- Mike and Rachel's engagement is put on the back burner as Donna leaves Harvey to work for Louis. Harvey is in denial and is confident she will return, but will he be able to handle it when he discovers she's not bluffing?
- Pearson Specter Litt has scored a hard-fought victory, but the fight has left the firm shaken. Although she avoided jail time, Donna has left Harvey after more than a decade of working together. She is now working for his long-time rival Louis. And while Jessica readjusts to being single, Mike and Rachel are giddy after his marriage proposal.
- Following Donna's departure Harvey believes she'll come back. But he starts to lose sleep when she doesn't and begins to act irrational. So he goes to a therapist to get some sleep aid but she won't give it to him till her what's up with him. His work also begins to suffer, so Mike who just got engaged to Rachel, has to cover for him.—rcs0411@yahoo.com
- Contrast the opening sequences of Seasons 4 and 5. The former oozes with style, flamboyance and yet an inexplicable nonchalance. Scottie has just left Harvey, and yet there appears to be no drop in his aura whatsoever. Add the blossoming romances of Mike and Rachel, and Jessica and Jeff Malone, and Suits in Season 4 very much kicks off on the right foot. Fast forward a season, and everything has changed. In all the challenges faced by our protagonists until the end of Season 4, not once were they in actual danger of incurring huge liability or facing jailtime. Opponents were defeated with either blackmail (Tanner and Hardman), or an almost anaemic reluctance to develop the plotline further (Harvey and Mike's SEC investigation). Suits very much took a violent swing when Donna goes on trial, and despite Harvey saving her, the emotional fallout is momentous.
Donna leaves Harvey. From the opening minutes of Season 5, we have clear indication that Harvey is vulnerable like we have never seen before. If Scottie's departure rattled him in the slightest, Donna's decision to work for Louis has rocked him to the core. Straightaway, Harvey's humanity comes to the forefront when he undergoes therapy. Notably, therapy was utilised for comic effect when previously undergone for Louis, for his banal troubles. But this is no triviality - this is everything to Harvey:
"I mean that after 12 years, the woman you wouldn't come work here without is now working for someone else."
While season premieres are often quick to introduce a new character or major story arc for the remaining episodes, Suits unconventionally goes for character development, and it's a home run. A glimpse of Harvey's mortality came when he was defending Donna, culminating in the 4 words the show's fanbase had been waiting for - "I love you, Donna." But instead of happily ever after, Harvey is left an emotional wreck as Donna leaves him, or is he?
From the therapist to the firm and Harvey is right back in the swing of things, taking on a new client (Kevin Slattery) and suddenly, the bravado and flamboyance is back. However defenceless he is on the inside, Harvey stays in perfect character, refusing to give an inch and maintaining his approach to the law - bending people to his will. Slattery quickly loses 20% of his company's worth to Pearson Specter, and we begin to wonder if Harvey will really be alright. Will he work it off, so to speak, just as he did when Donna was under the gun - focusing on the task at hand and tossing his emotions aside?
The episode does a decent job of leading viewers to believe this is indeed the case. Thanks to his ruthlessness and Mike's sharpness, they find a way to stave off bankruptcy for Slattery, and the dream team is firing on all cylinders again. It's refreshing to see Mike and Harvey working in perfect tandem again, after the quasi-iciness stemming from the Liberty Rail case - the undercurrent of Mike's unwitting complicity in Donna's plight and the fact that Harvey never wanted to take on the case to begin with. Mike is quick to ask the million-dollar question though: what is Harvey going to do about Donna?
"Look, there's nothing to talk about, because it isn't going to last."
There it is, plain and simple: denial. If his curt dismissal of Donna earlier in the episode didn't cut it ("as far as I'm concerned, two people who care about each other don't move on at all"), Harvey makes it perfectly clear that in his mind, Donna is going to come back to him.
Given Harvey's hitherto unfailing ability to mould events to his will and get his way all the time, you'd be forgiven for thinking that Donna would return in this very episode and the show would introduce some other plot complication (that would undoubtedly fail in comparison). But no. This is really happening, and us viewers and confronted with the same reality Harvey is engulfed in - the woman he can't live without is truly gone. For Harvey, work is life, and Donna has always been an integral part of that work.
But an emotional exposition of Harvey's psyche wouldn't make for compelling television now would it? Bam - the tangible repercussions strike fast and hard. Rachel (standing in for Donna) makes an amateurish mistake and leaves one of the creditors off the list that eventually reaches Harvey, and suddenly all the leverage is gone. Jessica and Slattery are livid, but so is Harvey. Mike rightly stops him from taking it out on Rachel, and Harvey starts to realise that he is drowning, explicitly acknowledges it and begs Donna to give him 2 more weeks. But the answer is no - the bandaid has been ripped off as requested by Harvey.
"Donna, please." "I'm sorry Harvey, you're on your own."
Psychosomatic. Harvey, the robot who never lets the personal jeopardise the professional, is breaking down not only on the inside but on the outside for everyone to see. We witness his panic attack in its entirety and it's ugly. Louis' heart attack in the previous season somehow pales in comparison to this. Harvey put up a bold front but now we, and more importantly, he, comes to terms with the fact that he truly needs help. His therapist points out the stark reality - his panic attacks will keep happening until he accepts the fact that Donna may not come back.
Whether or not Harvey truly accepts this is a conundrum that requires resolution, but back to the case at hand. Thankfully for Harvey, Mike steps up big time and finds a way to stop things spiralling out of control. They sell the Slattery trademark and keep his company solvent, staving off disaster for the time being. More important though is Harvey finally deciding to deal with the Donna situation. In an iconic sequence, he approaches Donna (with Louis looking on in trepidation) and asks for the list of top legal secretaries in the city. Together with throwing out his anti-anxiety medication, it appears that Harvey is firmly on the path to recovery and we can only wait to see what will happen.
And that's the premiere. Zeroing in on Harvey's psyche was a dynamic move and it paid off brilliantly. Harvey's vulnerability was captivating enough to carry the episode, and the show still has plenty of room to manoeuvre with, particularly as we anticipate what will be the big lawsuit occupying Season 5. Some final observations:- Although the previous episode ended with Mike and Rachel's engagement, quite predictably, that appears to be a plotline relegated to the wayside. Their engagement plays second fiddle to Harvey's predicament and the firm's work, and it seems like Rachel's significance in the show is rapidly dwindling. While Suits took an interesting turn by pitting Mike as an investment banker against Harvey, the dream team is again re-united and Rachel's role as a summer associate is almost inconsequential now.
- With Jeff out of the picture, Jessica's sole focus is managing the firm and she is quick to intervene in Harvey's affairs. She shows him sympathy but is also quick to point out the threat of Jack Soloff, a new senior partner who will surely be a significant antagonist in the show. Speaking of antagonists..
- Louis. He is acutely aware of the gravity of Donna's switch, but is probably as taken aback as we are when Harvey genuinely tells him there are no hard feelings. True enough, Harvey does not swing back in this episode, but there is a certain inevitability about an imminent confrontation between these two name partners . For now though..
- Donna. Harvey's lack of aggression or unwillingness to strike back stems from the fact that he does not want to force Donna to work for him. It's saddening how these two have descended into such a state of relations, but at the same time, this is intriguing stuff. Without a doubt, things will change and we can't wait to see what shape 'Darvey' is left in when the season's done.
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