Article first published as SUITS Review Season 3 Premiere on Seat42F.
Grade: 90%
Grade: 90%
USA’s SUITS is back for a third season
this week with “The Arrangement.” Taking place in the aftermath of last
year’s finale, the employees at Pearson Darby (the firm’s new name) have
to deal with broken trust and failing relationships. Everything is far
from copacetic, or even status quo, as what has been shaken up has not
yet begun to settle down.
The most painful split may be between
the show’s two most central players from the beginning, Harvey (Gabriel
Macht) and Mike (Patrick J. Adams). Mike having betrayed Harvey for
Jessica (Gina Torres), he will do just about anything to win back
Harvey’s trust. This is not helped at all when Jessica gifts Mike an
office.
What’s scary is that there is no clear
path to come back from this. Usually, either Mike or Harvey has a
brilliant idea that can save the day. But Mike fails to come up with
anything more spectacular than a little research, which isn’t all that
impressive to Harvey, and Harvey doesn’t seem to want to try. If Harvey
is swatting away all of Mike’s olive branches, is there a point in even
sticking them out?
It’s good that this has shaken Mike to
the core, though. Mike can sometimes be a little too overconfident, and
somehow skates by when anyone else would fall. Losing Harvey as a mentor
and friend should be a wakeup call to make sure he keeps himself in
check. Mike is a good guy, for sure, but it will not hurt him to take a
step back once in awhile and think more about those closest to him.
Similarly, the rift could end up helping
Harvey if it teaches him to embrace forgiveness. Harvey tends to hold a
grudge, as evidenced in the way he treats Louis (Rick Hoffman), and
especially in how he is now at odds with Jessica. Harvey likes to sort
people into ‘friends’ or ‘enemies,’ and when a person is put in one box
or the other, it is very hard for them to get out again. Maybe through
making up with Mike, which surely must happen eventually, Harvey will be
a better man, one more willing to let past faults go, his own as well
as others’.
It’s sad to see Harvey and Jessica
against one another, as cool as it is to anticipate a battle between
gods of the legal world. Their clash will be epic, and yet, it is
emotionally painful that they are against one another. It’s a situation
where they just need to agree to disagree, and Harvey needs to see
Jessica as his boss, which is what she is. Unfortunately, they are both
too headstrong for peace to be found. Unlike with Mike, Harvey’s
reconciliation with Jessica is not assured, as her character frequently
verges on the edge of antagonist.
These warring factions make it all the
more easier for Darby (Conleth Hill, Game of Thrones) to establish
control. He is the one in charge now, above Jessica even, and while he
sometimes takes a seemingly relaxed approach in dealing with the
lawyers, there is cold resolve in his eyes. He knows what he is doing,
and because Jessica, Harvey, and Mike are in no place to unite and stand
up to him, he is easily able to put them in the places that he wants
them in. For now, anyway.
I don’t know why I jump straight into
thinking Darby is a bad guy. He helps the firm out when they need it,
and he hasn’t done anything untoward to the beloved main characters.
Darby even grants Harvey a favor in “The Arrangement,” something he
certainly does not have to do. Maybe it’s because I’m remembering the
unpleasantness brought on by the previous partner, Hardman, or maybe
it’s because we expect Harvey to always get his way on his own terms,
and Darby will stand in the way of that, but there’s something that
keeps Darby at arm’s length.
Perhaps the most surprising development
in “The Arrangement” is Donna (Sarah Rafferty) turning on Mike. It
shouldn’t be a shock, given Donna’s absolutely loyalty to Harvey, and
the fact that, in essence, Mike betrays her, too, but I didn’t see this
coming. Donna is previously Mike’s supporter, and the surest thing to
convincing Harvey to give Mike a second chance. But if she wants to shut
Mike out, Mike has an even steeper climb back into good graces.
Mike’s hope for fixing things with Donna
are his compassionate heart, which Donna does notice, though maybe not
this week, and his relationship with Donna’s friend, Rachel (Meghan
Markle). I will not spoil where Mike and Rachel end up in their dance in
the premiere, but suffice it to say, both their strong feelings for one
another and Rachel’s extreme disappointment in Mike are major factors.
Where they land could definitely mean something in how Mike and Donna
interact going forward.
Other things that are great in this
wonderful episode are the scene where Donna gently questions Harvey
about his feelings for Scottie (Abigail Spencer), a guest appearance by a
second Game Of Thrones alumni, and Louis engaging in a battle of wits
with the scorned Nigel (Adam Godley). Best of all, none of these things
are resolved in the first hour, so there’s a lot to anticipate in the
coming run, and fantastic guest stars will recur.
What SUITS does well is to build large,
character-driven arcs. It is not at all a procedural or typical lawyer
show. It is about people who all do what they think is best, and
sometimes there can be more than one right side to an issue. SUITS
operates in shades of grey and in nuance, rather than broad strokes or
permanent us versus them labels. “The Arrangement” takes what has built
over the first two years and matures it into the next natural step. Very
exciting.
SUITS airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET on USA.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.