On this episode of Suits, “Shame,” Louis’ personal life causes him to lash out again, Mike unknowingly pits Harvey against a lawyer with a very personal agenda and Donna confides in Rachel about Mark.
Louis may have hooked up with his ex-gf Sheila, but he doesn’t have any pep in his step. In fact, Louis’ guilt and vivid imagination have him in a less-nude version of Cersei Lannister’s walk of atonement (Shame! Shame!)
There’s a New Sheriff in Town and Her Name is Gretchen
Louis wants to throw himself into his work, so he helps Brian out with a patent case involving nipples — the ones found on pacifiers. But Louis’ head isn’t in the game, convinced for the briefest moment that the opposing counsel is Sheila’s fiance.
Brian makes an epic mistake, and it’s no surprise that Louis flips out. But when he goes on and on about the client trusting Brian with something special, and then the associate snuck around behind their backs and did something stupid and reckless and ruined their life. Louis finishes his tirade by calling Brian worthless and useless. Once again, Louis’ personal life has him verbally eviscerating an associate — the same associate as before. Good thing Stephanie’s gone, and once again, Donna made a bad call by handing the associates back over to a mentally-unstable Louis.
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Louis gets a lecture from Gretchen who isn’t about to let Louis off the hook for the way he treated Brian. Louis tells Gretchen to back off or she’s gone. Gretchen accuses Louis of being nasty and abusive, and threatens that if he treats another associate like that, she’ll knock him the hell out.
Gretchen catches Brian trying to hand in his letter or resignation. He tells her Louis is lucky he doesn’t sue him like everyone else. Gretchen proves she has Louis’ back when she suggests that Brian go ahead and try. She lets him know that Louis would handily wipe the floor with Brian’s incompetent ass. She knows Louis crossed the line, but Gretchen also knows that Brian effed up big time probably costing the firm a client. Gretchen suggests that instead of running away, Brian man up and clean up his own mess.
Brian and Louis both take Gretchen’s advice. Brian finds a way to save the case, and Louis apologizes for being a dick. Brian’s riddled with his own insecurities (Not as many as Louis), and he’s afraid it’s affecting his work, something LL can relate to.
The Gift that Keeps on Giving
There’s a new deputy attorney general, and he’s making it his mission to clean up Wall Street. Mike suggests that Harvey needs to get his professional groove back and taking on the man locking up the wolfs of Wall Street is just what he needs. Harvey’s not willing to put any of PSL’s clients in the line of fire, but he doesn’t have to since Mike already signed someone who is, Elmont Investments.
When Harvey meets Deputy Attorney General Andrew Malik (Usman Ally), he reminds Harvey that they worked together for three years. While Harvey was cozied up to Cameron Dennis working high-profile cases, Malik was down the hall, toiling away until the wee hours putting real criminals away. Malik warns Harvey that he may not remember his from the good ole days, but he will remember him now.
Mike regrets taking on the case now that he knows Malik has a personal vendetta. Mike feels guilt that he took the prison case which almost ripped him and Harvey apart. He was hoping Elmont Investments would make up for that, but now Mike fears things won’t end well.
More flashbacks. Malik spars with Donna, accusing her of sleeping with Harvey. He also bitches about how he has to work late, but Cameron won’t know because he’s out drinking with his protégé, Harvey. Malik is bitter that he’s not his boss’ favorite and tells Donna that Cameron is missing the big picture — Harvey won’t be around forever.
Donna agrees with Mike that Harvey shouldn’t go up against Malik. Harvey may not remember him, but she does, and he is sneaky and conniving with the power of the AG’s office behind him. Of course, Harvey doesn’t care. He’s convinced that he doesn’t remember Malik is because he sucked. Harvey doesn’t believe that in the time he left the prosecutor’s office that Malik developed the mad skills to best him.
Mike and Harvey get their asses handed to them by Malik during the deposition. He threatens to come down hard on their client, Mrs. Stanger. Mike thinks they should cut a deal while they still can. Harvey thinks Mike wants to cut and run because Stanger is guilty, and it’s against his code. Mike calls BS, informing Harvey he knew the woman was guilty when he took the case. This isn’t a chemical company causing cancer. It’s one rich person stealing from other rich people. He wants to cut a deal because Malik has them.
But Mike and Harvey realize Malik made a mistake — he claimed on tape that he didn’t care if Stanger was guilty or not, which is apparently a big no-no when you’re a public servant. So, Mike and Harvey go to the judge and accuse Malik of trumping up charges to make a name for himself, even if it means taking down innocent people. The judge gives Malik 24 hours to disprove Harvey and Mike’s allegation by finding some evidence against Stanger.
Robert Hood
Robert Zane comes to see Rachel and tells her he wants to work with her. Frank Gallo wanted to connect with his daughter, but he waited until it was too late. Robert doesn’t want to make the same mistake. Rachel appreciates the gesture, but she’s determined to make her own way. Robert explains he doesn’t expect Rachel to switch firms. He wants to team up on a pro bono case regarding predatory lenders taking advantage of people of color. Rachel agrees and is fired up to show what the team of Zane & Zane can do.
Robert and Rachel head to the bank, and Robert demands to question the CEO. He and Rachel wind up in court, but the most the judge will do is allow them to start out questioning loan officers until they get some proof. Robert is a man with a new purpose — he’s championing the everyman. Could this mean Robert is going to give up cushy corporate law and defend the downtrodden, giving him something in common with his future son-in-law?
Robert and Rachel strategize, and the father-daughter bonding is going pretty well. Robert reveals that he’s glad Rachel put off her wedding. Rachel’s first instinct is to get defensive, but Robert has nothing against Mike. He’s glad Rachel decided to take some time and put her career first which, in turn, enabled them to spend time together.
Rachel and Robert depose a loan officer who happens to be black. She swears there’s a system in place that prevents the bank from discriminating when it comes to lending. Robert doesn’t buy it. He loses his cool and questions how the woman can work for a predatory piece of shit who’s using “fools” like her to cover his own ass. The loan officer is willing to testify on behalf of her employer, and Robert promises her she’ll get the chance because he’s convinced something is going on, and he’s going to get to the bottom of it. But after Robert’s behavior, the opposing counsel plans to petition the court to have the case thrown out.
Rachel questions her father about what’s really going on. Robert tells Rachel that the bank CEO, Arthur Kitridge, used to be a branch manager. Rachel’s aunt worked for him, and he made her life hell because she was beautiful. When she threatened to do something, Kitridge fired her. She came to Robert for help, but he was young and he was convinced taking the case would get him fired. He told his sister there was nothing he could do, and after that, her life fell apart. After watching Mike risk his career to help those prisoners, and Robert knew he had to do something. The case isn’t about race or money, it’s about Kitridge being a predator through and through. Rachel tells her dad they’ll find a way to get Kitridge.
Deja Vu
Harvey and Mike think they’ve won, but they’ve underestimated Malik. They learn Malik may have a smoking gun, a bullet and the body too. They confront Stanger who is cagey about admitting any wrongdoing, specifically writing a memo that implicates her. Mike gets a bit self-righteous — as he tends to these days — and Stanger remind them that they came knocking on her door, so they better find a way to keep the case from going to court.
Harvey’s arrogance bites him in the ass once again. He thinks he’s got Malik on the ropes when they get to court, but the tide turns quickly. Malik accuses Harvey of burying evidence, something he’s been accused of doing before. The judge gives Malik a few days to provide proof that Harvey has been shady.
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Harvey’s convinced that Malik is talking about the Clifford Danner case. Mike doesn’t think that makes sense because Cameron Dennis suppressed the evidence and not Harvey. Harvey says Malik doesn’t give a shit about that. Harvey was the one prosecuting the case, and he should have known. Mike thinks the only way out is to get Cameron to admit he hid the evidence, and Harvey didn’t know anything about it.
Donna, who always enters a conversation right on cue, lets Harvey know that Malik subpoenaed her. Mike wants to do a mock trial, and they want Louis to question Donna. Harvey isn’t on board with the plan because the last time they did that, it was hard on both Donna and Louis. Mike doesn’t see any other way, and neither does Donna. They just have to get Louis to agree.
Speaking of Louis, he confides in his shrink about sleeping with Sheila. He can’t get Sheila out of his head; he’s still in love with her. Louis dumped her because she didn’t want kids, but now he’s worried he’s going to end up with nobody. Louis’ therapist is more concerned about how to get Louis to quit lashing out at everyone around him.
Louis’ struggle to keep control is going to be tested. Harvey and Donna come to him about the mock trial, and he doesn’t want to go there. Donna convinces him it’s the only way to protect her.
Donna finally confides in Rachel about Mark. Rachel questions if Donna regrets that she put Harvey above Mark all those years ago, and Donna reveal her biggest regret may be putting Harvey over herself.
And in what could be considered a truly creepy development in Brian and Louis’ relationship, Louis arrives at Brian’s apartment unannounced to babysit.
Will the mock trial push Louis over the edge? Has Louis’ neurotic behavior become tiresome to watch? Is Malik’s motivation for going after Harvey justified or completely lame? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
The summer season finale of Suits airs Wednesday, September 13 at 9/8c on USA. Want more news? Visit our Suits page on Facebook.
(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.
