"Suits" Recap/Review: "Buried Secrets"
Marissa Tandon ’17 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer
The episode opened on Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht) and his new relationship with college rival Dana “Scottie” Scott (Abigail Spencer). The midseason finale closed on Harvey admitting “I want you in my life,” to Scottie, which is the closest thing to a romantic declaration the closer has come to on screen. Perhaps because up until now, Harvey’s romantic entanglements have been mostly brief and superficial, his characterization while with Scottie felt incredibly off. In some ways, the relationship feels doomed to fail; while Harvey does seem to be making an effort for a relationship, Scottie seems to be trapped in her past perceptions of their relationship. At almost every turn she accuses Harvey of not being all in, or only being interested in having her around for constant sex. Where their relationship in previous seasons was filled with fun competition, witty banter, and nostalgia, that competitiveness felt almost abrasive last night.
Scottie spends most of the episode demanding that Harvey prove his commitment to their relationship, yet when Jessica Pearson (Gina Torres) asks that Scottie bay the half million dollar partner buy in immediately, Scottie schemes for an alternative. She brings in the one client Harvey was not able to land, Michael Phelps (which explained the photos the cast was instagramming from set with a life size Michael Phelps cut out while filming this season) to crash their dinner date. When Harvey likens the play to a movie, Scottie falls on the habit of cutting him down: “I’m not a 14 year old girl, Harvey. I don’t get my plans from movies.”
The real gem of the episode was in both Mike Ross’ character development and Patrick J. Adams’ performance. Mike takes on a law suit, and the opposing council is the same lawyer who forced his grandmother to settle for a sum that was “the equivalent of one year’s rent” when they were killed by a drunk driver. Mike gives a few emotionally charged speeches about his last memories of his parents, and even though he has been the most moral character up until this point, we watch as he gets lost in an obsession to bring this lawyer down. Still, he wouldn’t be Mike Ross if he didn’t slip into a moral move at some point. That point is attempting to give the opposing council another avenue of forgetting justice for his client’s death.
As a midseason opener, “Buried Secrets” worked in true Suits fashion. It established relationships in a clear cut way, as well as the point of tension for the season. Thankfully, this season doesn’t seem to be focusing on any sort of coup, instead focusing on Mike’s secret and the implications for the firm.
Overall Episode Grade: A-