Suits Review: 100 (Season 7 Episode 8)

Batman and Robin are back for the milestone 100th episode of Suits, and I’m not mad about it.

On Suits Season 7 Episode 8, “100,” Mike and Harvey are finally working together again rather than against each other. I don’t think there’s anything more appropriate than that for the 100th episode.

Now that Mike knows the truth about Alex, he’s motivated to do the right thing by everyone — but that doesn’t mean he and Harvey won’t still find themselves operating in a gray area.

Sometimes that gray is worth it, though, and with the two of them finally working together, they’re able to get a settlement for the prisoners and make Alex’s problems go away in one fell swoop.

They wouldn’t have been able to solve either problem without working together, which is largely the point. Sure, they’re both amazing on their own — Harvey had a reputation for that long before Mike ever came along — but with the two of them together, it seems there’s nothing they can’t handle.

It shouldn’t be surprising that the plan Mike comes up with involves handing over files for the prison case to Robert Zane, and it also shouldn’t be surprising that once they hand that over, things don’t go exactly the way they wanted them to.

I appreciate any chance for Rachel to remind us how much of a total badass she is. Most of what Rachel has been doing this season so far is to keep Mike in check, but when he goes to her father and doesn’t involve her in the case at all, she reminds him that she doesn’t need him to look out for her.

Rachel: You need to get through your head that I’m a grown woman, and that I’m not a damsel in distress who needs protecting.

She proves that too, even though it means doing something that will hurt Robert. She’s willing to set everything aside for the good of the case — and to be kickass lawyer.

Using those photos is a bold move, and an almost painful one. You have to feel sympathetic for Robert Zane when those come up in court.

Even though this has all felt a little too coincidental from the start, what matters more is that the fact that Mike went to prison has everything to do with what’s happening this season. It’s completely affected his character and the case he’s chosen, and the connection with Frank Gallo brings it all full circle.

Our villain is even humanized, and after all of his conversations with Mike, I have to admit that I really hoped Gallo was going to be able to change the way his daughter saw him.

Unfortunately, Gallo’s death, which turns out to be the saving grace for the prison case, means he doesn’t get the chance to see her. Mike rectifies that the best he can by paying her a visit.

It definitely says something about his character that he’s able to call Gallo — a man who once tried to kill him — a decent man.

And because of his death, Harvey, Mike, and Robert are all able to pull together to not only make Reform Corp pay, but also make Alex’s problems go away. Like I said, it’s the kind of thing that happens when Harvey and Mike work together as opposed to against one another.

Meanwhile, Donna and Louis each find themselves in their own moral gray areas.

Donna reaches out to her ex, Mark (I knew we’d see him in present day eventually), who is more than willing to start things up with her again despite the fact that he’s still married.

Donna is obviously trying to move on with her life. She sees Harvey is happy with Paula Agard, and it makes sense that she would return to an old flame who she ultimately lost because of Harvey.

As for Louis? He’s faced with a similar dilemma when he encounters Sheila Sazs. How gut-wrenching that she was willing to leave Harvard and move to New York for another man.

What’s worse is that Sheila decides she wants to be with Louis for one last night, and that’s a temptation he can’t handle. Why? Because this man has been through hell and back lately, and like he tells Rachel, he just wants to be able to forget it all and feel good about himself, even for a little while.

Still, he struggles with doing the right thing versus being with Sheila one more time.

In the end, Donna turns Mark down after getting a perfectly timed text message from Rachel reminding her that she “deserves the best.” (It’s too bad Donna didn’t make plans with Michelle Ross for the evening instead.)

Louis, on the other hand, can’t resist the temptation. I just hope that choice doesn’t cause him even more heartbreak.

Other thoughts:

• Louis and Donna’s friendship is one of my favorite things about this show. Their scene on the rooftop is so touching.
• Ugh, Harvey gives Paula a key to his apartment. You know, the one Donna just returned to him. And no, he didn’t remember the two month anniversary.
• Donna and Paula’s encounter in Harvey’s office is awkward at best. Donna so badly wants to show she knows Harvey better than Paula does, and Paula seems to understand Donna’s feelings for Harvey pretty clearly.
• Speaking of awkward? Sheila’s phone call to Louis is one of the best and most memorable parts of this episode. No, Rachel. He can’t get up from the desk right now.

What did you think of the 100th episode of Suits? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below, and be sure to give this episode your own rating!

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Suits airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on USA.

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