disregard for the law, but CD spouts some greater good blah blah nonsense. Harvey tries to argue, but CD is incredibly mean and puts Harvey in his place, saying “I’m here, you’re here,” gesturing at two different levels. It’s exactly what Harvey said to Donna earlier. Guess we know where he got it from.
Present day. Stephen finds Mike outside the office and tries to convince him to tell Harvey to take Cameron’s deal, saying that five years with parole is better than a lifetime sentence for Ava. Mike thinks CD is bluffing, but Stephen claims the opposite.
We’re already back to flashback land, as Mike and Trevor go see Omar. Omar turns out to be this hilariously non-threatening, tiny Middle Eastern kid, whom Mike charms into forgiving Trevor. They quote Pulp Fiction at each other, which acts as this week’s Not-So-Obscure Movie Reference of the Week. As they walk out of Omar’s dorm, police approach Trevor and arrest him on suspicion of selling answers to a stolen test.
Back at the D.A’s office, Donna talks to Harvey about what CD did, saying that it’s illegal. Harvey defends him, saying it won’t happen again, but Donna has proof of multiple cases in which CD did the same thing. Donna asserts that she’s not just there to get Harvey coffee and do his dry cleaning, but that she’s going to give her opinion and that he better respect that if he wants her to stick around. Go Donna!
We forward to present day for a moment, when Stephen tries to talk to Harvey but Harvey blows him off, again, and then immediately rewind. Harvey approaches a baseball field, where a man is batting. It’s Harvey’s dad! I’ve always been curious about Harvey’s parents, so this is really interesting. Harvey asks for his dad’s advice regarding the Cameron situation, and his dad essentially tells him to realize working with Cameron will put him in this situation again and again, and it is best to get out. His dad seems so amiable and easygoing; I always thought he’d be sterner.
We parallel with Mike talking to his grandmother about his Trevor problem. Aw, I miss his grandmother. I can’t believe she’s so understanding about the whole thing. She advises Mike to come clean to help Trevor out, since he and Trevor have been friends since childhood and that means something. I would tell Mike to reconsider helping his so-called BFF who forced him to recreate a test and then used the money to satisfy his drug lord, but hey, what do I know.
At the D.A’s office, Harvey tells CD that he disclosed the toxicology report for the case, and that he is resigning. CD calls him weak, but Harvey declares that the only thing that made him weak was not disclosing the report initially. Well, look who grew a spine! Go Harvey.
Cut to Mike confessing to the college dean that he is the one who recreated the test. Turns out, it was the dean’s daughter who bought the test. Ha, that really sucks. Trevor and Mike just had the worst luck. The dean is now being forced to resign, but he tells Mike that he is expelling him and calling Harvard, too. Mike doesn’t really show much emotion for someone who just lost his chance at a Harvard future.
We cut to the best scene in the episode. Harvey knocks on Donna’s door. He tells her he quit and that he also turned in the report. Donna admits that she also quit because she didn’t want to be working for a “viper.” Harvey says that he just realized they no longer work together, but Donna calls him on it, saying that he thought about it the second he quit. She holds up a can of whipped cream. Harvey, smirking: “What are we waiting for?” They move in to kiss, but the door shuts before we can see anything. The first time I saw this, I was both immensely happy and shocked, because this means Donna lied to Rachel! She told her nothing ever happened between her and Harvey. I am so glad she was lying.
Next day. Harvey asks Jessica if he can come work for her, since he quit working for CD. He tells her that he thought about whom he wanted to be working with in ten years, and Jessica realizes he chose her over Cameron. Jessica welcomes him into the firm, and Harvey says it’s non-negotiable that his secretary come with him. Jessica smiles and indulges him.
We cut to a small diner, where Harvey and Donna meet. He tells her he wants her to come work with him at Pearson Hardman, and she’s surprised, though clearly flattered. Harvey: “I don’t want to know what kind of lawyer I’d be without you.” These two melt my cold, cold heart. Donna agrees, on the condition that they never mention the previous night again. They agree that they need a new ritual now, and Harvey suggests doing something with a can opener. Donna calls it a stupid idea but reconsiders, and is about to explain when we cut away! Noo! Are we ever going to find out what they do with that can opener?! It’s one of the greatest mysteries of Suits. Although I think the mystery of it may be better than the actual ritual.
Present day Harvey and Donna in the same diner. Harvey admits that the idea of Donna and Stephen bothers him, but adds “Just because the idea of it bothers me, doesn’t mean that…” to which Donna rolls her eyes and says, “I know,” in a get-over-yourself tone. Harvey asks why she changed her personal/professional life policy, and she says she needed to start living her life.
Flashback to Harvey and Donna at Pearson Hardman, when Donna meets Louis for the first time. She deduces a number of things about him in her Sherlockian way, and smiles perkily before walking away. Heh. Louis looks mindblown.
Rachel’s apartment in present day. Mike is waiting and let’s her know that he supports her, blah blah. They make up as they always do. He shows her his acceptance letter from Harvard and tells her that he’ll tell her the whole story.
Terrace of the office. Harvey meets Jessica and tells her that CD was bluffing about the witness, so they’ve won, again? For now? It’s difficult to keep track these days and I’m sure it’ll all change next episode anyway when they discover Cameron has a witness in the form of a parrot that heard Ava confess the murder and can now repeat her, word for word. Anyway, Harvey owns up to his deal with Darby, which is pretty brave. Jessica is not forgiving in the least and tells him to get out of her sight. The soundtrack wails, “You’re on your own. In a world you’ve grown” as we pan to Harvey. Very subtle. Not.
Last scene as Mike approaches CD. He tells Cameron that they know he bluffed about having the witness, which Cameron admits is true, but then reveals that he now actually has the witness thanks to Stephen Huntley, who led him straight to the witness. Backstabbing Brit! There’s a reason I never liked him. And what did I tell you – not even two minutes after Harvey and Jessica think they’ve won, CD finds a way to recover.
This episode had great character development and some pretty surprising plot twists too, so I think it’s one of my favorites so far this season. What did you guys think of Harvey and Donna and Stephen’s (potential) betrayal? Comment below!