Suits 3×06 – The Other Time

Finally Suits is back on track.

After a bunch of episodes that focused way too much on a case no one cared about, the show wisely decided to shift its attention to Donna and Harvey’s spectacular dynamic throughout the years. Each one of their flashbacks was a joy to behold – brimming with electric chemistry and fantastic banter. Sarah Rafferty and Gabriel Macht played off each other beautifully, and it was immensely poignant to watch Donna nudge Harvey off the corrupt path, culminating in that heartbreaking conversation where he offered her a job (and negated any potential relationship between them). And thus this episode effectively cemented Donna and Harvey’s relationship as Suits‘ endgame couple. Brilliant.

Obviously the flashbacks were a tad heavy-handed (did we really need to see Harvey so desperate for Cameron’s attention and high-fives a la present-day Mike?), but the scenes were a nice change of pace from the Ava Hessington mess. The most compelling piece of symmetry was undeniably Jessica being so hellbent on organizing a coup in the past, much like Harvey’s machinations today. And so we ended up with Harvey finally revealing his plot to Jessica (after she put his name on the door no less). It’s going to be fascinating to watch these two try and mend their relationship after all the pain they’ve caused each other.

The less said about Mike’s flashbacks the better. In fact, thanks to featuring Trevor so heavily, they ended up being the weakest part of the hour, preventing the episode from being truly perfect. Mike just isn’t very interesting as a character, and Trevor is even worse! Nevertheless, I at least enjoyed the reveal of Mike being deprived of Harvard all thanks to one man’s vendetta of vengeance against him.

Pearson Bits

– Funny how even with the flashbacks, we never really got to see Harvey and Donna kissing, or the details behind their iconic ritual.

– Lots of family in this one: Mike’s grandma returned, and we finally met Harvey’s dad who recounted a touching story of his wife cheating on him.

– One of my favorite scenes of the hour: Harvey negotiating with Jessica to bring Donna along to the firm.

– I love the parallels of both diner scenes. In the first, Donna is hurt because Harvey offers her a job knowing her rule, and in the second, he’s hurt because she broke the rule with someone other than him.

– Donna abusing Louis for the first time was utterly priceless.

– The only interesting thing Mike did this week: supporting Rachel’s Stanford option and telling her about his Harvard past.

– Stephen Huntley helped Cameron get the witness. I’m not exactly sure what happened here (it’s painfully dull), but this should really complicate matters.

Firm Quips

Harvey: I don’t have dreams, I have goals. Now it’s on to the next one.

Harvey: What kind of person doesn’t high-five another person?
Cameron: A person who’s not ten years old.

Harvey: I have an idea.
Donna: I’m listening.
Harvey: It’s not something a gentleman should say out loud.
Donna: Oh well, I’m willing to pretend you’re a gentleman.

Harvey: How do you know I’m hitting on her?
Bertha: Two glasses of scotch, and you.

Jessica: He knows if you wanna keep someone in your house, offer them a better room.

Harvey: (to Donna) I don’t want to find out what kind of lawyer I’d be without you.

Donna: (to Harvey) You really do need me.. to stop you from doing shit like this!

Donna: (to Louis) Okay, listen Rainman – you wear lifts in your shoes, you want braces but you don’t have the balls and you have a cat … that you love more than it loves than you.

Cameron: (to Mike) You look ready to attack; does Harvey know his puppy’s off his leash?

Conclusion
Frequently amusing and extremely enlightening, The Other Time is the strongest episode of the season so far.

Nad Rating
A