USA's Suits - Episode 3.08 Endgame
As Ava's murder trial begins, Harvey, Mike and Jessica fight off betrayal from both inside the firm and out. Meanwhile, Louis and Donna seek to even the score with those who have done them wrong.
"Endgame" is a very intriguing episode of Suits. It basically resolves the whole main story that season three has been built around - the Ava Hessington murder trial. Last week ended with the revelation that it was Stephen who had ordered the murders without Ava's knowledge. And this week Ava's trial started as everyone was running around trying to find a way to prove her innocence. Everyone is angry that Stephen and Darby put them in this position but they needed to overcome that in order to try to save Ava's life. But Stephen remained as sly and slimy as ever - protecting himself at all costs. As was Cameron who remained as thickheaded as ever up until the very end. Going back and forth and devising different strategies to convince Cameron about Ava's innocence and Stephen's guilt was the foundation of the hour. But it was the end that determined how successful this hour would be. So, Darby falls on his sword because he loves Ava like family. He makes up a story making him an accessory to murder after the fact to protect her. He does all of this despite her anger towards him.And Ava has a right to be angry too. She trusted and was close to Darby but he held the truth from her and just handed her off to his new business partners. He was so quick to merge with Jessica because he knew this tricky trial was forthcoming and needed to pass it off. Over the past few weeks, she has followed everything that Harvey, Mike and Jessica have told her to do. But in the end, this is her life that they are playing with and she doesn't believe that their concern for her is their chief focus. Harvey and Cameron are in a feud and both want to be right. Neither one wants to cave in and both want the other to fall on his face. All at the expense of Ava. Harvey is taking "calculated risks" without consulting her. While in the end she emerges as a free women, I can't imagine her being particularly happy with her treatment while at Pearson Darby Spector.
If there was one flaw in the reveal that Stephen was the person responsible for the murders, then it was that this whole story's purpose was to break apart the merger. Change is good for an aging series. Putting new characters into an environment that hold equal or more power than the characters we have been following is inherently interesting. Darby forced Jessica to act differently. Stephen forced Harvey to act differently. And Nigel forced Louis to act differently. Their additions challenged what we knew about these characters and what they stood for. This story was ultimately used to show that yet again Harvey must always be right. He never wanted the merger in the first place. He fought so hard with and against both Jessica and Darby. He betrayed Jessica - a person he the utmost trust and respect for. But the two kiss and make up over a bottle of wine. So now, the show is going back to the status quo that it once was with Jessica and Harvey as friends and in sole control of the firm. The only difference now is that Harvey's name is on the door.
Elsewhere in the hour, Louis and Rachel shared many scenes together as they dealt with a suit filled against the firm by Harold. Honestly, it was purely superfluous. It was as if the show needed a B-story to fill time and simply to give Louis and Rachel something to do. It was kind of understood why Louis was always so hard on Harold but the hour took the time to spell it out exactly why. Pure fluff.
Some more thoughts:
- Hey, Patrick J. Adams got a haircut!
- Donna delivered Stephen's firing and his arrest. Definitely more satisfying than some absurdity of her exacting some elaborate revenge on him. A path I'm glad the show did not take.
- The inner conflict happening with Cameron may have played better if we actually believed he may make the right choice. If we thought he could have gone either way, and then he made his decision probably would have been more rewarding.
- Why would Harvey, Jessica and Mike willingly let Darby perjure himself? Sometimes the end results "justify" the show cutting-corners with the legal stuff.
- I can't say I'm surprised that dissolution talks are happening so soon since Darby, Scottie, Nigel and Stephen were the only faces of the other half of the merger. And none we're sympathetic enough or interesting enough to keep on a regular basis. They basically just functioned as parallels to other characters on the show.
