Suits Review: Mea Culpa (Season 5 Episode 8)

Is this the start of Harvey’s fall? Will this vote, deciding if he should be suspended for three months, be the fall, or just contribute to it? And will Mike break off his wedding with Rachel?

These are the questions I found myself asking on Suits Season 5 Episode 8, “Mea Culpa.”

The episode starts off just a couple of seconds after the ending of last week’s. Louis angrily staring at his face, after his altercation with Harvey.

What I love about this shot is that we can see how angry Louis is, and we just know that he’s already planning out his revenge. Because that’s what Louis does. He fails to see how he may have contributed to the fall out, and just becomes vindictive.

I’ve never really understood Louis’ character. He’s entertaining and humorous and great comic relief — “how dare you defile Game of Thrones by comparing Harvey to Jon Snow” — but I do wonder what the writers have, if anything, planned for him.

He doesn’t seem to have much character development, and if he is consistent in one thing, it’s being the villain. We can always trust Louis to be the jealous one, or the one who will take a small problem to the most extreme extent- and that’s what happened this week.

Even after admitting to Louis that he has been in therapy and that he’s been having panic attacks, Louis still sets out to have Harvey suspended, using Mike’s junior partnership (yes, he was able to accept!) as a way to lure him back into the firm.

There are so many emotions during the storyline. First, we get to see Harvey in casual clothes, and even though it’s a small detail, I’m absolutely positive that everyone noticed.

We don’t see Harvey in anything other than a suit — unless it’s personal. We’ve only ever seen him in casual clothes once before, when he had his guard down, and he was toasting a shot to his late father.

So the fact that he apologized to Louis in these clothes says so much for Harvey’s development as a character, as well as what emotional state he is in when he apologizes. He is sincere, and I think he maybe just needs a friend.

Next, something worth mentioning is Harvey’s pride and love — yes love — for Mike when the partners all voted unanimously to have him as junior partner. It really shows us how much they need each other. My theory is that it was the fact that Mike stayed with Harvey after Donna left that allowed Harvey to not only seek help, but also decide that he could move on. They depend on each other, and help each other. It’s been an unwavering fundamental theme throughout the show, and it never fails.

Speaking of Mike, his story this season has been a great one so far, and this week, his secret was in jeopardy once again. Only this time, it didn’t just threaten Mike’s career. No, it threatened his personal life.

Claire: I’m saying if you love her, you won’t marry her.

She has a point. Things can’t turn out to be 100% okay for Mike. There is no way that his story will end happily, and it’s up to him to decide if he wants to drag Rachel into this, because right now, Harvey, Donna, Louis and Jessica are all going to go down with him whenever he crashes and burns.

Having Claire voice this has put so much more pressure on the secret.

It’s not something anyone can hack into to change, or pay off to lie. This is a dilemma that will stay with Mike for as long as he lives his lie. He may love his job, but is he willing to expense any personal relationships for it? I think we’ll see that play out in the next two episodes before our break.

All in all, this episode raises the stakes. For Harvey’s career, for Mike’s engagement, and for Jessica’s firm. This season has put a lot of emphasis on these lawyers, outside of them being lawyers, and it’s been a great change; like a breath of fresh air.

It shows us that no matter how strong and invincible they are professionally, they are still human, and will falter, just like the rest of us, when their personal life is jeopardized.

What did you think of “Mea Culpa”? Tell us in the comments below!

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Suits airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on USA.