‘Suits’ Review: Shadow of Relationship Doubts

Last night, Suits once again shook up the alliances at Pearson Darby or should we say Pearson, Darby and Specter? (We’ll get to that). “Shadow of a Doubt” had some developments in the Ava Hessington case (yawn), but it was the personal relationships, both business and professional, that made the episode.

The episode began with Donna and Harvey on the phone; he needed her to do something, but she was on her lunch break at the dentist…aka in Stephen’s bed. Donna and Rachel discussed whether or not she should tell Harvey the truth and Rachel pointed out that this was personal and her relationship with Harvey was professional so as long as the two didn’t clash, Harvey didn’t need to know.

But Donna ended up telling Harvey anyway and he took it pretty well on the surface, but there was a strange tension bubbling between the two. Can we pause for a moment and praise the perfection that is Gabriel Macht and Sarah Rafferty sharing a scene together? It doesn’t matter what they’re talking about or doing in the scene; there’s always this electricity moving between them and it is the greatest thing ever. It makes the audience feel just how deeply connected Harvey and Donna are even if we still don’t know why their relationship is the way it is.

So after we were once again left wondering about Donna and Harvey’s past, Harvey and Stephen decided to work together to help Ava. While it’s understandable to want to bring new characters into the show, it’s frustrating that Mike and Harvey had so little time together in this episode. But of course the point of having Stephen and Harvey teaming up was to stress the awkwardness that is Stephen and Donna (ship them if you want, just not here, please). When the two men disagreed over the case, Stephen suggested Donna was the real issue and Harvey quickly showed him the door.

After that, Harvey turned to Jessica for help with the case. Admittedly, Jessica fell very low on my list when she sided against Harvey last season, but I’m ready for these two to bury the hatchet. She messed up and then he did too when he went to Darby to try and push her out. They need to confess their sins and move on. But first, Jessica came up with the idea of having Ava and Tony compromise to get what they both want and push Cameron out in the meantime. Harvey liked the plan, but pointed out that Ava would be a hard sell.

Jessica went to talk to her and confessed the reasons she’d decided to merge with Darby (Jessica, you really should have this personal chat with Harvey). Ava ended up agreeing and Harvey went to Cameron and told him that the tape couldn’t be used as evidence because Tony had signed an affidavit admitting that Cameron had left him alone in a room with it. Cameron was taken aback at first, but then he got smug again, which means he probably has something else up his sleeve.

It’s no secret that Mike and Rachel as a couple are not my thing (see all past reviews), but (some of) their dynamic worked for me this week. It was fun to see Mike and Rachel team up as ‘Harvey and Mike’ and interrogate a witness together. Their snarky banter was sharp and fun and it showed how well they can work as a team. I’d like to see more scenes like that one and less of the couple-y ones.

But there were some of those in the episode too. After initially balking at the idea, Rachel invited Mike to have dinner with her parents. Mr. Zane was a lot more relaxed and fun than the last time we saw him. Rachel’s mom picked up on the fact that Rachel is hiding something about Mike, but gave her blessing as long as he’s not a murderer (talk about low standards for your daughter). Meanwhile, Mr. Z let it slip that Rachel had applied to Stamford, something she hadn’t mentioned to Mike, which of course, led to a fight between the two of them.

Setting aside my dislike for the couple, plot points like this always feel like a waste of time to me. It seems highly unlikely that Rachel is going to be written out of the show so we know that ultimately, this is going to end up being a non-issue. But it does highlight the lack of trust between Rachel and Mike that is still there since Rachel kept this from him, even after she learned his huge secret.

Finally, Jessica came to Harvey and gave him a business card with ‘Pearson, Darby and Specter’ at the top and informed him that it was going on the wall in the morning. Harvey was naturally suspicious and pointed out that Jessica had said he wasn’t ready for that. He assumes that she wants to use him against Darby, but Jessica thinks it’s time. Was it a peace offering or the chess move Harvey called it? Maybe it’s a little bit of both, but hopefully it will be the first step in getting these two back on the same page once and for all.

Before we go, let’s talk about next week’s flashback episode. We’re going to learn more about Harvey and Donna’s relationship (YES!), including some of the can opener story (YES!) and we’re also going to see more of Harvey and Cameron’s history and presumably Jessica and Harvey’s as well. Here’s hoping that it answers some major questions and helps repair some of the trust issues at the firm.