SUITS took a couple of trips down Memory Lane in “Bad Man.” One such trip went all the way back to 1986, where a young Louis Litt experienced a kind of heartbreak that would inform his future relationship choices. The episode also visited a couple of places in Harvey Specter’s past, as the modern-day version of the man struggled with juggling his commitment to preserving the legacies of two very important people in his life. But for Mike Ross, SUITS’ latest story was rooted firmly in the present, as he found himself on the opposite side of a case from his buddy Oliver.
The sticky Littuation. (That’s a Litt situation for those of you who don’t do youth-speak.) When “Bad Man” opened, Louis Litt was relaxing in some mud, listening to a recording of his therapist, Dr. Lipschitz as he tried to find some inner peace. Despite actually having a good therapist — unlike some people — Louis’ attempt at meditation was an epic failure, as Sheila Sazs made an appearance. After the former couple’s recent one-time-only affair, Sheila decided that she wanted to play some more before her wedding; but Louis wasn’t interested: “That night was one of the greatest nights of my entire life, but the next morning was one of the worst. I can’t do this.”
Sheila was incapable of taking no for an answer, to the point where she even reached into the mud and fondled Louis…in spite of his objections. Had the situation been reversed, we’d be talking about some major consent issues here. And, quite frankly, we should still be doing so with a female aggressor. Louis clearly said he wasn’t interested, but Sheila knew him better than he knew himself; so, it was totally ok to finish him off (quite quickly, I might add) in his mud bath before handing him a burner phone and demanding that he take her call when it came.
Cue Louis, who was previously just conflicted but was now feeling both used and conflicted, booking the soonest available appointment with Dr. Lipschitz. It was clear that Louis felt like he didn’t “deserve a woman who is 100% available,” but he didn’t want to talk about why until after yet another bad encounter with Sheila.
Let’s unpack this a little bit: Louis surprised Sheila, telling her that it was obvious they still had feelings for one another and asking that she leave her husband-to-be. When Sheila reminded him that they wanted different things out of life, he actually offered to give up his dream of a family in order to be with her; but she dropped the guilt bomb, saying he’d already broken her heart once. As I recall, Louis’ heart was pretty damaged after that relationship ended, too. But I guess Sheila’s way of dealing with that is to just use him as a sex toy until she gets married, as in, she won’t give Louis her heart to “shatter again,” but he should absolutely be used — even when he says no! — for her pleasure until she’s done playing with him.
Kudos to SUITS for making me hate two women (guess who the other is! Her name rhymes with “drawl-uh”) whom I previously couldn’t get enough of.
Anyway.
When Louis told Sheila that he just couldn’t be a “bad boy” and gave back her burner phone, it was time for another appointment with Dr. Lipschitz; and this time, he was ready to tell the story of his childhood trauma.
Throughout “Bad Man,” SUITS viewers were treated to visions of 1986!Louis, who was the source of our current Littuation. The teen version of everyone’s favorite Donna bff and oftentimes overly-emotional lawyer was on top of the world back then: He had a beautiful girlfriend, who called him “the best boyfriend in the world.” The couple was clearly in love, and her parents even adored him. Or, well, Louis thought his affection for Mitzie Goldfarb was reciprocated.
Unfortunately, Louis’ sister Esther interrupted his baton practice to tell him that Mitzie was seeing Drake Johnson behind his back. But Louis believed in his girlfriend. When Esther suggested that Mitzie would be attending some big party with Drake, he defended his lady love with all sorts of legal mumbo jumbo learned from his Future Lawyers of America the World Club. Mitzie and her friends were trying out some new European shampoo that night, after all.
The old shampoo excuse never was a truthful one, and Louis learned that the hard way when he went to the party. Mitzie revealed that she was only with Louis because her parents approved of him — but absolutely wouldn’t accept Drake — and then she, just like Sheila would decades later, emotionally manipulated him into doing her bidding. He kept his next 17 dates with her so she could please her parents and “kept hoping something would happen, but nothing ever did.” Adding insult to injury, Louis even overheard a conversation between Drake and Mitzie when he was hanging out under the bleachers: “He may be nice, but he’s not a bad boy. And I like bad boys.”
After reliving this painful memory, Louis decided he wanted to be a bad man so he could have Sheila — something that Dr. Lipschitz knew was doomed from the start because that’s just not who Louis is.
It’s weird: SUITS has always made it abundantly clear that Louis Litt was the nerd, the outcast even; but somehow, “Bad Man” drove the point home more than ever. He wasn’t just desperate for friendship all along; there was also this underlying sense that he didn’t deserve to be loved because he was “too good.” So, not only do we have a man who lashes out and destroys relationships because he has no idea how to relate and is tired of being hurt — except when he’s being the perfect Donna bff, at which points we absolutely adore him — but we also have someone who, unaware, has been fighting against the very part of himself that makes him lovable in the first place.
I would like to take a trip back to 1986 and give Ms. Goldfarb a talking-to because she damaged our boy, possibly beyond repair, and that’s just not ok — especially since it means that Sheila Sazs gets to take gross advantage of him while she has her Litt and eats it too. We all know this is doomed, right? Just like the ever-brilliant Gretchen does?
Harvey Specter’s bittersweet walk down Memory Lane. As is often the case, Harvey had to make a tough business decision in SUITS’ latest episode. After taking the fall for the firm — one last time — in the previous episode, Jessica Pearson had a request: She needed a couple million dollars in an untraceable account, and she needed Harvey to simply trust her with it. After discussing the situation with Louis, Harvey realized that the only way he was going to be able to get Jessica her money was to find some client who owed him and have said client be ok with making the off-books transaction.
Donna, having heard the entire conversation, told Harvey that he needed to go see Vic about selling his music catalogue. The problem was that said catalogue included Harvey’s father’s music, which would never be heard again if Vic sold. But, as we learned through Harvey’s series of “Bad Man” flashbacks, Harvey had kept billable hours off the books for Vic ten years ago; so, the exact amount of money that Jessica needed was back-owed to him by Vic.
When Harvey was conflicted, it was Donna — as usual — who reminded him of what was important. She told him that she knew he was trying to protect his father’s legacy, but he had also promised to do the same for Jessica. When Harvey said he didn’t think he’d be “choosing between the two,” Donna clarified the situation, as Donna does: “You’re not. You’re just doing what’s right.”
Because sometimes, no matter how much we have to lose by doing so, it’s time to move on. So, Harvey, please move on — from Paula. No? Whatever.
Once Harvey made the sale, which required first butting heads with Vic, then throwing his weight around at the record company that wanted to buy the catalogue, he took to his office to bury his loss in scotch. Donna joined him at the window where the two had once held hands (ahhh, a better time) but made sure to keep her distance and respect Harvey’s boundaries.
Harvey’s initial reaction to Donna’s offer of a chat was turned down, and he opened up about having upset Paula with the news of “the other time.” But after she offered words of assurance in even that mess, Harvey decided a drink and finishing off listening to his father’s record would be a good idea after all. So, the lines are still…how do you say…”as blurry as lines can get.”
SUITS isn’t returning the Donna/Harvey relationship back to its former glory in any quick or easy way, folks. That conversation at the window was just the slightest bit too cautious on both characters’ parts, and as infuriating as Harvey’s trip to tell Paula that she — not Donna — was the one he wanted to be there was, it was the right decision for a guy who truly (and mistakenly!) thinks he’s in a loving relationship. Unlike Louis, he’s going after the available woman, not the one who’s (lied and) made it clear that she doesn’t want more.
On the plus side, Dr. Feelbad finally admitted she was threatened by Donna — aren’t we all? — and Harvey made it clear that Donna’s someone that he wants to keep in his life. He laid down his terms; now, Paula can either accept them or take a hike. (I hear hiking is good exercise.)
But also, Harvey? You can choke for that lie about how Paula, not Donna, was the one who helped you make peace with your mother. Just saying.
They say that the best way to learn something is to have to explain it to someone else… While Louis and Harvey were both working on some personal things, Mike Ross was actually…practicing law. Strangely enough, he avoided doing anything overly shady for the second SUITS episode in a row.
Well. Almost.
When Oliver asked Mike to take over a Specter Litt client so that the food bank Oliver represented would get their fair price on protein packs back, Mike initially said no, calling it “a direct conflict of interest.” But then, for a friend, he offered to at least try to see what he could do. Mike was proud of himself for negotiating out about 70% of what Oliver had asked, but that wasn’t good enough and led to the possibility of an actual lawsuit.
Oliver kicked Mike and Rachel’s asses in the deposition because he came more prepared, having discovered that Hudson Mills had produced an ad, bragging about their relationship with the food bank. Later, though, Mike was able to repay the favor — ultimately getting Oliver nothing instead of the 70% he’d originally negotiated or the 90% Oliver gained in the deposition — because he learned that the food bank had resold the products. So, either they had a contract (as the ad would’ve suggested) and were breaking it; or, there was just “an understanding” between the two parties, meaning Mike’s client could raise the price however they wanted.
Either way, Mike won.
What was interesting about this case, aside from seeing Mike and Oliver fight about whether or not Mike cared about the little guy, was the growth that Mike appeared to show. He didn’t blow his case in order to be a do-gooder because, as he’d learned from the prison case — Mike learned! — he had to do his job. “I’ve learned from my mistake. You can’t play for two teams at the same time. And if I have to give you a piece of charity because you don’t get that, then you’ll never learn a goddamned thing.”
Who is this guy? What is this “learned from my mistake,” and can he please go out on top like this? Smarter, better, working with Rachel, and doing the right thing — without doing the wrong thing? Please? SUITS, do me this one solid, please. Please.
Was Oliver right to lecture Mike on his supposed commitment to the little guy? Absolutely. But did it matter when Mike was working for Specter Litt and, therefore, obligated to represent his client to the best of his ability? Nope! And Mike realized this.
Progress.
It’s what we deserved. The single scene between Jessica and Donna probably shouldn’t get its own section of the recap. But too bad.
As Harvey was on his way to make some grand “relationship” gesture, Donna was on her way out the door. She heard Harvey’s phone ringing and, after a brief pause to consider, she answered it. One Jessica Pearson was on the other end; and she proved that, even disbarred and living halfway across the country, she was still in charge of her destiny. Jessica revealed that she’d known about Vic all along: “Do you think he could keep that much work off the books all these years without me knowing?”
No, Jessica. We should’ve known better.
But what made this scene the highlight of an already-packed episode was not any kind of revelation about the past or lesson learned for the future. It was simply getting to see Donna and Jessica interact as friends and equals. There was this playful game of one-upping each other in the “I knew that” department, and the banter was exactly as carefree and warm as that between Donna and Harvey, or even Mike and Harvey, once was.
The women of SUITS were as much a family as the (formerly) Pearson Specter Litt partners were; and while the female friendships have often taken a back seat here, every time they’ve even been hinted at, it’s been memorable. This scene in “Bad Man,” in particular, highlighted a depth of caring between Jessica and Donna that couldn’t have been shown quite so explicitly when Jessica was queen of the castle and Donna an employee; but now, with Jessica gone, viewers could finally see the full effect of it — if only for this one brief scene.
“I miss you, Jessica.” Same!
“I miss you, too, Donna. And I miss the rest of those fools, too. But don’t you dare tell them I said that.” “Wouldn’t dream of it, Pearson.” “Thanks, Paulsen.”
And rest in peace, Lieberman…
Additional thoughts.
- Any episode that includes Boxing!Harvey is a masterpiece, especially when it includes an artistic shot of the man, hanging over the ropes with just the right lighting to create art. SUITS is usually not one of those series that makes me think about the visuals very much, but that last image from the boxing scene, with all of those shadows offset by sparks of light, was something special.
- Donna supported Harvey’s relationship with Scottie because she loved him enough to want him to be happy, and she’s doing it again with…this. We love a consistently supportive “just friend!”
- “Everyone knows only jerks drive fast cars.” Insert the gratuitous fancy car sequences from SUITS 7×01 here. Young Louis was…not wrong in that context. Nope.
- “True love is for fairytales, and that sure as shit isn’t for me.” In which Louis Litt is me, and I am Louis Litt.
- “Donna came in to talk to me about it; and she helped because she’s part of my life, Paula. And I like her being part of my life.” I like it, too. Like, does Harvey’s therapist-girlfriend even know about his father’s legacy? I’m guessing not!
- “Two plus two equals something I’d rather not picture.” Same, Gretchen. Same. I got enough of a picture in that mud violation scene.
- “I don’t have a lot of excess emotional bandwidth right now.” Louis, you’re breaking my heart. Also, Harvey? Learn how not to be an ass when your partner needs some space; Louis sure backed off and let you hop in the elevator when you were running around, shooketh, after the Donna kiss.
- “Because I trust Oliver, and he trusts me.” “And I used to believe in The Tooth Fairy…and then I grew up.” “This isn’t The Tooth Fairy, Harvey. This is a human being, who I trust. If you can’t see the difference, I don’t know what I can do for you.” I don’t know what we can do for Harvey right now for so, so many reasons…But he was actually right in this argument! What could have been a learning experience for the master turned into one for the apprentice. Win either way, I guess?
- “I am going to help you kick that Mike Ross wannabe’s ass six ways to Sunday.” True love. “Order me a Kick Wannabe’s As Number 7.” Is it spicy? If so, I’ll have one, too.
Catch the next episode of SUITS on Wednesday, April 11 at 9/8c on USA.