On the summer finale of Suits, “P.S.L.,” as Jessica and Rachel fight for Leonard Bailey, Jessica questions her life choices, Harvey offers Mike a job, Louis gets surprising news from Tara and Harvey fights to keep a major client.
After nine long episodes (a month in Suits time) Mike is a free man. Now Harvey and the rest of what’s left of Pearson Specter Litt can focus on saving the still flailing firm. Not sure how Mike moves forward, or if the show will find a way to keep the Butch and Sundance vibe going between Mike and Harvey; the main reason people tune in every week.
A Fresh Start and a New Threat
After being subject to one or two cavity searches at most, Mike and Harvey get together for celebratory drinks. Harvey offers Mike a job as a consultant. Mike appreciates the gesture, but he feels badly everyone left the firm because of him, and he doesn’t want to cause anymore trouble. Plus, Harvey got him out, so they’re square. Harvey misses his sidekick and urges Mike to at least consider the offer for a few days before turning it down. (I can’t fathom how bringing Mike back in any capacity is good for the firm, but he’s got to get his foot back in the door somehow.)
Jessica and Harvey can now focus on restoring their firm to its former glory days, but they’ve got a tough road ahead. Robert Zane informs them that their client, Jim Reynolds, is looking to jump ship. Jessica questions Robert’s seemingly selfless gesture of giving them a heads up, and Robert explains that he misses the rivalry between their competing firms.
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Harvey wonders why Reynolds hasn’t called like he did before, and Jessica assumes he’s getting pressure from his board, just like Reynolds told them he would. He gave them a month to get back on their feet.
Jessica sends Harvey to go speak to Reynolds, but Harvey thinks Jessica should be the one to plead their case. But Jessica is wrapped up in the Leonard Bailey case, and she can’t go to a judge asking for a continuance just because she needs to make her business a priority over a man’s life. Pretty hypocritical of Harvey to ask, given all he’s done all month is run around wrangling to get Mike out.
A Hostile Witness
Rachel and Jessica are confronted by Bailey’s former attorney Georgina. She’s been subpoenaed and wants to know why. She signed the affidavit about Bailey’s witness like they asked. But Jessica points out that Georgina had to expect that she would have to testify. Georgina didn’t think they were going to paint her as incompetent. Rachel, riding on her high horse, explains they’re just doing what she should have done 12 years ago, representing their client. Rachel also thinks Georgina should be thankful they didn’t bring an action against her on Bailey’s behalf. (Way to create a hostile witness Rachel)
This is exactly why Jessica asks the judge for permission to treat Georgina as such. Jessica reveals that just a few minutes prior to taking the stand, Georgina would sooner deny Bailey a new trial than look incompetent. Since Georgina is under oath, she’s forced to admit Jessica’s accusation is the truth. Permission granted.
Jessica rips Georgina to shreds for not trying to find Maria Gomez which resulted in her client’s death sentence. The prosecutor questions if Georgina thought Bailey was guilty, and she answers yes. Not only that, she still does.
Harvey’s Past Sins Catch Up with Him
Harvey pleads his case to Reynolds, but his decision to bail doesn’t have anything to do with the firm’s revenue stream. This has to do with the rumors that Harvey tanked Sutter’s case. Their conversation is interrupted by Donald Mannis who is the driving force behind the company taking their business elsewhere.
Harvey calls bullshit, but Mannis knows that Mike was in prison with Sutter’s son-in-law, just like he knows the day Sutter went down, Mike got out. Mannis doesn’t want his company doing business with someone who’s willing to turn on his own client.
Reynolds admits to Harvey he didn’t want to take any meetings, but he was pressured to do so because Mannis wants his job. And if Reynolds doesn’t let Pearson Specter Litt go, Mannis will get it. The one thing that might have changed that was if Jessica had come in person to show them how important they were to her. Even Louis would have been a better choice because the last person Mannis needed to see was Harvey.
Harvey isn’t the only one having to deal with a client whose ready to walk. Louis was out trying to do damage control with another company who heard the Sutter rumor. The old man did a thorough job in trying to take his attorney down with him. Louis tells Harvey that it’s only a matter of time before all of their clients believe the rumor.
The only course of action is to get Jim Reynolds to stay. If they can keep their oldest client, it will go a long way in restoring their credibility, even though they genuinely don’t have any. But Jessica has to do something about Reynolds soon or she won’t have a firm to come back to.
Harvey has to deliver the bad news to Jessica about the rumors circulating about Sutter and his disastrous meeting with Reynolds. Jessica tells Harvey to set up a meeting for after the trial, but if Sutter is out there telling the world that they’re the kind of lawyers that throw cases, it won’t make a bit of difference. Harvey needs to find a way to shut him up.
Bringing Up Baby
Louis may have won Tara’s heart, but his happily ever after may not be set in stone. Tara tells him that she’s pregnant with her ex’s baby. Louis says he doesn’t care. He loves Tara, and if being with her means raising another man’s child, so be it. Tara thinks he may have second thoughts about her baby daddy drama down the road.
Witness for the Prosecution
Rachel brings in back up after her and Jessica’s first disastrous day in court. Mike has an idea; Leonard Bailey should take the stand and tell his story. Jessica thinks it’s risky but leaves it up to Bailey. He wanted to say his peace last time and didn’t get the chance, so he’s ready now.
Jessica asks that Rachel be allowed to question Leonard and after some back and forth with the prosecutor, the judge agrees. (Seems like a stretch that a law student gets to question the key witness, but it worked in Legally Blonde, so why the hell not)
Leonard’s wife left him two years after he went away, he hasn’t seen his son in 10 years. He hadn’t seen his daughter Maya until Jessica and Rachel found her and told her he was innocent and they would prove it. Maya’s in the courtroom, and Rachel gives Leonard the opportunity to address her.
He tells Maya he lost 12 years for a crime he didn’t commit. But he won’t have any regrets if it’s the thing that got him clean and reunited him with her. Rachel says that Maya knows Leonard didn’t do it.
Instead of cross-examining Leonard, the prosecutor calls Victor Forrest to the stand. He’s the father of Kim, the girl Bailey is accused of murdering. Hey, if Rachel can play emotional hardball, so can he.
Forrest doesn’t care what some junkie witness may have had to say. The police found Leonard standing over Kim’s body with blood all over him. Bailey took away his everything for money to buy drugs. Their lives were ruined that night. He may not have seen Leonard Bailey kill his daughter, but he still thinks he’s guilty.
Bailey admits to getting high, and says that he and Maria came across the kids. Leonard wasn’t thinking, so he ran up to them. He yelled for Maria to get help, but the boy was already gone. The girl kept asking for help, so Leonard stayed with her. When the police showed up, he was charged with murder.
Loose Lips Sink Ships
Harvey shows up at Sutter’s palatial estate. Apparently, he hasn’t started his stay at Club Fed just yet. Harvey has figured out a way to use Sutter’s home as leverage, and if Sutter doesn’t start doing everything in his power to repair Harvey’s reputation, Sutter will be homeless in 24 hours.
Obstruction of Justice
Rachel and Mike go over the events of the day, and Rachel has an aha moment. How did Forrest know that Maria was junkie. He used the same exact words when he confronted her at the office. He did try to intimidate her, and she thinks he did the opposite to Maria.
She and Mike knock on Forrest’s front door and confront him. Mike accuses him of sending Maria Gomez away so that she couldn’t testify. She was never in the court record as a drug addict but wound up in a rehab facility she could never afford. And Forrest knew enough about Gomez to call her a junkie to Rachel’s face a month ago.
Forrest says they can’t prove anything. Not exactly the words of an innocent man. Rachel pleads with him to have some compassion for what Bailey has gone through, but Forrest isn’t swayed.
Mike and Rachel go to Jessica, figuring it was better to ask for forgiveness than permission. Jessica isn’t about to accuse Forrest of obstruction of justice without any proof. Mike says she doesn’t have to prove it if she can break him on the stand, arguing it’s the only way. Jessica isn’t about to attack the father, have it backfire, lose the jury and Bailey’s life is over.
Mike is convinced Forrest wants to tell the truth because he’s proud of it. All she has to do is lead Forrest where he’s dying to go. Jessica questions how she’s supposed to do that, and Mike asks if she’s seen A Few Good Men.
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Put Up or Shut Up
Stu’s got some bad news for Louis. His firm has to relocate. Sutter’s company went bankrupt, and they owed him under their contract. They’re offering Stu their space to cover the obligation. Stu can’t pass up free rent. Louis threatens to sue, but there’s a clause in the lease that gives him a 30 day out.
Donna witnesses Louis’ disproportionate response to Stu’s news and figures out something is up. He recounts the conversation he had with Tara and tells Donna that he’s afraid Tara will decide to run back to her ex.
Donna offers Louis some advice. He has a habit of acting rashly and regretting it later. Louis swears this is different, but she suggests he not be impulsive because a baby isn’t something you can go back on.
Harvey and Louis show up right before Jessica’s cross and tell her Reynold’s board moved up their meeting. If they show up without her, they might as well not show up at all.
Jessica asks for a continuance, and the prosecutor suggest that Rachel take over. Jessica argues that Rachel isn’t ready, but that doesn’t fly since Jessica pled Rachel’s case to question Bailey, so she can’t change her stance now. Either Jessica lets Rachel take the reins or she does, but her business issues aren’t the court’s problem. Jessica instructs Harvey and Louis to do what they can, but she’s not abandoning Leonard for a corporate power struggle.
Whatever is motivating Jessica is being revealed in flashbacks. The first is her witnessing her parents arguing. Her father, a doctor, wasn’t home much, and it put a strain on his marriage. Her mother and father tell Jessica they’re separating.
The second flashback shows Jessica visiting her father at his office. She tells him she got into Harvard law. Dad isn’t thrilled because the plan was for Jessica to become a surgeon. But that was never Jessica’s plan, it was her father’s. Her father believed doctors save lives while lawyers are power-hungry bottom feeders. Ahhhhh, daddy issues. Jessica can prove her pops wrong. Lawyers can save lives, specifically, Leonard Bailey’s. Quite a turnaround from the cutthroat Jessica we’ve watched for five seasons. Nothing like having your whole life blow up to reconsider your priorities.
Jessica goes after Victor Forrest. She threatens to put Maria Gomez’s roommate from rehab on the stand, and she’s going to testify that Maria felt terrible about abandoning her friend and that Victor paid to put Maria there. Victor swears that’s not possible, and lets it slip that Maria Gomez didn’t have a roommate. So he did order the code red.
Jessica asks that Bailey be exonerated, and his sentence be communicated immediately. No objections.
Jessica leaves the courtroom to find Robert Zane waiting for her with a proposition. Zane wants to merge. He knows Jessica tanked the Sutter case for Mike, and he knows everything Jessica has been doing for Rachel. It’s not just about losing a great rival, it’s personal. Jessica got knocked down, and she’s not getting back up without help. Jessica appreciates the offer, but she’s had her name first for too long to go back to being last.
If Reynolds leaves, Zane tells Jessica her name might not be anywhere. Jessica’s response? So be it. Lawyers are just power-hungry bottom feeders anyway.
New Beginnings
Mannis arrives prior to the board member to find Harvey and Louis waiting for him. They convinced Stu to buy shares into the company, becoming its biggest shareholder. Stu may not be part of the board yet, but as next quarter he will be. Stu demands that Mannis keep Harvey and Louis as his lawyers and Reynolds as CEO, or he’ll be out on his ass. Harvey tells Mannis he messed with the wrong marine, another nod to A Few Good Men, one that Stu catches. So a new bromance could be on the horizon.
Harvey and Louis tell Jessica the good news, but her reaction is unexpected. Jessica has decided to step down, leaving the firm to Louis and Harvey. Somewhere along the way, she forgot why she became a lawyer, and it wasn’t to fight for money and power. It was to fight for something more.
Louis gets incensed, calling Jessica selfish, accusing her of throwing it all away. Donna reminds Louis that they all made a promise to give everything they had to saving the firm but they didn’t. She and Harvey focused on freeing Mike, Jessica and Rachel took on Leonard Bailey’s case and Louis went in search of love.
Speaking of love, Louis goes to see Tara and proposes and she accepts.
Jessica goes to see Jeff and asks if she can go to Chicago with him. He doesn’t want her to walk away for him, but Jessica assures him she doesn’t want to be a corporate lawyer anymore, so even if he doesn’t want her to come, she’s still walking away. So, Jessica may be giving up her firm, but she’s embarking on a whole new adventure.
Donna questions if Harvey is okay. He’s losing his mentor, but he’ll be okay. With an Ed Sheeran-esque ballad serving as the soundtrack, the two grasp hands, standing side by side, staring out the window.
As far as Mike returning to the firm, he hasn’t given an answer, but I think we all know he’ll be back. (Threw in a movie quote of my own.)
New episodes of Suits will air on USA this winter. Hasta la vista, babies.
(Image courtesy of USA)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
Jennifer has worked as a freelance writer in the entertainment field since 2012. In addition to currently writing feature articles for Screen Rant, Jennifer has contributed content ranging from recaps to listicles to reviews for BuddyTV, PopMatters, TVRage, TVOvermind, and Tell-Tale TV. Links to some of Jennifer’s reviews can be found on Rotten Tomatoes.
