Previously on Suits: Harvey is dating his therapist. Mike swears to Harvey that he’s not working on the pro bono prison case, but he is. And a quick reminder that as part of the original work he did on the prison case, Mike hired a corporate spy of sorts to get him some info under the table for some $50k in pocket change.
Let’s do this.
How. Just… How. How is that possible. You people are workaholics. How is it possible that you don’t start your day until 9 a.m. I understand that 50% of your scenes in the office happen with a nighttime view, so you all work really late into the night, but… I just expected everyone to be in the office, having already completed a Soul Cycle class, by 7:30 a.m. at the absolute latest.
So Mike, at this ungodly hour of 7 o’clock in the morning, meets with Oliver to discuss the thing they’re not supposed to discuss in public - the prison case. They then lie to Oliver’s supervisor, saying they’re working on a Brooklyn housing project.
Over at Dr. Paula’s place, Harvey is in a beautiful three-piece suit and teasing his therapist/girlfriend about how she slept late. So, what… She’ll get into work at 11 a.m.? Are these people writers for a late night TV show or something? I just don’t understand the relaxed morning schedules. Anyway. During their banter, Harvey discovers Paula’s meeting with her lawyer to discuss a nuisance suit being filed by her ex-business partner. (Prediction of the night: her ex-business partner is handsome and they used to be romantically involved.)
Harvey says Paula should get Louis as her lawyer, but she declines. Which is surprising, because as Harvey’s former therapist, you think she’d jump at the chance to meet Louis Litt.
Back to Mike and Oliver. The pro bono pair are visiting with a former inmate of the prison who was injured in a fight and he’s eager to take the prison down. His account of his time in prison leaves Mike certain there’s a conspiracy to uncover.
We’re back at Pearson Specter Litt now, where I guess everyone has finally rolled in somewhere around lunchtime. Louis is playing desktop corn hole (or beanbag toss, depending on where you tailgated in college) at his desk to calm his nerves. After a fantastic moment during which Louis thinks Harvey is coming to him for therapy, Harvey explains the situation. He tells Louis that his former psychiatrist (which I thought was different from a therapist, and they’ve definitely called her a therapist before on this show,) is being sued. He wants Louis to take the case.
Then he confesses to the fact that they’re dating and Louis has the same reaction as the audience - what a horrible, terrible idea. Harvey assures him they’re in the clear, timeline-wise, so she can’t lose her license. Louis finally agrees to take the case, then asks Harvey if Donna knows about this. You know, for someone who is completely unhinged 99% of the time, Louis can be really insightful. Harvey says no, and let’s keep it that way. Hmm…
Harvey is meeting a man named Rick to warn him that Lockwood Energy is about to launch solar panel technology that looks exactly like his company's. Harvey pitches that Rick’s company dump their lawyers and hire Pearson Specter Litt instead. Rick’s on board.
Louis approaches an unsuspecting Paula at lunch and tells her to dump her other attorney, pitching his services to replace her other attorney. Do we think Harvey and Louis did a team cheer together at the office to psych themselves up for all these pitches? Paula says no, there are things with this case she doesn’t want Harvey to know. (I’m totally right about him being an ex, aren’t I?) Louis says his lips are sealed, and she hires him.
And guess what? The truth comes out - I was right! They were romantically linked and when he broke up the relationship, he broke up the working partnership and they split their clients. Some of the clients that he got in the break up didn’t like him so they came to her, and now he’s suing because that wasn’t the agreement.
Oliver calls up Mike with some patterns he’s mapped out about prison fights and Mike needs to run off to meet with him. To explain why he can’t accompany Harvey to a smackdown, he tells him that he’s working on the Brooklyn housing project. So, directly lying to Harvey’s face now.
Back in his office, Louis is calling up his own therapist to apologize for his temper tantrum the other night and beg to be taken back. And the view we’re given of his desk reminds me that Louis has not just one, but two framed photos of himself in his office.
Harvey is approached in the lobby by Holly Cromwell, the corporate spy. She wants back in the game as Harvey’s in-house consultant. Then she drops the fact that Rachel recently came to her for help, but he remains firm on his rejection.
It's Harvey’s turn to make an approach, attacking the guy who stole Rick’s energy technology and threatening to sue. The guy responds that Harvey has no proof, which means it’s time for Harvey to spit out a threat and run off to find proof.
Time for another interview with a prisoner! Mike and Oliver are talking to a current inmate and he admits that he’d been instructed by guards to start fights and he was rewarded for his efforts with a PlayStation.
Back at the office, Harvey checks in with Louis about Paula. Louis, sitting crosslegged on the couch as he works, bites Harvey’s head off to get him to back off. Donna intercepts Harvey as he leaves Louis’ office to ask him what’s going on and tell him Rick Dunn’s waiting in his office. Also, she reminds him that she’s COO. (Good - I was worried we would go an episode without her mentioning that.)
Dunn is there to yell at Harvey for threatening Lockwood Energy, since the company just announced they would be launching their (stolen) technology a month earlier than originally intended. Oops.
Mike and Oliver are elbow-deep in files trying to find paper proof of the conspiracy. They realize the company that owns the specific prison they’ve been looking into owns multiple other prisons, and Mike knows a guy at one of the other locations.
Noticing Mike’s absence from the office yet again, Harvey asks Rachel where his sidekick is. Not liking her answer, he asks her what her deal was with Cromwell and she basically gives the woman a glowing review.
Meanwhile, Louis is going hard after Paula’s ex. The good doctor, realizing he’s been backed into a corner, threatens that he’s going to turn Paula in for sleeping with a client before the probationary period was over. It's absolutely shocking that Harvey factored into this argument. (That’s sarcasm.) Now it’s time to find out if they really did wait long enough to date.
The accused man himself, Harvey, approaches Cromwell looking for information. She could potentially have a job offer if she gets the info he needs - specifically, proof that Lockwood Energy stole that technology.
Mike returns from the prison to find an irate Oliver wondering where he’s been. DUDE. He has another, very demanding, job. And your entire role this season has been to talk about how you can’t handle things on your own and you need Mike, and you get mad when he’s not basically doing your work for you. You need to calm down. But that’s not happening anytime soon, once Oliver realizes and confirms for the audience that yes, Mike’s contact is his would-be killer. Perfect.
Louis is now visiting Paula, demanding the truth: Did she and Harvey start dating when he was still her patient? She’s offended and continues to deny it, and Louis says the only way to win against her ex is if she shares the full details of their breakup. Based on her deep breath and the cut to commercial break, the details are not pleasant.
Harvey tells Donna they’re hiring Holly Cromwell, and Donna doesn’t like this at all. She reminds Harvey that she’s COO (again) and thinks they should vote on this. Harvey says fine, if we’re not hiring Cromwell, you have to tell her that.
Yay! Dr. Lipschitz is back! Louis is telling his therapist all about the case with Paula (is that ethical?) and Lipschitz suggests that maybe Louis is subconsciously putting himself in her ex’s shoes. There’s no reason for confusion, he says. Louis knows what he needs to do.
The next morning, Donna is thanking Cromwell for getting to the office so early. (So what, 10:30? Sorry, sorry, I’ll let it go.) Donna doesn’t like that Cromwell is two-faced, and Cromwell reveals that Harvey is the reason she’s like this. Donna is blindsided by that little reveal, as well as by the fact that she was able to get the info Harvey asked for. I think Donna likes her now.
Mike returns to see his ole’ buddy in prison, and the promise of getting money to the inmate’s daughter finally gets him talking. There was an arrangement, he admits. Nothing formal, but he figured it out. Start fights, get rewarded. He’ll go public with the info, he just needs that money Mike promised.
At the office, Paula’s ex thinking he’s about to win, but Louis has another thought. Not only is Paula not at fault, but the ex is a cheater and creepy stalker, which is a Class D felony. Louis could either get him arrested and simply get his licensed revoked. The ex starts appealing to Louis’ recently broken heart, but ultimately they drop the case.
Nathan, the leader of the clinic, tells Mike he knows he’s still working on the prison case. At least that’s one boss who isn’t frustrated with him.
Time for a heart-to-heart. Harvey tells Donna that Cromwell didn’t take the job and Donna feels like there’s something Harvey isn’t saying. Things have changed between them since she took the COO job and he’s not opening up to her. They both agree that they miss the way things were between them, and Donna suggests they have a couple drinks. Harvey almost agrees, but then says he has to do something. They stare at each other for another moment, both knowing Harvey’s keeping secrets.
Closing montage time: Louis is on the phone with his therapist again, and it seems he’s finally realizing he has some things he needs to work through. Lipschitz is proud of him and so am I. Harvey confronts Paula about her ex (he somehow figured it out,) and she confesses that she was essentially self-conscious about the whole thing. It is at this moment that I realize we didn’t see or even hear about Alex once this entire episode. Mike arrives home and Rachel calls him on the fact that he’s still working on the prison case, which is a fireable offense. She’s not upset that he wants to help the prisoners, she’s upset because he’s lying to everyone. “What is your word worth?” She asks. “Because the way things are going, it’s not going to be worth very much.”
