By: Greg Payne
I've never been directly involved in producing a television series, film sequel, or sophomore music album, but from everything I've heard and read, the second act is often far more difficult than the first, particularly if the first was an overwhelming success. Well, the first season of Suits was excellent, but that immediately put a ton of pressure on the showrunners to keep delivering the goods in Season 2, and with the second season premiere, "She Knows," they came through with arguably the best episode of the entire series and provided a very intriguing path for the show going forward.
"She Knows" focused primarily on the fact that Trevor went through with spilling the beans on Mike to Jessica, and that, after having dinner with him at a fancy restaurant that usually anoints an associate at the firm, she believes he is "full of shit," and demands that Harvey fire him, otherwise she'll fire both of them in one go.
But Harvey cares too much about Mike. He brought Mike into his office to fire him and instead couldn't muster the strength, settling for telling Mike that he's "proud" of him as an excuse to get him out of his office. Harvey manipulates Louis into piling Mike with work that relates to a huge company merger Pearson Hardman is overseeing, which gives Harvey leverage against Jessica and allows Mike to stay around for the foreseeable future.
As if tensions and emotions weren't already high enough within the firm, Harvey gets word that the other side of Pearson Hardman -- the slimy Daniel Hardman, sporting a dreadful haircuit -- might be on his way back, which spells bad news for him and Jessica. Hardman's wife passed away from cancer, and the only thing that kept this snake out of the office was that the pair were going to blackmail him with proof that he had been cheating on his wife for a number of years. Well, the second she found herself out of the picture, Harvey and Jessica lost all leverage against him.
Harvey eventually makes a hardball pitch to Hardman, telling him that he'll essentially ruin his daughter's emotional stability by disgracing him and revealing all of his vile actions. But Hardman, again, being the snake he clearly is, comes clean to her on his own, and then to the other associates in the company, right in front of Jessica and Harvey. It's just like Eminem rapping about himself instead of his opponent at the end of 8 Mile. Get all the bad stuff out on the table so you don't leave the opposition with any ammo.
Jessica again threatens to fire Mike and Harvey, actually goes through with it for a second, before Harvey comes back and reminds her that if word gets out about Mike, she'll look negligent in the public eye, which would severely hinder her chances of becoming a managing partner elsewhere. So she agrees, and eventually Mike is called in and the episode ends with them about to square off in a quality game of, "Who Knows More About the Law?"
But entrenched in those overarching plot points are all of the different subplots that crop up in a usual Suits episode. Jenny and Mike officially break up...I think. She confronts him on the street, they argue again about Rachel, and Mike basically lets it slip that he still has feelings for her. Jenny storms away, but then turns and lets Mike know that Trevor told Jessica about his secret.
Rachel, meanwhile, is stuck in a glass case of confusion, frustration, and, yes, even emotion, as she tries to contemplate why Mike hasn't gotten back to her about her kiss message at the end of Season 1. Mike never heard said message (Trevor did), but she doesn't know that. Donna (great stuff from her in this one, like when she picks apart Harvey's state-of-mind simply by examining his wardrobe) tries to help, but together they can only reach two conclusions: Either Mike got the message and doesn't feel the same way, or he never got the message, but, of course, in this age where our phones are never more than eight feet from us at all times, who doesn't get messages?
Rachel later gives Mike the cold shoulder when he asks for her help, and Mike eventually ends up back at his apartment, sees his phone, and finally checks older messages and hears her voicemail. My question: Did Mike not have his phone on him for three days straight? Or did he just not have it with him that one day?
Anyway, Mike also confronts Trevor, warning him that he can ruin his life the same way Trevor almost ruined his, rattling off his social security number as easy as we all chant the chorus from "Call Me Maybe."
Mike also manages to settle the merger, which is being held up by a writer accusing her former employer of stealing her idea for a bestselling novel. She wants public credit and financial compensation, but in a string of moments exemplifying real growth in Mike, he channels the best of himself and Harvey. He initially comes down hard on her, the way Harvey would, threatening her without a way out, it would seem, but then becomes compassionate the way we're used to seeing him when she makes a case for being innocent. He sort of befriends her the way he befriends most of his clients, helping her navigate the pitfalls of suing a major company, only to have it all come full circle at the very end when he finally gets her to settle without getting what she really wants and warning her to never threaten his firm again.
I'm glad we've pretty much moved past the whole "Mike has a secret" plot point. It would have been foolish for the people in charge to end Season 1 with that on the table and somehow drag it out throughout Season 2. Really, just one more person knows now, but since that's Jessica, nothing else really matters since she has the final say on basically everything.
On to civil war! Or so the promos for this season indicate. Hardman is definitely back in the picture and allegiances will need to be drawn. It honestly sounds like a great story arc for the second season, as, again, Suits isn't quite as formulaic as other shows, so it needs an intriguing hook and we were certainly given that. Strap in, folks. As Harvey says in the next episode, don't you just love the smell of napalm in the morning?
Other highlights from "She Knows"
--The usual pop culture references. This time we were given excerpts from Goodfellas, Highlander, and there was even a Superman reference thrown in there.
-- Mike's grandma lives! Be honest, you had your doubts about this one. She appeared in three episodes early in the first season and basically fell off the face of the Earth by season's end. But she hasn't kicked the bucket quite yet, as she lends her usual helping hand to Mike and unintentionally helps him figure out his merger case. That's one thing I've noticed about this show: Usually it's through conversations with other people once they've hit a wall in a case that Harvey and Mike figure out how to solve their problems.
-- Donna being Donna. I alluded to it up top, but she helped the episode get off the ground with a great exchange in Harvey's office early on, followed up with another one with Rachel in the bathroom.
--WWHD...What would Harvey do? It doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, but I can get used to it.
Season 2 of Suits airs on USA Network on Thursdays at 10:00pm.
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