Last night's season 7 finale of Suits bid goodbye to original cast members Mike and Rachel while introducing us to some new faces in the Jessica-centric spin-off. To change thinks up, I've provided questions below so we can get everyone's opinion on the episode. Weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section! I've added a few of my own thoughts to get things started.
Rachel and Mike discover that last episode’s job offer from a firm in Seattle was in fact not a fake offer, and decide to go all in. They push up the date of their wedding and Mike tells Harvey at the wedding that they plan to leave the firm, moving to Seattle after their honeymoon.
Before they can go, Mike has one final act: He has to save the firm from old partners that want to merge with Robert Zane’s firm behind Harvey and Zane’s backs. He comes up with a plan to thwart their mutiny by merging with Zane on their own terms. Zane brings enough to employees to Specter & Litt that they can outvote the old partners and still maintain control.
Mike performs this last-ditch effort because Harvey is in Chicago, doing all he can to help Jessica get her license back to practice law. We learn that Jessica’s family is still in Chicago and she cares deeply about the people of the city, especially the poor, because that’s how she grew up. Her $3,000 designer shoes and New York fashion isn’t going to last long in the Windy City, which they paint as a much more cutthroat town than New York with much more shady dealings.
Jessica is forced to make some ethically questionable choices in order to get out the episode with a career intact, and even that is in question: She’s been pressured into working to clean up the mayor’s messes.
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THESE QUESTIONS IN THE COMMENTS SECTION
Well, it's the end of an era as we bid adieu to Mike, one half of the show's lead duo. Since the show has already been renewed for a season 8, where do you see the show going from here? They've announced some casting changes for next season: Alex (Dule Hill) will continue with the show and Katrina (Amanda Schull) has been promoted to series regular. And we got a quick sneak peek of the most surprising addition: Katherine Heigl will join the cast as Samantha Wheeler, a very driven lawyer new to Specter & Litt. What do we think about this new mix of characters?
EH: I felt like it was a natural progression. Mike seemed ready to leave too. liked that they had a final moment of him destroying it in court - it’s been a while
Let’s focus on what’s important here: What did you think of the wedding? After bumping it up last minute, Donna helps Rachel pull off a beautiful “last minute” wedding. Did you enjoy it? Did you feel it was a fitting conclusion to the love story fans have followed for seven seasons?
EH: I thought it was beautiful, but it was impossible to watch that scene and not think of another wedding the actress has in her future that WAY more people will watch. I loved this line though: "You’re the husband I’ve always wanted and I can’t wait to begin our adventure together." I thought that was great.
With this storyline, they've left the door open for Mike and Rachel to have potential future cameos, like Jessica did this season. While Rachel will almost certainly not return, do you think Mike will from time to time?
EH: I can see it happening - Mike coming in to help Harvey in times of crisis. Doubt we’ll see Rachel again, though. Bet her character will be conveniently pregnant and unable to fly if Mike ever returns.
There's been a lot of back and forth with the Harvey and Donna relationship in the last few episodes. The season ended with the pair exchanging glances during the wedding and dancing the night away, hinting there may be more to come. Are you happy with how the season ended between the pair? Do you see them delving into a more romantic relationship next season or are they destined to forever play will they/won’t they?
This episode served as a backdoor pilot for the Suits spin-off focused on Jessica. We met several new characters from that show, including a Chicago cop (simply named “Other” on IMDb) played by Simon Kassianides and spitfire lawyer Keri Allen played by Rebecca Rittenhouse. It looks like they’ve set up Keri Allen to be a foe for Jessica, and the cop will be a mysterious colleague of sorts. It will take place in Chicago and is reported to be much darker than its parent show. What did you think of the characters we met? Will you tune in for the spin-off?
EH: It was fun seeing the cop played by Sunil Bakshi from Agents of SHIELD, and I liked the vibe of Chicago. The sets were darker and the characters looked less put together than in Manhattan. I may tune in!
So Robert Zane's firm has now merged with Specter & Litt. This opens the door for a lot of new lawyers to come into the firm and creates a potential for fresh storylines. What do you think of the merger?
The relationship between Mike and Harvey has been the cornerstone of Suits since the pilot episode. The dynamic duo parted ways with a brief heart to heart and a long hug. Are you satisfied with their goodbye? How will Harvey behave without his trusty sidekick?
Overall, this episode didn't dwell too much on Mike and Rachel's departure, choosing instead to focus on Jessica. Do you think they should have had multiple episodes to cover all of this ground? Or did you like having all the big changes happening at the same time?
EH: I feel like they kind of overshadowed the goodbye by focusing so much on Jessica, but maybe that was the point. Life goes on, no need to make it dramatic.
