Suits 3×08 – Endgame

It’s finally over.

No I’m not talking about the season; I’m referring to the unbelievable tedious storyline that was the Ava Hessington case. I’m not exactly sure where the show went wrong when they introduced us to this ridiculously long arc, but at least we can now breath a sigh of relief. Was the murder trial horribly convoluted? Did it not have enough personal stakes for our protagonists? Or was Michelle Fairley simply too miscast in the role? Whatever it was, it’s over now, and I couldn’t be happier.

I get what the writers were going for when they gave Harvey a vendetta against Jessica, but I much prefer these two on the same side and fighting a common enemy. It was tremendously satisfying to watch them maneuver their away around Cameron (and get him to take the target off Ava’s back) while promptly throwing Darby out of the firm using the plea deal. Darby never really felt like a compelling character in his own right, and it got tiresome watching him order Jessica and the crew around. Now we can get back to watching these character do what they do best, without outside interference.

Louis’ adventures with Harold didn’t interest me in the slightest (particularly the whole gym rope story). Nevertheless, Rachel has surprisingly turned out to be quite good for Mr. Lit; she brings out the best in him and that’s an interesting route to take. It at least brings out a different side to Louis, as opposed to pairing him with the similarly sinister Katarina (where did she disppear to by the way?)

Pearson Bits

– Ava slapping Darby was probably the only interesting thing she’s done all year.

– Darby finally (and explicitly) came out to Jessica about being with Ava’s father. His affection for Ava was also revealed as we discovered that she used to pretend to be his wife when they all took vacations together.

– My favorite scene of the hour: Jessica dropping by Harvey’s for a drink. It was extremely touching and poignant to see her apologize for making him want to betray her, and admit that he’s “family” to her. These two have one of the most amazing dynamics on television, and it would be wise of the writers to build this even more going forward.

– The Julie Andrews banter between Louis and Harold was very bizarre (and admittedly amusing).

– Clifford’s back! Props for continuity, but this wasn’t terribly exciting.

– I always love Donna, but she was pretty brutal on Stephen this week and it was sort of unlikeable. It was nifty that she was there when he got fired (in fact, it was one of the character’s strongest moments), but being there when he got arrested too? A bit much. Thankfully, he got one over on her when he pointed out that she doesn’t work for angels either (a very valid point).

– Harvey teaching Cameron a lesson about saving innocent people felt too much like an after-school special. But I guess Suits has always had a heavy-handed touch.

– Ava’s gone? Without saying goodbye? No complaints here. Good riddance.

– The final Harvey-Donna scene was pleasant enough. Can they just go on ahead and become a fully-fledged couple already? If they drag this out till the series finale, it’s going to get pretty frustrating.

Firm Quips

Rachel: Is everything okay?
Louis: I was just using tactic number 36 from Louis Lit’s handbook, due to be published never, cause I don’t share my tactics – tactic number 7 by the way.

Jessica: (to Darby) We may be getting a divorce, but I fully intend on keeping full ownership of the house.

Conclusion
While it retains many of the season’s flaws, Endgame is relatively well-executed hour that promises a fresh start for the year’s remaining episodes.

Nad Rating
B