Suits, 3x02 -- "I Want You To Want Me"

Alliances are everything in a place like Pearson Darby. Having a dependable, loyal partner can be the difference between victory or defeat. Harvey has Donna, who would follow him to the ends of the earth and back again with barely a second glance. Harvey needs an ally like Donna, as long as he still plans on moving forward with his coup against Jessica. But what we saw him learn this week is: he also needs Mike. While the Ava Hessington case almost painfully mirrors the struggles Harvey faces with Jessica and Mike, he comes to terms with the possibility of forgiveness. He holds Jessica entirely responsible for what's transpired. Donna convinces Harvey to let his grudge against Mike rest. Whether or not this is truly the end of it yet remains to be seen.

However, not all relationships at Pearson Darby are quite so easily mended. This week we zero in on the consequences the Harvey/Mike feud have had on everyone else at the firm, and what we see is far from pretty. The biggest casualty in this war so far is Louis. Poor Louis Litt has once again drawn the short straw. After losing all of his associates last week, Jessica grants him a silver lining: his choice of any associate in the firm to mentor as his own. Naturally, his first instinct is Mike Ross. It's no secret that Louis has always wanted Mike, and now in the midst of the Harvey/Mike feud he has his perfect chance. Louis woos Mike with steak and mud baths and proves his worth to him by winning an eminent domain case -- which is apparently near-impossible to do. In the end, Mike is poised to accept Louis as his new mentor. But when Louis leaves the office to retrieve a celebratory cake ("Welcome to Team Litt!"), Harvey swoops in and steals Mike back out from under him. The image of Louis crushed, watching on as Harvey and Mike reaffirm their partnership with a high-five, is one of the most emotionally poignant visuals I think this show has ever delivered. Louis can't seem to win, caught in the middle of all this Pearson Darby war drama with nowhere to go as every glimpse of triumph continues to be sucked away in the eleventh hour. There was a time when I'd never imagined feeling any sort of sympathy for Louis. But now all I want is for the guy to catch a break.

Donna and Rachel's friendship is also put to the test. They've both clearly landed on opposing sides of the Harvey/Mike debacle, and it's starting to affect their relationship with each other. Rachel learns that Harvey told Mike to lie to Rachel about his secret, and Donna confesses to telling Mike herself to stay away from Rachel. Obviously, this doesn't make Rachel the happiest person at Pearson Darby. She shoots back at Donna saying she was just trying to have a life, something Donna clearly wouldn't understand. Donna retorts, "I'm going to walk away now, before we can never go back." The iciness in each other's glares gave me chills. Now that Mike is back with Harvey, I wonder where this will leave the two of them.

My prediction: we can't count Louis out just yet. Mike has no idea yet of Harvey's planned power play against Jessica, and I have a hard time believing Mike will so easily go along with it after all the crap Harvey's been giving him about trust and loyalty. Louis may have a much bigger role to play in all of this than we conceive at this point. In some ways, he could very well be the deciding factor between Harvey and Jessica.

Notes:

• Louis/Harvey: “I would never force him to do anything. It has to be consensual. Just like Sally Jones at the Senior Prom.” “Did you just admit to a crime?” “No, a crime was committed upon me.”
• I’m going to have nightmares for the rest of my life of Louis Litt’s mud ass.
• Michelle Fairley was an enjoyable presence on the show. I hope this doesn’t mark the end of her stay.

My Grade: A-