Suits - To to Toe - Review: "Just Like Old Times"

Hey everybody, this is the other Laura M on SpoilerTV that watches Suits! This week, I'll be the one reviewing, with a few additional comments from the main Laura M about the episode. I've had such a hot n' cold relationship with Season 5 of Suits so far. I'm a huge fan of the dynamic between Mike and Harvey, so whenever the show decides to shoehorn in other relationship drama and plot lines that I could not care less about, well, I get upset about it. Season 5 has been no short of feeling like a roller coaster to me, and not the thrilling kind. However, this episode was actually quite good. A plethora of great Harvey and Mike moments, an interesting case with Tanner, and putting Louis in his place. As far as episodes of Suits go, this was pretty good.

I'm not going to lie, that intro made me laugh my head off. I'm not a huge fan of Travis Tanner, but seeing Harvey dream that he was sleeping with Donna was hilarious. I could not stop laughing. I thought I was going to miss something by turning my head away to laugh, but I couldn't help it! I knew it had to be a dream, but it was still so funny to see. Then, we get a glorious Mike and Harvey scene. That's what I like to see. Harvey stands in the door frame of Mike's office, almost looking like a puppy waiting to be acknowledged by their master. Which seems a bit ironic here, to flip the script like that, since Mike's the one taking on a prior hairstyle of Harvey's. Harvey even brings up how he's not a fan of that hairstyle. I thought that was really comical to watch. Harvey mentions working against Tanner, to which Mike replies, "Just like old times". You see, this is how you get me interested in an episode.

Louis invites Donna to his mudding club. Yeah, Donna's not having any of that. Louis then goes to Jessica to tell her that they're going back to the old compensation plan. Jessica cuts through Louis's bullshit like the queen she is. Meanwhile, Mike and Harvey meet with Tanner in the conference room to try to tell him how it's going to play out. Every punch Tanner throws, Harvey and Mike throw right back. All in all, it was a pretty successful meeting, ending with smiles from Mike and Harvey. But, if I know Suits, it won't last. Now Rachel's in the episode, and Louis is grilling her for help about Jack Soloff. Poor girl, that's the last thing anyone should be forced to do. It's time for Mike and Harvey to get back in the courtroom against Tanner. It feels so right. Tanner made a comment like, "Get it verified by the labs at Quantico.", which only makes me want to see a Suits/Criminal Minds crossover. That was nice. But now we see sleazy Tanner, as if he never changed. He brought up this sexual harassment claim from his client, that Mike and Harvey were obviously in the wind about. Ouch. Now, we have more Rachel and Louis interactions. I've always enjoyed watching their friendship struggle and succeed.

The guy in the restaurant Louis made a donation to said, "You sir, are a true American hero". You know you're talking to Louis Litt, right? I understand it's only to get Soloff on board, it's still alarming to hear though. And damn, Tanner's client is diabolical! She's the one who came up with the sexual harassment idea. Or did she? Harvey believes Tanner came up with the idea and told her to take the credit for it. Mike isn't so sure, but he wants to agree with Harvey. Transition: "Rachel Zane, you glorious creature". Nice one, Louis. He only said this because he wanted to go mudding with her. Okay then, that's a bit strange. But then again, it is Louis we're talking about. Rachel, like Donna, said no to the mudding. Sorry, Louis (not really). Mike and Harvey talk outside by a Hot Dog food truck. Tanner's there and things aren't looking good. He brings up Donna, and you know that's Harvey's berserk button. Mike has to push Harvey away from Tanner to prevent him from continuing to pummel him. Wow, the pain Mike feels for Harvey is palpable. This reminded me of previous episodes; Tanner just has a knack for saying the right thing to provoke a punch from Harvey.

Mike and Rachel have a talk, and Mike tells Rachel about Harvey's panic attacks. This seems to be a theme with this season. Taking Mike, who used to always have Harvey's back and keep all his secrets because Harvey kept Mike's biggest secret, and then making Mike a complete asshole for no reason. It is completely out of character for the Mike Ross I used to know, love, and support to hell and back. It's getting a lot harder to do that when he does things like this. And telling Rachel about Harvey seems way out of line. Just because they're engaged...it doesn't mean you tell her these secrets and things Harvey confided to you in confidence. Ugh. Now, Harvey and his therapist play poker, and surprise surprise, Harvey won. He wants to know if there was ever a time she has done wrong as a therapist. She doesn't want Harvey to evade his problems, so she guards herself up. Harvey doesn't like this, and just as he's walking out the door, she drops a bombshell. She killed a man. Wow, I did not see that coming. She goes on about her story, and Harvey seems to want to talk to her now.

Mike talks to Tanner. Tanner's trying to convince him to take the deal, and that he really is changed. Mike's finding it hard to believe anything he says. Good on you, Mike. But I think Tanner got through to him. Next, Donna talks to Louis. She tells him that he can't hide in the file room, from Jessica, forever. Louis says, "Okay", and gets up to go confront Jessica. Uh oh, Louis is in trouble! Jessica has to figure out what she's going to do with him. Turns out, she knew exactly how this whole scenario was going to play out in the first place. Louis would leave Harvey's salary statement out in the open, they'd have this debacle with Soloff, Louis would finally come clean, and Jessica would get to kick all the ass by getting Soloff to leave and keeping Louis in the process. Honestly, how is Jessica not the queen of everything by this point? Anyway, there's one final Harvey and Mike scene now. Mike tells Harvey about his meeting with Tanner, Harvey gets mad that he went without him, Mike reminds him he called him twice with no answer and tries to reassure him, Harvey is convinced Tanner hasn't changed, and Mike finally gets through to Harvey to take the deal.

Rachel and Donna both agreed to go mudding with Louis...and he faints. Okay, that's quite weird. Harvey goes back to his therapist where Harvey tells her the woman in his dreams was Donna. But ooh, the tables have turned, his therapist thinks he's lying! She thinks these dreams are about his mother! Well, of course they are. We've known Harvey's had issues with his mom for many years now. This is nothing new. And then, after more arguing, Harvey walked out on her. So, they really accomplished nothing this episode. Oh well. His meetings with his therapist are still a refreshing way to tell a story, as evidenced the best by the premiere of this season. Still, I thought this episode was definitely one of the better ones from this season. In fact, I thought it was better than most episodes from the season prior. It really did feel just like old times. The procedural case-of-the-week with Tanner was enough to keep me intrigued, and some lovely scenes that catered to the inner fangirl in me.

Side notes: (From the other Laura who is drowning in work but will return next week)

- Rachel interacting with the managing partners is always like fresh air, while having Mike and Harvey fighting against the world again was fun to watch.
- The opening sequence might have made a bunch of hearts go still, and it was interesting to see how it developed.
- On the other hand, it seems like there's a new formula on how the episodes are being told. This one being the second one showcasing Harvey's talks with his therapist and how the case goes. Harvey's progress is not as on the surface as it used to be, but there's still a bit of it.
- He doesn't want to address his issues related to his mom. Once again the problem about him not having a family, even if he cherishes it so much, makes me think about how this season seems to be about life outside of the firm.
- Also, this season is making me feel that it must be tiresome to be Jessica.

What did YOU think of Toe to Toe? Be sure to leave a comment down below! (Unintentional rhyming is great.)

Read more of my reviews [here].