Suits Review: Mudmare (Season 7 Episode 3)

Harvey’s not the only one having trouble adjusting to his new role at the firm.

On Suits Season 7 Episode 3, “Mudmare,” Alex settles in at Pearson Specter Litt while Rachel and Donna figure out their own roles as leaders.

While I don’t necessarily think Alex is here to cause problems, he’s already the center of a few different conflicts. Louis views him as a threat to his relationship with Harvey while a conflict of interest with one of his clients causes him to come between Harvey and Mike.

Both of those conflicts let us see Harvey at his worst, and the latter lets us see Mike at his best.

The fact is that Harvey is a flawed character. He’s supposed to be. And now that he’s a leader, we’re seeing that more. I’ve said before I think a lot of this stems from abandonment issues, and it’s also from a difficulty with change. Even down to the fact that Donna has taken a new position, Harvey’s world is spinning.

So it makes sense why he’d want to bring in an old friend to his firm, and why he’d be so stubborn about it — to the point of making a bad decision when it comes to his deal with Mike, and to stepping out of line with both Louis and Donna.

It’s also why, to me at least, the therapist makes sense. I don’t expect that to last — I think it has to do with Harvey trying to find some sort of stability in the midst of change.

I just hope he doesn’t jeopardize his other relationships before it’s too late.

Thankfully, Mike manages to hand off his pro bono case (one that hits too close to home) to Oliver, and everything turns out just fine. But as loyal has Harvey has been to Mike, and as much as we saw him fight for him last season, it’s painful to see him force Mike to give up his case. I also barely buy that that’s what he would do, except that I think it’s fitting with a lot of Harvey’s pattern so far this season.

Mike and Alex end up with something of a mutual respect for each other, and I’m inclined to think that drama is over and that Alex is a genuine guy. What I want to know more about is his friendship with Harvey.

As for Louis… well, he’s going off the freakin’ deep end, you guys.

He’s aware of it, for the most part. He calls his therapist when he knows he’s being irrational, and he’s actively seeking ways to calm himself. He even takes his therapist’s advice and reaches out to Alex with a gesture — a honeysuckle plant — and it seems like he might just have a new friend who also loves cats. But Louis lets his paranoia get the better of him.

Louis is so desperate for a connection. What he wants more than anything is to be close with Harvey, and anything to jeopardize that relationship feels catastrophic to him. I just wish he would find a way to let his obsession with Harvey go.

Meanwhile, Rachel and Donna are figuring out their new roles. Rachel is admittedly too nice, and Donna’s advice to her is right. There’s a reason no one ever tried to pull something over on Louis Litt.

Unfortunately, we don’t get to see Rachel take Donna’s advice, because Donna steps in and undermines her with Stephanie.

Donna so often always has the right answers, so to see her make a mistake like this is almost gratifying. And while Rachel and Donna fight about it afterward, it says something about Donna that she realizes her mistake so quickly and is willing to admit that she was wrong.

They’re able to talk it through, and they’re able to build each other up instead of tearing each other down. I’d have been more interested to see Rachel continue to be in charge of the associates, but I have to say, Donna firing someone is probably the highlight of the episode.

What did you think of this episode of Suits? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

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Suits airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on USA.

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