Suits Review: Good Mudding (Season 8 Episode 5)
I may never look at a tomato the same way again.
On Suits Season 8 Episode 5, “Good Mudding,” Louis finds out if there’s any reason he can’t conceive, Harvey helps his brother with a custody battle, and Samantha and Alex come to an understanding.
It’s a fun episode that balances character development, emotional moments, and humor really well.
One of the highlights is obviously Harvey’s advice to Louis, giving him the idea that picturing a tomato could be a turn on. Harvey doesn’t get a lot of funny moments, but this one is gold. It’s also just a great interaction between the two of them, especially considering it follows the more emotional moment the two had on Suits Season 8 Episode 4, “Revenue Per Square Foot.”
It turns out, once Louis is able to go through with the test thanks to the real estate section of the newspaper (ha!) there’s nothing wrong when it comes to biology.
However, he’s going to have a make a lifestyle change if he wants a better chance at having a child, and that’s to give up his oh so precious mudding.
It’s only temporary, but this is such an interesting conflict to give Louis — to take away one of his trademark rituals for a period of time.
It does seem a bit fast for Sheila to be so concerned. She’s gone from having no interest in having children, to being willing to allow fate to take its course, to now being concerned about how much time they have. That rings a little false somehow, and it’s something I’d have liked to see explored further.
Speaking of things I’d like to see explored further, the fact that Louis was mugged on the last episode is something that I’d have liked to see carry over a bit more. Still, as usual, the scenes with Louis are fun, and I like this trajectory for his character.
Meanwhile, Harvey is forced to battle some of his old demons by helping his brother, Marcus.
So much of Harvey’s character is based in the history he has with his family, so this conflict is another way to dig deeper into his character. There’s a lot of subtlety there, and it’s something Gabriel Macht plays really well.
The complexity is that Harvey can’t be the kind of lawyer he would normally be in this case, because he’s worried about his brother’s family. He doesn’t want to go after Marcus’s wife the way he needs to for a custody battle, and he doesn’t want to see his brother’s children get caught in the middle.
He’s still Harvey Specter, though, and he does what he can to work around it. In this case, that means trying to convince Katie to let Marcus have another chance at being a father.
There are some sweet, and funny, moments between Harvey and Donna on this episode also. The most poignant is the phone call at the end, which not only shows how well they know each other but also reminds us how close they really are. Harvey is willing to bare his soul to her more than he can to anyone else, and she’s able to offer him some much-needed advice.
There’s also that nice reminder that their relationship hasn’t always been platonic:
Donna: In that case, what I really want to know is, is it true about the tomatoes?
Harvey: I think we both know it’s not. Just like we both know it’s really strawberries and whipped cream.
I love that playful side to their relationship. This does feel like the world’s slowest burning will they/won’t they romance, but it’s definitely keeping the audience interested.
That brings me to Samantha and Alex. Alex has to bring his daughter to work, and he entrusts Samantha to keep an eye on her while also being a bit of a role model.
Samantha earns cool points quickly, but she crosses a bit of a line in the way she let’s Joy help with her case.
Even though it’s maybe not the best example for a teenage girl to see Samantha bending the rules by using that recording, it’s pretty badass.
And I cannot say enough how much I’m loving Katherine Heigl in this role. It suits her (pun only partially intended) really well, especially now that we’re seeing a few different layers to the character.
What did you think of this episode of Suits? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Reviewer Rating:
User Rating:
Suits airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on USA.
Follow us on Twitter @telltaleTV_
Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!
Ashley Bissette Sumerel
Ashley Bissette Sumerel is a television and film critic living in Wilmington, North Carolina. She is editor-in-chief of Tell-Tale TV as well as Eulalie Magazine. Ashley has also written for outlets such as Rolling Stone, Paste Magazine, and Insider. Ashley has been a member of the Critics Choice Association since 2017 and is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic. In addition to her work as an editor and critic, Ashley teaches Entertainment Journalism, Composition, and Literature at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.