‘Suits’ Season 3 Finale Review: How Do You Like Me Now?

It seems only fitting to start this review with a confession: Suits’ third season has not been my favorite. Over the summer, we endured 10 episodes of Ava Hessington, the British invasion and our favorite lawyers constantly at odds with each other. It didn’t exactly feel like must see TV.

The midseason return was a bit of a letdown as some of the episodes felt repetitive and a tad bit boring. I was relieved that it was time for the season finale last night. I was looking forward to having a break from the show until it returned this summer. Then I watched “No Way Out” and I remembered all the reasons that I love this show because when it’s good, it is the absolute best.

Mike’s name has officially been added to the New York Bar, but before he can breathe a proper sigh of relief, everything goes to hell again. First, Rachel is back to being super judge-y because he did what Harvey wanted instead of what she wanted. My opinion of Rachel, and of Rachel and Mike’s relationship, has softened quite a bit, but the scene in their kitchen was a glaring reminder why I never supported them before.

On the one hand, I understand why Rachel is upset. She loves Mike and she doesn’t want him to spend his life in prison. She’d also appreciate it if he loved her as much as he loved Harvey. That’s pretty fair. But at the same time, I feel like Rachel never really looks at things from Mike’s point of view to try and understand why he’s the way he is and why his relationship with Harvey is so special. At this point in the episode, I was not here for Rachel at all.

Then Mike got called is by a US Attorney who was investigating his shady deal with Harold. Naturally, Mike thought he knew that he was a fraud so he was pretty relieved when it was just a pesky legal matter. But it was a serious one and Mike could be in a lot of trouble – unless he rolled over and tossed all the blame at Harvey. Apparently, the US Attorney thought Harvey was a shady lawyer and made it his mission in life to bring him down all of a sudden. Harvey was not amused and immediately got Mike out of there. He also warned him not to go anywhere near Harold.

Unfortunately, Harold had just gotten fired because his boss had no problem throwing him under the bus. Harold came to talk to Mike, Louis got in his face a little and then Mike tried to calm him down without actually incriminating himself, but that didn’t work out so well because the US Attorney was there to haul them both off and this time they were charged with defrauding the US government and conspiracy and potential terrorist charges to keep Mike from calling his lawyer. Basically, the US Attorney was going to attempt to make Mike and Harold nervous in their separate rooms until one of them talked.

While this was going on, Harvey was still dealing with Scottie’s hurt feelings. Again, I can see Scottie’s issues. She wants Harvey to be honest with her, she’s given up a lot to be with him and she’s trying really hard, but he’s not meeting her halfway. That being said, I don’t care about Scottie or her feelings so I wasn’t all that sad to see her ask Jessica to let her out of her no compete so she could find another job. She also accused Jessica of being like Edward Darby (aka bad) when it came to her lack of transparency. Jessica did not appreciate that, but promised that she and Harvey would discuss letting her out of the contract.

Thanks to Louis, Harvey learned that Mike had been brought in and the two lawyers headed to the town car to go rescue Mike. Seeing Harvey and Louis together remains one of my favorite things ever and Harvey told Louis that he needed him to convince Harold not to talk. They arrived just in time because Harold had been about to make a deal, but Louis went in there and tried to get through to him. At first Harold was understandably resistant, but then Louis reminded him that he might not like him, but he’d never lied to him and he could and would get him out of there. Louis has been the shining star of the past few episodes and it was awesome to once again see him stepping up to the plate.

In the other interrogation room, Mike was ready to take the blame. Harvey was furious that he was giving up and then he broke the security camera so they could talk in private and he gave Mike permission to roll over on him. Mike still refused to do that and that only made Harvey angrier. This entire scene was amazing. I’m always in awe of the chemistry Gabriel Macht and Patrick J. Adams have, but this scene went above and beyond. There’s not a doubt in anyone’s mind that these two would absolutely go to hell and back for the other and it’s a beautiful thing to watch. It also turned out to be a moot point because Louis got through to Harold, everyone was free to go and Harvey, Mike and Louis got to strut back into the office like the BAMFs that they are.

But there were still some major things to be sorted out. Mike and Rachel shared a relieved reunion and once again my issues with Rachel faded because I do understand her and she just wants Mike to be okay. I can’t really be mad about that. However, it won’t stop me from wanting her to keep the judgment to a minimum. Then, Harvey let Jessica know he was back and that he’d picked up the kids like she’d asked (these two are too cute). They both realized there was some truth in what Scottie had said and Jessica stated that they needed to get back to being them.

Harvey agreed and then he went to Scottie and told her that they were going to let her out of her contract. He also told her the truth about Mike and that Jessica wasn’t the one who had turned into Darby – he was. Scottie appreciated the honesty, but it was too late. She still wanted to leave. Harvey expected that and he told her that he loved her. Again, I’m not really crying over her departure. Harvey went to see Donna next and filled her in on everything that happened with Scottie (Donna’s “I know” replies were absolutely perfect). Donna also mentioned that she took care of a mess he’d made and reminded him that everyone needs help sometimes. Can these two just please get married already?

Then came the final scene with Harvey and Mike and I think we all could guess where this one was going, but I have to admit that I was surprised by my reaction. Mike told Harvey that he couldn’t keep putting people he cared about in harm’s way and he’d taken the offer to be an investment banker. Harvey wanted to protest, but Mike reminded him that he’d given him permission to throw him under the bus earlier and now Mike wanted permission to go. So Harvey shook his hand and it was awesome – especially once Mike reminded him that he’s a client now and he’s basically Harvey’s boss.

So here’s the thing: I was expecting Mike to bow out and I really thought I’d be mad about it because I love Harvey and Mike working together, but I think this might actually be a good thing. One of my issues with this show has always been how they hit the same beats: Harvey tells Mike to do something, Mike doesn’t listen, Harvey bails Mike out, lather, rinse repeat. Maybe this is exactly what the show needs right now – a reset, a tweak to the formula, something different to show us these characters still together, but not in the same way. I’m intrigued as to where this could go and I give the writers major props for being brave enough to tackle something that has the potential to upset viewers. I’m looking forward to watching this play out in season four.

Now it’s your turn. Did you enjoy the episode? Were you surprised by Mike’s decision? What about Scottie? Will you miss her or are you happy she’s gone? Do you think Mike will be back? What do you want to see happen in season four? Hit the comments and share your thoughts and theories with us!