USA's Suits - Episode 3.12 Yesterday's Gone
Both Mike and Jessica lean on Harvey for support when things from their respective pasts throw them off their game.
"Yesterday's Gone" asks the big question of whether the end justifies the means. The lawyers at Pearson Spector are used to bullshitting their way to wins. They will manipulate the outcome of everything just so it goes there way in almost every instance. This episode questions whether the audience should be okay with that or - like Louis - be furious by the lengths they go to to keep their secrets.In regards to the Jessica story, Suits wants you to believe that honoring her ex-husband legacy's is more important than any legality of his intent. This story really shouldn't work because we don't have a emotional connection to this now dead character. Gina Torres brings a wonderful energy to the entire story and - along with Sharon Leal - makes us care about the outcome.
Things decidedly get murkier when the show lets Louis confront Mike about the truth of his lack of Harvard law degree. The Harvard-only policy is a rule that Louis is devoted to and this knowledge rightfully should enrage him. Does all the good work Mike does with Harvey justify the fact that he is illegally practicing the law? It's the question the show wants to ask for the length of its entire run. Thusly, it's hard for Mike to realistically deal with the consequences of that lie without fundamentally shaking up the foundation of the entire show. Whenever the show focuses too much on the big lie, it's not nearly as enjoyable as it is when Mike and Harvey are trading barbs or dealing with some shifty legal thing. And yet, Louis is the biggest threat to the lie so far because of his undeniable love for the firm and his willingness to see its reputation go untarnished.
In the middle of "Yesterday's Gone," it seems like all hope is lost as the truth about Mike is going to be exposed. The characters have tried everything they've thought to do but to no avail. They grapple with that fact. But then, one simple manipulation by Harvey - by actually saying that Louis is his friend - uncomplicates things. Louis forgives Mike and everyone can go back to practicing the law the way they have been. It's a cop out to delay really dealing with the consequences of the basic premise of the show. I was expecting this arc to play out over these last six episodes of season three to truly change the game. Instead, they tease us just enough only to say they're not really gonna change the show right now.
Some more thoughts:
- "Yesterday's Gone" was written by Genevieve Sparling and directed by Anton Cropper.
- Scottie was such a big part of the return episode but is simply an afterthought here.
- But with all my problems with the resolution of the Louis-Mike story, I truly did believe Mike when he pleaded that if he could go back and change the way things happened he would.
- That was also Gabriel Macht's real-life father Stephen Macht as the Harvard professor. That must have been a fun scene to play between the two as he was the only person to call Harvey on his bluffs.
