Suits Review: ‘Break Point’ at Pearson Hardman

If you haven’t watched this week’s Suits yet, you may want to bring along some tissues for your viewing. Between Mike handling his first case, Louis dealing with his sick cat and all of the predicted Donna drama, there is plenty to get teary-eyed about. After last week’s shocking ending, we probably should have seen this coming.

After going for a 5:00am jog – yes you read that right – the ever busy Harvey meets Marco Mendoza, his newest client. Marco is a sixteen-year-old tennis prodigy with a father who will not allow him to go pro. Since Marco feels he is in his prime, he wants to file for emancipation. When Marco shares that his father is abusive, Mike becomes invested in the case and convinces Harvey to let him take the lead on it.

Mike handles himself very well in the courtroom, making Marco’s father look guilty. However, his pleasure is short-lived once he spots a suspicious look between Marco and Jeffrey, the sports agent. Observant as usual, Mike puts the pieces together and realizes that it was the agent being abusive to Marco, not Marco’s father. Mike rips up the emancipation papers after confirming the truth with Jeffrey.

Meanwhile, Louis brings his sick cat to the office. Poor Harold is assigned to look after the feverish feline, even though he is allergic. When Harold gives the cat the wrong kind of milk, Louis snaps that next time maybe he should just hand his cat over to Michael Vick. Later on, Rachel spots Louis tearfully holding a cat leash. It turns out the cat was too sick to save. In a very sweet gesture, Rachel tries to cheer Louis up by giving him Mike’s signed tennis ball. Louis does seem pleased by her effort and it is a nice moment.

Now for the most troubling part of the episode. Last week’s show ended with Donna realizing she had stamped a memo that the firm is now claiming they never received. Since Harvey is being falsely accused of burying the paperwork, Donna knows that finding the memo could have devastating consequences. She goes to shred the paper, but Mike figures out she is hiding something and approaches her about it.

Initially, Donna acts offended at Mike’s suggestion that she has the memo. She drops that act fairly quickly and confesses that she does not know what to do. Mike warns her that he will tell Harvey if she doesn’t. Despite having various opportunities, Donna cannot bring herself to tell Harvey. He ends up finding out from Mike, who steps in just time to stop Harvey from accidentally committing perjury.

Harvey (Gabriel Macht) contemplates one of his many dilemmas. Photo: Christos Kalohoridis © USA Network

The Donna/Harvey confrontation takes place, strangely enough, in the ladies bathroom. These two characters have always maintained a trusting, playful relationship, so it is very hard to watch it crumble. Donna insists that she was trying to protect Harvey, but he retorts that all she did was betray him by lying. She expects him to fire her, so he surprises her by replying, “I might kill you, but I’m not going to fire you.” He says he can still turn things around now that they have the memo, which is when Donna admits that she destroyed it. That irrevocable move was the worst thing she could have done. Harvey storms out. It is a very moving and well-acted scene.

Allison Holt, the lawyer that Daniel Hardman suggested represent the firm in the fraud case, gets on Harvey’s nerves. When she comes to Jessica with settlement terms, they include stripping Harvey of his senior partnership and reporting him to the New York Bar Association. Essentially, Allison and Daniel want Jessica to throw Harvey under the bus and focus on the firm. Of course Jessica is reluctant to do so and ends up firing Allison instead. She seems to be doing it partially for Harvey and partially to challenge Daniel.

The most heartbreaking part comes at the end of the episode. Jessica approaches Donna, who instantly senses she is being let go. Jessica explains that Harvey wanted to have the conversation with her, but that Jessica felt it was her job. Donna cries before collecting her things and bringing her box of belongings to the elevators, where Harvey is waiting. One might expect a tearful goodbye or at least a conversation. Instead, Harvey simply presses the down button for her. They look meaningfully at each other before Donna gets in the elevator. It seems unlikely that we have seen the last of Donna, but if she does return, her relationship with Harvey may very well be permanently altered.

Suits is not a stingy show. This week’s episode could have been a finale episode, rather than one in the middle of a season. The plot lines are not dragged out and the character development is realistically paced. In this episode we saw Mike independently handle his own big case, and Harvey offer a truly heartfelt apology. Comparing that professional and emotional progress with the way these characters acted in the first season shows how well-written this series is.

Tune in this Thursday at 10 PM ET/PT on USA to examine the fallout from this week’s heavy episode.